Thankfulness for Families

We can be thankful to God for our families this Thanksgiving. I had the privilege of taking photos of this lovely family a couple of months ago. We did a photo shoot together a couple of years ago - they are a very easy family to work with, and it's interesting to see the changes in their children as they grow.

Stormy Weather

It seems we've had a lot of stormy weather this summer.  Although it isn't our favourite type of weather, the clouds are amazing to look at and can be interesting to photograph. Sometimes when you are driving, you don't know what the weather is going to do.

These next two photos were taken in Renfrew, Ontario. I liked the lighting on the buildings, so quickly got my camera and took the photos. The clouds looked more threatening than the storm actually became.

God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Psalm 46:1

Chinese Bellflower

Balloon flowers, otherwise known as Chinese Bellflowers, are fascinating to watch. They originate in Asia, especially China, which is why one of their names is Chinese Bellflower.

I have one small patch in my garden, and the patch is getting bigger each year. Sometimes they look purple, and sometimes they look more blue. 

They get the name balloon flower because the flower buds look like balloons. They eventually pop open and become star-shaped flowers.

The balloon flower is later blooming, so often I think that I've lost the plant when I'm cleaning in the spring. You have to be very careful not to dig it up or throw it out thinking that it is a weed.

I especially like looking at closeups of them. You see more detail than you can see with your own eyes, and they are beautiful.

Now therefore, our God,
we thank You, and praise Your glorious Name.
1 Chronicles 29:13

Ducks

We have a lot of ducks around our lake, and I enjoy taking photos of them. They have become very habituated so that it's easy to get up close enough to take photos. These are some of my favourites.

This next photo was taken a few years ago. The mother duck and her ducklings were walking along our beach, and I just happened to snap this one. It looks like the youngster is trying to copy its mother.

So God created ... every sort of bird ... and God saw that it was good.
Genesis 1:21

Elm Sawfly Larva

We were getting our trailer ready for a camping trip, and saw this yellow "thing" on the step we use. I thought at first that it was some kind of cocoon, but when I looked at it closer, I could see that it almost looked like a caterpillar. However, it wasn't quite like a caterpillar. I took the following pictures of it so that I could see if we could identify it.

It took awhile, but we finally found that it is the larva of an elm sawfly. I had never heard of the elm sawfly, so this was interesting. The elm sawfly is a type of wasp.  Both the adult and larva can cause damage to trees, especially elm trees and willows.

It was fascinating to look at. It didn't have "hair" like a caterpillar, and apparently has 7 prolegs compared to no more than 5 prolegs on a caterpillar. I didn't know this fact at the time, and don't know that I would know how to count them.

When the larva feels threatened, it coils itself and can release volatile chemicals if needed. We didn't disturb it much so didn't see this happen. It was coiled up when we first saw it. 

God has made so many different, unique creatures. It's good to look at them more closely to see the intricate detail on them. Fascinating!

All things came into being through Him,
and apart from Him nothing came into being that has has come into being.
John 1:3

Super Moon

I decided to try photographing the moon again, and the night of the super moon in August seemed a great time to try doing this again. I downloaded an app that would tell me what time to expect the moon to rise. So ... I went down to the lake, set up my tripod, and prepared to take a photo. Well, I sat there for quite awhile waiting, and wondering why I hadn't seen it yet. Finally, I looked around the point on the lake, and sure enough the moon had already risen - but not in the area that I had expected it. Hmmm ... too bad the app doesn't tell me exactly where to look.

I tried following some directions to get the moon and the foreground in focus at the same time. This would require taking two photos (one focusing on the foreground and exposing for it; the other focusing on the moon and exposing for it). This sounded simple enough but when I put the pictures into the computer, I found that the moon had moved - in the short time it took me to change my shutter speed. I didn't realize it moved that quickly - so I don't have a picture where I stacked the two pictures.

However, I was still able to take some photos of the moon, and enjoyed looking at it.

 And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens
to separate the day from the night..."
Genesis 1:14

The Racing Loons

I recently did a post about loons, but thought I would add this. Last week, when we were staying in Canisbay, Algonquin Park, we saw something that was completely new to us. We've seen loons run along the water as they are taking off to fly, but this time it looked like two loons were racing up and down the lake. At first we thought one of the loons was chasing the other, but our son who was out in a kayak said that they were running parallel to each other - just as if they were in a race.

This went on for almost a half hour with the loons racing back and forth across the lake. Everyone around us was watching the show, and no one had seen this kind of behaviour before.

It seemed that when one caught up with the other, that they would change direction and keep racing until the loon from behind caught up. It was hard  to see them from the distance, and at first it looked like they were fighting - but they were only changing direction.

We have lived on a lake for many years and have several loons on our lake, but we have never seen this behaviour before. I looked on the internet to see if there was anything written about it, but only found a video showing a couple of loons racing. No one seemed to know about it. If you know of this behaviour or have seen it before, send me a comment so that we can learn about it.

Many times animals do something and we don't understand why. They were a great entertainment for us. Isn't it interesting how God makes the different animals and birds.