Crops & Clips: July, 2012 Meme Mashup

This month's potpourri gathered from the archives features photos taken three years ago, in July, 2012. Actually it is a scavenger hunt, as at that time I did not seek to portray each of these memes (CRITTERS, SKY, REFLECTION, FENCE, MACRO). Let's see how far I need to go into the month to find at least one of each. If I can get them all I will have won the game seven months in a row.

CRITTERS:

We started the month at our second home in NE Illinois, where most of the birds were still busy raising their families. My first photo of the month, on July 5, 2012, featured this abundant warbler of the prairies, appropriately named Common Yellowthroat:



Two days later, along the street next to our condo I encountered two majestic raptors, a Red-tailed Hawk...



...and an American Kestrel:



A cute baby Tree Swallow posed for me atop its nest box on July 10:



On the same day a male Indigo Bunting thrilled me with its color:



A Dickcissel sang to us on July 17, just before we returned to our Florida home:



Back in Florida on July 24, a beautiful eight-point White-tailed buck emerged from the side of the path into our local wetlands:



At the local rookery, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron nestling crouched low, also on July 24, 2012:



Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

 Linking to I Heart Macro by Laura

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REFLECTION:

I caught my first reflection of the month on July 12, when a Bald Eagle carried off a duckling at nearby Nelson Lake:

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

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FENCE:

A visit from our Illinois granddaughters at the end of July saved me from the disaster of not having randomly included any fences this month's photos (July 27, 2012):



In fairness, I also must show our younger Nieta. They were here before embarking on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate their Miami cousin's Quinceañera (fifteenth birthday):



Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

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SKIES:

I finally captured a skyscape from the back patio as clouds moved in from the ocean at sunrise, July 30, one day before the deadline I set for this game:



Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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Crops & Clips: June, 2012 Meme Mashup

This month's photo potpourri is gathered from the June, 2012 archives, and features the themes of critters, fences, skies, macros and reflections. Can I find images that properly portray these memes? Whether or not I can do justice to the protocol, this brings back great memories of days past. I started the month in Illinois and returned to Florida a few days later, only to return north at the end of June in time to share some exciting moments with our granddaughters. 

CRITTER:

A fitting symbol of the Midwestern plains is this American Goldfinch on thistle, June 1, 2012 in Batavia, Illinois:



Back in Florida, I shot through the window as I watched this Great Blue Heron tackle the job of swallowing an exotic Plecostoma (common aquarium fish) in the back yard (June 6, 2012):



Almost ready to swallow:



Down the hatch!



Another back yard subject was this Wood Stork, shading the water as it foraged (June 6, 2012):



It is always a treat to see a deer, especially this nice 8-point White-tailed buck, in our local wetlands (Miramar, Florida, June 10, 2012):



A Common Basilisk, one of the hordes of exotic species that have found homes in Florida (June 11, 2012):



Black Swallowtail butterfly laying eggs on our parsley:



MACRO: Black Swallowtail egg:



A Black Swallowtail caterpillar spinning the silk tether for its chrysalis (June 13 in the back yard):



The finished product of its labors, which we then carried in our luggage on our flight to Illinois:




Linking to I Heart Macro by Laura

Back in Illinois, on June 26, our granddaughters ponder the mystery of the butterfly's emergence:







Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

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FENCE:

Ready to release the butterfly in their back yard:





Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

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SKY:

Shelf cloud over our second home in North Aurora, Illinois on June 29, 2012

 

Unsettled sunrise from our back patio, June 11, 2012, our 52nd Wedding Anniversary!:



Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

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REFLECTION:

Not many reflections this month, but here is a stork with reflections of our neighbors' homes (June 9, 2012)





Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

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Also:

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

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Crops & Clips: May, 2012 Meme Mashup

Looking back three years in anticipation of what may turn up again this month. My potpourri gathered from the archives features images that I hoped would match the themes of critters, fences, skies and reflections. It took me until May 25 to fill in all the blanks.

CRITTERS:

The month started off and finished with me in Illinois, where I captured this brightly colored eastern subspecies of Palm Warbler (Batavia, IL, May 1, 2012):



A Wild Turkey crossed the path in front of us (May 1, 2012, Batavia IL):



The next day a Savannah Sparrow posed atop a rock in our North Aurora, IL yard (which, sadly, has now been developed into acres of town-homes):



On May 3 a Rose-breasted Grosbeak brightened our morning (Batavia, IL):



What is prettier than the sight of an American Goldfinch in morning light (North Aurora, IL)...



...unless it is the song of a Yellow Warbler? (May 11, Batavia IL)



The month is not half over and I am overwhelmed with color-- a Scarlet Tanager (May 13, 2012, Batavia, IL).



Yet, I cannot pass up this image of two fledgling Great Horned Owls, in Geneva, IL on May 23, 2012


Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

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FENCE:

The first fence that showed up in this month's archives was occupied by a Chipping Sparrow in our daughter's back yard in Batavia, on May 9, 2012:



Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

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SKYWATCH: 

I was hard-pressed to find a single "sky shot" in the May 2012 archives. In this shot the sky is partly obstructed by a Red-tailed hawk (Batavia, May 9, 2012)...



...and in this, the cloudless sky complements the coat of an Indigo Bunting (Batavia, May 11, 2012):




Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

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REFLECTION:

A family of Mallards on the placid water of the Fox River, Aurora, Illinois, May 25, 2012:



Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

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Also:

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

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Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

Black-necked Stilts

We were out before sunrise on our local wetlands. The sun rose at 7:30 AM EDT, only 2 degrees south of due east.The back gate of the adjacent Harbour Lakes subdivision faces due east, and on the Vernal Equinox on March 20 we can expect the sun to rise directly over the gate.



While scanning the lake I heard the call of a familiar bird. Before I could remember its identity, two Black-necked Stilts flew by and inexplicably turned my way and landed only about 80 feet (25 meters) away. It was about 5 minutes after sunrise with the near shore in deep shadow, so my initial photos were very poor.



I stood in place for about 45 minutes waiting for the sun, and luckily the stilts just loafed and preened. I ended up taking over 200 shots, but only about half were in good light. Although I have had stilts in the patch in previous years, this was the first time I got this close to them.

The earliest usable shots showed a warm glow as light finally swept the shoreline:









The still water provided nice reflections:







So long as I stood perfectly still they paid me little attention, going about their grooming:





After standing still for about 45 minutes my legs started cramping although the sunlight felt good on my back. I took this with my little Canon Powershot SX700 HS. The stilts are barely visible along the shore, to the left:



My reach for the pocket camera put them on alert...



...and they flew up:









Happily, they turned back and alighted on a small submerged bar a bit to the south, not much further away. The slight back-lighting provided pleasant images:

Linking to Misty's  CAMERA CRITTERS,

Linking to Eileen's SATURDAY'S CRITTERS,

Linking to GOOD FENCES by Tex (Theresa). 

Linking to SKYWATCH FRIDAY by Yogi, Sylvia and Sandy

Linking to WEEKEND REFLECTIONS by James

Linking to BirdD'Pot by Anni

Linking to Wild Bird Wednesday by Stewart

________________________________________________

Please visit the links to all these memes to see some excellent photos on display

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