Winter Blossom Tree

Pink flowered winter treeToday I caught a tree vaguely resembling the challenge request I was given a few days ago. Missing the Tui, and arms at full extension (due to the tree being over a fence and my camera 28mm), the blossoming tree tied in with a lady informing me we were 2/3rd’s through winter gave a sense of spring almost on its way.

With spring a month off, I’m reminded I have not made it down to see the snow at all this year. With work commitments, it does not look like I will either, but it would be nice to take the drive down one weekend perhaps.

Early start and long day. Minds fuzzy. end here.

 

Butterfly on Flower

Butteryfly on FlowerSame as yesterday, some more interesting facts:

  • The fastest butterflies fly at 19kph(12mph)
  • Many butterflies can taste with their feet to test suitability for laying eggs.
  • Antarctica is the only continent on which no Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies)  have been found
  • Butterflies like to drink from mushy slices of banana, oranges and watermelon

 

The Vibrant Driveway

image

Just a quick note today. Our ISP is again playing up and typing on the mobile is a little testing after a super long Monday!
Shot on the GRD IV, cropped and reduced in Gimp.

Monarch in the Sun

in the garden

I think if people were ever inspired by the children’s book ‘The Ugly Duckling’, than the story of the Monarch butterfly must be awe inspiring! Here is a creature that starts life as a little caterpillar, eats and eats and eats until it is about to burst, makes a little sleeping bag to sleep in and then one day emerges with beautiful coloured wings and dances off into the sky!

Today’s image, from our back yard, features one such monarch that floated in to sample the local flowers. There was a bit of a breeze out, so watching it come in was a little like planes landing in Wellington on a windy day!

As with many creatures in nature, their colour serves to warn off would-be predators like birds, for whom they are poisonous. Surprisingly, reading a little more about them, the monarch butterfly is classed in the near- threatened grouping on a conservation level. We seem to get a good number of them around Auckland at least!

Shot on the Sony with 210mm lens (315mm 35mm equivalent) , I bumped up the contrast and sharpness to compensate for the fairly flat image that came out the camera.

Wind aside its been a great start to the long weekend, so I will get back to it!

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