Summer at the Arboretum

A rare thing happened here in my corner of Texas.  We were gifted with a mild July. Usually by this point in summer, the dreaded dome of high pressure has firmly planted itself over the region, deftly deflecting any wayward “cold fronts” and pushing the mercury over the century mark.  But this year, we have had unseasonably cool temperatures – afternoon highs in the high eighties and low nineties with morning lows in –*gasp*– the sixties.

It was almost like autumn.

So, what do you do when you are treated to fabulous weather in the middle of the summer?  Go to the Arboretum and take pictures of bugs, of course.

Duh.

Enjoy.

On a sad note:  It seems August will not be unseasonably cool.  Today’s high: 103.

Advertisement

Feeling buggy

Flowers aren’t the only thing flourishing in the warm spring air.  So are the creepy crawlies.  Here are a few I came across this weekend.

Chihuly and the dragonfly

A love affair?

A true appreciation for art?

Either way, who can blame him? 

Chihuly and more

It was a hot and steamy weekend…

…okay.  Just kidding. 

I schlepped down into the city for the second weekend in a row.  If you read last Sunday’s entry, you know that this is a rarity for me.  I blame my friend, Bill.  He went to the Dallas Arboretum a few days ago and posted some great pictures to his blog.  I love the arboretum, and I am fascinated by the Chihuly exhibit that is currently on display though out the gardens.  So, I decided to braved the 100+ degree temperatures on Saturday.  I spent about three hours baking in the sun and taking lots of pictures.  Here are a few of my favorites:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a red dragonfly before.

 

I don’t know the species, but this guy was very vocal and not at all happy to have me wondering around beneath his tree.

Chihuly.  I love this exhibit and this piece, in particular.  I’ve tried three times to photograph it.  Unsuccessfully.  This time was different.  I experimented a lot more with my manual settings.  I think it also helped that it was a virtual ghost town and I was able to take my time. 

I almost didn’t share this one.  I wanted to keep it all for myself.  But then, it was my favorite of the day, so how could I not share?.

 

 

 

This squirrel was on to something.

A trip to the country

I live in the city.  I’m pretty happy here in my concrete jungle surrounded by towering buildings, master plan housing developments, and jammed freeways.  But every now and then it’s nice to leave it all behind and go exploring.  My mother-in-law lives a couple of hours northwest of Dallas down a dusty farm to market road, in the middle of nowhere.  On a recent visit, I brought along my camera. 

Cactus in bloom.

Grasshoppers – a real problem for local farmers; cooperative subject matter for me.

I’ll be honest, the Black Widow spiders creeped me out, but not enough to keep me from trying to get just the right shot.