Praying Mantis on Pine
This praying mantis was on a picnic table when I found it. I moved it to a pine tree where it began climbing as I began shooting.
Grass Seedpod
The long stem of this wild grass silently hangs above competing weeds, wildflowers and native plants, patiently waiting for its seeds to drop. Some will be eaten by birds and field mice. Others will fall in places they cannot germinate. But for eons these simple seeds have dropped from similar pods carrying the lessons of their ancestors. Each year enough find their way into the earth to continue the silent tradition.
Blue
This picture was taken after a rain shower in the early evening of a warm September day. Between the rain dripping off the porcelain vine berries and the bright, mixed colors of the ripening fruit I couldn’t resist getting a few photos of them.
Grasshopper
The grasshopper waited quietly in the tall grass and weeds while I watch and photographed it. When I attempted to coax it into a “better” pose it decided I was no longer trustworthy and quickly disappeared into the foliage.
Great Blue Heron
Here’s another picture of the great blue heron I spotted in a river near Damascus, VA. In case you missed the first photo, you can see it here: https://blog.dougcouvillion.com/2012/07/25/great-blue-heron-taking-flight. The earlier photo was under exposed to account for the brightness of the river. In this photo I increased the exposure to capture more detail of the heron and manually compensated for the glare on the river by editing the image later.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Solitary
Hiking through the woods I found this single, orange leaf that had fallen into a sea of brown. It struck me as quite a standout and a good candidate for this week’s Weekly Photo Challenge topic “Solitary”.
Fallen Crape Myrtle Blossom
This fallen crape myrtle blossom serves as a reminder the warm summer weather will soon be a memory.
Black Dragonfly on Fig Tree
Another dragonfly found in my yard. They really seem to like using this fig tree as a resting place while they hunt. Apparently dragonflies are territorial. As I watched them I noticed they would frequently chase each other off and there would rarely be more than one on the tree at a time.
White Admiral and Berries
Walking through a vineyard near Scottsville, VA, I spotted this White Admiral butterfly perched near colorful berries.