Summer's Last Hurrah!

Greetings! It's been almost two months since my last entry here so today's post will have a good number of photos for everyone's viewing pleasure. I completely skipped the month of August but what an interesting month it was. From an earthquake centered in VA that was felt all the way in New England to losing power from Hurricane Irene, there was certainly enough to keep anyone busy.

Speaking of storms, we'll begin with a photo that suggests a looming storm is inevitable. In actuality, only a few raindrops fell and the storm clouds left as fast as they arrived. The conditions interested me since the sun still managed to shine through the clouds, illuminating the trees in the middle ground.

The photo below is of a hydrangea leaf that was backlit by the setting sun. I find lighting conditions such as this fun to work with as they allow you to see things not normally visible under typical lighting conditions. Leaf structure is so intricate that one can't help but be mesmerized by it.

The next two photos are of the Night Queen flower, or Epiphyllum oxypelatum. This particular cactus rarely blooms and when it does, it happens for a single night. When I was young, I would always know when one of these beautiful flowers bloomed because it gives off a strong, pleasant fragrance. Given this small window of opportunity, I picked this flower and pinned it so that I could photograph it. This might just be my favorite flower!

The next half-dozen photos below are of various flowers including clematis, sunflower, lily, and hydrangea. Some have been posted here before while some have not.

Clematis

I'm not sure what this particular flower is. It is very small, roughly 0.25" to 0.375" at its widest and grows in clusters close to the ground. From a non-magnified view, they can be easily missed! 

Sunflower

Lily

Hydrangea (and a really big fly!)

I've posted photos of these little white flowers below and have yet to find out exactly what they are. If anyone knows, then please educate me! =) 

Here we have a series of photos featuring the blossoms of the Chinese chive. Not only are these flowers pretty but they can also be eaten! They have to be harvested before the blossoms open though and can be stir-fried or used in soups. My family's been growing Chinese chive for over 25 years in our garden and regularly use them in dumpling, soup, scrambled eggs, and stir-fry.

There were many insects feeding on the blossoms and they provided me with an abundance of photographic subjects. Below is a photo of the largest hoverfly I've ever seen. They're usually about 0.375" long but this one was over 0.5"!

In this photo, I believe we have a shield bug and this is the first time I've ever seen one. I'm not sure which species it belongs to but it looks a lot like other shield bugs I've seen in photographs online. This little guy was quite the adventurer, climbing over and under leaves like it was nothing.

Last but not least, there were also bees getting their share of pollen and nectar. There were some rather large ones flying around sometimes bullying the other much smaller critters in the neighborhood. These guys moved really fast and it was hard getting a sharp focus on them given the dim light available at the time.

Finally, we have several photos of the hairy toad lily. The first of these flowers started blooming a couple of weeks ago but this is the first time this season that I've had the opportunity to photograph them. Several buds are currently maturing so I expect some more chances to capture them in pixel form.

Some photos of the hairy toad lily were posted last year but I think this year's results are much better since I have the close-up lens to give me a magnification boost. What intrigues me the most about these flowers are the little golden orgs that hang in the central "arms". These little guys bloom at a time when nearly all of the other flowers have given their show and will continue to bloom into October. 

Well, this wraps up today's post. With the Autumnal Equinox less than two weeks away, there will be an ever-decreasing selection of subjects to photograph in my yards. Next up will be more hairy toad lilies, dried hydrangea flowers, and the fall foliage, so stay tuned!