Can you guess what this is? (Without cheating.)

An inchworm that looks like a twig.

We have new ice cube trays.

I took 35 photos yesterday of random stuff I thought you might like.

My least favorite kind of animal prints, the ones on my windows.
Ouch. That had to hurt.
I’m not sure what this Blue Jay is doing.
It’s not his print on the window, so what’s up with this pose?

Apparently, whatever he was doing was private,
and I should not have been watching.
Oops.

Holy fragrant flowers, batman, can you smell this?
It makes my head all swirly it smells so good.

This little strawflower hardly smells at all – but isn’t it cool?

I planted 48 asters around my yard. They’re starting to bloom.
I wish they were perennial!

A pretty coneflower, new to my garden this year.

When this bunny saw me, he/she started tiptoeing through the yard.
Like it’s a noisy rabbit. Hah!

You might remember the braids I put in Chickeymonkey’s hair for camp. It’s been a few weeks of easy care and cleaning, but like all good things, it had to come to an end. I just had to get a shot of the de-braiding before the thorough cleansing and pony-tailing. Alotta of ‘ings, to match alotta curls.

We headed over to the street festival around 4pm yesterday afternoon. They closed off one of the main roads in Bettendorf and put a band on either end, the street between was lined with vendors. There were t-shirts, handmade jewelry stands, airbrushed tattoos, face painting, and of course – food.

Normally, we have about $20 to spend for a family of four. Needless to say, there were no frivolities in previous years. One lemonade, two funnel cakes, two glow sticks. This year, we were prepared, and we even had an extra guest. For the first time in a long time, I didn’t have to share my funnel cake. I even had my own hand squeezed lemonade and a corn dog! We splurged on airbrushed tattoos and hand made friendship bracelets, and spent a few dollars in the kids carnival area for the girls to bounce and play on air rides. (What do you call those things? Blow up toys? That just doesn’t sound right.)

The glow sticks this year were super cool – this is Chickeymonkey’s, she kept twirling it and I was already set to Fireworks mode on my camera – so this is how it looks when it’s blinking and being twirled.

Here are some of my favorite fireworks shots from our 2008 Fireworks display in Bettendorf, Iowa. (the best fireworks display in the Quad Cities!) Keep in mind when you’re looking at these photos that I had my camera (a Panasonic Lumix FZ50) in my lap, had it on Fireworks and infinity burst – and held it as still as possible. I wanted to watch the fireworks this year instead of see them through my camera – so they are literally “Point, Click and Pray” shots. I didn’t edit these shots but to crop them and give you a closer view.

Ready? Set? Boom!

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I’ve played with my camera to try to get some great shots of our bursting fireworks displays and managed to come away with a handful that I really love. I wanted to share something that will make your life a little easier if you’re looking to try your hand at some bursting photos over the weekend:

11 Tips for Sparkling Fireworks Photos @ Photojojo

You should always play with these settings beforehand and if you can program it, do that – because once they start, you don’t have much time to be playing with your camera.

What are your plans for the holiday weekend?
…. do I even need to tell you where I’m going to be? I didn’t think so.

I walked into my living room to put my camera into Standard Hummingbird Photo Op Positioning when lo and behold, there was a stranger on their feeder. Good timing, I thought.

This cute little House Wren hopped around, posing for me in several positions. I wondered why he was there. Did he just enjoy the reflection in the window? Did he really think he was going to get nectar? Or maybe it was just a convenient and safe place to land while he’s still a little wobbly on the wings.

Who knows – I’m just grateful for the timing. It’s certainly not often you see something other than Hummingbirds – and ants – on a Hummingbird feeder.

I live for creative post titles.

You know you’re a birdwatcher when….
You can spot the bird in this photo in 3 seconds or less.

ssh. Don’t move.

If you hold really still and be quiet,
you can watch the hummingbirds as they perch and drink.

And in between Hummy visits, this Nuthatch duo will delight and entertain with their upside-down tree climby antics.

Kissing Lorikeets. Awww.

As we came upon the Giraffes, this guy was, well, trying to do the splits.

And then he asks “does my butt look big in this enclosure?”

A gorgeous Harris Hawk (I think he’s got Red Tail envy.)

Mr. and Mrs. Red Tailed Hawk – don’t they make a stunning pair?