Sketching Out Blog: Sketches of art, watercolor, photos, recipes, books, interviews, Jewish topics, and Highland Park, New Jersey

Squirrel, Berries and Lily

squirrel with strawberry
I caught this squirrel with a strawberry in his mouth (is it a wild strawberry or one of our garden strawberries – not sure, but it looks like the wild kind). So I grabbed my camera and decided to do Nature Notes. I confess, I haven’t been doing much observing of nature, though I have been gardening. My peas did very well in their cage this spring; I saw a deer walk right past the gardening cage (but the deer did take a chomp out of the tomato plants that were outside the cage).

orange lily
I did not plant this tall lily in this spot behind my pink rose bush. I used to have similar lilies in a different part of my garden; I probably pulled them all out by mistake when I was weeding. Or they died a natural death. So I was surprised to see a lily blossom elsewhere in my yard.

raspberry
The raspberries that grow on old can are now ripening in our backyard. The ones on new cane are usually more abundant, and we get to enjoy those in August. Last year wasn’t a great crop; maybe this year will be better? I read somewhere that one should prune the raspberry bushes so they have space in between them. I tried to do some pruning last year. It is hard to photograph a raspberry – the camera doesn’t realize you want to focus on that tiny berry.

For more Nature Notes:
Nature Notes

magiceye says

Beautiful captures of your wonderful world

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Laura Hegfield says

beautiful photos Leora...the bokeh is just wonderful in the second two images. The squirrel looks mighty happy!

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Hannah says

The colour of the lily is stunning. We always have these lilies in June too!

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Daniel Saunders says

One Sukkot a squirrel ran into our sukkah with some food, ate it and ran out again. Must have been a frum squirrel!

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leoraw says

Don't know if he was frum, but he was smart.

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Carver says

Great capture of the squirrel and also goo shot of the lily and raspberries.

Regarding the bald spots on the birds in mine. I may be wrong but I don't think they were injured or lost feathers in a fight. Since they are immature birds, I assumed they still had baby fuzz certain places but I could be wrong.

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leoraw says

Thanks for the info about the bald spots. It left me a little concerned, probably just because I had bad memories of my cat having bald areas after a fight.

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Rambling Woods says

Leora..there are a lot of bald birds during the summer..The babies lose their down which is replaced by adult feathers and the adults all molt their feathers which grow back in at different rates..so you may see baldy birds..I think I have posted by bald headed blue jay...

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Rambling Woods says

Oh love this series...cute little squirrel..My wild strawberries didn't make any berries that I can see..or they were woodland strawberries I think.. Sorry the deer are a problem. As usual they ate the day lily buds..or most of them..Oh the berries..I have such fond memories of picking them at the cottage..they were so good...Michelle..

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Libby says

Leora - that is a seriously AMAZING capture of the squirrel! How on earth is he balancing on the pointed fence like that?

I like the angle that you shot from on the lily photo too :)

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jewaicious says

That LILY really pops! What a beauty your photos are great I love that squirrel, great framing,

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leoraw says

I took quite a few shots of the lily before settling on that one close up capture.

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Eileen says

Lovely nature scenes, Leora! The squirrel is cute and the lily is gorgeous. Hubby and I have been picking some wild berries in our neighborhood, they are yummy. Have a great day!

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Jane says

I love that picture of the squirrel and the raspberry so cute - Flowers that reinvent themselves in different spots in the garden are very rewarding - we have poppies - hardy geraniums and foxgloves that have done just that this year - thanks for sharing

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Bethany Lee says

Sweet--I love nature. I especially liked your lily picture and the surprise you had that one grew elsewhere in your garden. Recently, another blogger I know challenged her readers to do some "nature bathing." She said, just take 20 minutes and go out in nature and observe. Well, I have doing this, and yesterday, I took my camera. I am not as good a photographer of you, but taking my camera made me MORE observant. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

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leoraw says

Bethany, I have been doing photography memes almost since I started this blog, in 2007 (OK, first meme was probably in 2008). I've learned so much about photography by sharing via memes. And Michelle's Nature Notes is a great way to learn about nature.

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Bethany Lee says

What is a photography meme?

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leoraw says

Bethany,

If you click on that badge at the bottom of this post, it goes to Michelle's Rambling Woods blog. There you can find her Nature Notes, which is sort of like a photography meme. If you follow the other bloggers, many participate in other photography memes.

Another example: http://iwishiwereaphotographer.blogspot.com/
Toby has a photo meme called Whimsical Windows, Delirious Doors!

There is one called ABC Wednesday, and another called SkyWatch. Many more. Some go on for years, some have stopped and new ones have started.

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Roos says

Wauw, I like the tall lily. How beautiful is the colour!

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