Yesterday, I played with black and white imagery. At the same time, I played with another flower image as well.

I started with the Tiger Lily photo from Sunday. You may remember I mentioned I couldn’t find any old pictures of them. Well, the black and white got me thinking… At first, I tried a black and white image, but I didn’t care for it. So, I started with the color photo again. This time, instead of removing all of the color, I just removed a good portion of it. This way, it sort of looks like a photo that’s faded over time. Maybe this is how my old photos of them would look today, if I could find my old photos and if I had taken them sixty years ago.

I think I used a touch of sepia on it as well, so Speedy should be happy, though he can’t claim credit because I had already finished this image before he left his comment yesterday.

Also, I finished writing my eBook yesterday. So, now I have to proofread it…

So, yesterday, I planted some flowers that I didn’t get a chance to plant over the weekend.

That meant first finding a place to put them. That meant cutting down some other flowers that had gone to seed so the new flowers can be seen. (I only cut off the seed stalks; the leaves remain so the flowers will be back next year!) That also meant moving a tree. And then digging holes. And, then in the midst of doing this, it started to rain.

Fortunately, it only sprinkled a bit and then gave up. Not even enough rain to create a rainbow. The sun was shining and I looked for a rainbow, but none was to be seen!

Must remember to water the tree in the morning.

Anyway, finally got the flowers planted and, once done, I naturally took pictures. Also took pictures of some critters I found, but will save those for another day this week.

These particular flowers are pretty in color (maybe I’ll post the color photo on another day) but yesterday evening, I decided to play around with black and white a little bit, and came up with the photo above. I’m thinking it’s kind of 1950’s-ish. Maybe that’s because of the old black and white photos in my family’s photo albums. But, this image turned out real nice in black and white; it almost looks like an illustration.

On the eBook front, I am down to a handful of things left to do!

So, you thought people invented farming and domesticating animals for our own needs?

Think again!

Ants have had their own dairy farms for who knows how long. See the little aphids? They produce a “milk” which is called honeydew. Ants love this stuff. So, they farm the little aphids so they can have it!

The ants “milk” the aphids by stroking them with their antennae, which gets the aphids to release their honeydew, kind of like how farmers milk cows by, well, you know.

You may recall that I posted about my tiger lilies earlier this year, the lilies that I had thought had been lost but now were found!

Well, as you can see above, they are currently blooming!

There are only three or four plants now, though. I think there used to be many more. At any rate, after experiencing their near-loss, I’ve been working on propagating them. I moved one indoors earlier this year; unfortunately, it didn’t make it. I planted some of the fresh bulbils from the lilies in another patch outside, but none appear to have taken yet and it doesn’t look promising there. I have another batch of bulbils indoors and some of those are starting to root, so I will keep my fingers cross on that batch!

You can’t pull one past ol’ Speedy. Not easily however.

You may remember Thursday’s post, “From Death, Life.” Speedy didn’t think it looked real. I assured him it was. Still, he thought it look plastic-y.

Well, it was real. It was just that the color was altered in Photoshop. I was just playing around with things, and adjusted the hue on the leaves. I wound up with a purple color that I thought looked more interesting.

You can see the original above.

Of course, Photoshop expert Speedy thought something was amiss. Alas, he thought it was just a plastic plant. Shame, Speedy, shame. With the extent he uses Photoshop, you’d think he’d recognize the handiwork.

Then again, maybe he’s a GIMP user.

Coming into the office yesterday, this beauty was on the brick wall outside the door. Fortunately, she wasn’t frightened away by people walking by. I managed to get a shot of her before she flew off. But, then she still didn’t fly off; she stuck around.

So, I was able to catch her. Later at home, like 1:00 a.m. in the morning, I cleaned out an old aquarium. It was already set up, just nothing in it except the remains of a few dead insects. So, cleaned that all out and put it back together. Then, placed the dragonfly in the aquarium to take some photos.

The idea was to get pictures in a semi-natural setting.

Of course, she gravitated toward the corners, where the glass, glass corners and outside of the aquarium could be seen.

So much for a semi-natural setting!

At any rate, I did get a few decent shots. Not a lot of really good shots, though. One of these days, I really need a close-up lens. Of course, before that, I think I need a new camera. But, that’s another story for another day.

What none of the photos accurately convey is her green color, which is much prettier than how the green shows up in any of the images.

I released her this morning. I thought she’d be eager to fly away, but she seemed content to stay on the iris leaves where I placed her. I’m sure she’ll be long gone before I get home this evening. If not, well, I guess I might take some more pictures!

One of these days, I need to get a close-up lens…

A Daring Jumping Spider, also known as a Bold Jumping Spider. It is a common spider in the continental United States, except for the west coast.

I always liked these as a kid because they looked like little tarantulas. These are one of the rare spiders my mother didn’t kill, for the same reason. They are not related to tarantulas. That’s probably a good thing because these guys can jump as much as 50 times their body length. I don’t think you’d want to see a tarantula do that!

The daring jumping spider averages anywhere from a half inch to a little more than three-quarters of an inch in length. That means they could potential jump as far as 3 feet and 3 inches!

The jumping spider is an active hunter. They don’t build webs and wait for dinner to come to them. Like the assassin bug, the jumping spider hunts down their next meal!

The jumping spider does not rely on mental manifestation or daydreaming of his next meal, hoping it will arrive at his doorstep. No, the jumping spider actively seeks it out!

The jumping spider works hard during the day and sleeps at night, as most people do. They are curious and not easily intimated, which makes them successful and are, not coincidentally, two of the keys of success for humans as well!

So, if you should see one of these spiders, think of the lessons you can learn. And, wave to him. He might just wave back at you!

A black and white cat in a black and white world.

You don’t have to go all-color or all-grayscale. You can mix the two to create a more interesting shot. The magic of Photoshop!

Many people are familiar with cicadas, most notably the 17-year variety that reaches adulthood every 17 years.

Fewer people, however, are familiar with the 170-year cicada. This fellow spends nearly two hundred years underground, growing and growing each year. By the time they reach adulthood, they can reach heights comparable to a five story building.

Unlike their smaller cousins, the 170-year cicada will feast on animals as well as plants. Being so large, it is difficult for them to get their sustenance from trees, as they can not easily suck the liquids from a tree. Animals make quicker and easier meals.

Suicide is generally recommended if you should be cornered by one of these creatures. Being impaled by their proboscis and having your body drained of its fluids is a generally painful way to go. Best just to jump off a cliff or a tree or whatever height you can reach and let the creature slurp your remains from the ground after you’re already dead.

These are endangered species, so shooting at them to save yourself is against the law.

The last brood of the creatures was back in 1839. Worldwide, some 96,000 people were reportedly killed by these giant cicadas.

So, April showers did bring May flowers!

Too bad it’s raining right now, and is supposed to do so for the rest of the week.