January 2011

Macro Monday: Colorado Lily – Pale Late Bloomer

January 31, 2011

We’ll if you saw my post on January 3, 2011 about a late bud from my Colorado Water Lily – you would have thought it was about to bloom. Sadly it never opened…. until yesterday. January’s weather has been cold here in Houston and I believe the temperatures preserved the bloom, but oddly it took [...]

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Macro Monday: Photoshop Experiment

January 10, 2011

While fall leaves in brilliant colors make for stunning photographs, the simplicity of this brown leaf resting on the surface of this mulch illustrates shape, texture and variation in tones. Mother Nature certainly has a flair for design. I edited this photo in Photoshop by enhancing the hue to illustrate how color variations can alter [...]

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Monarch Caterpillar Sheds Skin and Starts Pupa Stage

January 4, 2011

On Monday, after about three days in the “J” position (see this post for images), this Monarch caterpillar straightened out and began to shed its outer skin. In the time it took me to get my camera, the gyrations began and the skin was almost shed. It appears that the skin behind its neck and [...]

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Macro Monday: Colorado Water Lily

January 3, 2011

Winter in Houston is known for a wide range of temperatures throughout the season. I thought my Colorado waterlily was getting ready to sleep for the winter, but last week it pushed out another flower bud. With the milder temperatures forecasted for this week, it may yet bloom. Perhaps next week’s macro shot will be [...]

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Monarch Caterpillar in the “J” position

January 1, 2011

Monarch caterpillar hanging in the “J” position on the milkweed plant in the garden. I’ve been watching this caterpillar for the past week munching away on the milkweed plant (which is still blooming) despite two evenings below 29 degrees in the past week. Yesterday I noticed the familiar J position, which signals the transformation process [...]

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