Picture-A-Week 2019 - Week 09

[pierces]

Pictures taken between Monday, February 25 and Sunday, March 3.

 

Rules: See above

That's it. This isn't a contest.

All photos taken this week are welcome (not just cruising).

Prizes will not be awarded. Discovering the joy of photography is the prize.

The idea is to get folks out using their cameras for more than vacations and toddler birthdays.

Post one. Post many. Up to you.

Have fun with your camera and share your fun with others!

[shootr]

Flew over a wind farm last weekend inundated with clouds.  Wish I had more than a cellphone to catch it...

[Krazy Kruizers]

Great picture.

[Geezer Cruiser]

Installation (I hesitate to call it a statue) near the base of the Space Needle. Looks like an abstract dinosaur to me! 

 

[ski ww]

It is different, I guess that's what some people would call art. To each their own. 

[pierces]

Opening day for baseball! Team parade and opening ceremonies on Saturday at 9:00 rain or shine! Wake the visiting granddaughters at sunrise so we can drive through the steady rain that had been falling since midnight to our new favorite pre-sport Saturday café for a delicious breakfast. Order an assortment of eclectic Hawaiian-influenced dishes and sit down to some good ol’ family get-togetherness. Phone rings. The opening day? Never mind. Apparently “rain or shine” was an overly optimistic promise that was overridden by several inches of California liquid sunshine which has a detrimental effect on traditional red clay infields. 

 

Rain Delay

 

 

Dave

[boeckli]

12 hours ago, pierces said:

Opening day for baseball! Team parade and opening ceremonies on Saturday at 9:00 rain or shine! Wake the visiting granddaughters at sunrise so we can drive through the steady rain that had been falling since midnight to our new favorite pre-sport Saturday café for a delicious breakfast. Order an assortment of eclectic Hawaiian-influenced dishes and sit down to some good ol’ family get-togetherness. Phone rings. The opening day? Never mind. Apparently “rain or shine” was an overly optimistic promise that was overridden by several inches of California liquid sunshine which has a detrimental effect on traditional red clay infields. 

 

Rain Delay

 

 

Dave

What a disappointing sight- might be good for a mud-fight ...

And reading your lead-in, I was looking forward to some shots of yummy café b'fast food

[boeckli]

Red-flowering gum tree

 

 

 

[puppycanducruise]

Great pictures of the red flowering gum tree.

I've never seen one before.

Maybe someday I'll get to visit your country and see one in person, but until then, thanks for posting.

[pierces]

8 hours ago, boeckli said:

What a disappointing sight- might be good for a mud-fight ...

And reading your lead-in, I was looking forward to some shots of yummy café b'fast food

 

Ask and ye shall receive...

 

Spicy chicken, bacon and cheese waffle.

 

Chocolate Chip Hawaiian Pancakes

 

Very tasty, needless to say.

 

Dave

[ski ww]

Love pancakes, pass on the others. Pancake Tue coming up, I'll get my fill then.

[boeckli]

Thanks Dave - I'll have the first one please, especially as it's just the right time for breakast ;-)

[Krazy Kruizers]

On 3/3/2019 at 6:16 AM, boeckli said:

Red-flowering gum tree

 

 

 

 

Beautiful!!

[Krazy Kruizers]

Chocolate Chip Hawaiian Pancakes -- save some for me!!

[zackiedawg]

That wind farm cloud shot is surreal - very cool - wish you got some more of it too.

And since the others all want the Hawaiian pancakes and are rejecting the chicken cheese waffle, I'll take that one off your hands.

 

As usual for the weekend, I hit the wetlands on Saturday - weather was lovely sunny and warm, and the birds were out in force;

 

I discovered where a pair of red-shouldered hawks had built their nest in a palm tree - they're hard to track down when nesting here...apparently the male hawk sitting on the nest was less than pleased that I had found him and was giving me the evil eyes for taking his photo:

 

Also hiding out in the palm trees - though MUCH better hidden - was the eastern screech owl.  To photograph him, I had to thread the focus through 8 feet of palm fronds, just barely getting a glimpse of him through all the branches:

 

This lovely gal is a yellow-bellied sapsucker - a type of woodpecker that likes to drill holes in the tree to make it 'bleed' then drink the sap.  Those who follow the weekly threads will know I posted a shot of the male last week:

 

A very noisy flock of black-hooded 'Nanday' parakeets buzzed over me:

 

The lovely mating colors of the cattle egret:

 

Anhingas, aka 'snake birds' because you often only see a skinny neck and head out of the water, often grab fish much larger than their heads with those dagger-like bills.  Then they have to swim over to a nearby shore to eat their catch since it requires some work to get them off the bill:

 

A great egret, showing off his long mating feathers on his back and his green lore around the eyes, as he banks around in perfect light:

[pierces]

Seriously, Justin. You should be thankful I don't do birding. I would hate to shame you with spectacular shots of our tiny dirty brown sparrows and occasional crow.

 

*sigh*

 

 

Dave

[zackiedawg]

Actually if you drove a little bit, you could make me jealous as one bird I used to see all the time when I lived in California but wasn't into bird photography (those were still film days, so I shot much less frequently anyway) is the roadrunner.  I'd love to have some shots of those!

Plus, we don't have dirty brown sparrows here - so I'd probably snap a few shots of them too!  😉

[pierces]

37 minutes ago, zackiedawg said:

Actually if you drove a little bit, you could make me jealous as one bird I used to see all the time when I lived in California but wasn't into bird photography (those were still film days, so I shot much less frequently anyway) is the roadrunner.  I'd love to have some shots of those!

Plus, we don't have dirty brown sparrows here - so I'd probably snap a few shots of them too!  😉

 

I really do envy your proximity to the abundance of species and skill at capturing their activity. I will settle for cruising and the occasional wildflower tour when the weather is generous. Finishing the home improvement projects would free up some time too. 

 

*sigh*,  again.

 

Dave

[ski ww]

Great shots as always Justin,  thanks again for sharing.

[spthealien]

I went to the super bloom happening in southern California to try out some new lenses.

 

Edited March 12, 2019 by spthealien