Seasons Greetings 2013........"Sheltered"

Velvet Ant.......* An unusual insect seen in the fall , seen this one while setting on the deck, have not seen before. They are actually wasps , according to reference. Adults velvet ants feed on nectar and water.     * article by Ric Bessin,Extension Entomologist, University of Kentucky College of Agriculture

Nuthatch yells at Blue jay... a lot of feeding going on this evening, everyone competing for a spot. The jay must have the  "good" feed. Aggressive little guy!!!!!!

Arrowhead spider in Buttercup Flower......These flowers are always very cheery and bright, so I photographed a series of them. This one contained an arrowhead spider, did not see it when I was shooting the documentary shots. Don't know anything about this spider, nice red and orange color.

Oak Leaf Coloration..... Hung up on leaf turning colors, now for some reason. Maybe I'm finished with this season and want to move on. This macrograph does show stages of coloration. INTRESTING!!!!!!!!!

Color Change in Yellow Popular Leaf.........The first of the yellow popular leaves are beginning to color and fall. Southeastern Indiana has had a wet spring and summer. Why do specific leaves fall before others? Have read a lot about coloration of leaves, still don't fully understand. All I know, people travel many miles to watch them and it seems to make them happier. Macrograph shows the color interfaces within the leaf. Empirical observation indicates the round darker brown area may be the result of an injury. Things have no color, only reflect specific wavelengths of light, that we see as color. I love the fall.

Shore bird, Sand, Shell & Surf...... Photo on Edisto Beach, South Carolina. A great quiet place.

Two Whitetail bucks at salt pit.....Don't see these guys a lot, about once every 7-8 days , even on the remote camera. Shot this on video, still framed it. They are still in the stage of being nice to each other, however the one standing has a get out of my way look in his eye. Not long after ,he took over the main position at the salt block. They circled each other a lot. They are in good shape for this time of year. Salt pit is 90 yards from the upper deck.

Macro graph of Blue Jay feather.......The pigment in Blue Jay feathers is melanin, which is brown. The blue color is caused by scattered light through modified cells on the surface of feather barbs (CORNELL LAB of ORNITHOLOGY , publication ). The WISCONSIN Natural Resources magazine indicates the MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT makes it illegal to possess native bird feathers without a permit, except for game birds. Anyway, it is amazing to me the structure of feathers. PS... I return all feathers to nature

 Yellow bird feather.........Found this feather by my platform feeder, but have not seen a yellow colored bird of this size. Feather is 5 inches long by .75 inches wide (at widest point). Only bird that seems to match up is a yellow warbler. Southeastern Indiana.

Whitetail deer antler growth... Don't see many bucks during the day this time of year. Remote camera picks them up about midnight. This is going to be a good one

Coyotes at the salt block.......a week ago, heard a lot of howling at night and also during the day. Have not seen these animals for many months, however we now have a large rabbit population. Photo on remote camera at 1:30 am