What is That and Mini Posts of the Week

I'm spending a fair bit of time away from blog visiting and photo uploading, these days. As a result, the POTW suffers some. And I fall farther and farther behind in my photo postings.

I have dozens of photos waiting to be organized into posts, dozens more that have been uploaded but have not even been looked at yet and hundreds which are still sitting in my camera.

And I'm not even at home to do anything about it.I've been at Frank's for the past week and we're heading out of town for a few days, tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'm adding photos to the collection in the camera every day. I'm sure you'll see them all eventually - even if I have to show you summer photos in mid-winter.

For now, I have a few photos that were viewed on my computer a fair while after they were snapped. They were unusual perspectives and they even made me ask "what is THAT?" I eventually remembered (or the next image reminded me) and now I'd like to present them to you.


A colourful, round prism. I'm surprised that my camera picked it up as it was a minute little sparkle. Below is where I found it.




This sap droplet sparkled and glimmered and caught my eye in the late day sunlight.



Not nearly as pretty, I would see this sight in the same spot on the park pathway every morning. By afternoon, nothing remained of it but it was back the very next morning and it continued this pattern over the course of about ten days.Let's have a closer look, shall we?



Tiny ants busy doing something. The same something every morning in the same spot. I never did figure out what drew them to that small area of pavement but a couple of weeks later, there was a mysterious square patch of tar laid in that precise spot. Anyone have any idea what that might have been about?




This one is simply a pattern made from water on the wood deck after a rainfall. It formed what I thought looked like a wild animal's profile. Perhaps a weasel of some sort. The knot in the wood effectively gave it an eye.

And now, without further delay, here are the Posts of the Week. The icon below is yours for the taking if if your blog post is named as a POTW.



 

JUST PLAIN GOOD

Scintillant
by Cloudia
at Comfort Spiral

PHINE PHOTOGRAPHY

Summer Scenes, the Blue Moon and Labor Day
by King
at King of the New York Hacks

Shadows
by Daryl
at Out and About in New York City

Hover Fly
by Bob
at Birds and Nature in the Forest of Dean

A GOOD READ

 
Did You Split Your Head Open?
by Jim
at Suldog

READERS' CHOICE

Recommended by: Lady Fi
The Last Rays of Sun
by Fey Girl
at Serenity Spell

Please drop by their blogs for a visit and leave a kind comment if you have the time. Also, please feel free to add your own choices (for any blog except this one) for a specific blog post in the comments section below, where others can see them.

Thank you

Petals & Wings

It seems that I have an abundance of flower and bird images and so please bear with me for one more round of photos depicting what has caught my eye through summer.



I love the simple beauty of the wild chicory. I photograph it often.





Touch-me-nots (or Himalayan Balsam) are so named for the pods which grow and ripen late in the summer. One very gentle touch and they pop open to reveal the seeds inside. They're irresistible - kind of like nature's bubble wrap.





The pods were just beginning to grow on this plant iwhen the photo was taken. They sure do look pretty in the late-day sunlight.




As do these blushing rose hips.





I'm sure somebody, somewhere knows the name of this wildflower, but it isn't me.





Likewise for this lovely purple plant.





This one I know. It's a coneflower or echinacea.





Sometimes a blossom looks just as pretty from behind.
 

On to the birds...


Mallards are lovely creatures - even when they're moulting heavily. You can see the wee bits of green feathers just beginning to grow back on this fellow's head.





Male cardinals certainly add a splash of colour to their surroundings. This guy is eating Chez Frank.





And this sweet little sparrow became familiar to us over the course of a couple of days. Frank dubbed him Big Nose. Unfortunately, he wasn't coping as well as his mates. He'd stop by the feeding station and eat well enough, but he appeared to struggle and flutter to keep his balance. He flew just fine the first day but his wings didn't seem to be able to give him quite the lift he needed by the next day. By day three, he was clearly ailing - unable to fly at all. Frank tried to coax him into a cage where he'd be able to find food, water and safety from predators overnight but that was just not to be. I think a swift kill (if that happened) was probably the kinder end for Big Nose. We never saw him again after day three. In retrospect (and by Googling) we determined that he probably had the West Nile virus.





Rest in peace, little Big Nose.

Stay tuned for more photos in a few days.