odd bug

I saw this odd insect on the outside of my kitchen window as i was cleaning it. I thought it was funny that my cleaning the window didn't scare the bug off, so i went for my camera and got some pictures of it. I have no idea what kind of insect this is, it was pretty big, around three to five inches long. I've seen them around before, but never very close up.

butterfly

I saw this butterfly on my deck, which made me happy as i haven't seen any so far this year. I'm still waiting for the cicadas that are supposed to be coming out after seventeen years, but i've only heard one or two, not seen them. I would love to get a nice macro photo of a butterfly, but they really don't sit still as i try to get close enough to them. I heard that if you go out early at dawn, they are still a bit cold and don't move as much, but i don't see them then.

Squirrel update

The squirrel on the right is the one with the injured hand, with a young one on the left. His (or her) hand looks a lot better, but it looks like he can't really move it much. Still gets around great, and seems to put his weight on it even. Still not sure what caused it, but i'm glad it's looking a lot better.

The deck is a mess, every bird feeder i get they manage to destroy and get at the seeds inside. So i've been putting the seeds on the bottom of a pan i have out there.

Covered Building

I keep seeing this building that has been almost covered by ivy (i think it's ivy, i don't know for sure) and always liked the look of it even though i know it's not the best thing for it. I've always liked the look of overgrown buildings, but there aren't many in this area that i know of. Even though i'm allergic to many plants, i love seeing them around, and i don't feel comfortable in areas without a lot of vegetation. I'm not sure where that comes from, but there you go.

Water tower

This was taken the other day when it was pretty overcast and gloomy, but i still think it looks good in the background. There are a couple water towers in town, this one is the one i like the look of better and is also just about a block or two from where i live. Personally, i prefer the look of the older water towers, even though i know things must change and progress. They just have a more interesting look to them than the new streamlined ones. I will take a picture of the newer one some day also, but i prefer this one. ;)

injured squirrel

I saw this squirrel on my deck eating, it looked like his hand was crushed or pinched in something, It has gotten swollen and red since i first saw him, but lately it seemed to have gone down a little. I tried to go out and catch him so i could take him to my vet who treats wild animal injuries for free, but when i would slowly open the door it ran off pretty fast. He (or she, i have no idea) can run pretty well for not using the one hand to run or climb, so he's hard to catch. I could use a safe trap to get him, but the odds are i would keep catching other ones or other animals. The last time i talked to the vet about a wild animal that i had seen injured in my yard, they said that as long as they are eating and can out run you, they are probably doing well enough to not need the stress of being caught and the possible surgery they would need. I still feel sorry for the little guy though and want to help.

I've been bad about posting, i know. I'm going to work better on this, and not be so hard on myself for it being the same day photograph, just the general time of year. It's been hard every day to get out and think of things to photograph, sometimes not feeling good or creative, but some days i go crazy taking photos.

Pinhole yard photo

I've been playing with pinhole photography and polaroid instant film, and this is the best shot i have gotten so far. It was taken out the big window in my breakfast nook today. Not really the most informative picture i have taken, but i have been bad about posting and i thought i should post this.

View out of bedroom window

I had missed that today was theme day, and just found out yesterday that the theme was to take a picture out of your bedroom window. Even though it's not offically one of the theme day posts, i thought i would take a picture of that. That's what i see out of my bedroom, if i took it to the left more all you would see would be trees, so i aimed it more towards the right where you can see my backyard and the apartment building behind me. It's very overcast today so that's why the sky looks white. I had taken pictures out of the front windows before, the lightning picture is what i see out the front of my house, so this is the other side.

Mural

I'm kind of surprised that i hadn't taken a picture of this before. It's a mural on the wall of a business in town, and i don't really know its history. It's something you see as you drive south through downtown, and i guess i just sort of stopped noticing it after a while. The Ben Franklin that it's painted on is going out of business, and i'm not sure if that will stay there afterwards. The yellow Bettle is my car, and it needs a wash.

broken headstone

This is another picture i took on Memorial Day. I was impressed that even though the headstone was broke that someone put it up like that. Too often the old headstones get treated badly as no one is alive who knew the person or family and the older ones are easily fractured. One of the things i notice are the changing styles of headstones from decade to decade, although more noticeable by century. New ones now have pictures of the people along with the names and dates, sometimes etched pictures of the hobby of the person.

Memorial Day photograph

This was taken yesterday, Memorial Day, in the cemetary on the north side of town. I missed the parade and ceremony but took some pictures anyway. This was a marker sitting by itself in a blank area of grass, i'm not sure if there used to be more old markers like this or it was the only one there. The graveyards here are less grand than the ones i was used to in LaCrosse, which had statues and more unusual markers. Here they are mostly just the headstone type, but i did see several that were before 1900. A funny thing happened while i was there. There was a crow following me around, it would hop up on a headstone, and when i raised my camera, it would hop behind it. It didn't matter if i raised it slowly or fast, the crow would be hidden by the time i got the camera up to my eye. He was totally playing with me, i kept giggling after a while as it was just so surreal.

Clover watching rain

This is my pet rabbit Clover, looking out the window watching the rain. I have five other rabbits as pets, but Clover is the one who doesn't mind me taking pictures of him, he will sit still long enough for lots of photographs. He loves to look out the window and see what's going on, even though sometimes he gets scared at what he sees and runs down and hides while thumping. I love my silly bunnies.
I have been working really hard on remodeling a closet, so haven't had a chance to get out and get many photos. Today is Memorial Day, and there was a parade early, but i missed it sadly, so no pictures from that. I will try to get out later and see if i can get any pictures of things happening later or decorations that are up.

heavy rain

There was a strong storm last night with tornado sirens going off. This is my neighbors downspout that got knocked loose either from the winds or heavy rain, and this was taken only a little after the rain started. It was coming down very heavy and strong for about an hour or two. The sky got dark really fast, and after the storm passed it got a lot lighter. There still is rain here today, but thankfully just a light rain.

Hotrod

I saw this car on a side street while i was driving around looking for something to photograph, and thought it was interesting. My parents have an old Model A Ford that my uncle Al restored, he was good at restoring cars, and this reminded me of it. I am envious of people who are good at fixing and customizing cars, it's a skill i totally lack. I sometimes watch shows like Monster Garage and i'm just in awe of how they know how to do what they do. Although, i am kind of that way with computers, so i shouldn't be too upset.
(this is two photographs stiched together as the lens i had was not wide enough to get it all in one shot.)