This week, Anne leads the photo challenge with “Wildlife Close to Home”: “Stop. Look. Listen. Doing those three things will help you discover the abundance of wildlife you have nearby.” I stop, look, and listen a lot on my walks in the hood and even in my own backyard.
You might recall that my husband gave loaned me his Lumix GX85. So far I’ve been pretty pleased with the quality of photos I’m getting. As always, my favorite subject: the humble bumblebee.
We’re making an effort to attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to our little slice of suburbia. The following photo shows a shrimp plant that, on any given day, will have two or three bees slipping in and around its flowers. I am utterly amazed by this plant. It wasn’t blooming at all the first couple of months. I transplanted it during that time, but still no blooms. Finally, I moved it to a much bigger pot and now I have 20-30 blooms on it!

There are wilder places than our backyard. One of my favorites is St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge. We went out there this past Monday (a gorgeous, cool, sunny day) on our bicycles. We took a break at one of the two concrete bridges that we cross over. We delighted in the spectacle of a number of insects enjoying the yellow centers of the Climbing Aster.

I really struggled to get a good shot of the bees (they were moving too fast). Here’s a photo with just the flower so you can see how pretty they are.

The refuge would not be a refuge without an alligator. We found this one “dozing” at the first concrete bridge we crossed. When we came back this way a few hours later, he/she/they were still there. The day wasn’t too cold, but cool enough for the alligator to go into a kind of stupor. Still, I was more than happy to stay on the bridge and just admire it.

Now for a change of pace. Several months ago we went to Mashes Sands Beach, a funky strip of sand along an estuary. I love going there because there’s always something interesting to see. On this day, I was playing with my old Canon T3i and a telescopic lens. This is an osprey on the hunt.

Last, but never least, one of my favorites from springtime at the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge: the bum of a bumblebee as it tears through a thistle.

Thank you for visiting!
If you care to join in the fun, remember to tag your post with Lens-Artists and make a link to Anne’s post.
I particuarly like the osprey shot. I am now coveting a telescopic lens for the camera . . .
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🙂 Thank you, Liz. That was the best shot out of too many that I had to discard. The telescopic lens is quite heavy. If I use it again, I’ll need to put the camera on a tripod 😉
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You’re welcome, Marie.
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Marvelous photographs, Marie! (We have a neighbor who does scientific work with bees. I was vey disappointed to learn that all the honeybees we see locally—though in recent years almost none—are non-native.)
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Thank you, Jan! Oh, that’s a pity about the honeybees. Right now we’re happy to see any bees, but we might need to do more research.
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I enjoyed this excursion, Marie. Loved the osprey. We had a whole family around our house at the coast. They were so interesting to watch. Super shots.
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Thank you, John! Oh, I love to watch osprey. This guy didn’t do much except stare at the water, but we’ve had the pleasure of watching them “fish.”
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That would be terrific.
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This post is a great entry for this challenge. I love your bee images, especially the bee bum! The osprey is outstanding. Thanks for participating in this challenge. I hope you had fun.
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Thank you, Anne! I did have a lot of fun putting this together. And thank you for your kind words about my photography. I’m always stunned by your photos and those of the rest of the group 🙂
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Wonderful photos, Marie. I can never get good shots of bees, but they do love aster! Love that osprey (of course). I’m not sure that I’ve seen one up close. Though I’ve seen them flying.
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Terrific variety in your post Marie. Loved the bees and of course your gator!
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Thank you, Tina! Those are my favorite subjects 🙂
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Thank you, Merril! I’ve never seen an osprey up close either. The telescopic lens I used is very strong (my husband is quite proud of it). I was some distance below the osprey so I’m really pleased with how that photo came out (I took a lot more, but, eh, deleted most of them ;-)).
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You’re welcome! That is a great lens and an excellent photo. 🙂
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Great selections. I love the bees and osprey in particular.
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Thank you, John!
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The refuge looks like a great place to watch the day away. I love the story and your diligence in nurturing the shrimp plant. Its a win-win, for the bees, and for you.
Always interesting to see alligators in peoples spaces. Nice collection.
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Thank you! I appreciate your visit and your kind words 🙂
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Fabulous series, Marie! Beautiful Osprey . 🙂
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Thank you, Amy!
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These are wonderful photos. I’m not familiar with the shrimp plant, but I’ve seen many a backside of a bumble bee.
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