Today's walk report: 090715, catching up to the last 2 weekends.

(Sorry, obviously that should be 090714. I haven't started time traveling... not yet.)

Last weekend and this weekend, some of this is the same as the last report with the usual suspects in different situations. It's still very definitely summer in these parts. We had an average daily high of 95.2º over the last 9 days.

083014...

This was a very cooperative Leptotes marina (blue marine) butterfly. This is highly unusual for them. Not only did I manage to get 83 shots off, I did so while also managing to add a Canon 500D close-up to a 70-300mm, then swap that out for a 60mm macro. To top things off, I was "permitted" to sit down in front of my subject during some of the 60mm shots. This shot (#8) was at 150mm with the 500D.

That little tyke was most of my picture taking a week ago, Saturday. Here's one more, shot with the 60mm macro.

083114...

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae)

Some opuntia flower.

Succulent flowers, no ID.

Crazy squirrel, high up in some squirrelly cactus.

Future palo verde tree.

This mourning dove was entertained by my camera beeping while it was drinking at the fountain.

The leaf of the Canna Lily 'Tropicanna.'

BAM! It's September...

090114, Labor day...

This is the only photo I got. I won't explain why.  This is a monarch butterfly, chrysalis. The gold beads are really THAT gold looking. I found 3 of these while I was looking for some seed from the this narrowleaf milkweed, Asclepias fascicularis. The other two chrysalides are hanging on a twig about 18" higher in a desert willow tree, Chilopsis linearis. I falsely assumed this cycle was over. I read up. If you don't know about the yearly cycle of this amazing creature you can read about it here. More to follow.

Moving onto this weekend...

090614...

This is a  common green darner, Anax junius, it's a male. This is the 1st time I've seen one of these at this particular pond.

Blue Dasher (Pachydiplax longipennis) on a bridge to the water lily.

Mud dauber wasp and an approaching ant.

Another check on the monarch chrysalides reveals the formation of a wing.

 
090714...

Butterflies are free.

1st a check on the  monarch chrysalides. This was not this defined in person. The chrysalis was in shadows. I did not guess we were as close as we were to seeing a butterfly until I came back from a loop around the garden.

And in looping around the garden I stopped to take these pics...

Apache plume, Fallugia paradoxa,the flower.

Apache plume, Fallugia paradoxa, the flower and the plume.

Battle scarred blue dasher, Pachydiplax longipennis. I was amazed at how well it flew despite its apparent hardships.

Tiny water plants growing in the fountain.

Gulf Fritillary (Agraulis vanillae).

Palo verde flowers.

A really "hairy" cactus with purple fruit which some animal either hates or likes a lot (I can't tell).

 Finally, 50 minutes after the last photo was taken of the monarch chrysalis I discovered this and called Docken over to watch together. I was at some disadvantage trying to position myself without disturbing the newly emerging butterfly and did what I could. The time difference between the 1st image here and the last was 42 minutes.

And watching from down below...

Thanks for coming along! Comments are usually welcome!

Today's walk report: 083013

Preparing for a sunset.

Frequently before I leave the house I'll look outside the small west facing window next to my a/c unit to see what the sky looks like. Either that or I'll take a quick cruise out to the driveway and do the same. This is to get an idea of what sort of sunset to expect and decide on what I want to bring along lens-wise. I've mentioned before that I don't like to carry much on the walk. If it's going to be a picture taking walk I usually take the camera, over my shoulder using a BlackRapid RS-7 strap, my Canon 70-300mm telephoto and put my Canon 500D closeup attachment in my pants pocket. It's OK, it's in a plastic case. But I'll also consider carrying a Canon 60mm macro or a 18-55mm stock lens. Whichever one going along in a small zippered case which Velcros onto the belt that holds my pants up. If it's the 18-55mm that usually means I expect a nice sunset. Not that all sunsets aren't wonderful but some are better than others.

Today I took the 18-55mm lens.

It was 93º and 38% humidity out the door. It wasn't comfortable. The botanical garden is 1.85 km into the walk and when I go to the garden I like to slow down and look for pictures. Not today. I got to the garden, stopped and said out loud... fuck this.

I did get a somewhat unique photo op with a brown carpenter bee however. I took 125 shots with the 500D of this one in flight. It was basically hovering in one spot. Now, a variance of just a few cm means the difference between focus and no focus so it still wasn't an easy shot and when I say one spot what I really mean is an area of about 45 square cm (18"). Nevertheless, I got a moment or two in.

Onto the sunset...

The beginning.

The ending...

and from the "other side"--that would be facing east.

Today's walk report: 061213

Changing lenses...

Yesterday's walk report points out day 1 with a new camera. That obviously means today was day 2 with the new camera... considering I managed to make an entry on this time-suck of a blog everyday since 041913. Anyway, yesterday I went out with a Canon 60mm, macro lens. Today I took my favorite "combo," which is a Canon 70-300mm and a Canon 500D close-up lens. The 500D isn't much bigger than a filter, it fits in the same sort of plastic twist-open case as a filter and that fits perfectly in my pants pocket. I have a nice JanSport Coltrane "fanny pack" which can easily hold both of these lenes and then I can have the stock 18-55mm on the camera but I prefer to travel sort of bare bones. The Coltrane is nice for a Sunday when I head out early and plan to hang somewhere along the walk. Longer walks also mean bringing water so the pack comes in handy once again, holding 700ml water bottle on each side pouch. By the way, for 8-10km walks I typically drink about 1 liter water within about 1 hour of the walk and probably drink about 2 liters from the time I get home until bedtime. During the day I usually drink another 2 liters of water, coffee not included. Did you add that up? That's 5 liters of water a day.

Back to the camera. The most obvious difference to me today relates some to the 1st thing I noticed yesterday, that was the difference in shooting 5fps compared to my old camera at 3.7fps, burst mode. What I noticed today, perhaps exacerbated by the longer lens was how much louder the shutter is. Certainly it must be more robust in some way to handle the extra shooting speed but it's loud enough that it's going to take some getting used to. I'm also listening to an iPod while shooting and I'm not listening to meditation music. I think the hummingbirds notice it too.

Speaking of which. This wasn't focused too well but I really like the colors.

Sharper...

Sharper yet...

Another lizard...

Another bee on Melaleuca pallida (the only shot here with the 500D, close-up attachment)...

Another shot of Salvia uliginosa...
 

Another shot of the same mockingbird on the same flowering Century agave...

How do I know it's the same mockingbird? After doing this same basic walk for over two years now you start to get pretty darn familiar with all sorts of stuff.