Explored on Flickr (103!!!)

The other day when I went up to our ridge to retake pictures, I spotted something white out of the corner of my eye. I looked over and saw what appeared to be a white cap dropped on the forest floor, but as I approached, I was delighted to see it was a white mushroom!! I moved around to the far side and was delighted to find that I would be able to take the image from below to display its frilly gills with the sun adding a perfect ethereal glow! (By the way, this mushroom's cap measures about an inch across.) (Explored on Flickr, February 8, 2011)

[best appreciated at full size against black] In one of our meadows, near our house, there is a rocky granite valley which gets a lot of water runoff from the hill above. Springtime is magical here because it's covered with glowing green moss and other lush, water-loving plantlife, including mushrooms. There are dozens growing here and every one is like a little person with its own character. Can you imagine my elation when I found this pair standing side by side? Incredible! I hope you like this image as much as I do, it's one of my favorites! I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! www.flickr.com/people/sfhipchick/ This image was taken in February, 2012. This image was taken in February, 2012. (Explored on February 11, 2011)

A few days ago, Steve and I drove out to Lost Creek Reservoir for a hike and some photography. We were there last spring and wow, what a difference! On our previous visit, this place was exploding with flowers and lush new greenery, but right now, the plantlife is only just beginning to wake up for the upcoming show. No worries for us, because when you have macro lenses, there are endless wonderful things to photograph! I remembered that one of my favorite plants grows here in a few places, the fabulous, prehistoric plant, the Horsetail (also known as snake grass or puzzlegrass). This amazing living fossil is one of the world's oldest species, dating back over 100 MILLION years!!! Isn't that INCREDIBLE?!! I have always lovd these plants because they are so unusual looking, but I have never taken a really close look at one before, nor have I seen a brand new sprout! What a cool plant!! If you would like to know more about Horsetails, Wiki has a super page here: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetum This image was taken in February, 2012. (Explored on February 12, 2011)

[best appreciated at full size against black] Even though we have no roses blooming on this international day of romance, I did happen to go out this morning and find this lovely sight waiting for me to capture! This image was taken in February, 2012 This image was taken in February, 2012. (Explored on February 13, 2011)

[best appreciated at full size against black] We have a few types of mushrooms that I see most commonly on our property, and this is one of them. Nearly black on top, with chocolate-colored gills underneath, their caps often have jaunty up-turned edges that positively demand a photograph! :D This image was taken in February, 2012. Explored on February 14, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] If I want to make sure that I find mushrooms on our property, I head down to our moss-covered granite rocks which are drenched with water flowing from the hill above. Looking carefully and watching where I put my feet, it doesn't take long before I've found one! Right now there are lots of them popping up here and there all over, so there's no end to the photo ops! However, the other day I was nose-close to the moss, peering closely to look for interesting shapes or something new. Then, out of the corner of my eye I noticed a very tiny brown spot amid a bunch of moss. To my surprise, it was a brand new mushroom, only 1/8" in diameter, and trying very hard to grow taller than the moss around it! I love this picture so much, and I hope you like this cute little guy as much as I do!! :D I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! www.flickr.com/people/sfhipchick/ This image was taken in February, 2012. Explored on February 15, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] On our back deck, there's a little rose bush that loves to grow through the deck. I noticed these leaves a while ago, and thought they might make a nice picture with the right conditions. One morning, Valentine's Day to be exact, it stopped raining long enough for me to step out and take some pictures! This may not be a flower, but this leaf is as pretty as a rose, don't you think? :) I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! www.flickr.com/people/sfhipchick/ This image was taken in February, 2012

Ok, I lied! This isn't a rose! It's a budding Redstem Storksbill , and just 1/4" in diameter! If you've stopped by in the past day, you may have noticed that I changed my screen name for a while to mention that I've been having computer problems. Actually, my husband's computer threw a gigantic fit and he needed to use mine to get a project done while he repaired his computer. Finally all is well, but unfortunately, that has put me behind in my commenting and image uploads. I hope you'll understand if I'm late to comment! It's been a very rough 24 hours around here, let me tell you!! I'll be doing my best to catch up and thank you for your patience! :D Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) This image was taken in March, 2012. Explored on April 5th, 2012.

A week or so ago, I posted a black and white image of a cluster of our jonquils growing in our front yard. Here is an open blossom, just after a Spring rain! :) This image was taken in March, 2012. Explored on April 8th, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] This is one of my favorite pictures of the group of mushrooms I found down at the Rogue River a month or so ago. I had a bit of fun breaking the border with one of the mushrooms, I think it adds a bit of drama to this glowing pair! :) This image was taken in February, 2012. Explored on April 12th, 2012.

Yesterday I posted a collage of creepy crawly critters I've found under rocks and logs I've looked under. Well, the other day I was on our hillside looking around, and I found some old logs. I carefully rolled one over...nothing there. After replacing the log, I went to the next one. Fully expecting to find nothing there, I lifted it onto its end and LOOK WHAT I FOUND!!! A SCORPION!!! *bounces up and down in glee* This docile little guy was sitting very still on a bed of decaying wood and I was free to take as many pictures as I wanted. I'm not afraid of these amazing creatures because I know they're not interested in hurting me unless I'm unlucky enough to step on one. Even then, I'd be concerned but I know the the odds are the sting would only be something like a bee sting, or at worst, like a very bad hornet sting. Not fun at all, but not deadly either. However, I treat animals like this with great respect, and I felt so lucky to see this awesome predator! The Northwest Forest Scorpion, also known as the California Scorpion, is native to the Pacific Northwest, and is the most common scorpion in Oregon. These are very unaggressive as scorpions go, and live in rotting logs and other humid places. They eat small insects and prefer to use their pincers to kill their prey, not their stingers. Their venom is considered to be a "1" on a scale of "1-5". This image was taken in April, 2012. Explored on April 13th, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] I'm starting to play around with high shutter speed shots so I can take pictures of birds in flight. What better to practice on than the never-ending stream of birds that come to visit our bird feeders every day?! :D I've been getting some really great results, though I've also discovered this is an easy way to fill up a memory card with pictures!! :D This picture I really like because I managed to caprure a Lesser Goldfinch a split second before it took off! Stay tuned for some fun action-oriented collages and fun images! I would also like to give a big thanks to my dear friend Joe , who's been urging me to practice! Thanks Joe! I'm on my way! :) This image was taken in April, 2012. Explored on April 14, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] Here is one of my favorite springtime flowers, the beautiful little Popcornfower! (I don't know why, but this plant's name is spelled as I've written it, though I really want to spell it as Popcorn Flower!) Popcornflowers are part of a genus that includes over 65 species, most of which grow all over North and South America, and more than 15 are found in California alone! Surprisingly, there are 5 species known in Australia! These joyful little blossoms are usually white with yellow centers but some species bear yellow flowers. I have always thought the blossoms look very similar to Forget-Me-Nots, a flower that grows on Mt. Davidson behind my childhood home in San Francisco. One of the features of this flower that I love so much is the fern-frond-like unfurling of their blossoms. I will be posting a picture of how this looks in the next few days! :) If you'd like to know more about Popcornflowers, Wiki has a page here: Wiki: Popcornflower (Plagiobothrys) I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) This image was Explored on April 14th, 2012.

[best appreciated at full size against black] A few weeks ago I found a bunch of tiny red-orange-capped mushrooms growing inside a log's bark up along our ridgeline. I had a lot of fun taking pictures of the different groups, and this darling little family was the smallest of them all. The tallest one is only about 1/3" tall!! On the left is Mr. Button, and he stands tall and proud, adorned with a fashionable leafy ornament! He shows off his beautiful family who look shyly on. Mrs. Button is leaning close over Baby Button, who's as wee as can be, and quite the doll indeed! Hooray for the Buttons, aren't they a wonderful sight!! :D This image was taken in March, 2012. Explored on April 16, 2012.

I have been very busy with work lately so it's been tough to get out to take pictures, but yesterday the sun was out for a while and I simply HAD to go out and nose around! What fun I had! New flowers and buds everywhere, a picture of a mallard duck hanging out at our seasonal pond, and I went up to the ridge to check on the status of "The 26th Flower of Spring", which hadn't opened yet. It still hasn't but oh BOY!! It's going to be just a couple of days now and promises to be very special! On the way back down, I saw the flutter of a butterfly and stopped in my tracks, hoping it might land somewhere close enough for a picture. It flitted here and there and then, against all odds, it parked itself on a bunch of twigs where I could easily take its picture if I was careful! YES!!! So, using my Acme Patented "creep and click" method :D :D, I worked my way closer and closer, and lo and behold, I managed to fill the frame with this beautiful butterfly!! In fact, I'll have some extreme close-ups to show at a later date!! I'm beside myself with joy!!! YIPPEE!!! :D The Propertius Duskywing is a type of butterfly called a skipper, which is in-between a butterfly and a moth. Skippers have stocky, hairy bodies like moths, and knobs at the end of their antennae like butterflies (unlike the lovely feather-like antennae of moths). When resting, they also tend to hold their wings differently, with the hind wings flat and the fore wings up over their body. However, this one is holding its wings moth-like; butterflies tend to hold their wings up over their body. This Duskywing is found in the Pacific Northwest from British Columbia to Baja, California; larval caterpillars eat oak leaves, and adults feed on flower nectar. If you would like to know more about Duskywings, Wiki has a list of links here: Wiki: Duskywing . For more information about Skippers, Wiki has a wonderful page here: Wiki: Skippers . This image was taken in April, 2012. Explored on April 17, 2012.

"One of the greatest gifts you can give anybody is the gift of your honest self." ~ Fred Rogers Today I was reminded of Mister Rogers, who had a show on television for children from 1968 to 2001. He passed away in 2003 and I remember how sad I felt then, remembering all the shows I watched as young child. He was a very gentle, kind man who delivered wonderful messages and lessons through his show on PBS. Today I saw an article about a wonderful music video dedicated to Mister Rogers that's gone viral on YouTube. As I watched, the memories of this man, and the sorrow of losing people in my life, and the eminent death of people near and dear to my heart made me cry, but also made me smile through my tears with the good memories I have too. I hope that you will watch this video. It's a very touching dedication by PBS Studios which I am sure you will enjoy. Mister Rogers Remixed | Garden of Your Mind | PBS Digital Studios If you would like to know more about Fred Rogers, Wiki has a wonderful page here: Wiki: Fred Rogers I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) NOTE! I have finally updated my profile and I hope you'll take a look to find out a little more about me and how important all of you are to my experience here on Flickr! Janet's profile (sfhipchick) Explored on June 7, 2012. Highest placement: #426.

I discovered this branch on a tree I had never seen on our hillside a month or so ago. I decided to explore my way up to the ridge to see if there was something special to find...of course there were many special sights, including the spider I posted yesterday, some little black and red beetles, and this tree branch! It looks similar to a pussy willow, but it's not soft and fuzzy. I believe those are all new leaves just sprouting. A very lovely discovery! I've uploaded two other pictures today and I hope you'll visit them too! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) Explored on June 8, 2012, placement at #470.

Take one good look at this amazing bird's face and you'll agree: it looks undeniably like its ancestors, the dinosaurs! It's even got a serrated beak! In fact, Emus and other ratites species like Ostriches are responsible for helping scientists understand how dinosaurs move upright, and are also used as the models for cgi dinosaurs in movies and documentaries. Steve and I got to go to an Emu farm here in southern Oregon with our photography group and were given a tour of the facilities. I took lots and lots of pictures including eggs, chicks, juveniles, detail shots, and other things like emu egg artwork, emu oil products, and many other really neat pictures. I'll be showing them in the next few weeks and filling you in on more details about these super cool birds! A big thank you to Kay at the High Cascade Emu Ranch for allowing all of us to spend the day taking pictures of their wonderful birds and facilities! Thanks to all of you who have visited and have left comments and favorites! I try to go to all of your pages within a day or two and is a highlight for me to see your beautiful photography! :) Explored on June 9, 2012, placement at #204