David's Images of the Day Photoblog
My only view of an alligator on that day was just as I was leaving. All that was visible was an eye and the tip of its snout. It was starting to rain, so I only got one loop on the wildlife drive. Some birds, but not as many as I have seen on previous visits to the National Wildlife Refuge.
The leaves on the Japanese maple tree have faded from bright red to brown. Yesterday, some birds found the newly renovated bird bath. They will have to wait until next spring for me to install the solar-powered fountain. The three inquisitive but wary does looked on as I was taking pictures of the statue on the bird bath. Now that it is hunting season, the deer know that they need to stay within 400 feet of a house in order to stay safe.
Peridot Crystals (Pele’s Tears). Image taken with D2xs camera and 105 mm f/2.8 macro lens (ISO 100, f/22, 1/60 sec, flash). Thom was curious what I was taking macro images of in my hotel room while waiting for dinner.
I have always been fascinated by crystals. Before I retired I learned to solve chemical structures using single-crystal x-ray images. I love whenever I ever find a crystal in nature.
While we were out on our morning photography composition lesson outside of Volcano National Park, I found this black volcanic rock with yellow-green sparkles. I brought it back to the lodge where I had a macro lens, and spent the afternoon trying to get some pictures of the crystals. Later on I discovered that the crystals were a semi-precious gem known as Peridot (Pele’s Tears).
There were over a hundred robins, and dozen blue jays in my yard this morning. Some of the birds found my newly renovated bird bath. It was too cold for the birds to take a bath as the water in it was iced over. I am not sure if these birds were congregating before their annual migration south, of if there are some of the birds that plan to stay for the winter. I haven’t replaced the bird feeder since a bear took the last one out.
