Ice crystals on the bird bath

With a heater in the bird bath, everyone likes it, even Bambi drinks from it. I noticed, on some - 25 C. mornings, some beautiful ice crystals. Here is the video, just in case you missed it!


Bambi birdbath from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.
I'd spotted the deer sucking up some water at the birdbath.
The heater works well. I clean it regularly, thankfully!

ice crystals have formed!

 

With the macro lens...
I took a closer look. The darker water gives it a negative space quality.

Put simply, negative space is the area which surrounds the main subject in your photo(the main subject is known as the "positive space").

My Internet friend, Judy, has been experimenting, which inspired me. This opportunity arose for me. I'm an old dog learning new tricks!

Alrighty, now we've got fruit flies!

Our composter

Yes, I mistakenly left the lid of the composter container askew. It's a lovely pot, created by a Muskoka artistan. It's easy to fill and empty, but you do have to ensure that the lid in on straight, or those dratted fruit flies take full advantage of
them!

Obviously, there were a million fruit flies, as I took the composter out from under the shelf. They flew up in a mass, ticked off that I'd disturbed them.


It was early November, and it was chilly, with temperatures fluxuating above and below zero. I figured they'd be taken care of outside. Outside it went, until I could deal with it.

I cleaned the pot, after emptying it in the outdoor composter. Then, what to do with the kazillion fruit flies in the house? They were everywhere! Bathroom, on the mirror (admiring themselves?), and the cats were no help.

Firstly, I covered the bananas with a tea towel. Then I realized just how many there were! It was the beginning of the month, and we regularly clean out out kettle and coffee drip with vinegar. When the kettle was lifted, they all flew up. They like vinegar! Aha, an innocuous bait for a trap. I searched and searched for the wasp trap. This works when the bugs fly up and in, but cannot figure out how to go down and back out. It was no where to be found.
Plan B: the fly catcher strips. They worked. VERY well! I placed it beside the bread box, and we captured most of the flies.

Fly paper, bread box

Can you see them all?!

I'd found the wasp trap when putting out garbage,
 since I'd found some more flies.
We'll see if this works!

Photography 101 - so much to learn!

My fabulous (serious) amateur blog buddies explore light, speed, aperture, and other settings.

They take amazing trips out into nature with the pros, visiting parks, and remote locations. Then, they play with photography, embedding their photos with qualities of light, texture, speed settings (think hummingbirds!), and composition (e.g., the Rule of Thirds, Depth of Field), that continue to amaze me.

Sometimes, you just bend the rules and take a fun photo quickly, before your subject moves!

Daisy is a hoot!

Many have become adept with macro lenses, which makes me realize the beauty under my very nose. Unfortunately, my graduated lenses make this tough, but sometimes it works out! Water is a fun element to photograph.

Icicles are tricky.

Although, in S.E. Ontario, it will soon be like this:

2012

snow is on its way!

droplets on pond

Twinkling sunlight

I must say goodbye, or farewell, to the little caterpillars that grace our forest. These photos were from Oct. 21st.

Shark Tank is a subpage forum of Lightstalking where you can submit photos for constructive criticism. I don't really need this, but it is an interesting resource for those who are serious.
I've been making some Thank You cards, as well as calendars, for family and friends. You require high-resolution photos of your own. It has been fun!

Photo Wall Calendar

 I enjoy the fuzzy captures of someone's smart phone, as much as the quality photos of my serious amateur photography friends, as well as my friends who are professionals.
There are memes, where you can view beautiful macros, too.

"I Heart Macro" 

Icicles

The water melts off of the icicles. I did my best to capture the shot. I'll work on it!

 

Everyone has icicle trouble. 

I went into town the other day.
These icicles are dripping sideways!

The Pines (a Bracebridge LTC home) has some icicle issues.

One firm had been hired to power wash them away.
 On the right the before shot!
You can see, below, icicles...all gone. Glad he's not my husband/son! It's a long drop...

We have some hard-working folks with no fear of heights!