Milking It for Nature's Sake
This summer I have collected a number of caterpillars and "raised them" to their adult, BUTTERFLY stage. I have released roughly 10 Monarch Butterflies and 2 Swallowtails.
Crucial to the Monarchs is the Milkweed plant, the leaves on which the females they lay their eggs, and, as the eggs hatch, the readily available food for the emerging caterpillars.
Once I spot a caterpillar, I carefully cut part of the milkweed plant where it is feeding, place it with a length of stem and leaves in a small bottle of water, and, place the whole deal in a much larger bottle (as posted in a previous article). The caterpillars eat a milkweed leaf at surprising speed, and, placing fresh leaves until the caterpillar forms a chrysalis … is crucial.
At least one NT member has asked that I send milkweed seeds … and the seed pods are now starting to open … like so …
… and, if any other members would like to try and plant milkweed, let me know by sending me your name and mailing address in PRIVATE NOTE.
For SCALE, I'm holding a milkweed seed pod in my hands … the pods aren't large but as you can see from the top photo, each pod is loaded with seeds and down which act as sails (the seeds are wind-dispersed in nature); you'll want to be aware of this as you separate the seeds from the pod … I suggest you do that INDOORS with the seeds in a deep paper bag lest they fly away on the slightest breeze … or scatter to throughout your house.
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Be a guardian of Nature.
* Note: Back tonight … going fishing now.
From the garden this summer......
Hey Brother catch one for me.....
Great photo. What kind of camera and lens do you use?
Thanks my friend.
It's a Canon 1300D Digital SLR Camera, 55mm IS II 3 Lens
A relatively cheap kit ($350.00) I picked up from Wally World a few months back.....
I sold all my high powered stuff just over a year ago.
This one, two months ago when the iris's were beginning to bloom....
Canons were my choice of film cameras. I originally had 2 Canon FTb cameras (one for B&W film the other for colour slides) before I bought the first Canon F1 professional camera sold in Toronto and I loved using it. However, I also had a number of Canon lenses from 24mm to 300mm and lugging them around was a burdon. However, now I use a Panasonic compact digital with a Leica lens that is a 24mm to 720mm optical zoom (i.e. 30X) that not only exceeds by more than twice the focal length of my beloved Canon F1 and lenses, but has so many features I have no idea how to use them so I use fully automatic most of the time notwithstanding the override facilities and it takes movies as well. LOL (and it cost less than my Canon F1 did WITHOUT the additional lenses). Here is a photo of me with one of the two Canon FTb cameras I had before I bought my F1. I was in my early 30s then.
Another winner.
Canon AE1 was my first camera; on my first day as a newspaper editor, my employer walked ino my office and said, "we have no staff photographer, but, the previous editor left the paper's camera in her desk drawer."
That was the start of my photography … literally learning on-the-job … from zero. My background in fine art and art history was an asset as far as composition, but technical stuff like exposure, film types, ISO/ASA, aperture, shutter speed … nothin'!
It took about two or three years of "grip=and-grin" political shots (candidate Bill Clinton et al as subjects) before it occurred to me that subjects I had been painting … could be photographed (DUH!) … and here, almost 40 years later … almost no painting, other than digital … which usually begins with a digital photo.
As a self-taught photographer, to those I have taught photography, I tell every beginner, "you can't get it right until you first get it wrong! Discovering all that can go wrong will is the key to avoiding making the same mistakes ad infinitum."
I enjoyed your story about your history in photography. Mine was not so interesting.
Great color harmony … Monarch and Purple Aster!
I noticed this misty scene on the distant horizon of the Sichuan Institute of Fine Arts, with municipal buildings beyond, and took the photo from my balcony using my zoom set at about 650mm. I did very slight cropping, some sharpening, increased the colour saturation and contrast, then framed the result.
Wow. I didn't notice until now that King Kong disguised himself with leaves and was hiding in this photo.
Great stuff in this thread.
The camera talk got me to pull out some old cameras. How does someone get and process 35mm film these days?
I don't have the skills you all are describing, though I did learn to process film for a printing shop while between jobs when I was much younger.
I look at my cameras as fine pieces of machinery, even my old Hanimex 110KF. No idea what happened to my Brownie box. 127 film? Probably gave it to one of my brothers when I moved out.
Looking at my Konica Auto S2, it looks mint as does my Minolta 3000i, which I have several lenses for. I haven't used it in a long time, but consider it the one I like the most.
I made the digital switch when I got one of the earlier Canon EOS Rebel XTs. Now it needs repair as one of the CF chip pins bent somehow about a year ago.
I sent my pocket camera to my daughter some time ago, which was also a Canon product. Can't remember which model. That was a handy little camera. I liked it.
Which other than my cell phone leaves me with my Canon Powershot S2 IS. Ithas a lot of features, but, to me is a little klutzy. Maybe it is me. Yet, it is better than nothing.
This discussion gives me a bit of optimism for future such discussions; the FP has become a mine field filled with incendiary commentary and bad feelings.
I hope to post another of this type discussion later today; thanks for those who are making this one both civil and interesting.