The Orchid House
Last Tuesday we visited the Orchid House at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. The setting is tropical with thousands of orchids in full bloom on display. Combining that with several water features makes it a very beautiful place.
Entering the formal garden, with its raised flowers beds and pergolas, is like experiencing an explosion of color. You can find most of the colors of the rainbow in the form of orchids from pale yellow to dark red, including the white Sarraceniaceae from the tepuis in Venezuela (which means "house of the gods" in the tongue of the local natives).
The naturalistic garden is a little less colorful but more adventurous. If you look carefully you can find rare orchids from far away parts of the world hidden in the heavy foliage.
Close-up photography
A day well spent and a promise to ourselves of more visits to see all the other gardens and the canopy walk.
The bluebirds saga
Last year in March, a bluebird couple inspected our birdhouse. Obviously it wasn’t up to their standards because they didn’t come back. Soon after that, a less pretentious chickadee couple moved in and after a few weeks their three little chicks hatched.
You can see the pictures here.
This year, another bluebird couple has been checking our birdhouse and its neighborhood. Good food and water close by with a 24 hour security fence around the backyard. Maybe not the kind of luxury home to which they were accustomed but a fine house just the same.
The landlord cleaning the birdhouse.
They have been in and out several times during the day. The male perches on the roof and looks around, his head turning like a periscope, and the female goes inside to look around. But they still look undecided.
A chickadee couple has also been eyeing the house. It is too soon to know who is going to nest in our birdhouse but it will be interesting to see who will make it their home.
Red Cyclamen
This is the first in a series of flower close-ups experimenting with different lenses and stacking techniques. This picture was taken with a Nikon D90 and the Nikon 18-200mm telephoto zoom lens. The next step will be to get a macro lens and see if I can get more details, especially when photographing red flowers.
Right now the decision is between Nikon and Sigma lenses, price is a major consideration. I'll keep you posted.
2011 Great Backyard Bird Count
The 2011 Great Backyard Bird Count — an annual four-day event that engages bird watchers of all ages in counting birds to create a real-time snapshot of where the birds are across the continent — will take place Friday, February 18, through Monday, February 21.
Anyone can participate and it's free, easy and fun.
For more information visit their website.
This year’s first bloom…
Last year this orchid's blooming was spectacular, but this year promises to surpass it. It has two large stems, each one with additional shorter stems and yesterday, very appropriately for Valentine's Day, it opened its first bloom. Today, the second one is peeking behind.
Lover’s quarrel or proposal?
Wouldn't you love to know what they are talking about?
Waxwings
Waxwings get their name from the red tips on their wing feathers. They came in large numbers to eat berries in our backyard and to drink water in the bird bath.
I’m not talking to you…
If you didn't like that paint color for our nest, why didn't you say something?
