consworld

Hummingbird’s tongue.

Two festivals a week apart have kept me busy. Thanks to everyone who participated in the Rhubarb Festival and Bailey Days this year.  It was a beautiful two days by the river in Bailey last weekend and one day fest at the firehouse the week before in Pine Grove.

It’s wildfire season. A wildfire is buring in an older burn area near Pine Valley. Lighting strikes start fires. The wind blows. Virga in the sky more than rain drops on the ground.

Pine pollen. It’s a green world with green windows and people driving green cars - even the gas guzzlers are “green” right now.

Too much talking (at the shows), too much pollen (everywhere!), my voice is dry like the weather.

We get a few raindrops splattering in the green dust some afternoons.

The western tanagers are here. We usually have a pair near our house this time of year. The male is so brightly colored it is possible to spot him immediately in the douglass firs. He is cautious and won’t come too close. He is seen most often with his mate somewhere near. She is yellow green and blends with new growth on the trees. I feel sorry for the male, too bright to hide.  

Columbines are blooming, yellow, blue, and purple.  Lots of other wildflowers blooming now, too. Wild geranium, penstemons, cinquefoils, blanket flowers, sedums, wild roses . . . too many to name them all.

Summer is here. I missed posting photographs of its arrival while busy with the shows. Soon, I’ll begin catching up by sorting through this month’s photographs to see if I have enough for a June “review” post. For now, I’m out photographing what’s left of June in consworld.  

Birds, hummingbirds, shows

June in Consworld means hummingbirds feeding on the wild current bushes near my home.  It also means printing and framing for my display at the annual Rhubarb Festival in mid June at the fire house in Pine Grove. I’ve been working on my display when it is too windy to photograph. The images above were captured a few days ago.

Yesterday I waxed the tent for Saturday’s show and tested the set up in a variable but mostly light wind. I’ll have help setting up on Saturday morning, but ran through the whole set up from canopy with weights attached through display walls and print bins. I always get everything out and test it before the first show of the season.

I didn’t hang anything on the display yesterday during my tent and display wall test. The plan for hanging is still evolving in my head as I frame and count and group images with options I’ve scribbled on scrap paper. More frames should arrive today and when I’ve finished the framing I’ll print all the new labels and information cards.

As I print, frame, sort, and pack, I long to be outside photographing. When I’m outside photographing I forget about all the things I have to do to be prepared for Saturday’s festival for a few minutes and enjoy the light and colors of June.

hummingbirds

Last spring I photographed a baby fox with a crooked face nicknamed Tippy by my neighbors.  I saw Tippy several times throughout the summer and fall and then no more.  Early yesterday morning the fox with the face you can’t mistake was running by my house. It paused for a moment while I photographed and then continued on its way.

fox

 
This male broadtail hummingbird spread his wings several times before flying away. He was probably showing another hummingbird he was prepared to defend his territory.

 The birds often perch on a dead twig where they have an almost 360 degree view to watch over the wildflowers and feeders. The males seem to spend more time chasing rivals away than they do feeding on the flowers they so jealously guard.

Though the images could have been cropped more for this post, I wanted to include a few of the spring-green aspen leaves in the images above.

Below is a both a closer crop of the bird and the full image:

The bird is a very small part of the full image at the distance (perhaps 40 feet) I was working with the 100 to 400 telephoto fully extended to 400mm. Taking a photo of something the size of my thumb from that distance is ok when I’m just cropping for web images, but there just aren’t enough pixels in the bird to make a big print. I usually photograph when the birds are closer.

Windy weather has limited my outdoor flash work recently. (See previous post.) The flash extender acts as a sail in the wind. More to come on lighting up the hummingbirds when I have more to show and write.

hummingbirds