A very small tree frog on the back of my shed. Approximately 1.25″ long. 300mm macro.

I was chasing this tiny baby American toad around in the dark with a flashlight the other night. I didn’t think it was ever going to hold still long enough for a shot. Eventually it stopped for breath up against the side of my shed and I got a few quick shots.

Sigma 150mm 2.8 EX Macro + Sigma 2x TC and Sigma EM-140 DG ring flash. A great setup for nighttime macros with my Canon 1D3.

A pink crabapple bud from the tree in my front yard.

A Prairie Fire crabapple tree in my yard.

A tree frog I shot in June at my Dad’s place in southeast Iowa.

There have been quite a few white-lined sphinx hummingbird moths on my lilac bush just after dark.

A spot of color for ya.

A few more from last month.

I found this very large wolf spider in my basement yesterday morning. I believe it’s taken up residence under the dryer. It’s a beauty !! Hopefully, I’ll get some more photos of Smiley.

A floating seed that was temporarily stuck on a very thin strand of web which is barely visible in the full-size version of this shot.

I was taking some empty jars down to the basement the other day when I heard a peeping sound coming from behind one of the boarded up windows in the back room. I did’nt give it much thought, but when I heard it again a few hours later I went outside to check it out. I found this baby sparrow - just out of the nest - stuck in the window well. I got ahold of it and turned it loose after a few pics.

A tiny morel mushroom forces its way through the leaf litter.

Some Downy Phlox I saw when I was out mushroom hunting.

A morel mushroom at an undisclosed location

Another one from last weekend.

Another spider from my basement. I was going to post another ice photo, but I just could’nt do it…

This was the first Monarch I saw last spring. I posted an open-wing photo last May. I’ve wanted a photo of one of these tattered travelers for a long time.

The lens was partially obscured by a tree branch blowing in the wind. That’s why it looks green. Not exactly the effect I was going for, but I like it anway.

Terry, crowing his little heart out. He’s a nice rooster. He hardly ever attacks people, and even then they’re mostly just scared. Mostly.

I thought it was a puffball growing by my compost bin - until it popped and there was nothing inside. I’ve never seen anything like it.

A strange little puffball-type mushroom I found in my yard. If you know what it is, let me know.

I found this one when I was out mushroom hunting last May. It appears to be from the previous summer.

May 2007 was a very photographically diverse month for me - a grass fire, flooding, fighter planes, plus all the usual stuff. And I almost got a funnel cloud too !!

The fruit of an Eastern Wahoo tree. I shot this one last Fall.

Spider update: I saw the wolf spider in the corner of my basement and a dozen babies were running loose. When I came back with the camera, she was nowhere in sight, but several babies were still there. As you can see from the earlier photo, it’s getting crowded on mom’s back.

I found this wolf spider & her brood in my basement this morning.

A praying mantis captures a katydid on my front fence.

A night shot of a spider. You’ve got to watch your step around here or you might just get one of these stuck to your chest.

A night shot of a strange looking black grasshopper.

A praying mantis on my front fence, basking in the morning sun.

A Locust Treehopper (Thelia bimaculata) on a Black Locust tree in my yard. (That’s a thorn in the background.)

ISO 800
1/250
f/16
300 mm

Canon EOS-20D
Sigma 150 2.8 EX Macro + Sigma 2X TC
Sigma EM-140 DG Macro Flash

These cicadas were in my yard a couple of nights ago. As numerous as they are, I think this is the first time I’ve ever seen a pair mating.

I’m not sure what this one is called.

Another daylily from my Dad’s place.

An unknown daylily at my Dad’s place.

I’ve got lots of pics from my vacation. This first one is an unknown flower.

Somehow, the two posts from this week were lost by Wordpress. I am reposting both right now. Unfortunately the comments were lost as well. I apologize for the technological snafu.

A fly basks in the last rays of the setting sun.

A top-down view of a purple coneflower.

A close-up of a Canada Thistle bloom.