Recovery

I had a moment(s) recently that reinforced lessons taught early on in the wildlife photography course I am taking - prepare back up batteries and memory cards. Such a simple and obvious concept but of course lessons only seem to sink in through experience for me...

Side note: another recent lesson learned - skip the cute gardening gloves at the dollar tree!

....

I was watering plants on my patio over the weekend when an odd bird noise caught my attention. I found a pair of <I think they were peregrine falcons (?)> hunting a blue jay within a large canopy in my neighbors tree, COOL! When the birds became aware that Roxy and I were there, the blue jay made a clever dash to the tree I was standing under. This maneuver seemed to work because the falcons followed but they were more cautious and hesitant to hunt with Roxy and I so close. There were so many long pauses and investigating looks during which all I could think was damnnn, I wish I had my Nikon right now! I enjoyed the show for a few minutes and decided to make a dash for it only to find not one, but TWO dead batteries! My best friend said its time for a third battery but I think I just need to do better. I am not always the most organized but this moment was enough to reinforce what I already knew - future captured moments will thank me for being more disciplined in my equipment maintenance and good habits!

I had a nice long 5 day weekend <I hope everyone enjoyed celebrating the U.S. Declaration of Independance and the ideal of equality - life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all> and also found some time to prep my yard for the mowers again UGH...we have been getting some good consistent rain in the last few weeks so I also needed to do some control on purple passionflower - she has gone a bit wild lately. The last time I blogged I was prepping for the mowers...they did some serious damage despite my best attempt to mark plants with pavers. They knocked down two memorial plants that were recently planted along with a muhly grass plug and only half of my native coffee bush - a really nice option that enjoys shade, by the way! This is a constant battle as I slowly replace grass - the conversion rate is much slower outside of Roxy's Square due in part to depending on mowers and also my aversion to people so I spend less time manually pulling grass LOL the good news is that everything that got whacked is already regrowing!

For a great resource and inspiration on yard to habitat conversions, check out the Homegrown National Park website and movement - it's a simple and beautiful concept that all of our homes have a role to play in supporting local biodiversity and improving the sustainability of our communities. Converting my yard over time has been such an enriching and therapeutic choice for me and photography has added a new level of appreciation.

I took advantage of the dark plain backgroundof my truck with this angle on a zebra longwing.

A gulf fritillaryon tropical salvia

w/

sweet gum backdrop<3

I grew up on a dirt road called Crape Myrtle Ln so these trees have always been nostalgic for me. I love that there is a wild crape myrtle tree that grows over Roxy's Square. She has bloomed fantastically and consistently every summer but this year she is either super late or skipping a bloom season. We had wicked, record breaking low temps this last winter so it's possible she is in a recovery period. I thought I lost quite a bit from the intense winter cold snap but turns out, almost everything (except my orchids, RIP) is recovering. Yay for resiliency!

Left ------ > right: July 2020, July 2025

I dove into her details this year instead by photographing one of her only blooms.

She sure is a beauty!

Last but not least - I have to acknowledge Roxy''s arbitrarily assigned birthday that we celebrated today with friends, treats, a pup cake + birthday song, and lots of new toys! We think she is 7 but as with many rescues it's a best guess mystery scenario :)