Winter Grasshopper

Did you know that even in December, you can find wildlife abounding in rural areas? While visiting my father's farm for our family Christmas party, I took a photo walk around the property. Among the dried up grass, weeds and branches were several beautiful grasshoppers. Here is one macro shot of this colorful "Winter" insect.

Hornet on a Golden Zinnia - Macro

I shoot flower photos as often as I have time... and sunlight. Going out and shooting pics relaxes me and helps clear my head. When a wonderful capture like this one occurs, it is such an awesome blessing. And special thanks to the kind anonymous person who told me that the flower shown here is a golden zinnia. The hornet looking insect lighted for a few seconds and then disappeared.

Green Leaf Spider Macro

The drive to work each day takes approx- imately 45 minutes. Along the way, I see many sights that are common to rural North Carolina. One thing I enjoy is that each Summer, starting in late June, a bunch of hibiscus flowers comes into bloom along a ditch bank on my route to work. Last year and this year, I stopped a few times to photograph the flowers. Recently, I decided to "focus" on macro shots of the leaves, insects and the flowers themselves.

Over the next few days, I'll post a few of the best captures from those morning stops along the road. Today, see if you can find the little green spider...

The large version of this image is well worth the download time.