14 Nature Photo Album

This Spring has been been kind of interesting in that it has been drenched wet on many occasions and too dry on others. Bees are missing and many things have been behind normal schedule blooming due to the extended cold. But here are some offerings from the beauty of 2014. All pictures are © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV. Enjoy!

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The extended winter, resulted in late March budding of many trees and plants. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Geese were really plentiful throughout the tri-state this year. These were two walking the shore of the Garvin Park lake. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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When trees  finally did bloom in late March, they were a source of lots of pollen that made for a miserable allergy season for many regional residents. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Bluebells are delicate throughout their relatively short stay each spring. They start out pink before turning blue as they mature. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Hyacinths grow close to the ground and come in a variety of colors and styles.                             ©2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Bluebells in bloom add a nice contrast to the spring sky. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Irises come in a variety of colors and add to the beauty of May each year.                              © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Not are what these hedge flowers are called but they are pure white and are beautiful in the may sun. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Lilacs just simply smell wonderful and seem to complete spring in many gardens.   © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Dogwood blooms are visible across much of Indiana and Kentucky, especially when you fly in small planes. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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I call  these miniature daisies but to most people they are just another weed. This one was host to a young unidentified bug. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Roses were gorgeous all over Evansville this last couple of weeks. Now, they need cut back if they are to bloom again. g 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Catalpa trees are usually volunteers and they grow very larges and dense. They also have some of the most beautiful blooms of any tree I have ever seen. Purple, yellow, white contrasted by the big broad leaves of the Catalpa make it a sight to behold when they bloom. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV.

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Canna are majestic and come in a variety 0of colors but the leaves, themselves are something to behold. This one is potted and greets visitors to the Valley Watch office.             © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Hollyhocks are among my favorite flowers. Currently, there are two growing in the Valley Watch garden which are descendants of four that were planted about fifteen years ago. This one served as a cup to gather water from a recent rain. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Hollyhock Weevils are probably the randiest bugs I have come across. When you see one, you see two of them with the male on top. They appear to eat the leaves on the Hollyhock and cause the plant’s to appear like lace in the early summer. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Like I said above, you see one, you will likely see two Hollyhock Weevils. This time with an ant. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This nearly transparent tiny bug showed up during a photo expedition with Steve Higg’s Natural Bloomington Eco Tours,  I conducted in May. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Valley Watch had had its office in the same place since 1994. I all that time, this is the first year that my across the street neighbors Prickly Pear Cactus has bloomed. What a pleasant sight but beware the tiny needles the cactus has. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This year, bees have not been plentiful and in this case I had to go across the street to an overgrown clover field to find the first honeybee. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Green bees and this little yellow perennial seem to go hand in hand in the VW garden. I had never seen a green bee until I began looking closely at thing in this garden.                         © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Yes, we are fully aware that grasshoppers can wreak havoc on gardens. But we allow nature to take its course in the Valley Watch garden since we relish nature just as it give us, good and not so good. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Red Canna adorn the front entrance of the VW office. This week they finally bloomed. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVVColorful Bug web

Unsure just what this colorful little bug is or will be but I found it really fascinating. May be some kind of beetle since it looks armored . © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This hollyhock seed pod takes on a surreal animal kind of appearance  when shot close up like we often do on these pages. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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A beautiful Hosta bloom is really delicate. look at its edges. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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I call these Stick Bugs because they look like sticks which camouflage them pretty well. They were enjoying the Evening Primrose in the garden. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Mayflies invaded Inland Marina in Evansville this weekend (7/6/14). They are attracted to anything white and seem to play “possum” since they appear dead as they mate but aren’t but then they seem to die off after mating. They last for a month or two. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Gar are said to be a prehistoric species, looking a little like a cross between an alligator and a fish. They appear around this time nearly every year at Inland Marina and other still water areas along the Ohio River. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV.

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Bryozoan look creepy and weird but they are common freshwater organisms that feed on the bottom of still water areas likes lakes, ponds and slack water ports and marinas. Occasionally they will float to the surface. Several of these creatures of the deep, were spotted this week (7/6/14) at Inland Marina. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This little yellow and white butterfly drinks its fill fem an echinacea in the Valley Watch garden. Be sure to look deeply into its eyes. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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A Red Velvet ant looks almost surreal in this really up close photo. Hairy little creature for sure. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Those metallic green bees just love the echinacea. Most of them are about a half inch long. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Bumble bees all like the echinacea and dig down deeply to get is sweet pollen. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This is a small grasshopper nymph relaxing on a Black-eyed Susan leaf. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This looks like it may be a baby bumble bee but notice its eyes and how many sections they have on close inspection. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This tiny butterfly enjoyed the little blue flowers in the Valley Watch garden on a recent summer day. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Heavily armored, this bug was feasting on a leaf in the garden. ©2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This looked like some form of lightening bug but never revealed its lightning organ. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV.

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A bumble bee gathered pollen from a Morning Glory that adorns the entrance to the Valley Watch office on recent morning. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Lately, it seems that hundreds of grasshoppers have grown to adulthood in the garden. They are eating everything green in their path, leaving lace patterns in plants of all sorts. I would prefer there not be as many grasshoppers as there are but we choose to allow nature to takes its course in the garden. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Lady Bugs always provide a nice contrast to the rich green of garden stems and leaves. This one is no exception. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This little bee found the Mexican Sunflowers to have some good pollen to gather outside the office one recent morn. © 29014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This Cicada Killer wasp posed for this picture on a rail in the garden at my home one recent day. These wasps can but rarely bother humans and are mainly interested in eating and killing cicadas. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV.

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This is probably some sort of aphid that clearly contrasts with its perch on concrete instead of being camouflaged in a greener environment. © 2014 BLairPhotoEVV

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This green grasshopper looks far more fragile than it actually is. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This hairy bumble bee just loved the pollen offered by a Mexican Sunflower bloom. © 2014 BlairPhoto EVV

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Two bumble bees work the early shoots of a Golden Rod plant. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This katydid  seemed a little freaked out by my camera. It was found on my front porch in late September. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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Nearly fully formed, this garden spider is wrapped in a web on a grass seed pod. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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A  common fly was content to rest on a zinnia bloom in the garden on a recent Autumn day. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVVIMGP0707a web

A Cherry Tree in the office front yard is about to burst with excitement from a sap ball. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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A species of bee I had not seen before checked out the Golden Rod in the VW garden on one of the warm Fall days we have enjoyed lately. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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An “Orb Weaver” garden spider posed for a picture on her web built in a patch of Canna in early October. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

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This colorful bee liked the plentiful Clematis that adorned our fencing this summer and fall. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVVLeaves web

 

These leaves were found on a recently sealed asphalt parking lot and provided stark contrast with beautiful saturation. © 2014 BlairPhotoEVV

 

 

2 Responses to 14 Nature Photo Album

  1. KENNERSON says:

    You actually make it appear so easy together with your presentation however I to find this topic to be really one thing which I believe I might never understand. It seems too complicated and very huge for me. I’m taking a look ahead to your subsequent publish, I will attempt to get the hang of it!

  2. MarkJ says:

    I enjoyed all of the bright colors and interesting subjects of your photo album. I have seen many of these insects at my home, but I do not recall seeing the green bumblebee before this year.

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