Fotografaire - Blog and Photography

National Gallery of Art Exhibits

The National Gallery of Art, in Washington DC, has several exhibits on display at the moment. Each exhibit looks impressive in its own right.

Rembrandt’s Titus from the Norton Simon Museum, through 9/4/07
Fabulous Journeys and Faraway Places: Travels on Paper 1450-1700, through 9/16/07
Private Treasures: Four Centuries of European Master Drawings, through 9/16/07
Eugene Booudin at the National Gallery of Art, through 8/5/07
Statues and Variations: Prints by Jasper Johns, through 10/28/07
I hope to get to there within the next couple of weeks to see these exhibits, myself.

Purple Here and There

The petunias in my garden are bursting with beautiful colors, their showy blouses, dotting my garden in glorious fashion. My petunias come in a variety of colors, but the purple tones overtake the others, as it is my favorite color. Anyone who knows me, realizes my love of purple.

I have several garden beds and retreat areas, and their delicate and ruffled petals make beautiful borders along the edges of the garden beds, and look lovely within the circular and varied patterns of the sitting sections.

I enjoy sitting outside on one of my benches, and reading a book underneath one of the oak trees in my yard. Every once in a while I will stop for a breath of beauty, overlooking my gardens, and look at the colorful petunias nodding their heads upward. It is quite relaxing.

~~Notes From the Garden May 9, 2007.

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Hidden Treasure

I often stare out of my den window. It faces the front of my house, and my expansive, front yard always has a hidden treasure or two within it. Yesterday afternoon, while reading, I heard a racket, loud bird-squawking outside the den window.

I got up to see what was happening, as I thought there was a major fight going on. What I saw both surprised me and had me in awe. There, almost obscured between the branches and leaves of my holly bush, was a bird’s nest. And, through my window, I could see a female cardinal. They are not solid, bright red, like the male cardinals are, but more of a brown color, with red on the tail feathers. She was sitting on top of the nest. I watched for a few minutes. After a bit she flew off.

Once she left, I could see three beaks sticking up, through the nest. I had to twist and turn my head in order to see the beaks, and count them, but there were three. I was also able to see a lot of pulsating coming from underneath the beaks. I was awestuck, and stood there staring at the tiny hatchling bodies as they motioned in unison. I could see the vibration of their heartbeats through their skin. I wondered where the mother was.

I ran outside and took this photo from on top of a step stool, looking through the holly bush leaves and branches, after the mother flew off. I quickly ran back inside my house.
Within about two minutes I saw the mother bird fly into the nest. The movement of the mother caused the babies to innately perk their heads up and open their beaks/mouths even wider. The mother turned away from the nest, and stared at something. At first I couldn’t see what it was, and then I saw a vivid, red male cardinal on a branch. I continued to stare, totally in awe as to what I was watching. He passed what looked like a mushy substance to her, from his beak to hers…it was almost like gelatin.

She then turned back towards the nest, and proceeded to drop the substance into the beak of one of the hatchlings. She placed her beak literally inside the baby’s open beak. She proceeded to turn back to the male cardinal, in order to get more of the substance. She continued with the same process two more times, with the other two nestlings. I was completely enthralled, and totally fascinated by the entire process. When both parents finished with the feeding procedure, the male flew off (possibly in search for more food), and the mother stayed in the nest, resting with her babies.I felt privileged to be able to be a witness to a slice of life, a view of partnered cardinals, caring for their young.

~~Notes From the Garden…May 7, 2007

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One More Makes Two!

I have now have two grandbirdies! Two grand-hatchlings, one more than yesterday, and it is another chipping sparrow. The babes have bits of fluff on them, bits of soft, down-like fluff. Their beaks/mouths/are a bit more in proportion with their bodies. The beak on yesterday’s hatchling was almost larger than its body.

Yesterday when I checked the nest, within a hanging basket of pansies, on my porch, there were five unhatched eggs, and one new hatchling. Ten minutes ago, when I checked…there were two, precious, tiny hatchlings, with their mouths opened. I only took one photo, as I was afraid the mommy would return…we can’t make her nervous, as she has more eggs to hatch.

This is definitely fascinating, as well as “egg-citing”.

~~Notes From the Garden 5 5 07.

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Babe on Board!

One Babe on board! I have one grandbirdie, so far! One grand-hatchling. The babe has no feathers on it, and its mouth/beak is larger than its body. The babe hatched from one of the speckled eggs, so it is a chipping sparrow.

Yesterday when I checked the nest, within a hanging basket of pansies, on my porch, there were six unhatched eggs. Ten minutes ago, when I checked…there was one, precious, tiny hatchling, with its mouth opened. I only took one photo, as I heard mommy squawking from a low branch on a tree…we can’t make her nervous, as she has five more eggs to hatch.

~~ Notes From the Garden - 5/4/07

© Copyright - All Rights Reserved - No permission is given or allowed to reuse my photography or inspirational prose/quotations, writings, or my poetry in any form/format without my expresss written consent/permission.