Whatever Weds. This and That…

Posted in Astro Photography, Bird Photography, Hummingbirds, Photography, Rufous Hummingbirds, Whatever WednesdayTagged , , , , , , , ,

Copyright ©2024 Deborah M. Zajac. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

PLEASE DO NOT USE MY IMAGES WITHOUT EXPRESSED WRITTEN PERMISSION.

Here’s some of what I’ve been up to lately starting at the beginning of the month with a birding walk up in the mountains above Lake Tahoe. The wildflowers were in bloom. Here are a couple of favorites I saw.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com
Delphinium
©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com
Crimson Columbine

A beautiful view from the trail with Lupine, and Cornflower leaves in the foreground.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com
View from the hike

There were all sorts of juvenile birds being taught how to forage that morning. I saw Young Cassin’s Finches begging their parents for food, and the parents trying to encourage them to forage on their own, and young White-crown Sparrows foraging with their parents, but the highlight for me was the juvenile Rufous Hummingbird perched on a branch. That was a first for me.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com
Rufous Hummingbird-immature

On Monday I got up at 2:45AM to go on my back patio to see if I could spot and photograph any Perseid Meteors. I very nearly went back to bed as there were still clouds from the day before in the sky.

I saw 3 great fireballs streaking across the morning sky, but one was completely out of my frame. One just looks like a streak with no fire ball that was disappointing, but it has a green tail, and one was just partially in my frame. The others I photographed are pink and green. Which I think are from the Aurora Borealis that was visible here. I missed the peak of that. I slept through it.

Here are two images of Perseid Meteors I photographed.

Look how close that fireball came to being in my frame! See it left side bottom edge? There’s another meteor below center as well.

©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com
Fireball just out of my frame plus another meteor.
©Deborah M. Zajac | http//circadianreflections.com
Perseid Meteor Streaking over No. Nevada…pink and green too.

And, I’m still painting. I just finished a big painting for me at 9×12 inches of the Le Moulin de L’Abbye in France. I used a photo from a book called Hotels de Reve en France that I picked up years ago from a Little Free Library. I’ve been sketching from this book for years, but have been afraid to actually add paint out of fear of messing it up. I drew it freehand which took me hours, because drawing is so hard for me, but I am improving! Practice really helps. Anyway, I transferred the drawing to drawing paper so if I did mess it up I could half the drawing time by tracing it. This time I was determined to add paint!

Here’s that painting.

watercolor painting

The reference photo from the book Hotels de Reve en France.

I also made the boys some little handmade sketchbooks. I hope they fill those pages up!

The weather is cooler and the smoke from the Calif. fires has cleared so I’ll be out birding later this week and getting my morning walks in outside.

This is getting long so I’ll close with I hope your week is going well.

Nikon D850\ iPhone 14Plus

more to come…

40 thoughts on “Whatever Weds. This and That…”

  4. A very impressive lot of images and a neat painting too! Really enjoyed the walk, makes me wish I was out there doing it. Like the little juvenile hummer always good to see the young birds.

    The Meteors shots are absolutely great!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  7. The wildlife photos are wonderful, Deborah. Getting up at 2:45, you certainly are dedicated to the task. Thanks for sharing the hard won photos. I read that the sun has ejected some solar matter that’s supposed to make the Aurora Borealis light up quite a bit.

    I really like the watercolor painting you did. It’s very nice.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  10. Among the things I envy from time to time are clear, dark skies. It was a real treat to see your captures of the meteors. I’ve seen just a few in my life, and one comet, but life in the land of light pollution makes such sightings nearly impossible.

    I have a friend who’s learning how to work in watercolor, and it’s been interesting to learn a little about the process. Your painting’s well done. In fact, I like your painting more than the photo — it’s much more interesting!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Linda! It has gotten more and more light polluted here over the years I’ve lived here unfortunately. When I lived in CA I would drive way out of town to see the meteors and comets often times dragging my kids with me to show them the wonders of the sky. They just wanted to sleep! 😂
      I’ve managed to see, and photograph a couple of comets which is fun too. I’ve missed a couple as well…not being able to find them which was frustrating.

      It’s a journey for me learning to draw and paint but, I’m determined to get better at it. I’m just so happy that I’ve progressed from stick figures and now at least most the things I draw sort of look like what it is supposed to be. 😊

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  15. Thanks for the update. You’ve been busy and have the photos and painting to provide it. I’m always in awe of your photography skills, and capturing a hummingbird deserves a 10. They are so fast and tiny. We’ve had a lot of activity at our feeder this year and have enjoyed watching them. I applaud your water color because I actually took some classes, realized how hard that is, and accepted the fact that my skills do not lean in that direction. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Judy! When I was in middle school the art teacher told me during a painting/drawing lesson that I should find another hobby because this wasn’t going to be it. I didn’t try drawing or painting again until my 30’s. It’s been a long journey with a mix of lessons, and self teaching since but, I’m not giving up.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  18. So you had quite a busy week! I like the pictures you took, especially the one with the fireball just out of frame. It makes a kind of mysterious image with the soft coloured clouds and the stars, plus indeed the stripe of the meteor. Your painting I find a succes. You altered the scene a bit by adding that wall and taking aways some of the bushes, making it more open and accessible. Nice! I love the sky in your painting, far more interesting then the one in the photograph. Over here weather is very humid and hot. Yesterday we had a strange thunderstorm. No real thunderclaps but it sounded like the rumble a large freight train slowly passing over our heads, and there was almost constant lighting for over half an hour. It was a bit scary but also fascinating. Afterwards tons of phone vids were shared on Facebook. 🙂 Have a good rest of the week Deborah!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    1. Thank you so much, Peter! I simplified the painting a bit. Making the drawing bits easier for me since that’s the hardest thing to do for me.
      I love thunder! We’ve had a few thunder storms this summer with big claps of thunder. I hardly ever heard it when in California maybe that’s why I like it so much.?

      I hope you have a great rest of the week as well!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.