I really would have liked to have photographed some of the blue jays I saw yesterday. Instead, here’s a rudbeckia from a yard in which I emphasized the blue background with Photoshop.
When I put this photo of tiny asters on my computer, I noticed a tiny flying insect enjoyed the flowers even more than I did.
Ugly red berries (maybe you like them?) are growing on a tree in my backyard.
I finally filled my bird feeder again. I left it alone all summer, as birds seem to love my compost in the summer. But I’m trying to get in the habit of filling it, so in the winter the birds will know they can show up for a nosh. This sparrow seems to have already helped himself – do you think he is digesting his meal before flying off? Or is that only something humans do?
Next week is Sukkot and the week after Simhat Torah-Shemini Atzeret, so I won’t have much time for blogging or Nature Notes. On Sukkot we do have some contact with nature – in particular, we sit outside in a sukkah for all our meals. One can see see the stars through the roof of the sukkah (assuming it’s a clear night). Can any of my Jewish friends explain to my non-Jewish readers a few other natural elements of Sukkot?
Rayna Eliana reviews Who Shall Live: The Wilhelm Bachner Story – “Bachner’s fierce determination and courage saw him through the most adverse of situations, and he never waivered when he saw an opportunity to save a Jew.”
I had some shots of my rudbeckia (black eyed susans) even closer up, but I found this one in particular to be a charming composition. The black eyed susans grow all over my front yard. I encourage them (by not picking the little seedlings when the full grown plant self seeds).
I love photographing rudbeckia (black-eyed susans); they are like sculptures in the winter snow. To achieve the see-through border, I added a 9px stroke to the Photoshop layer that had the sepia effect. Since the layer had an opacity lower than 100%, the border is also transparent. The default stroke effect is a bright red color; using the eye-dropper tool, I selected a color from within the photograph for the border.
Fading Rudbeckia with Purple Verbena in the Background
On My Blog
It’s been a while since I did a review, so perhaps this should be a month in review (or two months?). Jewish holidays can do that to you – you can’t remember what it was you were planning in mid August, and all of a sudden it’s October. I was very busy putting up the films for the Rutgers New Jersey Jewish Film Festival in September – if you live in New Jersey, I hope you will see one of the films!
I like shooting photos so the object in the front is clear and the background has a blur (or bokeh). Here are orange lilies in front of yellow rudbeckia.
The rudbeckia are shown in front of the day lilies. I have rudbeckia (commonly Black-Eyed Susans) all over my yard.
Rudbeckia in foreground and Orange Nasturtium in the back
Busy, crazy week – birthday boom bash for my daughter on Sunday, busy, busy, busy with work, then this morning my daughter wakes up with a fever and a virus! The nerve of her – I hope she gets better soon. She is missing the last two days of school.
Where the Fortress Looms: After discovering the fabled Ruin Rui in Ruins, Patrick finds mutated pins and dead racers everywhere. Bruce is the last rebel left. Or is he?
Elsewhere in the Blogosphere
Ilana-Davita teaches us about the philosophy questions in France. Here are a few: Can a scientific truth be dangerous? Can art exist without rules? Is the role of a historian to judge?
Ima2Seven called this post Health Nuts but of course I think the people who are nuts are the ones eating the junk food. It’s been a big struggle for me to get my family to eat healthier. I told my daughter I wanted to bring apples and carrots for a party (not being totally serious), and she told me the other kids would laugh at her (they seriously would).
Millet recipes (I tried the millet cakes – as a pilaf, it was delicious, but it failed to become cakes. Maybe I’ll cheat and add eggs and a binder like matza meal).
Elsewhere in the Blogosphere
Ilana-Davita reviewed A Year with My Father. We all await the English translation (it’s in French).
