Froggy

Our granddaughter Magnolia found an amphibian in her yard. She calls it Froggy. I'm not sure if it's a frog or a toad, but it really doesn't matter. She decided it could have a nice home at our fishpond, so she brought it over yesterday. After she released it, Froggy found a lily pad to rest on.

Magnolia was upset and crying when she had to leave Froggy and go in the house, but like most 2 1/2 year olds, she quickly recovered.

See more nature pictures at Rambling Woods

.

The Bremen Tree

On January 9, 2009, I emerged from Community Hospital of Bremen, where I occasionally work, and walked into a snowstorm. CHB is situated on the outskirts of a small town, surrounded by a cornfield and a horse farm. As I walked toward my truck, a tree across the cornfield caught my eye, and I pulled out the point and shoot camera I usually keep in the truck to take a picture.

Tree in Winter
In subsequent months, I resolved to document the tree in all four seasons, beginning with this picture in the spring, which I tinted green in postprocessing. In retrospect, I'm not sure that was a good idea, but there it is.

Tree in Spring
I got this picture in the summer, with corn growing in the foreground.

Tree in Summer
Due to peculiar weather patterns, we didn't have much fall color, and I didn't get an autumn picture. Oh well, maybe next year, I thought.

Last week, I was sad to see that this is all that's left of the majestic old tree. Why it was taken down, I don't know, but I'll miss it.

Stumps in Winter

See more nature pictures at Rambling Woods

.

Monochrome Weekend: Fiddlehead

Fern in Great Smoky Moutain National Park, April 2009

Fall Colors

I haven't done the Nature Notes thing for a while. The local paper this morning carried an article stating that fall colors are going to be subdued in these here parts due to a lack of sunny days this autumn. So, I am posting a photo of a small grove of sumac from last October, when conditions were better.


Here's another version, worked over with Photoshop--for better or worse.

See more nature pictures at Rambling Woods

.

Skywatch Friday Season 4, Episode 10

A Kodak moment in the old Studebaker industrial corridor, South Bend, Indiana

Adventures With Acme, Part 1

Readers with nothing better to do than to frequent this blog will be aware that recently I have eschewed digital photography in favor of film. Well, I really haven't given up on digital photography all together.I just wanted to use the word "eschewed." One thing is sure--I have become a regular customer at Gene's Camera Store, the only local place I know of that sells and processes 120 film.

My current arsenal of film cameras includes a Kodak Duaflex III twin lens reflex camera, and two toy cameras: a Holga 120CFN and an Acme W20. That's right--there really was a camera with the brand name Acme, made in Hong Kong. I picked it up on eBay. I read with amusement the description offered by the seller:

You are bidding on a Vintage Acme Camera with original box, model No. W20. Takes 16 color or black and white photos with Kodak 120 roll film. The camera looks like it's in great condition, never used, but I don't know if it works. The box is in good condition and shows some wear.

It was pretty obvious from the pictures accompanying the listing that the camera's condition was hardly "great...never used." Note, among other signs of wear and tear in the picture below, how the label around the lens is askew. There! I've done it! I used "eschew" and "askew" in the same post!


Despite the appearance of the camera, with an opening bid of $4.99, I couldn't resist. My winning bid, the solitary bid after some other adventuresome soul opened with the minimum $4.99, was $6.83, a dollar less than the shipping charges. So for a grand total of $14.66, I was the proud owner of a vintage plastic camera.

The brand name Acme conjures up images of Road Runner cartoons, and the outlandish devices that Wile E. Coyote ordered to capture the Road Runner.

The Acme Catalog by Charles Carney, published by Chronicle Books.

From the Wikipedia article, Wile E. Coyote and Road Runner, with italics added by me:

Wile E. Coyote often obtains complex and ludicrous devices from a mail-order company, the fictitious Acme Corporation, which he hopes will help him catch the Road Runner. The devices invariably fail in improbable and spectacular ways. Whether this is result of operator error or faulty merchandise is debatable. The coyote usually ends up burnt to a crisp, squashed flat, or at the bottom of a canyon (some shorts show him suffering a combination of these fates).

Thus, gentle readers, ends Part One of our cautionary tale. In Part Two, I will publish some photographs obtained before, during and after the Acme W20 failed in improbable and spectacular ways, along with descriptions of my improbable and far from spectacular repairs.

Mellow Yellow Monday #28

Orchid, Hawaii Tropical Botanical Garden

Ospreys

Yesterday, the local paper featured an article on the return of ospreys to this area. One nest is near a dam on the St. Joe River, and the article gave very specific directions on how to find it. Even though it was overcast, I took my photo gear with me to a dentist appointment today, since the dental office is only a few miles from the dam. I found the nest, but there was no sign of a bird there. Just as I was getting ready to back out of the parking area, an osprey landed on the nest. I scrambled around and went back to set up the tripod. Unfortunately, I couldn't get close enough for very detailed photos, but I was able to catch the osprey standing on the nest, and then flying off. I'm not sure if the bird left behind in the nest is a mate sitting on eggs or an offspring. The paper also mentioned a nearby state park where ospreys can be found, so I'm hoping I can get some closer shots there.

Skull and Shadow

I pulled this picture from the files because I thought it would fit two memes: Monochrome Maniacs and Shadow Shot Sunday

This was taken at Rocky Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, where a collection of bones was on display outside the nature center.