Autumn Gardens
I've been away from my own computer for over two weeks. About nine of those days were spent up at the cottage away from a internet connection. It's going to be a while before I can catch up but I'll be visiting, posting and replying to comments again before too long. Hopefully.When we cross the street in front of Frank's place, we find ourselves in a beautiful piece of land complete with fertile fields, a meandering creek and a small butterfly garden. Earlier this summer, another butterfly garden was built not too far from the pond in my own local park. We're very lucky to have such lovely sights to see so close to our respective homes.Asters attract all sorts of beautiful insects including the wonderful Monarch as it pauses during its migration. This one danced around from flower to flower until it finally sat still long enough to pose for this photo.A busy bee buzzed around nearby.And an interesting little yellow-green beetle tip-toed around the petals.Jerusalem Artichoke grows wild and tall in the field.These fluffy pink plants were growing at my local park.Head bent, seeds gone and petals withered - this sunflower has seen better days. I'll be back in a few days with some autumn leaves
72 comments:
I don't know how you find to do anything other than taking pictures when you're at the cottage. Through the lense of your camera, everything is so beautiful.
Wow, jj
Seriously, the pictures of the bee, butterfly and beetle are so beautiful. They bring tears to my eyes. Thank you for capturing them doing what they do. :-)
Sigh- so much beauty and colour here. Wonderful shots!
You have the best pictures!
One would think by now I would expect greatness from you posts as a normal everyday occurrence, but you still astound me with the quality and the subjects you find. I loved them all!
As always a master at finding the beauty everywhere you look, Hilary Thank you :-)
Butterfly, bee and beetle, I like your wild-life photos Hilary - Dave
I have noticed monarchs in my garden, making their way to Mexico for the winter. The butterfly - such an easy creature to love.
Absolutely beautiful images.
Those are gorgeous photos! Such beauty!
Everyone has to get away from everything every now and then, so I hope it was a wonderful break!
Oh yeah, I look forward to seeing your autumn leaves. I am so happy for you that you are spending quality time at the cottage and enjoying yourself. Lovely photos in your post, I try and try to get a good pic of a bee and so far not so much. You give me something to shoot for.
Very lovely photos of insects and flowers, the Jerusalem Artichoke especially caught my eye!
the sun flower bows its head to fall...some really great pics hilary....
The Monarch and Asters are beautiful, nice collection of photos!
The sunflower still has a lot to do.Watch finches come in and eat all the seed.
Looks like your little black squirrels have been at the sunflowers. Or maybe it was the birds?
I may be repetitious ablout this, but these are, as usual, really well done... like something from a nature mag.
And how about A little Van Morrison, just for fun? Autumn Song ?
Glad to see you back...
Lovely pics as always...you're getting to be quite the gallivanter, aren't you????
You sound happy.
Gorgeous shots!, I especially love the bee...it's wings are etherial! You are a fabulous photographer!,
thank you for the peace and beauty this morning, hilary. i must have needed it because it touched me...
Wow. Just gorgeous. Never have bugs looked so beautiful. :) Love the close ups!
The sunflower reminds me of a person, spent and tired, who has seen the work complete.
Those are wonderful.
Amazing shots....I love your wild-life photos Hilary
So delicate and beautiful! As usual I am in awe.
The wings on the bee glistening ~ wow :))) I'm going to miss your cottage photos. I'll be looking forward to next summers batch of beauty.
All of them are great for different reasons. For regular visitors they'd probably be in agreement that your photo's represent a timeline that coincides with the time you've spent at the cottage.
This is one of my favorite posts of yours. The first few pictures are simply marvelous.
I too have been totally absent from here for almost a week, living life. Thus I am trying to catch up too.;)
xoxo
The essence lies in the details, and that's how I feel when I look at your close-ups...
Pearl
Welcome back. :-)
The detail on that bee's wings is amazing! I don't feel like we're at the tail end of autumn at all! Bring on spring! :)
Stunning. Especially the uniqueness of that last photo.
The pictures are absolutely lovely.
These images are just what I needed.
Looking at the world through your eye and the camera's is like a therapy session. I always come away feeling better.
Can't wait to see those leaves, but I'll just be content to enjoy the flowers for today...beautiful! The bees have been very slow since the temps have dropped...time to hibernate! For Bees and me!
I don't have word to express the beauty I find in this photographs.
THEY ARE PERFECTION!!!
Oh my, those glistening wings of the busy little bee! And the perfect monarch as she dines on aster flowers. Just beautiful! They could be postcards.
These are just beautiful images, Hilary, all of them. I think the bee is perfection.
Stunning photos, especially the first!
• Thank you, Joanna. These were actually pre-cottage photos but we do snap a lot of shots wherever we are. Thanks so much for the kind words. :)
• Birdie, thank you so kindly. I'm glad these photos touched you. :)
• Thanks kindly, Lady Fi. :)
• Grayquill, thank you so much. Such lovely and kind words are very much appreciated. :)
• Thank you, Anyes. That's a very nice thing to say. :)
• Thanks very much, Dave. :)
• MJ, they sure are, as are a few other insects - Dragonflies and Ladybugs come to mind. :)
• Thank you, Bob. :)
• Sarah, thanks kindly. It was indeed a great break. :)
• TB, thank you so much. I have a hard time getting insects into decent focus too. My good insect shots are more the exception than the rule but I keep trying. I'm sure you will too. :)
• Thank you, kindly, Wanda. I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)
• Brian, leave it to the poet to create the perfect description for that image. Thank you. :)
• Thanks very much, Steve G. :)
• Steve (Out on the Prairie), you're so right. There's a lot of purpose packed into each flower. :)
• Cricket, good to see you. It might have been either or both. I'm sure several critters were nourished by that big bloom. Your kind comments always make me smile.. that's so appreciated. As is your musical selection. I've quoted that Van the Man song in previous years on my autumn posts so you know I'm in favour of it as this week's soundtrack. Thanks so much, my friend. :)
• Thanks, Hilary. We tend to gallivant around the same few places but yes, we're enjoying. :) My mother loved to use that word in reference to my friends and me. Thanks for the memory. :)
• Welcome, Donna and thanks so much for such kind words. They're very much appreciated. :)
• Tex, thank you. I'm so pleased to know that. :)
• Thanks so much, Kat. I'm glad you enjoyed them. :)
• MessyMimi, that's a good metaphor for the sunflower. Thanks for that. :)
• Thank you kindly, Leah. :)
• Welcome, Short Poems and thank you so much for such kind words. :)
• DJan, thank you kindly, dear lady. :)
• Christine, I have a load of cottage photos coming up over the next several posts. These here were pre-cottage images from my place and Frank's. So stand by .. they ought to last into winter. Maybe. ;)
• Thank you, Daniel. This is true. I imagine that as long as folks are enjoying my photos, it doesn't matter too much as to when or where they were taken. At least I hope that's true. Thanks always for stopping by, my friend. :)
• Zuzana, living life always trumps blogging, so enjoy it, my friend. Thanks always for your kind comments. You know they're very much appreciated. :)
• Pearl, thank you kindly. Such a nice thing to say. Thanks for your visit. :)
• Elizabeth, I'm with you. I could happily go through a month of winter and then right back into spring. Is there a petition I can sign? ;)
• Thanks so much, Tabor. I'm glad you like it. :)
• Thanks very much, Ruth. :)
• Mage, glad to hear it. Thank you. :)
• Pauline, such a lovely compliment. Thank you so much for that. :)
• Yaya, it sure is slowing down out there. Sluggish and lazy. You'd think it was the heat of summer. I'll have some leaves for you soonish. Thanks for stopping by. :)
• Juana, thank you so kindly. Very much appreciated. :)
• Thank you so much, Wendy. Your kind words always make me smile. :)
• Kerry, thank you very much. It pleases me to know that you think so. :)
• Jeff, thanks very kindly. Much appreciated. :)
Those Asters make a perfect purple backdrop! My favorite is that Jerusalem Artichoke - it looks like happiness.
Hilary, all of these photos are incredible, but that first one made me catch my breath. Exquisite!
I'm actually relieved that a few bloggers like you have been taking a bit of a break. I am still behind from the break I took this summer!
glorious!
and yes, the little yellowgreen beetle is cool
Aloha from Waikiki;
Comfort Spiral
> < } } ( ° >
Oh what fabulous photos!! Love the butterfly and that sunflower is such an interesting "sculpture"...love it!!
Hugs
SueAnn
truly. truly. calming and stunning.
you have certainly caught all the beautiful details of autumn in your photos.
Hilary:
I recently posted a piece about my favorite photographers, and Suldog commented about HIS favorites, and gave me the link to YOU!
I am so glad he did. Your photos are exquisite.
Sincerely, cd
I just run out of words to describe your wonderful photos.
You get some really pretty bugs in your garden. I get slugs.
These are all wonderful - I love the different perspectives you give to photos. I adore the one of the bee - perfect capture of its wings!!
Oh wow! That bee is Beautiful! What incredible detail!!!
someone has spent time and gotten quite good with that macro!!!!!!
Beautiful shots! I love the butterfly and the spotted cucumber beetle. There was a butterfly exhibit at the State Fair on Sat. I can't wait to post my pics!
The quiet beauties of nature that we rarely get to see so intimately are captured exquisitely in your photos.
Amazing photos of the change of seasons. I think my favorite is the Jerusalem artichoke. The back lighting is supurb.
Your photos Hilary just make me feel good. Thank you.
You always capture such great nature photos Hilary. I especially love that sunflower shot!
Reminders of temps perdu!
It'll be a long dark time before these sights can be enjoyed gain.
I love the way you've caught the delicate bee's wings.
Beautiful photos.
I would be hard pushed to survive without the Internet. How did we used to manage?
Maggie X
Nuts in May
Just amazingly beautiful, as always, Hilary, especially the marvelous detail on the bee's wings.
Oh, I hope you weren't too close to that bumblebee! Love the detail on it's wings, tho'.
I love visiting your blog-gives me a respite from all the other things going on. Blessings***
I like how you look at Mother Earth.
This will sound strange but I think the sunflower is my favorite...it looks like it's trying to gather its thoughts.
Lovely shots. The cottage (and Frank) seem to really inspire your creativity! That's a GOOD thing. :-)
Even a spent sunflower is glorious in here;)
Thanks for leaving us some great images Hilary.
I hope you enjoy the fall colors.
• Barb, it does look like happiness. Yellow flowers are so cheery. Thanks for stopping by. :)
• Spokalulu, thank you so much, sweet friend. I know the catch up feeling all too well. It seems I never do. Thanks for finding the time to visit. It's always a smile-evoker to read your kind words. :)
• Thanks, Cloudia. :)
• SueAnn, thanks very much. I'm glad you enjoyed the photos. :)
• Miz, thank you kindly. :)
• Shammie, thanks. More autumn coming up soon. ;)
• Clare, thank you so much for your kind words and to Sully for always being so incredibly supportive of my photography. The blog world is full of gems. :)
• Thank you, Ellen. You're too kind. :)
• Jim, I get slugs too.. I just rarely photograph them. ;)
• Barbara, thanks so much. I'm glad you enjoy my photos. :)
• Thanks kindly, Dawn. Much appreciated. :)
• Daryl, I'm working on it. :)
• Gail, thank you for the kind words and for identifying the spotted cucumber beetle. I had no idea what it was. I'll look forward to your butterfly pics. :)
• Louciao, thanks so much for such kind words. :)
• Sue, thank you so kindly. Your kind comments always make me feel good, in turn. :)
• Reena, thanks so much. You're too kind. :)
• Friko, this is true but on the bright side, it will indeed return. Thanks for the visit. :)
• Maggie May, thank you. You're right. I wouldn't want to be without it for more than a couple of weeks at a time. I don't mind the break from it but it's become a part of my life for sure. Thanks always for stopping by. :)
• Linda, thank you, my friend. Much appreciated. :)
• Karen, I was pretty close. It was far more interested in the flowers than it was with me. Thank you so much for such kind, warming words. :)
• Thank you kindly, Don. :)
• Cheryl, I love the way you see the sunflower. That's very true. Thanks so much for your always-kind words. You're right. That is indeed a GOOD thing. :)
• MPM, thanks so much. :)
• Thank you kindly, Slamdunk. :)
I'm totally green with envy here and that not a pretty picture!!!
I want ya to give me lessons...'K'???
God bless and have yourself a terrific Tuesday sweetie!!! :o)
my hat's off to you, hilary!
those are such dreamy photos!
love your creativity!
gorgeous pictures! they just brightened my day.
betty xx
Love the bug and flower show. Didn't see many Monarchs around here this year.
These are out of this world!
this is my most favourite of all of your posts. these photos are incredible.
I hope you had a fabulous time at the cottage. :)
• Nezzy, you're too kind. Thanks so much for always stopping by. :)
• Thank you, Betty. Your kind comments are always a day-brightener for me. :)
• Thanks, Linda. It was October before we started seeing them around here. :)
• Thanks so much, Sandy. :)
• Thanks very kindly, Deb. Indeed we did. :)
WONDERFUL! i love macro shots especially of bugs. that bee one is just stunning.
Thanks, Lime. Much appreciated. :)
Post a Comment