08 Sunday May 2022
Posted in Photography
It rained all day yesterday. I thought I heard rainfall also during the night. It continued this morning and did not stop until mid morning. I went out to see what survived or was ruined, and was pleasantly surprised as all the flowers came through and actually seemed to thrive.
28 Thursday Apr 2022
Posted in Photography
A cold beginning for Spring 2022 has decimated our early magnolias and Asian pear flowers. Today, at the end of April, temperatures climbed above 50°F (10°C) but a strong wind makes it feel much colder. The “Judy Zuk” Magnolia tree that I planted five years ago is bearing vibrant yellow flowers. Judy Zuk was the president of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden from 1990 to 2005, and this magnolia is a hybrid developed there.
Another late bloomer that has escaped frost is the Susan Magnolia, a smaller tree than the Soulangeana Magnolia (Saucer Magnolia). We have two trees of the Soulangeana but both lost all of their flowers this year. Fortunately, we have three Susan Magnolias.
Last but not least are the dependable Bleeding Hearts which have started to come up.
02 Thursday Apr 2020
Posted in Photography
It has been a wet spring here in New Jersey, and the flowers have responded well to it, displaying more stress-reducing blooms.
Butterfly Magnolia.
Magnolia Soulangeana.
Magnolia Soulangeana.
Butterfly Magnolia.
Bradford Pear.
25 Wednesday Mar 2020
Posted in EBF Refuge, Photography
Tags
barnegat light, clivia, Edwin B Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, harlequin duck, magnolia, mute swan, Northern Shoveler, photography, postaday, snow goose
I have not been posting here since last July, but have continued to photograph, although not as often as I used to. Hopefully, the following photos may help reduce stress for all of us during this coronavirus pandemic.
Harlequin Ducks at Barnegat Light , January 2020.
Mute Swan at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, January 2020.
Snow Geese at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, February 2020.
Northern Shovelers at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, March 2020.
Star Magnolia in our backyard, March 2020.
Clivia at home, March 2020.
28 Sunday Apr 2019
Posted in Photography
Tags
Magnolias.
Rock.
06 Sunday May 2018
Posted in Photography
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Jane Magnolia.
Jane Magnolia.
Jane Magnolia.
Jane Magnolia.
27 Friday Apr 2018
Posted in Photography
It’s amazing how a few days of sunshine and warmer temperatures brought forth the beauty of Spring as flowers rival one another to bloom and display their colors. I took the following shots over two different mornings around our house.
Daffodils.
Bleeding Hearts (Dicentra Spectabilis) “Alba”.
Magnolia Soulangiana.
Jane Magnolia.
Jane Magnolia.
Jane Magnolia.
05 Sunday Nov 2017
Posted in Photography
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A few months ago, they were flowers like this one.
Southern Magnolia.
Then the flowers became fruit, which is ripening now.
Magnolia fruit.
And birds are beginning to eat the seeds.
Magnolia seeds.
19 Saturday Aug 2017
Posted in Photography
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“Jane” Magnolia, although not as prolific as earlier blooming Magnolias, never suffer from frost damage, and usually have a second blooming period in mid summer. When most other flowers have come and gone, the Jane Magnolias peek out proudly from upper branches, like the one I captured this morning.
Jane Magnolia.
24 Sunday Apr 2016
Posted in Photography
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Early Spring was brutal, and even today, in mid spring, it still feels cold enough to warrant a jacket when I went outside to take pictures. Many flowers were blooming, with a wide range of colors, from the most intense to the truly delicate.
Azalea Hino Crimson.
Another Azalea, but I don’t remember its name.
Jane Magnolia. Its first batch of flowers were destroyed by frost but there are just as many flowers in the second batch. It will continue blooming through the summer.
Cherry blossoms. This kind is named Shogetsu, or Blushing Bride.
The following pictures are from the same Dogwood tree that grows in the woods at the back of our house.
White Dogwood.
White Dogwood.
White Dogwood.
25 Saturday Apr 2015
Posted in Photography
The Butterly Magnolia is in full bloom, and even the birds have to stop in their track and admire its flowers.
Blue Jay: Hmm, Butterly Magnolia, so pretty!
House Finch: Yeah, pretty flowers, I agree.
22 Wednesday Apr 2015
Posted in Photography
Jane Magnolia
21 Tuesday Apr 2015
Posted in Photography
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20 Monday Apr 2015
Posted in Photography
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We received two inches of rain today and most of the time it was not only wet but cloudy and humid. However, there was a brief interlude when the sun came out which allowed me to capture our flowers at their best, covered with rain drops.
Butterfly Magnolia to weather: Go ahead, make my day!
Pink Magnolia: Who’s the fairest of them all?
Pink Magnolia
Not to be outdone, the PJM Rhododendron bushes also flouted their splendor.
PJM Rhododendron
18 Saturday Apr 2015
Posted in Photography
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Spring has finally arrived in our area. The magnolias have started to bloom and daffodils flaunt their bright yellow and gold around the yard, daring winter to come back. This morning dew covered all the flowers as shown in the following photos.
Daffodil still trying to open in the morning sun.
Daffodils completely covered with dew.
Magnolia Soulangiana in bloom. This photo was actually taken the previous afternoon.
Butterly Magonolia: it won’t fully open for several more days. The tree is the last one to bloom.
14 Tuesday Apr 2015
Posted in Photography
Tags
butterfly magnolia, daffodil, forsythia, magnolia, photography, postaday, soulangiana, spring flowers
Winter keeps lingering on in the Northeast, but there are sure signs of spring. Today, even though it was rainy and cloudy I went out around the house to take stock of which spring flowers are coming up. Many are, perhaps later than in other years, but, as the following photos prove, they will be in their full glory in a matter of days.
Daffodils
Forsythia
Jane Magnolia
Butterfly (Yellow) Magnolia. This tree is right by the bird feeder and the birds love to perch on it while waiting for their turn.
Magnolia Soulangiana
05 Thursday Feb 2015
Posted in Photography
Tags
cardinal, house finch, junco, magnolia, photography, postaday, sparrow
If you are getting bored of my BIF photos, this following picture, taken at Holgate two weeks ago, is for you.
Gull yawning
All right, so no more BIF today.
The other day, while trying to capture the Red-bellied Woodpecker in flight, I noticed our magnolia tree was getting loaded with birds.
Three Cardinals and one Sparrow
That was not the end of it. One more bird hopped on.
Three Cardinals, one Sparrow, one Junco
Then there was our House Finch next to a Junco.
House Finch and Junco
19 Friday Dec 2014
Posted in Photography, Weekly Photo Challenge
I took the following photos earlier this year and will now submit them for this challenge.
Daffodils
Goldfinch
Sunflower
Yellow Magnolia
06 Tuesday May 2014
Posted in Photography
Star magnolia, or Magnolia Stellata, is the first magnolia to bloom, with white flowers that look strikingly disheveled. I took the following photos on a weekend trip to Canada where the trees are still bare and nothing else was blooming.
White Magnolia
White Magnolia
White Magnolia
White Magnolia
25 Friday Apr 2014
Posted in Photography
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Our yellow magnolia doesn’t have any leaf, but all of its flowers are open and clearly visible through our windows and patio door. They definitely brighten these first spring days which are still quite chilly if not outright cold.
Here are some shots I took today once I came home from work.
Yellow magnolia blooms
Yellow magnolia close-up
Yellow magnolia macro
14 Monday Apr 2014
Posted in Photography
Spring is now beginning to display flowers in their full splendor. Yesterday afternoon, I walked around our yard and took the following photographs, which give you a range of colors, from yellow and green to pink and red.
Daffodils
The wind was fairly strong, and after a while I gave up trying to use my tripod and shot the following without it.
Magnolia
A close look at a magnolia.
Finally, here’s a full riot of them.
Pink magnolias in monochrome
You may like to view the images in full-size by just clicking on them.
07 Friday Feb 2014
Posted in Photography
This winter has really been the coldest we have experienced. On some days, when I left the house to go to work, the temperature has been as low as -5 F (-24 C). I have had to replace my car battery one night, and the AAA man who came to replace it said they never ever had to replace so many batteries in one month.
Here’s a photo of a branch of our yellow magnolia tree encased in ice. I hope the flower buds will survive and bloom again this spring.
Magnolia in ice
The animals of course have to find food any way they can. I saw the deer below nib at one of our neighbor’s tree. If you look closely you’ll see that it has lost one of its antlers. This is normal, and the remaining one should fall off eventually. Around this time of the year, deer shed their antlers, which will regrow in the spring.
Deer with one antler.
I put out sunflower seeds and managed to take pictures of some cute birds.
Chicadee
Junco
Our backyard cardinals were not to be seen. Maybe they got offended by the post I wrote the other day.
neihtn 