it is official, I am way beyond obsessed...

I started this post with the intention of talking about the photos that I had taken of a ladybug in a yellow poppy. I had fun taking the photos and wanted to share. As I sat down to write, I realized that the topic really isn't taking photos of ladybugs. It is about obsession.

This is the true story of the ladybug photo shoot.

On Saturday, I was at the nursery, looking for a special bougainvillea (first time not looking at how it is spelled and hoping it is correct). I didn't find it but I noticed that they were selling packages of ladybugs. Easy to justify because of the little bugs on my roses, my photographic heart started beating a little faster. The woman at the counter explained the process to me. Keep them in the frig until it is time to release them. Water your garden and release them at night.

As I went home, I realized photographing ladybugs at night was not exactly what I had in mind. I like natural light. So, I put them in the refrigerator. I decided that I needed to just release a few (I do not want to be accused of ladybug cruelty) in the early, cool morning, photograph them and release the rest in the garden, at night. I knew I needed early morning light and my "ladybug wrangler" to help. I took a few photos and released the rest that evening. To my delight, they stayed around. I didn't need my wrangler at all.

I was out first thing every morning, while it was cool and took hundreds of pictures (maybe more). I couldn't stop photographing them. There were different spot patterns, some with hardly any at all. They bunched together one night on a metal ornament in the garden. I loved watching them hang upside down, going up and down skinny stalks, crawling right over another if it was in the way. I think I am starting to understand why my daughter studied insects in college. Ladybugs, as it turns out, are photogenic, have great ideas for the perfect pose and do exactly what they want to do, at quite a pace. I grabbed my photos. They grabbed the bugs. The flowers were happy, the ladybugs were happy and so was I.

After hundreds of pictures (okay, definitely more), I decided there were perhaps other things I should be doing first thing in the morning.

Thank goodness for digital cameras.

Oh, yes, this is the one that started it all.

Linking to Seasonal Sundays and Your Sunday Best. What a great way to celebrate spring!

al fresco...

We have two old mesquite trees on our property. They are beyond the wall of the backyard so we don't spend much time out there. M has always said that between the two big trees would be the perfect place to eat dinner. He was right. We moved a table back there and it just may stay.

The shade back there gives us a nice cool spot even as the temperature continues to climb.

We are lucky to have a lot of bougainvillea so I used it to give the table a bit of a pop.

The vintage silverplate is "Park Lane" by Oneida.

I like the look and feel of recycled glass.

Almost everything on this table is made in Mexico, a nod to Cinco de Mayo.

We will miss these al fresco days.

Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

I am joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch and Kathleen at Let's Dish. So many pretty tables!

Tricia asked about the plates. They are made in Mexico by Anfora. They were sold at Pottery Barn a couple of years ago as blue and white Puebla. Because they are handpainted, the design and color varies a bit from plate to plate. It is now directly available from Anfora.

black and white...

I have loved photography for as long as I can remember. The first roll of film I ever shot was black and white. In the old days, before digital, I would make a plan of how I would shoot a roll of black and white film loaded into my camera, not wanting to waste a shot. When I got a second camera, it was the ultimate luxury to have color film in one and black and white in another. Black and white is timeless. The image is raw. Without any distraction of color, the eye goes to the form, the texture, the essence of the photograph. Tracey Clark is starting her Picture Black and White workshop on May 3. I'll be there and hope that anyone who loves black and white will join us.

it is impossible to resist sunflowers...

WB and I try to meet on Mondays for lunch. It doesn't always work out but we try. We like going to a salad place that is about an equal drive for both of us. The salads are huge, delicious and we usually eat a very light, easy dinner that evening. Next to the salad place is a Trader Joe's. It has become a habit to pick out flowers just about every Monday. I have so much blooming in the garden that buying flowers would just be redundant. I wasn't even going to go to TJ's until I remembered we were running low on milk. The sunflowers popped out at me as soon as I saw them.

Resistance was futile.

I set up another table in the garden today. The weather is cooler again, a little overcast. WB has a three day weekend (don't envy him, he is recoating the roof) so I thought a nice dinner outside tonight would be just the thing.

Within minutes, the wind picked up and all the little "caterpillars" on the mesquite tree starting dropping pollen on the table. So not only will we not eat out here tonight, I will be rewashing all the dishes. Best laid plans.

Whether your weekend is a three day one or not, hopefully you won't be recoating your roof and will be able to enjoy it!

You may want to peek at some pictures of two baby hummingbirds in the post below. Clicking on any picture will make it larger.

Joining Susan at Tablescape Thursday, Kathleen at Let's Dish and Sherry at The Charm of Home.

speaking of birds...

In all my years here, I have only had a chance to photograph a hummingbird nest a few times. These two are ready to leave the nest. The nest itself is about 2-3 inches in diameter, in an ironwood tree, about 6 feet off the ground. Hummingbirds often use spider webs to wrap the nest. This day it was very windy but the nest was just as steady as can be. They were trying to find some space without much success. This post is image heavy but you will see some jostling for room, sibling love and even a tongue stuck out.

my apologies...

My apologies to doves, everywhere. Yes, it was me who has been mocking your nest building ability. Yes, it was me who placed rocks on the outdoor speakers, crazy Target-$1.00-bin balls in the hanging basket and who shooed you out of the patio rafters. We've been quite the adversaries, haven't we? Yes, I have bought dove-proof bird feeders but only because you and your friends eat every bit, never sharing. I know, I know. You need to eat too but I think you are all doing quite well, just waiting for seed to drop.

You were just stringing me along last spring, weren’t you? You were making me believe that your nest building was ridiculous. I spotted you starting to build a nest on the outdoor fan over the table. I quickly turned the fan on to discourage it. There was no way your few sticks were going to stay on that fan. Yes, it was me who watched as the sticks dropped to the table that you would go collect more rather than pick up the ones that had dropped on the table, right beneath you. Yes, I kept the fan on so you would find another place.

You were just showing off when you built the nest in the seed spreader, weren’t you? I was under the impression that you were a bird of little brain and couldn’t believe you could make a nest with a few twigs, lay two eggs and raise your babies there. You did.

You won my respect with that one but I still wasn’t impressed with your nest building abilities. Well, I now know you are an expert. You found the perfect place for both of us. Safe for you and your babies. Away from places where I eat my dinner. And just to make sure I realized how good you are, you built at eye level. Look at this nest in the middle of a cholla! My camera and I are watching every move, from a respectful distance and with a telephoto lens.

(Do you see that one of the eggs is out of the nest?)

(That's because one of the babies is born!)

I bow to your expertise. You win but please, if I promise to quit mocking your nest building ability, will you stick to the trees and the cactus rather than the patio? Thank you.