2014, Day 103 - Poised

I am so excited that I found my first crab spider of the year this afternoon.  While walking under the lilac in my backyard I saw this little guy poised to grab a snack.  This is one of my favorite sights, I love insects but spiders are my special favorite.

Canon 1D X, Canon 100/f2.8L IS
100mm, f11, 1/160 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 102 - Squeezed

With the warmer weather the ferns are starting to grow new fronds.  This is a maidenhair fern and the new fronds are so light and bright and new they stand out in stark contrast to more mature growth.  Right now they're so delicate but in a day or two they will unfurl and there will be a little more green in our northwest landscape.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO

2014, Day 101 - Interlocking

I love wood sorrel, it is so lush and vibrant and it brightens every garden.  There is a little bit in my yard, it is just getting established and I hope that it really takes off this year.  Gardening has never really been my forte but since starting the yard from scratch last year I take a much greater interest and find even the little things exciting now.  Not that I want to lose years of my life in a flash but I am anxious to see how it looks when it is well established.  Oh well, I suppose I'll have to be patient.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 500 ISO

2014, Day 100 - Down on the floor

Bunchberries are a relatives of the more familiar dogwood trees but they are only eight inches tall.  They spread by rhizomes and will eventually form a nice carpet under the canopy.  Their flowers are the same in form as those on dogwood but their name is derived from the bright red fruit they bear which are said to taste similar to apples.  These aren't the plants in my yard, they are my friend's plants, but I have a couple flats planted and hope to see a carpet in my yard in a few years.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f4, 1/140 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 99 - Three-legged legend

This is a northern red-legged frog and he has been a regular at the pond where I found him for years.  While there are many other frogs who call that pond home he is distinctive as he is missing a hind leg.  It doesn't seem to affect his ability to swim, I saw him shoot across the pond after we finished our little portrait session.  Red-legged frogs are an indigenous species and my friend Lory has two ponds in her backyard that are teaming with tadpoles right now.  What's unusual is that these frog, while prolific, are not noisy at all because they make their calls underwater but their diminutive relatives, the Pacific tree frogs, are almost deafening with their loud persistent calls.  Unfortunately their numbers are in decline and while they're still commonly found it is a cause for concern.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f3.6, 1/125 sec @ 1000 ISO

2014, Day 98 - Giants

Getting low and wide for a different perspective is always fun.  I joined my friend Lory at her nursery this morning to pick up a plant I've been trying to find since last year and she had one for me.  While I was there we took a walk through the grounds and out to her own hidden garden so I could see her trillium kurabayashii, a large plant that is extremely slow growing that she's been carefully propagating for years.  They're native to southwest Oregon and are considered rare probably because they take years to mature to the point where they flower and are relatively fragile.  However when given the right care they will self-seed and in a few years a nice colony will establish.  They are beautiful plants with large mottled leaves and deep red flowers with upright petals and a more open form that most of the trilliums we are accustomed to seeing.

Fuji X-T1, Fujinon 10-24/f4R OIS
10mm, f5.6, 1/320 sec @ 200 ISO

2014, Day 97 - Lances

The head of a dandelion is like a target with hundreds of little arrows crowding the bullseye.  Each seed is barbed to catch passing animals who then distribute them and there are also feathered parachutes to capture even the slightest breeze.  You are looking at evolution, the head of a dandelion is perfectly adapted widespread dispersal, this is function refined by thousands of years and it is elegant, simple, and effective.

Fuji X-E2, Fujinon 60/f2.4R
60mm, f5.6, 1/125 sec @ 400 ISO