Month: August 2016

Never Hide Your Wings!

August 24, 2016 — 20 Comments

Butterfly 1

F/ 5.6, 1/320, ISO 400.

Butterfly

My friend thinks he is smart.

He told me an onion is the only food that makes you cry, so I threw a coconut at his face.

Interesting Fact: Butterflies can eat anything that can dissolve in water. They mostly feed on nectar from flowers but also eat tree sap, dung, pollen, or rotting fruit. They are attracted to sodium found in salt and sweat. This is why they sometimes even land on people in Butterfly Parks. Sodium as well as many other minerals is vital for the butterflies reproduction. ( http://www.whatdobutterflieseat.info/ )

 

 

I Believe I Can Fly!

August 22, 2016 — 5 Comments

Franklin's Gull 1

F/14.0, 1/640, ISO 320.

Franklin’s Gull

What did the pig say at the beach on a hot summer’s day?

I’m bacon!

Interesting Fact: In breeding plumage, and sometimes in nonbreeding plumage as well, the Franklin’s Gull often shows a rosy pink cast (rarely salmon) on its chest and abdomen. This color is most apparent on the shafts and bases of its feathers. The color fades as the breeding season progresses as the pigment is broken down by sunlight.  ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Franklins_Gull/lifehistory )

 

 

I’m Walking Here!

August 21, 2016 — 8 Comments

Common Grackle 2

F/6.3, 1/1600, ISO 250.

Common Grackle 

How do men exercise at the beach?

By sucking in their stomach every time they see a girl in a bikini.

Interesting Fact: Common Grackles are resourceful foragers. They sometimes follow plows to catch invertebrates and mice, wade into water to catch small fish, pick leeches off the legs of turtles, steal worms from American Robins, raid nests, and kill and eat adult birds. ( https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Common_Grackle/lifehistory )

What Do You See In The Clouds ?

August 20, 2016 — 16 Comments

sky clouds

F/13.0, 1/640, ISO 160.

What is a clouds favorite drink?

Mountain Dew

Interesting Fact: Cloud types in the troposphere, the atmospheric layer closest to Earth’s surface, have Latin names due to the universal adaptation of Luke Howard‘s nomenclature. It was formally proposed in December 1802 and published for the first time the following year. It became the basis of a modern international system that classifies these tropospheric aerosols into five physical forms. These physical types include stratiform sheets, stratocumuliform rolls, ripples, and patches, cirriform wisps and patches, cumuliform heaps of variable size, and very large cumulonimbiform heaps that often show complex structure. Most of these forms can be found in the high, middle, and low altitude levels or étages of the troposphere. (  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cloud )

DUI Checkpoints

August 18, 2016 — 14 Comments

United States Coast Guard

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 250.

Guy’s car is swerving all over the road so a cop pulls him over, “Step out of the car” says the cop, “I am going to need you to take a  breathalyzer test.” “I can’t”, Guy responds “You see I have very bad asthma, that can set off an attack.” “Alright,” says the cop, “then you’re going to have to take a blood test.” “Can’t do that either,” Guy responds, “I am a hemophiliac, if a wound is opened, I won’t stop bleeding, and I could bleed to death.” “Ok,” the cop answers “then I will need a urine sample.” “Sorry,” says Guy “I also have diabetes, that could push my sugar count really low.”

“Fine, so just come on out, and walk a straight line for me.” “Can’t do that either” responds Guy. “Why not?” Demanded the exasperated cop. “Well, because I’m drunk!”

Interesting Fact: The roots of the Coast Guard lie in the United States Revenue Cutter Service established by Alexander Hamilton under the Department of the Treasury on 4 August 1790. The first Coast Guard station was in Newburyport, Massachusetts. Until the re-establishment of the Navy in 1798, the Revenue Cutter Service was the only naval force of the early United States. It was established to collect taxes from a brand new nation of patriot smugglers. When the officers were out at sea, they were told to crack down on piracy; and to rescue any mariners in distress. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Coast_Guard#History )

Look Up In The Sky!

August 17, 2016 — 18 Comments

OneWTC

 

F/25, 1/250, ISO 250.

What do you call a sheep with no legs?

A cloud.

Interesting Fact: One World Trade Center (also known as the Freedom Tower,[13] 1 World Trade Center, One WTC and 1 WTC) is the main building of the rebuilt World Trade Center complex in Lower Manhattan, New York City. It is the tallest building in the Western Hemisphere, and the sixth-tallest in the world. The supertall structure has the same name as the North Tower of the original World Trade Center, which was completely destroyed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. The new skyscraper stands on the northwest corner of the 16-acre (6.5 ha) World Trade Center site, on the site of the original 6 World Trade Center. The building is bounded by West Street to the west, Vesey Street to the north, Fulton Street to the south, and Washington Street to the east. ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/One_World_Trade_Center )

Let’s Get Little Bit Closer

August 4, 2016 — 10 Comments

flower

F/5.6, 1/500, ISO 200.

Why can’t you iron four-leaf clover?

Because you shouldn’t press your luck!!

Interesting Fact: Many flowers have important symbolic meanings in Western culture.[28] The practice of assigning meanings to flowers is known as floriography. Some of the more common examples include:

  • Red roses are given as a symbol of love, beauty, and passion.[29]
  • Poppies are a symbol of consolation in time of death. In the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia and Canada, red poppies are worn to commemorate soldiers who have died in times of war.
  • Irises/Lily are used in burials as a symbol referring to “resurrection/life”. It is also associated with stars (sun) and its petals blooming/shining.
  • Daisies are a symbol of innocence.

( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flower#Symbolism )

 

Talk Derby To Me!

August 3, 2016 — 4 Comments

Saratoga Race

F/ 5.6, 1/1250, ISO 400.

Saratoga Race

Why was the horse naked?

Because the jockey fell off.

Interesting Fact: Saratoga Springs was the site of standardbred racing as early as 1847.[3] On August 3, 1863, casino operator and future congressman John Morrissey organized the first thoroughbred race card on the track previously used for harness racing (and now the location of the Oklahoma Training Track).[4] The current course was opened across the street from the old standardbred track the following year.[5] Among those instrumental to the creation of the Saratoga Race Course were John Hunter (later the first chairman of The Jockey Club), William R. Travers, John Morrissey, and Cornelius Vanderbilt.

Lazy Like A Log

August 1, 2016 — 8 Comments

Log

F/11.0, 1/500, ISO 320.

Pretend you’re in a box, under the ocean, and there’s no way out. How do you survive?

You stop pretending!

Interesting Fact: Beaches became popular as tourist attractions during the 18th century. Today, beachside towns and beach resort areas are a magnet for tourist who come to sunbathe, swim, stroll the beach, build sandcastles, surf and bodyboard. ( http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/sciencefacts/earth/beaches.html )