Thursday, October 4, 2012
Towering over Santa Barbara

A little bit different angle on the Santa Barbara County Courthouse Clocktower.

Friday, September 19, 2008
Shadowy Bougainvillea

Most of the time the best lighting is not the direct lighting. At the same time I took this there was quite a bit of sun on the other side of the bush. Those shots were great, but this was my favorite.

It's probably a good thing I can entertain myself in the back yard so easily. When the banks all go out of business I can probably still afford my hobby. 'Course I'm going to need to look at some old Gilligan's Island episodes to design my bike generator to keep the web server on.

Saturday, September 6, 2008
Gulf Fritillary in the Back Yard

Our babies are growing up! A couple of years ago we got a couple of vines, (a Passion Flower and a Mandevilla) to try to coax the beautiful butterflies to stay in our back yard. They almost wiped out the Passion Flower completely the first year. This year the original vines are each about four times the original size, and we have two additional Passion Flowers about the same size. That was finally enough to support the caterpillar crop this year. This is one of four butterflies that we suspect were recently caterpillars in the Passion Flowers and now spend most of the days fluttering and playing in the back yard.

Saturday, September 8, 2007
Fuzzy Contemplation

Like I've said before, the subject is important but the background can really make or break the image. The pink around the hummingbird is from the flowers (or more technically the bracts) of the Bougainvillea he is resting in. I love the contrast with his beautiful feathers.

This is actually an older shot, it was in my first show. The show was a flower theme, but interspersed in the flowers were small shots of hummingbirds. Seemed fitting to me. :-D

Sunday, March 25, 2007
Bouganvilla

There is always something blooming around here! Which is great for someone who loves to take flower pictures. This is the Bougainvillea that we have coaxed over our back fence, it's always happy. So happy in fact I just had to tuck all it's new growth in so the gardeners don't come by and cut it.

As I recall, last year this time I almost had to change the name of the site to "The Calla Lily of the Day," since they go wild this time of year too. Fortunately, this year we planted some spring bulbs out front and they are looking good already so I'll have lots of subjects to keep things interesting. Now all I need is more time to play with my cameras. Too bad that won't grow as easily. :-D

Thursday, November 23, 2006
Bougainvillea

One of the important tasks I had to do to get ready for the holiday was clean up our giant Bougainvillea.

When we moved in, we noticed this plant peeking under our fence. On the outside of the fence they keep it trimmed back so often it can barely bloom. We decided to coax it over to our side. It is now in a huge arch over our fence and it is constantly covered in blooms.

I think it appreciates the chance to grow. Rather than trim it, I tuck the new growth in and tie it so it goes in the direction we want it to. I do this about once a month which is just often enough that the new growth has not quite wooded over yet so I can still train it to go where I want without breaking it. My wife fed it with a high phosphorus fertilizer (10-50-10) one time that is supposed to promote blooms, and it really worked!

Monday, September 25, 2006
Pink and White Bougainvillea

The Bougainvillea are going wild around here right now. This one is in a hanging basket in my neighbor's yard.

Friday, June 2, 2006
Bougainvillea Bricks

The hound has been taking me on a little bit different walks in the evening. Actually, it is foxtail season and I have tried to nudge her away from our current route because those things can be nasty for a dog with ears that are easy to trip over. And none of us wants another trip to the vet! At any rate it has given me the chance to enjoy more of our neighbors' gardens.

Tuesday, May 9, 2006
Bougainvillea Sunlight

This is a nice Bougainvillea that was growing on the outside of our fence. We have been coaxing it up into an archway over our gate. It is starting to bloom like crazy and it is quite a site especially in the evenings when the light shines through it.

Tuesday, February 7, 2006
Bougainvillea Bracts Close-up

This is one of those plants like a Poinsettia. The red things are actually technically more like leaves than actual flowers, they are called "Bracts." The real flower is a small white bloom that comes out from the center of the groups of red leaves. You can see a couple of the buds in this photo.

Although they are not technically part of the flower the bracts serve an important role in the pollination of the plant. They act as kind of a beacon for pollinators that might otherwise miss the small white flowers as they fly by.

Daisies are another type of plant with a similar structure. What is commonly called a daisy flower is actually a cluster of small flowers (called the Capitulum) surrounded by bracts. In this image the bracts are white and the capitulum is yellow.

Saturday, March 5, 2005
Mrs. "A"

Looking back I realized it has been almost three weeks since I put a hummingbird online. This is Mrs. "A". She was kind enough to build her nest in my potted Bougainvillea right outside my glass patio door.

The first sign something interesting was happening was the male hummer. He came one evening and sat near this same spot in the Bougainvillea. He would come at dusk and leave at dawn. He did this for about a week. Then just as I was starting to think I could get him used to my presence with my camera, he disappeared. The next day she showed up with a few twigs. Two days later, the nest was done. She sat on two eggs for a couple of weeks and they hatched on my birthday. Until I got my Hound Dog, I couldn't have imagined a better birthday present!