Purple Wildflowers

More wildflowers on another beautiful spring day! It was 82 degrees today :)

f/5.6, 1/1600 sec, 105 mm

Skippers

The insects are everywhere now that it has warmed up! I found these White Checkered Skippers (I learned they are a cross between a butterfly and a moth) near our drainage ditch. They are very small, about 1" across.

f/1.8, 1/4000 sec, 85 mm

f/1.8, 1/4000 sec, 85 mm

Yellow Wildflowers

I am loving the beautiful spring weather and finding color again in the yard!

f/9, 1/60 sec, 105 mm

Bees

The bees are out enjoying the spring weather and the new blossoms as well :)

f/9, 1/500 sec, 105 mm

f/9, 1/640 sec, 105 mm

Spring is in the Air

It has warmed up and everything is greening up and starting to bloom! Spring is in the air :) I caught this rainbow flare on my lens taking this photo. I didn't notice it until I pulled it up on the computer to edit. I love it when unexpected additions show up in my photos!

f/1.8, 1/1000 sec, 85 mm

Quade's Family

We took family photos of Quade and Sariah and their children while they were here visiting, so now we have one that includes Steven - even though Sariah pointed out that he was in the last family photo too, but just on the inside!

f/6.3, 1/100 sec, 85 mm

f/6.3, 1/100 sec, 85 mm

Houston Zoo

Quade's family, Alisa and the boys, and I went to the Houston Zoo today. Even though Texas has reopened businesses to 100% capacity and lifted the mask requirement, the zoo was still limiting visitors and required masks so I felt ok about going. They even made you reserve your tickets online with entry times to help eliminate lines. But it was still too crowded for me! We had a great time though.

Steven is a finger sucker instead of a thumb sucker :)
f/4.8, 1/50 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 68 mm

Ema on Quade's shoulders - Quade wasn't happy he had to wear a mask!
f/3.5, 1/1250 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 28 mm

The "big horns" were one of Ema's favorites - and mine :) They are Ankole Cattle from South Africa.
f/5.3, 1/800 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 90 mm

Ema and Sariah
f/3.5, 1/1600 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 28 mm

Barrett kept calling the giraffe a zebra. He gets them mixed up sometimes :)
f/5.3, 1/400 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 105 mm

This crane was roaming freely
f/4.5, 1/800 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 58 mm

They all loved the giraffes. Quade wanted to feed them, but decided the line was too long.
f/4.2, 1/800 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 48 mm

Alaric and Barrett wanted to see the gorillas! What a rough day lol :)
f/5.6, 1/200 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 160 mm

The boys enjoyed some cotton candy :)
f/4, 1/500 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 36 mm

A bit messy!
f/4.8, 1/400 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 62 mm

Bald Eagle
f/5.6, 1/640 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 190 mm

Alligators - of course the boys loved them too!
f/5.3, 1/500 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 100 mm

Quade and Sariah left after a few hours and Alisa and I decided to stay a little longer. We found a special exhibit going on called "Prehistoric Beasts" and decided to buy tickets to see it. The boys were very excited to see the giant dinosaurs! 

All ready and excited for the exhibit!
f/4, 1/500 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 38 mm

The dinosaurs' heads moved, their mouths opened and closed, and they roared! When the first dinosaur roared it scared Barrett. He covered his eyes. Of course, Alaric had to act scared too lol :)

f/3.5, 1/1250 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 28 mm

This is the dinosaur that scared Barrett
f/5.6, 1/125 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 210 mm

When the dinosaur roared again, Barrett started crying!
f/5.3, 1/80 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 100 mm

But when the T-Rex roared, Barrett started shaking and sobbing. He ended up crying for more than 20 minutes! We tried telling Barrett they were robots, but it didn't matter. Alaric kept telling him it was just animatronics - where does he come up with it all?
f/3.8, 1/500 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 35 mm

Alaric was doing his scared face and I asked him for a cute face instead. This is what I got :)
f/4.2, 1/250 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 48 mm

Alaric being his cute self :)
f/3.5, 1/200 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 28 mm

And a quiet, serene photo of water lilies to end our crazy day at the zoo :)

f/5.6, 1/250 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 230 mm

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Since it's St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd share a photo of a "shamrock" from our front yard. I love how this variety of clover has an inner ring on the leaves.

f/5.6, 1/80 sec, 105 mm

Pine Pollen

The pine pollen is here - everywhere! The yellow dust coats the cars and everything else this time of year and Steve's allergies kick in. Gratefully, it only lasts a couple of weeks!

f/1.8, 1/1600 sec, 85 mm

Steven Richard Peterson's Blessing

Quade and his family came to visit us from Virginia! Since Steven was born just before the COVID-19 pandemic started, he was not blessed. So Quade was able to bless him while they were here. It was a bit different blessing a 1 year old! Quade gave him a very nice blessing and it was a wonderful day. Sariah took these photos after church. Steven looked so cute in his little suit and bow tie!

Fallen Lichens

Apparently the top of the tree covered in lichens broke off and I noticed today while I was out walking. It was interesting to see the contrast of the underside of the fallen ones compared to the upper ones.

f/1.8, 1/1000, 85 mm

Texas Longhorn

We went for a drive this afternoon and found this Texas Longhorn. Love them!

f/14, 1/125 sec, 35 mm

Quilt Ladder

Alisa and I found a quilt ladder at Hobby Lobby and bought it. When I brought it home and showed it to Steve, he couldn't believe the poor workmanship and wouldn't let me keep it. Instead he used it as a pattern and made me a much better one! It's beautiful and I love it! I propped it in the corner of the family room. Steve also helped (from afar) his brother, Blake, build one for his mom for her birthday. Hope she loves hers as much as I love mine!

f/6.3, 1/30 sec, 85 mm

End of the Rainbow

I designed a new wall quilt for St. Patrick's Day. It's a type of quilt called a Bargello, with strips offset from one another. It was a fun quilt to make!

f/14, 1/40 sec, 85 mm

Perspective

Changing your perspective can make a big difference. I took some photos of trees today looking straight at them from a distance, and then getting closer and looking up, then looking down. They went from being an average, everyday thing to look at, to much more interesting.

f/16, 1/60 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 28 mm

f/16, 1/80 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 28 mm

f/16, 1/30 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 78 mm

f/1.8, 1/2000 sec, 85 mm

Cardinal

I've been missing seeing the cardinals lately, but they are just starting to come back. I took this photo through the kitchen window.

f/14, 1/10 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 300 mm

Hawk

I happened to look out the window this morning and there was a hawk in the front yard. It sat there for at least 10 minutes studying something which gave me a few minutes to get a photo.

f/14, 1/125 sec, 85 mm

St. Patrick's Day Tic-Tac-Toe Table Topper

Another project finished for My Girlfriend's Quilt Shoppe! Designed, pieced, embroidered and quilted by me :)

f/14, 1/40 sec, 85 mm

Kitty on the Coop

Black kitty was crouched on the roof of the chicken coop this afternoon. I didn't see anything he might have been stalking, but he must have seen something!

f/6.3, 1/30 sec, 105 mm

Rusty Gate Chain

This is the chain on our front gate. I love rusty chains, except when the rust gets on my hands!

f/5.6, 1/30 sec, 105 mm

Cicada Shell

I found this Cicada shell on my walk today. It's just the casing shed when the Cicada turns from a nymph into an adult. Pretty interesting!

f/6.3, 1/8 sec, 105 mm

Craters on the Moon

The moon was out early this afternoon! I darkened the sky in processing so the moon would show up better.

f/7.1, 1/320 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 250 mm

Outside with Alaric and Barrett

I watched the boys this afternoon and they had fun playing outside. It was a nice, warm day again! So happy to have our Texas weather back!

They played in the sandbox...

f/5.6, 1/125 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 180 mm

f/14, 1/320 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 50 mm

Alaric rode his bike...

f/7.1, 1/320 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 150 mm

They just enjoyed playing outside and being silly after such a cold week!

f/5.3, 1/200 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 100 mm

f/5.6, 1/320 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 145 mm

Alaric even showed me some of his Ninja moves!

f/7.1, 1/320 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 32 mm

f/7.1, 1/320 sec, 28-300 zoom @ 32 mm