Macro Monday - Mushrooms!

I don't know if it was because it had rained so much during the preceding weeks, but there were mushrooms everywhere in the back yard.  Different types of mushrooms at that.  And it wasn't just limited to my yard, but in yards around the neighborhood and the nearby park areas too.

So what is one to do with these mushrooms?  Well I say, macro them!  Here is just one of several images I took.   Come back next week for more, but in the meantime, here's one of my favorites.

Macro Monday - {Tampa Nature Photographer}

Today's Macro Monday post comes to you from...yes...my yard.  I swear I will venture away from home one of these days for Macro Monday, but there's just so much darn stuff to shoot around here!   Have you ever noticed all those yellow "dots" on your plant near the flowers?  They look like dots to me and I'm  sure that part of it is because I need to get glasses for more than just when I'm reading and on the computer.  The other part is that these "dots" or aphids as they are properly known by, are so darn small!   I never really knew what they looked like until I got them up close on the computer.  They have these black "horn" type things, are some are covered in a white "hairy" looking substance and some look like little babies following their mom as in the first picture.  If you note, there's a green one in the bottom corner.  Wonder if that one is really really young?    I guess I will have to do some research on aphids!

Macro Monday - {Tampa Bay Photographer}

Happy Monday!  Hope you have a great day...or had one...depending on when you are reading this. :)   Today's Macro Monday is a sequel my previous Sunflower Macro Monday post which you can see here. Our beautiful garden sunflower opened!  It's huge and...well wavy in the middle, the latter not being a feature I was expecting.  Next step for this flower is to dry it out when all the seeds mature, roast them and enjoy a yummy snack.

I captured these early morning with the rising sun's light.  Kind of made sense for a "sun" flower.

See what I mean by "wavy"?  
And you don't always have to get in close with your macro.  It is great for pulled out shots as well!  

Macro Monday - {Tampa Photographer}

It's amazing how much there is to photograph just outside my front door.  We've got penta plants which bees and Monarch butterflies love to feed from the flowers and milkweed on which the butterflies lay their eggs.  The caterpillars eat the leaves until they are full grown and turn into butterflies.  It's great to see the whole cycle right outside the door!  While we've had a number of Monarchs cocoon around our house, we've never had two right next to each other.  Last week, about 2 hours before dawn you could see that the one to the left was very dark at least that's how it looked from the ground.  As history would indicate, it would likely emerge before or around sunrise.  I pulled out the ladder as my trusty step stool wasn't going to get my 5'2" self up high enough for this job.  In between the kids getting ready for school and me getting ready for the day I kept popping my head outside.  I was so excited about the possibility of seeing the Monarch actually emerging as this is an event that has escaped me, but knew it would only take a minute and I could miss in between my morning tasks.  I grabbed some shots of the cocoon up close and was stunned to see that it wasn't just dark, the cocoon was actually see through at this point and the dark is actually the butterfly! You could see the orange on its wings all curled up into this incredibly small space! That paired with the site of a newer, still green cocoon within inches was just so amazing!  I am a nature geek, I know.   I had hoped till this little guy waited till the sun came up before coming out so the light would be more beautiful and well, it complied!  After all the demands of my morning were met, I parked myself on the ladder and waited, and waited and then I noticed what seemed to be a slight break at the bottom of the cocoon.  Within seconds, the crack opened more and the butterfly pushed it's way out, head first, then slowly opening its wings!  It moved around till it found the right spot to wait while its wings dried and it was able to take flight.   There are a lot of shots, but I just couldn't narrow them down any further and still show the process.  I hope you enjoy!

 This little guy was making his way up the same wall!

Macro Monday - {Tampa Photographer}

Hello!  Welcome back to Macro Monday.  Today's macro is once again from my garden.   We are growing a sunflower - yes, just one sunflower.  The pictures below is the sunflower before the beautiful yellow leaves start to unfold.  The outer green petals remind of an artichoke (one of my fave veggies - stuffed with bread crumbs and parmesan cheese, but I digress.)

I'm hoping to cook up some of the zucchini flowers featured last week.  When we do, I will be sure and share the process as well as the results.  Maybe I'll do Foodie Friday and feature recipes along with pictures...hmmm ;)

It's the Little Things - {Tampa Bay Photographer}

Sometimes beautiful things come in small packages.  You just have to keep your eyes open! 

I found this tiny flower walking in Ybor City.  It's about the size of one of those tiny lollipops!