Holiday Hummingbird Review by: brendasue

Welcome to The Holiday Hummingbird Review!
To my Birdloving friends here is a little treat.  I put together a Photo Album on KatesCabin Picasa Web Albums of some of my Fave photos of the little humdingers that just left Kates last month! Then I embeded the slide show of the Album here on Blogger for you to see!(if I did it right). There is just so much to learn, but I am hanging in there to bring you our little Nature Class from Rainbow Creek which is traveling all over the World to places I never even knew of!


The cool thing is People from all over the World are leaving comments and greetings under the photos! They are all people I have connected to after viewing their Public Picasa Web Albums (which are all great).  Now that Google has an automatic translator, we know what everyone is saying.  This is wonderful. This removes barriers between people instantly. (Sometimes it may sound weird).


I invite you to visit my web albums and have a look around. When you click on a photo you will be able to see any comments under. Most of my visitors are Photographers from around the World. You click on their square and it takes you to their Album Galleries.
It is a great way to see what is going on in this big beautiful world.
Here is the link:


http://picasaweb.google.com/KATESCABIN/ChristmasCollectionHummingbirdsOfKatesCabinOnRainbowCreek#


(If you are on my bloggerspot site, this link may be invisible. Run your mouse over the blank area and the link will light up. Same way on my archive. They light up!)

Now here is Elvis to open the Class:

Let the Class Begin!!


Elvis would like you all to know he is Thankful he is not a Turkey!

Here we are at the Observation Deck at Kates Cabin on Rainbow Creek.  Grab a chair, get comfortable and.....On with the Show! Enjoy!!!!!!!!


(must be On Site to view slideshow, will not play in email)









Be sure to visit the Web Albums, it is like a coffeeshop with no coffee!  Here is the link again:


http://picasaweb.google.com/KATESCABIN/ChristmasCollectionHummingbirdsOfKatesCabinOnRainbowCreek#


To Order any of these Prints for a Holiday Present contact me at:  katescabin@gmail.com




...this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek


Goodnight (Or Goodmorning!)


Framed Prints and Canvas   (by:  brendasue) Available at Bluebonnet Herb Farms. Come see me! www.bluebonnetherbfarms.com
On Premise Saturdays 10-4  Come by and see us!

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Battle at Kates Cabin (a real Humdinger!) by: brendasue

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Hello World.  Come On In----Battle Today
At Kates Cabin on Rainbow Creek!

Hummingbird Wall at Kates Cabin on Rainbow Creek    by:  brendasue


Welcome Everyone! Thanks to all of you who are visiting my Picasa Web Albums and commenting on the new Butterfly Edits I have done in Picasa.  These Butterlies are getting ready for flight to the Bluebonnet Herb Farms in Hempstead, Texas where they will hang on the walls until some of you go choose one to take home or give as a gift. I am marking these at a low price so anyone who wants one for a nice nature gift will be able to afford them. (Other Artists have their photography showcased on some of these walls (which is very nice work, but priced so high). I am making a sincere effort with the Butterfly Specials to make art affordable again for All.  In the old days, photographers had to spend alot of money on film, printing processes, equipment, and traveling to find Nature shots. Enlargements are pretty costly. 


Today, I do not use film so there is no need to charge you for things I am not doing. I have my own printer, so I can come down on the printing. (For my new students getting into photography, you should know this could be an expensive hobby.) The ink and the high quality photo paper are expensive (to me), but still come out saving on printing at the print shops. I have a high quality Canon Printer which was affordable for a home printer. Framing can also be expensive and one can get carried away with all of this!


So, you will be able to find My New Butterflies in the 8 x 10 size, unframed, for a bargain basement price at Bluebonnet Herb Farms.
(I will be putting some out on Saturday 9-25).  That way you can select a frame of your choice somewhere and have a nice gift for you or anyone.)  I will have framed gifts available also.


 The Reverend Forde has put a blessing on each of my photos and the homes they go to.. (She also blessed my hands and eyes so I could bring Nature's beauty to all of the World.) As you know, things do appear in front of my camera.


If you get a chance to come to Hempstead, stop buy and say hi, have some lunch and look around at all the plants. (Time to plant herbs and shrubs). Bluebonnet is open Mon through Saturday. Closed Sundays. Here is the phone:  979-826-4290.  
Here is the link:


www.bluebonnetherbfarms.com/




And here is the photostudy today: Battles of the Hummingbirds!
Enjoy!

The Summer Hummers fly in and out of the lattice wood and 'windows'!
 by:  brendasue

A Tip for Nature Photographers:


Create an outdoor Studio at Your Place and have the Nature come to you!  I cannot tell you how great the rewards are for creating your own Garden Spaces for Photo Ops! I just go out the door and sit in the rocking chair on the porch and shoot the Hummers! I have created a perfect place for the hummers that fit their specifications-lots of crape myrtle trees, lots of hummingbird feeders (30), and lots of flowers they love that bloom at this time of year. They go from feeder to flower equally. But the little birds seem to enjoy "claiming' a feeder for their own and they have major battles over the feeders!
(They may look sweet and fragile, but you will see in our photostudy today, The Violence!)  Enjoy!

A Mallow blooming today at Bluebonnet Herb Farms    by:  brendasue




Let The Class Begin!

Enjoying a peaceful drink (for the moment)




(The above photos were edited in Picasa.)

The hummingbirds can fly really fast   by:  brendasue

They try to stab each other in the throat

Flying in for a Snack!

They also use their long beak like a straw to such up the nectar from the ports.

Perfect landing and always watching the other birds!

Elvis is about to get smacked!

He won that battle and came back for a drink!

The new arrival. (look at his little 'boots')

His neck spots have not turned to rubies yet denoting a young male. They get their rubies as they get older.
(Ruby-throated hummingbirds)

Attack coming from above!  Look Out!

A quick drink break before the fights resume!

What a great day!

In the background behind this feeder is a peach tree, a purple leaf plum tree among the crape myrtles. The birds prefer these smaller branches to sit on and watch their feeder!

Flying in when noone is there!

He sees somebody coming!

It is Elvis!

The new bird flys over and smacks Elvis off the feeder!

Now he enjoys victory. King of the feeder! (Until Elvis circles back around!


This concludes our photostudy for today.  If you are here in real time, then I apologize for the late post.  I try to post this column at midnight for all my friends on the other side of the Earth. If I was working for someone else, I would be fired for falling asleep at my desk last nite around 12:00. But I am not fired, just tired!
I had to get up early to finish this as cousin Harry will call in a complaint if he does not have 'his' blog with his coffee!
Good Morning Cousin Harry--here are your favorite hummers!


 Good Morning  all America and Goodnight other side of the World!
(It is a big earth)




...this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek


Have a Good Day, Everybody!














katescabin@gmail.com


















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Photostudy Today: Hummingbirds at Kates Cabin On Rainbow Creek by: brendasue

Welcome To All and really glad to have all the new friends at Bluebonnet Herb Farms in Hempstead, Texas joining our mini Nature Class!!!!
This class has become highly recommended because there is no Teacher, no Homework, no Tests, no Rules, no Dress Code-in fact, come in your pajamas if you want to!
What you decide to learn or not learn is all on you. Your life is what you make it. I simply show you some ideas for a daily dose of Nature and Photography Tips;  You take it or leave it!
On with the Photostudy--Good one today--Hummingbirds! 
Come On In!

I fenced in a pink sky     by:  brendasue

Now why would that space cowgirl, brendasue, fence in a pink sky?


My answer, and the reason I do anything I do is because I Can.
Good not to let anybody (or your ownself) fence you in.  Open your mind to new ideas everyday. Open your eyes to see new things. Release your own limitations. (I am referring to photography tips, but these words could apply to a variety of thoughts).


Stop saying the words:  I can't;  because you can if you want to.

(Fat) Elvis on his branch       by:  brendasue


Let the Class Begin!!


Thank you, Elvis. He is a Ruby-throated Hummingbird that comes to stay at Kates Cabin Bird Sanctuary late summer/early fall. When he leaves here, he will go on a long trip to Mexico. These birds travel more than most humans ever will. They look fragile, but they are very tough. They are the size of a human thumb.
You can see his 'ruby throat' in this shot.

Elvis blends in to his crape myrtle branch where he spends most of his day     by:  brendasue


You will notice when he turns, the rubies do not glow. They only appear red to the human eye when the sunlight is reflected at a certain angle. The birds know how to turn on the red glow when confronting other birds. (Scare Tactics, I guess). I do find it curious how they would know which angle reflects the red light when they move so quickly.

A Beach Day for Mom    by:  brendasue


Mom would have called a day like today a Beach Day.  Blue, blue skies, white puffy clouds and the sunniest sun!  Sizzling Hot!


The photo tip I want to share with you today regarding Nature Photography:
By creating habitat and feeding stations (and water), You invite the birds and butterflies to your space. They will come to know you and realize you are not a threat, rather the one w/the food! It will be a relaxed photoshoot each time allowing you an opportunity to get the good shots. (Of course this is not practical thinking if you are a Nature Photographer that prefers shooting Bears or Elephants, etc).
I am talking mostly about birds and butterflies, flowers and trees.


I had a photography teacher tell me that if you are going to shoot birds, you would not want to see a bird feeder in the shot. (It is not natural or something, whatever.) Well, I do not want to grow up and be a professional photographer or follow any rules. I like to photograph the bird feeders! So you just remember: do your own thing. It is your camera, your life and the expression thereof that is important. In my yard on Rainbow Creek, it is natural for the birds to eat from both feeders and flowers.  I select the best location for the feeder considering the background and light. Our photostudy today will give you some Ideas about hanging your own photography studio!  Enjoy!

Here comes Elvis from his branch     by:  brendasue

I have my chair right under this feeder.  You can see by choosing the sky as the background, we have a clear view of Elvis flying in from his branch. (If he did not know me, it would not come in this close)

The bee steers Elvis off course!    by:  brendasue

You can see the cedar tree in the background interrupts the clear view of Elvis.

Here comes Elisabeth, the female     by:  brendasue


The sun is high in the sky, but behind my back.

Elisabeth is dead on target!    by:  brendasue

Bird beak on left, bee on right!  by:  brendasue

I find that by taking many shots at a time, the number of good shots increases. (I have more shots without birds in them as they fly so fast!)

She has no Rubies        by:  brendasue


She's in and getting a drink of sugar water (I do not use the red dye).

Every Photo reveals a little more about the bird    by:  brendasue

She 'hovers' like a helicopter over the port    by:  brendasue

Here she comes again!  by:  brendasue

What a great little bird to observe    by:  brendasue

She's a Beauty     by:  brendasue



The good thing about the zoom feature on the camera!

Holding on to the cup!  by:  brendasue



Could you do this to eat all of your meals??

Very Thirsty Today    by:  brendasue




They can 'hover' in one place for a long time.

Sunlight on the wings    by:  brendasue


This same bird at this same feeder later in the afternoon will appear blue! (Check out the blue hummers in the archive list)

That's All Folks!   by:  brendasue


This concludes our hummingbird photostudy for today. Think about creating your own hanging studio.  If you need help, contact me or Bluebonnet Herb Farms.

The tail end      by:  brendasue


Above is the tail end of a elusive hummingbird moth who feeds on the 4 o'clocks at sunset. This moth can also 'hover' like a hummingbird!  I will keep trying to shoot him.      The End.

New Patio                 by:  Linda Wood


One more for the road.  In the above photo,  Linda Wood and her Bluebonnet Landscaping Crew created a great new space out of nothing! You can do this also. Outdoor spaces are important for You.  (Get off the Couch!!!!!!)








http://www.bluebonnetherbfarms.com/




...This is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek......'Nite All.










katescabin@gmail.com






















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Blue Hummingbirds Are Here Today! by: brendasue

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Welcome Aboard! 


Look at this Mallow that is blooming now (September) at Bluebonnet Herb Farm in Hempstead, Texas (Waller County). Linda has so many flowers blooming now that hummingbirds and butterflies Love!  A must see, must have situation! (Oh my!)


http://www.bluebonnetherbfarms.com/index.html

A Mellow Mallow     by: brendasue



Hi Everybody:
Please come in and we will get started on our photostudy today of the blue hummers. Just saying up front: all photos are of a hummingbird feeder and the little hummingbirds, and they are blue. Now if this sounds to boring for you, go ahead and click off now.


Well, for those of you who stayed, I will share this strange light with you in our photostudy!

Let The Class Begin!


This hummingbird feeder and the birds are the stars of our photostudy today. Now this photo was shot at high noon. You can see it is a clear glass feeder with clear nectar inside and red plastic trim outside.  It is hanging on a plain ole bungee cord.  The leaves on the trees are green and the sky is blue. This is what a would consider a normal photograph denoting a normal occurrence of birds feeding.


For the following photostudy, I am sitting in the same chair, in the same place, shooting the same camera only all the silhouettes turn blue. The time stamp on the first one is 5:27pm and the last one is 5:38pm (not quite twilight). I do not know why they turn blue, but is does only happen on days with clear blue sky. I do not (and never will) know photography well enough to do trick photography!  It is a trick for me just to try to do it right!  I do not use photoshop. I do not use any lights other than the sun. No flashes, no blue lights---simple just me (and the little king), the camera and the birds (and bee). If you come here, they will be blue for you too.   Enjoy!

This concludes our  Blue Hummer Special. Strange, huh???

http://picasaweb.google.com/KATESCABIN/WelcomeToAllMyNewFriendsByBrendasue#5487931746985537426

Please click on the above link to see my Welcome Album--I invite everyone to leave the name of the country you are in. I would like photo friends around the world!


...this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek


Goodnight-
















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