A Few for Tuesday

It rained this afternoon, and when the rain passed tiny Green Tree Frogs climbed up onto the windows on the outside of the house. Settings were f/6.3, 1/40, ISO 500.

Green Tree Frog. These little frogs were no more than a half inch long. Settings were f/5.6, 1/40, ISO 320.

This one seemed to be a mix of yellow and green. Settings were f/6.3, 1/80, ISO 400.

A big green Eastern Pondhawk Dragonfly startled me by landing near me on a fence, carrying some prey which it proceeded to eat. The prey appeared to be fuzzy and striped, so it might have been some kind of bee. The Pondhawk ate all of it except the wings. Settings were f/7.1, 1/250, ISO 200.

A closer look at the Pondhawk with its prey. Settings were f/7.1, 1/250, ISO 200.

A wing from the prey drops as the Pondhawk finishes its meal. Settings were f/7.1, 1/320, ISO 200.

And last are a couple of anoles. This one is a small, very young one. Settings were f/7.1, 1/200, ISO 250.

And here’s a young female hunting on the fence by the lantanas. Settings were f/7.1, 1/200, IS0 200.

Monday Photos

We had a hot sunny morning here, followed by a stormy afternoon. Lulu was outside with Sophie and me this morning, looking up at me as she relaxed on her back in the sun. Settings were f/8, 1/1250, ISO 250.

And Lulu sitting upright, gazing at the camera. Settings were f/8, 1/200, ISO 250.

A different male Brown Anole showed up near the side fence this morning, very dark-colored and very assertive-looking. He had a big crest raised on his neck and all the way down his back, a bit of his red-orange dewlap is showing at his throat, and he looks as if he’s warning me not to mess with him! Settings were f/7.1, 1/100, ISO 250.

A closer look at this bold anole. Settings were f/7.1, 1/160, ISO 250.

Baby anole on the fence. Settings were f/6.3, 1/40, ISO 400.

This spider had built a large web behind the shed, and was busy with a small brown insect it had just captured. Settings were f/3.5, 1/50, ISO 250.

After the rain had passed in the afternoon, Sophie and I went back outside. Settings were f/7.1, 1/200, ISO 500.

A Gloriosa lily preparing to open. Settings were f/7.1, 1/80, ISO 500.

This squirrel had found a pine cone and was stripping it down to eat the pine nuts inside. Settings were f/7.1, 1/80, ISO 500.

Hannah, Christopher, and More

I took two of my big life-size Masterpiece dolls, Hannah (originally Annecke) and Christopher, outside this afternoon for photos. Hannah is 40 inches tall, about the size of a 4-year-old, and Christopher is a 34-inch 2-year-old. Hannah arrived with braids, but she’s had her braids taken out and she now has a ponytail.

It was very bright, very hot, and very sunny today, so it seemed like the perfect day for Hannah and Christopher to try on their “new” bathing suits (only a dollar each on clearance at the children’s resale shop). Christopher also got an alligator tee shirt. I put the kids out on the pool steps for their pictures. A location with less direct sun–or this spot at a different time of day–probably would have worked out better. Settings were f/13, 1/160, ISO 160.

Hannah helps Christopher take off his shirt. Settings were f/13, 1/100, ISO 160.

Then Hannah helps Christopher smooth out his hair. Settings were f/13, 1/250, ISO 160.

Hannah and Christopher. Settings were f/13, 1/200, ISO 160.

I love this baby Brown Anole looking at me with those big eyes. Settings were f/7.1, 1/400, ISO 200.

Another shot of the baby anole. Settings were f/7.1, 1/320, ISO 200.

This young anole was climbing up a dead branch on the big tomato plant. Settings were f/7.1, 1/160, ISO 200.

This bug with very distinctive markings spent much of today on the door of my shed. When the sun hit the door, the bug finally started moving around and departed–I guess it prefers the shade. I hunted around on Bug Guide for awhile and finally had a tentative identification: an Ivory-marked Beetle. I asked What’s That Bug about it and maybe tomorrow I’ll get a confirmation. Settings were f/7.1, 1/320, ISO 200.

A pretty little damselfly. It may be a Citrine Forktail–I’ve been seeing some of them around lately. The ones I’ve seen have had more yellow and orange coloring, but I learned that older females can turn a blue/gray color, like this one. Settings were f/7.1, 1/250, ISO 200.

The damselfly busy with a flower spike in the grass. It would touch the flowers with its legs, and then bring its legs to its mouth. This is a tiny damselfly, only about an inch long, so getting this photo was a challenge! Settings were f/7.1, 1/250, ISO 200.

Saturday Photos

After completing a few errands and chores I went out with Sophie and the camera. There’s nothing much new and different in the yard just now, so tomorrow I’m going to try to get some of my Masterpiece dolls outside for photos for some variety. In the meantime, here are some of my usual subjects in today’s photos. There was a daylily in bloom over by the lantanas. Settings were f/7.1, 1/500, ISO 400.

And a little Green Tree Frog nestled down in a plant. Settings were f/7.1, 1/40, ISO 400.

A wet June Bug that had just been fished out of the pool. It’s getting ready to take off and fly away. Settings were f/7.1, 1/2000, ISO 400.

And of course some Brown Anoles. I have to explain that for the past couple of years there have been very few anoles around and I’ve really missed seeing them. Now they seem to be coming back–while there’s nowhere near the number I saw in 2008-2009, there are still many more than there were the last two years. I’ve been delighted to see them and to have the chance to take photos of them again. Here’s the little fellow I photographed yesterday, out on the fence again and pretty willing to pose for me. Settings were f/7.1, 1/400, ISO 400.

One of the tiny baby anoles that’s been hanging around the bottom of fence on the side of the yard. Settings were f/7.1, 1/400, ISO 400.

This one is a big male on one of the palm trees. He’s starting to raise a crest on the back of his neck, and while he didn’t flash his dewlap at me, you can see a bit of his dewlap showing on his throat. Settings were f/7.1, 1/60, ISO 400.

 

 

Anoles and Tree Frogs on Friday

I went over to the lantana area to look for anoles, and saw this vine lit by the sun against the shaded fence. Settings were f/7.1, 1/160, ISO 160.

There weren’t any anoles out around the lantana, but the little Green Tree Frogs are still there and they seem to be thriving. The frogs are much more cooperative about photography than the anoles. They basically just sit there, and the camera doesn’t seem to bother them. Settings were f/6.3, 1/30, ISO 500.

I saw this young male Brown Anole on the fence, and he stayed around for a little while for photos. Here he is looking at me. Settings were f/7.1, 1/80, ISO 320.

I like the mix of background colors in this photo. Settings were f/7.1, 1/100, ISO 320.

One more of the anole. Settings were f/7.1, 1/80, ISO 320.

Friday Assortment

Teachers aren’t officially back to school yet, but I was at school most of the day today, assisting with interviews for a new aide in my class. It took up one of my remaining free days, but I was glad to have input in the selection process and I hope the investment of time will help make the new school year a good one.

I took some photos this morning before I left. I saw one of the tiny Green Tree Frogs sitting on a little lantana leaf. Settings were f/5.6, 1/20, ISO 800.

The daylilies are blooming again. This bud was getting ready to open this morning. Settings were f/7.1, 1/400, ISO 125.

Sophie looking sweet. Settings were f/7.1, 1/400, ISO 160.

There were two of these little butterflies flying around the yard, landing here and there in the grass occasionally. I haven’t tried to identify it yet. Settings were f/7.1, 1/250, ISO 125. Edited to add: I’ve identified this butterfly as a Phaon Crescent, Phyciodes phaon, a small butterfly that is common in Florida.

And there has to be an anole for today. This is one of the tiny Brown Anoles I’ve been seeing on the fence, just before it darted to catch a small insect. It was bold little anole this morning too, bobbing its head the way a big adult would in a territorial display. Settings were f/7.1, 1/320, ISO 125.

Wednesday Photos

Just a few photos again today. This was a long day of appointments and errands, and I didn’t end up with much time and energy left for anything else! School starts next week for teachers, so I’ve been trying to finish up the things I want to get done before I go back to work.

One of the tiny anoles from yesterday, perched on the fence again. You can see that its body isn’t much wider than the wire of the chain link fence. Settings were f/7.1, 1/125, ISO 320.

The Gloriosa Lily plant is continuing to bloom–it’s amazing to see more flowers every day. Settings were f/7.1, 1/160, ISO 320.

This is the first time I’ve seen a Robber Fly, a really big insect. I was able to recognize it immediately from all my visits to What’s That Bug?, where people often ask about Robber Flies. It was hanging from the fence, watching for prey, and after awhile it took off after another insect. There are many kinds of Robber Flies and I don’t know which one this is. I wish I could have gotten a better front view. Settings were f/7.1, 1/100, ISO 320.

A Few for Tuesday

Just a few for today. The Swallow-tailed Kite was back again today–in fact there were two kites, which I didn’t realize until I looked at this picture. The second one is in the distance near the bottom of the photo. Settings were f/7.1, 1/500, ISO 100.

The closer kite was flying out toward the other one, and unfortunately they stayed out there, even farther away from me than the bird I saw the other day, so I couldn’t do much photography. However I did get a few shots of a kite feeding off in the distance. The Swallow-tailed Kite snatches up prey in its talons and eats while soaring, bringing its feet up toward its beak so it can eat. This isn’t a great photo, but you can see the head ducked forward to eat from the extended foot. Settings were f/7.1, 1/500, ISO 100.

This dragonfly landed on the antenna to my van and posed there for photos–it looks as if it’s smiling for the camera. I haven’t been able to identify it yet, but I’ll check BugGuide. Settings were f/7.1, 1/250, ISO 160.

I saw two very tiny, very young brown anoles on the fence today and took a few photos of them. To start with both were in this same pose, hanging head down. I love the curl in the tail. Settings were f/7.1, 1/320, ISO 200.

Then the second little anole flipped itself right side up and gazed up overhead. Settings were f/7.1, 1/400, ISO 200.

Frogs on Monday

We have Green Tree Frogs in our area, little green frogs that I often see in the bushes or under the porch light at night. They sometimes like to sit inside the mailbox during the hot part of the day in the summer, startling me by jumping out when I reach for the mail. I’d hardly seen any frogs this year until today.

After supper I went out to take a few pictures in the lantana patch on the side of the house. I saw leaves rustling and thought it was an anole, but when I looked carefully I saw a tiny Green Tree Frog, no more than 1/2 inch long. Because this was a shady part of the yard and the sun was setting, the light wasn’t very good. I pushed up the ISO and used a wider f/stop than usual. Settings were f/5, 1/50, ISO 800.

Then I saw that there were at least two or three more little frogs in the same area, all very small and young. Settings were f/5, 1/60, ISO 800.

Another photo of a little frog. These frogs were so small that one could easily sit on the nail of my little finger. Settings were f/5, 1/80, ISO 800.

Tiny frog contemplating a jump. Settings were f/5, 1/80, ISO 800.

Sophie lying in the yard as the sun was setting. Settings were f/7.1, 1/100, ISO 250.

Swallow-tailed Kite on Sunday

I saw anoles around today of course, since they seem to be everywhere all of a sudden, and I thought I’d mostly have more anole photos today until a Swallow-tailed Kite came along. The Swallow-tailed Kite is a strikingly beautiful black and white bird of prey with a 4 foot wingspan and a long forked tail. They soar very gracefully through the sky–I love to watch them. I’ve seen a kite around several times lately, but not when I had the camera handy. Today the kite was soaring overhead when I got outside with the camera and I got some photos. The photos had to be cropped quite a bit since the bird wasn’t very close, but I was happy to have some pictures. Settings for these were all f/7.1, 1/1000 or 1/1250, ISO 160.

Now a few anole photos, starting with a young male Brown Anole on the fence. The blue background in this picture is actually our big trashcan provided by the city, which is on the other side of the fence. Settings were f/7.1, 1/320, ISO 200.

Another little anole on the rail to the shed. Settings were f/7.1, 1/125, ISO 200.

And one more young Brown Anole on another section of fence. Settings were f/7.1, 1/100, ISO 160.

Last photo for today is a Green June Bug, one that hasn’t just been fished out of the swimming pool. This bug was sitting in the cut-back mystery tomato plant this morning. Settings were f/7.1, 1/200, ISO 200.