Tiny wings

Not all my photos of insects were a great success on my most recent trip to Lake County, but I am pleased that I spotted my very first Lorquin’s admiral. According to Wikipedia, these handsome butterflies are very territorial and sometimes go after larger animals rather aggressively; luckily, this one was in a peaceful mood! On this outing I also […]

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Grand Canyon: Duck on a Rock

I was so busy admiring the far horizon that I barely even noticed the famous rock formation on my left. Maybe I didn’t have the best angle on it; even after I had snapped a photo of the interpretive sign, I’ll admit I couldn’t see the duck until I looked at the photos much later. Now it’s clear as day […]

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Farming and fishing

I didn’t manage to explore the east Texas town of Emory during our brief overnight visit last June. One reason was the oppressive heat and humidity — and the other was that our main reason for being there was to check out Lake Fork, a famous bass-fishing area just down the road. According to Google, the town’s population is just […]

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Malpais and Grants, New Mexico

I always enjoy the scenery driving through northern New Mexico, although there never seems to be enough time to stop and explore. Our only reasons for pausing at the El Malpais National Monument Visitor Center were that we needed a rest stop and it was time for lunch; but it was a wonderful chance discovery and one that I would […]

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Through the Grapevine

Some images from our hike through the Bob Jones Nature Center and Preserve to the south shore of Grapevine Lake in Texas. We were there this past June — right before the record-breaking heat wave — and while we did suffer a bit of warm weather and high humidity (which we’re not used to), we really got very lucky, weather-wise. […]

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Desert details

I’ve learned (unfortunately, the hard way) that however weary I might feel after a long day of driving on the highway, it’s usually a good idea to find a place to have a walk around outside. No matter how much I would prefer to throw myself onto the bed and not move until morning, things go much better if I […]

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Bee wise

This week, June 19th through 25th, is National Pollinator Week in the U.S., so I’m celebrating by sharing some of my most recent images of insects making themselves right at home in some wildflower blooms. While bees and butterflies are the most easily recognized pollinators, many beetles also play an important role in pollination. I shot most of these photos […]

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Fifteen days in 15 pictures

I’m sure I’ve said it before: road trips can be fun, but they really seem to take a lot out of me. Yesterday morning I started working on a regular Wednesday-series post but never managed to finish it. So I decided to save it for next week, and today I’ve got a few images from our trip. Most of them […]

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New Mexico and Arizona

There’s never enough time to stop and check out everything that catches my eye — driving back through Texas I spotted a ton of historical markers along the side of the road — but because we’ve made good time, we’re able to slow down a bit now that we’ve arrived in Arizona. I find that doing a road trip is […]

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