I'm Back...

O.k., so you might be wondering what has happened to Hannibal...

She's hasn't posted in over a week...

Well...

I took a vacation from work,
shot a wedding for the first time,
Dad had knee surgery,
entered a photo contest,
drove to Ohio to meet some internet friends (Hi Monnie and Jack!--You rock!),
drove to Indiana and Michigan for the hell of it,
went to Chicago for the day,
had the roof re-shingled,
bought a new car,
bought a new riding lawnmower....(Sigh!)

I've been busy...

I will post as soon as I can find the time to download...(a day or 2) Thanks for your patience!

As The World Terns - Episode 3

I know, I know...I've posted about these guys twice already...and to make matters alittle less interesting, it seems to be every 10 days that I cover them. I can't help it, it's pretty slim pickins out there right now, so bear with me on my final episode of this drama series. It's the season finale if you will...



Heckle and Jeckle!





Check out my new ankle bracelet!




Where's my food!




Smooth landing!

Finally! Turkey and Babies!

I've mentioned before about seeing turkeys and babies for the first time ever about a month and a half ago. This past weekend, I finally was ALMOST ready for them when I drove down a backroad and saw another family. The camera was on my partners lap, ready for nothing. The lens cap was on, the barrel was not extended, the camera was not turned on, etc., which is not my usual style. I am normally armed, but...I did have all the necessary time to at least get the proof I wanted. The picture is not good, but I did manage to get 3 shots. They were too cute... for turkeys. Come on, they can't help it they are, well uh,--ugly!

Insects!

Now that Goose Lake Prairie is in full bloom, there are plenty of butterflies to be had. This Eastern Tiger Swallowtail was being bullied by the Monarchs. It could not feed for very long before a monarch would come over and divebomb him until he left.







There were plenty of Monarchs on hand.







Milkweed bugs are similar in appearance to Box Elder bugs. Milkweed bugs are one of a small group of insects that have the ability to tolerate the toxic compounds in the milkweed plant. They are therefore important in regulating populations of this plant.







Milkweed bugs are colored orange (or orange-red) and black. They have a long proboscis which they use to pierce the seed and inject salivary enzymes used to digest their food. This couple was rudely interrupted by a certain local nature paparazzi.




I don't know what this lil creature is, but he was pretty cute for ummm, a bug!

Big Racks

Sunday, just before sunset brought a few big bucks out of cover. I find sunset to be the best time to catch them out in the open.



This guy is quite handsome, isn't he?







He was hanging with his "wingman", who wouldn't oblige me in an unobstructed shot. He's shy in that way, I guess.







Here is the shy guy, who finally graced me with a cleaner shot. This guy seems to be a bit older with a bit more white around the eyes and snout.








Not the best shot, but since he was captured in the lot, I included him. All 3 bucks shown here are 8 pointers. The top photo in my opinion had the nicest antlers, extending past the ears quite a bit and reaching high above...

It's Hot Out There!

Since it's so freakin hot outside, I've not ventured too far from the comforts of home and the conditioned air within.

And...since I have been absolutely nowhere, I wandered around my yard to do some macros with a few selected flowers.



A simple sunflower that has yet to become the victim/prize of the local squirrel, who has a reputation for chewing off sunflower heads and eating them atop my custom built owl box, taunting me all summer with his dasterly deeds...








Rose of Sharon full of pollen and it's harvester...

More Killdeer Babies

Just pure cuteness for todays post.







Growing into those long legs must be a clumsy ordeal.







Even though those legs are long, the babies seem to handle them just fine. They can sure run when they want to.







The fluffy lil cotton balls are a favorite find for me every year.