Construction Abstract

I think I will end this week with 1 more construction shot.  This is the same site in Seattle as yesterday's post.  Construction sites are a great place to get some really cool shots.  Unfortunately there aren't too many here in Maine.

Have a safe and festive weekend!

See you in the New Year!

Super Stud

Is There a Super Stud in your Life?

When I was in Seattle I came across a construction site and I saw this Super Stud Beam and couldn't resist.

Itsy Bitsy Spider......

Spider

I found this little guy among my Lilac leaves,  pulled out the macro and clicked away.  I tried to identify this spider, but I started getting creeped out on the bug website.  If anyone knows please let me know.

Wire Basket in Snow

Wire Basket in Snow

I love the simplicity of this photograph.  One of many photographed in my backyard.  There are lots to photograph in your own backyard, you just have to know where to look.  Take a look in your backyard.

Brown Anole

Brown Anole

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday weekend!

This little guy is a Brown Anole who is basking in the sun near Englewood Beach, Florida.

Brown Pelican

Brown Pelican

This Brown Pelican was photographed on Sanibel Island, Florida at the Ding Darling Bird Sanctuary.

It's Snowing, But Not in December



American Goldfinch



Well it is snowing here in Maine.....If this was October 2010.....Yes we did have snow on Halloween and again on Thanksgiving this year, but as with many other states who would have snow by now we also do not.  It will come.......maybe

Happy Holidays

Rockland Lobster Trap Christmas Tree

The world's largest lobster trap tree!  Since 2003 local volunteers of Rockland, Maine have been building this lobster trap tree which consists of 152 lobster traps each weighing 40 pounds, 450 feet of garland and 125 lobster buoys that represent local lobstering families.  The tree stands 30 feet tall with a 5 foot fiberglass lobster to finish off this beauty of a Christmas tree.

I was hoping for some snow when I went to photograph this tree this past Sunday night, but instead I got freezing temperatures of about 12 degrees!  It was freezing, but well worth it. I hope we get some snow before they take down the tree otherwise I will have to wait until next year for the snow covered tree.

Merry Christmas...

Happy Holidays...

Season Greetings to all! 

Be safe and well!

Chick Chick Chickadee

Black-capped Chickadee

I enjoy these darling little Chickadees when they come to my feeder.  As they say "Chickadee dee dee dee".  I always know when they are around.  They frequent my feeder mostly in the winter time.

Sunrise on the Atlantic

Sunrise on the Atlantic

Early morning in Maine watching the fishing boat leaving the harbor for the day.  This was taken near the Marshall Point Lighthouse in Port Clyde, Maine.

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse

West Quoddy Head Lighthouse

Lubec, Maine

I have to say I wasn't quite sure if I liked this photo,which looks alot like a painting.  Although everytime I look at it I like it more and more. What are your thoughts?

Paper Kite Butterfly

Idea leuconoe

This fragile beauty is known as the "Paper Kite Butterfly" or "Rice Paper Butterfly", because of it's beautiful delicate black and white wings.  I photographed this Paper Kite Butterfly at the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory and Garden in Deerfield, Mass.

Well one more show to complete my show season.  It is the United Maine Craftsmen 37th Annual Thanksgiving Arts & Crafts Show at the Brewer Auditorium, Brewer Maine.  After that show and the holidays I will be working on all my projects that have been put on hold.  Winter is a good time to do lots of projects!

Mocker Swallowtail

Papilio dardanus



This butterfly has an unique quality about it.  It is called the "Mocker Swallowtail" because the females mimics at least 14 inedible butterflies.  She is truely a master of protective disguise.  This African butterfly is also known as the "Flying Handkerchief", not really sure why except it might look like a handkerchief in flight.  The males look very different from the females and they do not possess the ability to change their appearance.  The photo above is a male.  This beauty was photographed on my adventure to the Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Garden in Deerfield, Mass.

Lisiathus

I came across this beautiful Lisiathus when I was at The College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine.  I had done an Art Show there this past summer and was told about the gardens.  Which I in turned returned back to photograph.  It was a beautiful setting over looking the harbor.  Unfortunately those photos didn't turn out too well, but I did get lots of flowers, which I will be adding to my website throughout the next couple of months.

The Lisiathus is an annual flower great for borders, containers and beds.  It requires full sun and grows1-3 feet tall.  It is drought tolerant, easy to grow and makes a great cut flower.  I have seen them in whites, pinks and of course the purple.

Hey while your checking out this beautiful Lisiathus on my website, take a moment to check out more new photos I have added. 

Let The Sunshine In!

How many ways can you photograph a sunflower?  For me I love my sunflowers to be bold and bright, but I found my sunflowers becoming too similar.  So when I shot this one I wasn't sure at first if I liked it or not, but the more I look at it the more I like the high key shot.  Now I have to try a low key.  Trying to get different perspectives on sunflowers is a good thing.

Rockland Harbor

Rockland Harbor is one of my favorite places in Maine.  This harbor is both a fishing harbor and for sailing boats.  Rockland is also the home the the famous Maine Lobster Festival that occurs every summer in August.  I photograph this location often and every time I get a different perspective.

For this photo I used Flypaper Textures.  Giving the photo a little bit of that history feel.

Color or Black & White

I had recently been to Port Clyde, Maine to photograph the Marshall Point Lighthouse.  I am looking for you opinions.  Should this photo be color or black & white.  Also I would like to know.  If a photo looks good in both color and black & white.  Would you add them both to the website or just one.

Marshall Point Lighthouse--I used Nik Silver Efex pro 2

I used Nik Color Efex pro 4

I am still in the experimental stage, but I am liking the Nik Silver Efex pro 2 and the Color Efex pro 4.

So please what are your thoughts. 



Blue Morpho Butterfly

Blue Morpho Butterfly

The Blue Morpho can be found in the tropical rainforests of Latin Amercia from Mexico to Columbia.

They are severely threatened due to deforestation of the tropcial rainforests.

I found this one at The Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory & Gardens in Deerfield, Mass.  It was so cool to wander around with all these butterflies fluttering around me.  I even had one land on my camera lens.  It was so peaceful and relaxing.  I got there on a weekday and when they first opened.  It took quite a while to capture this little beauty on film.  They were constantly moving around and I had to watch constantly where I was stepping as not to step on one that was on the walkway.  It was hard to keep up with them, but so much fun!

Have a Great Weekend!

The Dragons of the Insect World

Dragonflies are very interesting insects.  They are a challenge to photograph especially the very large ones, which I have yet to get.  The Autumn Meadowhawk are quite easy to photograph, because there are so many and sit still long enough to get a photograph.

Autumn Meadowhawk

This Four-Spotted Skimmer are easier to photograph in the morning when they haven't had a chance to warm up yet.  I have also nicknamed this photo "Darwin", because it reminds me of Charles Darwin and the photos he had.

Four-Spotted Skimmer



Yet another Skimmer this one is a "Twelve-Spotted".  They too are easiest when photographed in the morning.  They look very similar to the "Eight-Spotted" (as was pointed out to me) and could also be mistaken for the "Common Whitetail".

Twelve-Spotted Skimmer

I want to thank the folks at BugGuide.net.  I go to this sight to ID all my bugs.  I have to say sometimes it gets dare right buggie!  Sorry, had to do it.

On another note.  The first half of my show season is over and I can now get back to business.  Office business that is.  I was really starting to wonder if this was going to be a good season.  Since last year was really bad, but I will say the first few shows wasn't looking so good either, but my August shows proved to be way better!  My faith has been restored!  I still have about 4 or 5 shows left to do this year.  I am very pleased that my "Photo Art" is doing so well (which includes textures and hand coloring and hopefully (next year) some HDR).  I think I have found my niche(s) in my photography.  As I develop my niches more, you will see more changes in my photography, my presentation and so much more.  I am excited about next year.  I expect to be doing many more shows and my booth display will be getting a facelift.

As for the cookie business, well not so good.  I added another farmers market this year, and that should have brought my sales way up, but instead I am just breaking even.  Which isn't good.  I also found myself spending so much more time (4 days) being devoted to The BlackHorse Cookie Company and so little time (1 maybe 2 days to prepare for the next show which would be the next weekend) for Cindi Ressler Photography.  My cookies are becoming more of a job and not a passion.  It isn't much fun anymore either.  So after careful thought and doing the pros and cons of it all The BlackHorse Cookie Company will ceased to exist as of December 31,2011.  

It's a little sad, but at the same time I will be able to devote all of my time promoting and selling my photography.  My true "Passion"!

You know as I writing this I am actually crying, because I put everything I have into The BlackHorse Cookie Company and to see it fail is very hard.  But I must move on and I can honestly say I tried!

Have a great weekend everyone! 

Our Newest Family Member!

Saturday Mom and I went to the grand opening of the  Silver Willow Gallery where I have some photography.  The Gallery was supporting a local organization Forgotten Felines who are dedicated to educating the public about feral, stray, homeless and abandoned cats and providing access to low-cost spay/neuter services and helping to get them into adoptable homes like mind.

Which is where we found who was at the time named Olive.  Who was pretty quiet at the time and now has proven differently.

So meet Maggie.....

 

She is about 4 1/2 months old and is a medium long hair tabby.  She is very sweet and eats with vigor and a purr, she is feisty and has no problem defending herself from Dexter who is now her older brother.  Dexter is giving her a run for her money.  Keeping an almost constant eye on her.  There is about a year between them.  I am hoping he will ease up on her and just be her big brother.  She is more curious than he is and she likes to explore high places.  Unlike Dexter who sticks close to the ground.  Dexter is an awesome mouser, which is why we got him in the first place, but I don't think Maggie will ever find how good she can be, because Dexter chased them all away.  They have pretty different cat personalities and maybe different enough to balance each other out.  I actually caught them sleeping on the same dog bed together.

Oh I should point out that she is handling the dogs quite well with that infamous black cat raised back and hiss.  Which is slowly starting to go away.  Except for Blu who has those ice blue eyes which can be intimidating at times.  The dogs are doing ok with her.  No problems there.

Here is a recent photo of Dexter


 

Have a great weekend and enjoy your pets!

Gillette's Castle coming soon.

Speaking of Insect How About a Caterpillar

Do you feel like your being watched? Look at all those eyes! 

This is a TomatoHorn Worm. 

Most gardeners have experienced this caterpillar at one point or another when growing tomatoes. 

These Tomatohorn Worms can do quite a bit of damage to any tomato garden.  If you see one on your tomato plant squash it!  If you don't mind that mushy feeling.

I actually fine them quite interesting looking, but I wouldn't touch one of these large (3" to 4") mushy feeling critters!  icky!

Have a great weekend and watch for the Assassin next week!



Flower Power Friday!

Beautiful, bright, happy Sunflowers are this weeks flower!

Sunflowers are a wonderful flower to have in any garden.  You sow them once and they will return for years, though not as abundant as the first year.

They attract birds and bees from all around.

I make sure I have sunflowers in my garden every year.  Next year I will plant a new crop of sunflowers and try some new varieties.

I generally let the sunflowers die off in the garden as they will provide a constant food source for the birds.

This weekend I will be heading to Connecticut for the The Mystic Outdoor Art Festival.  This is my first year doing this festival.  I am also going to The Buttonwood Sunflower Farm to photograph some sunflowers.  They also sell ice cream which I am looking forward to trying.  I love ice cream any time of year!  So photographing fields of sunflowers and eating ice cream what could be better!

Until next time

Have a great weekend!
Coming Soon.  My adventures to Gillette's Castle.

Flower Power Friday!

This week's featured flower is the Queen Anne's Lace!

First I would like to apologize for missing so many weeks of Flower Power Friday.  I have been busy with shows and farmers markets.  I have some down time and plan on catching up before the next wave of activity kicks in!



I love Queen Anne's Lace!  I realize that here in the U.S. it can be an invasive plant and is known as a weed, but I think it is quite lovely.  This flower can be found just about any were from the meadows to the cities. 

The Queen Anne's Lace is a member of the Parsley family and is sometimes known as a wild carrot, though it isn't edible.

I enjoy photographing this flower from the bottom and top of the flower.  It is beautiful all the way around!

"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder".

Have a great week!

Flower Power Friday!

This weeks flower is the Daisy!



There are so many varieties of daisies out there, colored daisies, Shasta daisies, double bloom daisies and so many more.  I grow Shasta Daisies and I also have wild daisies growing in the meadow.

They are super easy to grow.  They are in a word "simply beautiful".  They are also great for "he love me, he not."

I do want to take a moment and apologized for my lack of blogging, tweeting and facebooking.  This time of year until September are very busy weeks for me.  With my 2 businesses The BlackHorse Cookie Company and my photography are both keeping me on my toes and trying to stay a little ahead, but unfortunately not enough to maintain my social media outlets.  Hang with me and I will do my best to keep in touch. 

Thanks & Have a Great Summer!

Flower Power Friday!

Today's featured flower are Irises!

The first photo is the Yellow Siberian Iris.



I have been growing these Irises for a couple of years now.  I have the dark purple version too.  Right now it is budding and will be blooming in the next few days.  At which point I will be out with the camera photographing.  These are pretty hardy plant.  Mine grow in full sun.  These grow in what I would call a clump and it seems to get a little bigger every year.

The next several photos are all German Bearded Irises.

This photo was taken this year.

I just started growing these last year.  I did get a few blooms and that was great.  This year the plants had doubled in size.  They too grow in full sun.  They grow from rhizomes (type of bulb) and you can see the rhizome just on the ground surface which is okay, they like it that way.

You might have seen this abstract of the German Bearded Iris before.  It was the first photo I posted when I started "Flower Power Friday."




This German Bearded Iris was photographed this year too.

I also have a dark blue and a dark red German Bearded Irises.  The blue will be blooming in the next few days and the red looks like probably next week.





In a Daze!

The past few weeks have been really crazy!  Between 3 farmers markets, baking cookies, getting ready for photography shows, yard work, office work, social media, meetings, making travel plans for the end of this month and getting ready for a visit from my sister and my nieces (who I haven't seen in over 5 years) I am slightly overwhelmed!  And I don't even have kids, but I do have dogs and a cat.  I have been trying real hard to organize my time so I can do it all and still have me time.  I am trying to stay 1 step ahead, but it isn't working.  So what am I to do?  Stop....breathe and start again.....slowly.  It can all be done, I just have to figure out how.

 



Okay so I grab the camera and go shooting!  That will help clear my head.  I have been practicing my landscapes.  I took this photo Saturday and I love it!  What do you think of it?

 I also wanted to update you on my backyard birds.  Bird activity has been kinda quiet.  Yesterday I did notice the Eastern Bluebird is back checking out the other birdhouse.  As I had mentioned previously the Tree Swallows have moved into one of the houses (eastern exposure) and they for a long time would chase away any birds that might be interested in the other birdhouse, but yesterday the Eastern Bluebird was back hanging around the house all day and part of today.  The Tree Swallows just watch the Eastern Bluebird as he/she became comfortable in the house.  So the possibility of having a Tree Swallow and Eastern Bluebird fledglings are good.  But as always time will tell.  Hopefully I can get better shots of both birds. 




Well please hang with me as I try to get organized and get back on track.

Have a great day!

Flower Power Friday!

This weeks flower is the beautiful Peony.

 

The Peony is one of my favorite all time flowers.  They have big blooms (3-5 inches) and are beautiful in bouquets or arrangements and some smell fabulous!  These flowers are often used in bridal bouquets.

They come in a variety of colors and blossom types.  I have mostly pinks and whites, but there are also corals, bright pinks, yellows and even a lime green.  Their blossom types a varied too, from double blooms, singles, semi-doubles and one they call the bomb, it is a single bloom with a mini double in the center.  If you are a Peony lover check out Klehm's Song Sparrow Perennials.  They have a huge selection of Peonies and a ton of information.



Peonies are relatively easy to grow.  The best time to plant or transplant Peonies are in the Fall.  They well reseed themselves if you don't deadhead the flowers.  Which was a surprise to me.  I didn't deadhead one year and the next year I had dozens of new peonies.  They won't flower for a year or two.  In fact this year out of those first dozen, the few that I transplanted are showing buds this year.  I am curious to see what color and blossom types I will get.  They like sunny to partial sunny areas.  They do better is cooler climates.  Peonies don't do will in heat and will diminish with too much rain.  Most Peonies will need support.  The flowers makes them very top heavy and will drop to the ground.  There are Peony hoops that can be bought at any garden center.  Peonies are also deer resistant!

 

Peonies look beautiful in almost any location in your garden, they also make a great border!

Have a great weekend!  Happy gardening!

The Catbird

This week is for the Catbird. 



This lovely bird is about the size of a Robin and it is gray with a black patch on its head and a reddish brown under its tail.  The Catbird sometimes sounds like a cat and I have often seen them dive bomb cats. 

 
 

I believe I have a nesting pair near by since they frequent the bird feeder.  I think they are in the Barberry shrubs which are quite large and very safe from predators since the shrub is loaded with thorns.



Well as far as the Tree Swallows goes they have taken up residence in the birdhouse that has the eastern exposure.  They have been in and out of that house often.  Apparently they are quite tolerant of people, I have been able to get quite close to the house with the female watching my every move while I weed the garden.  I also talk to her so she will get used to my voice.  I don't know it that will do any good, but why not.  Watch for new photos coming soon.

I added another birder feeder post.  I am using it for the Hummingbirds.  I hope to get another Hummingbird feeder soon.  I still don't know why they don't share.  Anybody out there know?

It seems that the birds are not visiting the feeders as much right now.  Which is probably because there is plenty of their natural food out there.

See more of my backyard birds on my website.

Flower Power Friday!

Today I am featuring 2 flowers.  The first ones are the Lilac.  This is a wonderful shrub to have if you love the color purple and the wonderful fragrance it has.  Actually Lilacs come in an array of colors.  White, yellow, pink, purple and then combination colors like purple with white.  As most of you may know, this is quite a hardy shrub to have around.  With time they will grow quite tall about 8-10 feet tall and will send up shoots which in turn will spread out.  This is a shrub that if you want to let it go it will get huge, but with yearly maintenance it can be contained and look beautiful. 



 The first photo is of a Double Bloom pale pink Lilac.  I have been growing this in my yard for the past 4-5 years and it has grown about 3 feet, but the blooms are not as abundant as the original Lilac.  It does smell and look equally as beautiful as the original Lilac.




The last photo is Apple Blossoms which are also in bloom now.  Along our property we have several apple trees growing.  I really don't eat the apples being I don't know what kind they are and also it is said that some folks here in Maine planted apples trees on the border of their property to keep the deer out.  Another words while the deer enjoy the tasty apples the flower and or vegetable gardens stay safe from hungry deer.  Honestly I don't believe that to be true, but that is what I have heard around here.  You know people have there tales and stories to tell.