Friday, October 2, 2009

Sundry Snaps


















The black walnut trees are loaded with nuts -- which sound like gunshots when they fall on the metal chicken house roof and act like ball-bearings when you step on them en route to feed the chickens.

A Japanese Anemone blooming in my friend Josie's yard makes me think of a Pheasant Eye daffodil.



Evening sunlight



A young turkey -- the 'beard' on his chest suggests he's probably a male and thus called a jake -- he'll be a tom when he matures. For more about turkeys -- go here ,


















X-rated okra. Enough said.













A shy young possum, out on his own for the night and making the best of the dog food that I forgot to cover. Look at those sweet white-tipped ears!



And yes, another sunrise -- this one really made me think of early Technicolor -- as in Gone with the Wind. And no, I didn't fool around with the special effects -- it's as it was.


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13 comments:

Reader Wil said...

Good morning Vicki! Great photos! You cover four memes in one post: Sky Watch, Camera Critters, Today's Flowers and That's me World! I read the information about the wild turkey. They look a bit like the Australian wild turkey. Have a great day and weekend, Vicki!

Martin said...

Vicki

Love the Japanese Anemone and the Possum, but that sunrise is something else.

How are you finding the camera after some practice? Are the settings technically tricky or more intuitive?

You're certainly getting some nice results.

Pat in east TN said...

Beautiful header, but oh the sunrise is outstanding!

Have you noticed the squirrels hoarding the walnuts and 'squirreling' them away for the winter? Squirrels over here have been working overtime ... are they getting ready for bad times to come?

KarenB said...

You sure are having fun with your camera! And I'm enjoying the benefits. They are all beautiful pictures. By the way, how does one get the little possum back out of the dog food?

Carol Murdock said...

ahwwwwwwwww love the baby possum pic! Poor baby goes out on his on and Vicki catches him! HA!

Kaye Wilkinson Barley - Meanderings and Muses said...

Vicki - I am so impressed with the shots you're getting with your new camera. These are gorgeous! and awww - that baby possum is darling!

Vicki Lane said...

Reader Wil -- The close ups of the turkeys' heads are amazing! Such strange looking faces-- Nature is amazing!

Martin - I'm ashamed to say that I've not yet explored the settings beyond shooting on PROGRAM (which is basically point and shoot without the automatic flash) and AUTO (which flashes when needed). I'm still waiting for my photographer friend to come over and help me make sense of things.

I must confess that I don't even know what an f stop is, though I see the word bandied about amongst photographers. So, to the extent that my pictures have come out at all, I think we'd have to conclude that using the camera is fairly intuitive.

And I can't say enough about how right it feels in my hand.
Merisi, of the VIENNA FOR BEGINNERS blog mentioned the haptic properties of the Nikon and, after looking the word up, I had to agree with her.

Pat, both squirrels and chipmunks do seem extra busy -- I may make a run to Sam's Club to lay in plenty of supplies -- olive oil, TP, chocolate chips -- all those things one doesn't want to be without when the roads get icy.

Karen -- after I'd taken the little guys picture, we just turned off the light and went back inside, making sure to keep the dog's in. The level of dog food was near enough the top that, when he'd finished his supper, he just stood up and crawled out, I suppose. At any rate, he was gone before we went to bed.

Poor, ha! Carol! Well fed is more like it.

Thanks, Kaye! And do you have a free moment at Bcon? Would love to get together for a meal or whatever.

Reader Wil said...

Hi Vicki, have a great day! Thanks for your visit!

Miss_Yves said...

Amazing photos!
All your knowledges about plants and animals are wonderful !
"possum" or "opossum"-in French- is unknown in France, except in some zoos (perhaps)

Vagabonde said...

Thank you for visiting my blog. I love your sunset – you must get up early. I published my blog after 1:00 am this morning (even though it shows California time for some reason) so I don’t get up that early. I also have a black walnut tree and usually let the squirrels get the nuts as I don’t know how to crack them with that big black shell around them. Tomorrow there is a Book Fair on the Square in my town and two authors look interesting to me. You may know of them, one is called Jackie K. Cooper who wrote “Journey of a Gentle Southern Man: Reflections from the Road” and the other is Connie Cox who wrote a book on a historical home and its owners called “Providence.” It is a 700 page book! I had not heard of these authors. Here is the link to the authors on the Book Fair: http://www.bookfaironthesquare.com/authors.html. I hope there will be a nice crowd for them – I’ll take pictures.

Vicki Lane said...

Miss Yves -- It's opossum in English too but everyone calls them possums. I know about these plants and animals because they're all around me and I've been paying attention for many years. And I have Mr. Google to fill in the blanks!

Vagabonde -- Our bedroom faces east and we don't have curtains so I wake up almost invariably at the moment of sunrise.

Those black walnuts are a challenge to crack. Years ago I spent almost a day to get enough nuts (maybe a cup) to make a black walnut cake. I leave them to the squirrels now.

I don't know those authors but they sound interesting. Book fairs are always such fun. Happy shopping! I'll check the link and look forward to your pictures!

Victoria said...

Vicki, that sunrise is gorgeous! And that darling little possum...what a sweetie-face. We supposedly have them up here, but I've never seen one.

Vicki Lane said...

Hi Victoria - Did you notice that young possum's face is heart-shaped, due to his charming widow's peak?