Zooming – June 2024

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Lots of opportunities to capture images of some of my favorite subjects in June 2024: big cats, birds, butterflies, and (of course) flowers. Some were close to home (Dickerson Park Zoo, Lake Springfield Boathouse) while others were from our two days in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Big cats. The animals are obviously in some kind of enclosure. The cheetah at the Dickerson Park Zoo was photographed from a high deck over the enclosure…maxing out the zoom capability of my camera; it was the only one that did not have a fence between me and the cat! The other three images had the fence challenge; it is most visible in the lion image. It’s always a little unnerving to realize that a tiger, even looking very relaxed, is following me with his eyes!

Birds. I always see birds the best after I get home and look at my images on a big monitor. The optics of the camera allow me to get very close views without being close to the bird! The peacock (head and feet) images were taken at Dickerson Park Zoo and the bluebird and purple martin were near the Lake Springfield Boathouse.

Butterflies. The three butterflies on rocks were taken in the parking area of the Eureka Springs & Northern Arkansas Railway. The insects were fluttering around looking for moisture. The butterfly on a flower was in the meadow near the Lake Springfield Boathouse. Butterflies are as challenging to photograph as birds, but it does help to keep a distance. If the insects are on a flower or looking for moisture, they might sit for long enough to capture an image; sometimes a little bit cooler temperatures help too.

Other wildlife. The lizard shedding its skin must have been terrified of the people walking on the boardwalk; it would have felt the vibration. We stood back once we realized it was there…and I got my picture. The same was true of the cicada although it flew to the post (I saw it in the air and followed with my camera already zooming) and then flew again within about 30 seconds.

Flowers. And then there are flowers.  I love to take pictures of flowers filling the frame. I like that using the zoom blurs the background – often to various shades of green. Depending on the light, the background can also go black (the leaf on a vine). My strategy it to capture the ‘as is’ in a way that appeals to me. The blade of grass almost like a pointer to one of the stamens in the day lily image was a bit of serendipity!

As we near the end of the month – I am savoring these zoomed images!

Dickerson Park Zoo on Father's Day

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My daughter noticed that Dickerson Park Zoo was opening an hour early for members on Father’s Day and suggested we should visit as our celebration of the day since we’ve all joined. My husband and I picked her up (her house is ‘on the way’ for us) and we were at the zoo a few minutes before 8. The day was warming up…still pleasant rather than hot. We spent an enjoyable 2 hours at the zoo.

There were peacocks around the entrance. One on the roof of the entrance buildings displayed but didn’t have any of the long tail feathers!

Another male was very close once we passed the entrance so I took a portrait.

There was one that was walking up the stairs that didn’t have the typical topknot of feathers on its head. When it got to the top of the stairs, I noticed that it stood with toes crossed…and that peacocks have spurs!

In the flamingo enclosure the flamingos were relatively calm, but the roseate spoonbills were moving about and vocalizing

…and then two of them mated!

The daylilies were blooming in beds interspersed throughout the zoo but I also noticed stands of lambs ear, bamboo….and some very large catalpa trees.

The trumpeter swans vocalized…but not as often as the peacocks. There are only 2 of them. I like the swirls in the water around the swan….breaking up the reflection of big trees.

After seeing a lot of peacocks at the beginning of our visit (and continuing to hear them) …we saw a female with three peachicks about an hour into our visit. They moved away from us, but I managed to get close enough for some zoomed portraits.

The ostrich enclosure is viewed from above…but the deck’s wood most have supported some insect (?) that the bird found tasty because it spent a lot of time pecking at the wood directly below where we were standing! I managed a good picture of the head – large eye and nares.

There were two cheetahs moving around in their enclosure. The tiger was pacing and vocalizing nearby…seemingly upset at the keeper for sequestering him in his larger enclosure while his smaller cage with den was being cleaned.

The Crowned Cranes are always photogenic subjects. During this visit they were in an encloser where capybaras had been moved to control the grass that was getting too high…and the animals seemed to be gorging on the greens. Only one capybara had been left behind in the normal capybara enclosure which we saw as got close to the zoo’s exit.

The zoo turned out to be a good choice for Father’s Day!

Zooming – May 2024

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After collecting the images I wanted to feature this month, there seemed to be more distinct reasons for why the amount of zoom was used.

One image – from the Anthony Chapel at Garvan Woodland Gardens – was composed to capture the pattern of glass in the ceiling.

5 images were composed to get a near macro view of flowers and water droplets without being very close to the subjects.

The zoom was used to fill the frame in 8 of the images. It works in almost every situation! Flowers and landscapes with structures outdoors as well as museums and nature center exhibits are seen below.

Probably the rationale for zooming I enjoy the most is when the camera allows me to ‘see’ better than I would with just my eyes. There are 7 images in this category this month: a close up of a peacock and some flamingo feathers at Dickerson Park Zoo in Springfield, Missouri; tiling on a bathhouse dome and a magnolia flower in a large tree overhanging the street in Hot Springs, Arkansas; an ebony jewelwing on a fern, a fairy house and a Ouachita Map Turtle at Garvan Woodland Gardens.

Sometimes I remember the rules and zoom to position the subject along one of the lines…to the left or right of center in lieu of switching to a portrait orientation and filling the frame.

I am savoring my favorite zoomed images of May 2024.

Dickerson Park Zoo – April 2024

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My first trip of the season to the Dickerson Park Zoo was back at the end of March (post 1, post 2); my second was near the end of April when my sister and brother-in-law visited. Like the first visit, there were lots of peacocks wandering through the zoo; this time there were peahens too and there were some instances where it looked like the birds were either already incubating eggs…or getting a ‘nest’ ready. There was a male just past the entrance that was actively displaying for a peahen…moving both the upright tail feathers and the supporting structures behind the big tail. The birds were also vocalizing the whole time we were at the zoo.

Daffodils were replaced with irises blooming in clumps along the walkways and the sides of the stream.

I enjoyed the enclosure for flamingos, roseate spoonbills, and scarlet ibis.

There was one flamingo that was sitting and kept its head in the dirt…perhaps not feeling so well. All the other birds seemed to be active (particularly the spoonbills) and enjoying the afternoon.

I zoomed in on some feathers that had been shed in the enclosure. It is interesting that the feathers are white toward the base….very colorful in the part furthest from the body of the bird (when attached).

The trumpeter swans were on the pond as they were last time – perhaps a little perturbed by the tree trimming that was happening nearby.

Both the cheetahs and lions were out – and one of the cheetahs was moving around a lot. It could have been responding to the extra noise.

One bongo was relaxing while the other nibbled at leaves.

I zoomed in on the elephant’s eye – realized that they are amber in color. A keeper came to give hay to the elephant and asked if we had questions. I asked if all elephants have amber eyes and evidently that is the eye color for Asian elephants. The elephant is named Patience and she is a geriatric elephant; she likes to be alone rather than with the other female (they don’t get along).

I took another picture of the little elephant sculpture…probably my favorite sculpture at the zoo. I think the shiny top of its head is where people touch it the most!

It was starting to sprinkle but we wanted to see the giraffes. One of the young ones was intent on getting some grass near the fence.

My brother-in-law became mesmerized watching a little girl held by her mother feed the giraffes romaine lettuce; she was an expert…must do it frequently.

We headed back to the zoo store where my sister bought one of almost every item shaped like a turtle! It was a good finale for our visit to the zoo.

Dickerson Park Zoo (2)

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Continuing about our visit to Dickerson Park Zoo…

The animal sculptures in various places around the zoo are interesting as sculptures…and sized to provide good climbing experiences for young children.

I realized about halfway through our visit…that I was somehow skewing toward photographing birds more than other animals. The grey-crowned cranes are one of my favorites in zoos I visit.

There were children feeding the giraffes….and I tried to get a picture of the youngest one. It is still the smallest…but growing fast; the adults don’t give the youngest a break at the feeding platform, but the human children try to hold out to feed the ‘baby.’

There were two white storks. I wondered if they had an egg.

The red ruffed lemur responded to a sound my son-in-law made…I took a picture through the glass of its enclosure.

The king vulture enclosure contained two birds…they have very unusual heads (the glass between my camera and the birds was not very clean unfortunately).

Several capybaras were relaxing in the afternoon sun. Just before I wrote this, I found out that my grandnephew had gotten a plush toy capybara at the San Diego Zoo on the same day as our visit to the Dickerson Park Zoo; what a coincidence!

Dickerson Park Zoo (1)

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We enjoyed the Dickerson Park Zoo (Springfield MO) on a cool sunny day in late March. My husband and I got a gift membership from my daughter, so we’ll go several times this year. The zoo is always a great opportunity for photography.

The peacocks that roam freely are always photogenic. The birds are very acclimated to people although all the visitors gave them plenty of room too. I only saw one in full display – tail up and expanded; there was no females around, so it wasn’t clear what prompted the display.  The males seemed to be the only ones out during this visit; I wondered if the peahens were sitting on eggs.

The flamingo enclosure is one of my favorites because there is an area where there isn’t a barrier (mesh or fence) between my camera and the birds. I zoomed in on one I thought was sleeping; I liked the arrangement and color variation of the feathers; I discovered when I got home that the bird was evidently awake!

The Trumpeter Swans were living up to their names as the made their way around the pond…very noisy. Beads of water on the swan’s back show how well the feathers keep the swan from feeling wet!

The zoo still has a lot of daffodil/narcissus flowers. Our shifts between warm and cold days (and back again) seems to be prolonging the blooms this year. They are planted around naturalized rivulets.

More pictures from the zoo tomorrow….

Ten Little Celebrations – March 2024

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Picking 10 little celebrations is only challenging because there are so many of them to choose from! I help myself by only noting one each day, but I realize when I look at the list at the end of the month that there are even more, in retrospect, worthy of celebration. Here are the top 10 for March 2024.

My mother’s life. The phrase ‘celebration of life’ is more like a savoring because there is an overlay of grief that is part of every gathering after a death. I stayed focused on making sure that someone was with my dad for the duration and providing narration of the images in the slideshow for him…varying what I said a bit each time it repeated and realizing that she had a very full 92 years!

Getting the check deposited after the sale of my parents’ house. What a relief to not be carrying around a big check!

Home again. I made multiple short trips to Dallas for various reasons and was always very glad to be home again. Even though the time away is only a couple of days, the stress of driving, my task while in Dallas, and staying in a hotel takes a toll. I don’t really relax until I am at home. Hopefully, when I am only going down to see my dad, it will not be as stressful.

Sequiota Cave Boat tour. What a great tour. I liked the non-commercial nature the tour…seeing the tiny bats roosting.

Springfield Botanical Gardens. Full of spring blooming trees.

Dickerson Park Zoo. My daughter gave us a membership for Christmas, so we’ll be enjoying the zoo often over the next year. I liked the roaming peacocks (and other things too). The post about this visit is coming day after tomorrow.

Feeling better. I got sick with something that caused sinus and throat problems. I tested for COVID for 3 days…and was negative for that. And then I recovered rapidly and I celebrated. Also celebrated that my husband did get whatever it was.

Creating more hosta locations. I divided some of my hosta plants as they first began to come up and was pleased that the new plants adjusted very quickly to their new space. I am looking forward to their lush growth this summer…and will divide more plants next spring!

Burning sticks. I enjoyed the fire in my chiminea after cleaning up the small branches and pine cones around my yard….celebrating with some pictures of the fire!

Butterfly and pollinator seeds planted. I celebrated getting the beds prepared and the seeds planted…right at the mid-March suggested planting deadline.

Ten Little Celebrations – August 2023

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Hot summer…plenty to celebrate indoors and out!

Kohlrabi. I rediscovered how much I like kohlrabi after a big one came with my first CSA delivery (more on that later). A quarter was a serving in stir fries and salads. Celebrating another great veggie!

High protein brownies. Wow! 15 grams of protein in a good tasting brownie…worth celebrating. I’ll use this recipe again and again.

Neon cardstock and new pens. My version of celebrating the start of the school year (fall) - new Zentangle supplies!

Rainy days. The rains that came broke the high heat…I celebrated and enjoyed an indoors day. It was great to be able to turn off the sprinkler system for about a week!

Brooklyn Duo.  Celebrated finding Brooklyn Duo on YouTube – music that enhances every day!

Dickerson Park Zoo. Enjoyed our first walk around before the heat of the day got overwhelming…celebrated that it is local to us!

Indigo Bunting. Indigo buntings successfully nested in a bird box near Lake Springfield Boathouse. Celebrating seeing a parent arrive with a caterpillar for the nestlings!

OSU Botanical Garden. A morning walkabout in a botanical garden. Celebrating and appreciating it after attending a funeral the previous day.

Finishing mowing the whole yard. The morning was cool enough that I managed to mow the whole yard rather than splitting it into a 2-morning effort. I celebrated when it was done!

Hummingbird moth. Finding a snowberry clearwing (hummingbird moth) on my pumpkin vine was a pleasant surprise…celebrating the jewel-like insect almost hidden in the green leaves.

Zooming – August 2023

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Even though August was very hot, my photography was still dominated by outdoors locations:

  • At home in Nixa MO

  • At the Dickerson Park Zoo and Lake Springfield Boathouse in Springfield MO

  • At the OSU Botanical Garden in Stillwater OK

  • At Josey Ranch and my parents’ yard in Carrollton TX

  • At Hagerman National Wildlife Refuge near Sherman TX

Birds and insects are more prevalent this month than previously. Enjoy the August slide show!

Dickerson Park Zoo

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We made our first visit to Dickerson Park Zoo last week. It’s on the north side of Springfield MO – the closest zoo to where we live. We got there about an hour after their opening; the close parking lot was almost full…others taking the advantage of the cooler than usual August morning.

Colorful birds seem to dominate my pictures. Many times, I was photographing through fencing; sometimes you can see the blur/shadow of that barrier.

The preening Scarlet Ibis was one of my favorites. The surprise was seeing the nictitating membrane (an eyelid that is hinged on the inner side of the eye and closes horizontally across the cornea).

Flamingos were in the same enclosure as the ibis – feeding and preening. They feed with their bill toward their bodies. One of the birds had a range of colored feathers.

In the trees above the flamingoes, there were several roseate spoonbills. Their bodies are colorful…their heads and large bills are bare – at odds with the body.

Peacocks (and pea hens) roam the zoo; they are relatively acclimated to people. There were no males with full tails. All the birds I saw appeared to be juvenile birds (younger than 3 years).

There were two Gray Crowned Cranes. I had seen similar birds at the St. Louis Zoo too. The birds at Dickerson Park Zoo were better positioned for a photograph!

The turkey enclosure had one male and a lot of hens…some immatures as well. I heard a mother telling her child that it was a mom and babies; I guess she thought the male was the ‘mom’!

Black swans are dramatic. The pair seems to have more ruffled feathers than I expected.

There were several parrots; we heard them before we saw them! The one I photographed was using its beak like an appendage for balance as it moved around its enclosure.

There were two types of tortoises in different parts of the zoo with signage that they bite! The first one was large but not giant…and I was intrigued by the pattern of the shell…plates like flatted pyramids.

The second was a giant tortoise --- looking well fed!

There were monkeys – somehow they tend to look sad to me. The one I photographed had companions that were moving about, but he was sitting still.

The zoo was working on the giraffe exhibit (they usually have giraffe feedings) so we did not see them like they would normally have been out and about in the morning.

The zoo has a rescued bald eagle – large but one of its wings was not right. It didn’t move from its perch but kept a watchful eye on movements outside its enclosure.

There were metal statues for climbing on (with signs warning that the statues might get hot in the summer) and backdrops for photographs.

There was one elephant with the explanation that when the matriarch died, the two remaining females did not get along…so they each are outside on their own. They get socialization time off exhibit with a male elephant.

There were other animals to see but not easily photographed. The big cats and bears were either in their dens or sleeping.

We didn’t ride the train (I photographed it with a giraffe sculpture in the foreground) – but I like that it is available – another dimension to a visit to the zoo that we might try on a future visit.

The Dickerson Park Zoo might be my favorite. It is not overwhelmingly big or crowned…and its design provides plenty of shade along the paths.