Don't try this at home.

Did you ever wonder, what was on the inside? Well...the top photo was first posted on this site on 10/08/05. The bottom photo shows a cross section of a similar nest. The cells where the eggs of the hornet are laid and incubated. The white caps close off the cells for the incubation stage. Thanks to Skip P. for the 'loan' of the specimen.

Hornet's nest floor plan.

Closeup view of the individual cells where each egg is laid. Notice the white caps. In particular notice the white cap that is 'torn' open at the top center of the bottom picture.

Push ice. Foggy day.

Push ice on Chequamegon Bay. "Hot pond" east of power plant.

Lemon/Peach Christmas cactus.

This plant came into bloom today. With short days of sunlight it was necessary to shoot this with artifical light. I have to work on the positioning of the lights to eliminate unwanted shadows.

Not far enough south?

Part of a large flock of geese that remain in the Chequamegon Bay area. It appears that the bay is nearly iced over with only one small patch of open water toward the Washburn side. Both shots taken from the Ashland marina with 75-300 telephoto lens. The top photo is taken to the NNW city of Washburn and the bottom photo toward the North.

..........and violets are blue.

35th wedding anniversary sunrise.

View to the east on highway 63 south of the old Bibon tavern. The start of a great day!

35th wedding anniversary evening sky.

View to the NNW toward Houghton Point. That's ice on the bay. Ending of a great day!

White tail deer.

Compliments of the "Washburn Game Reserve" aka D & J's yard.

White tail deer. Mother and offspring.

Compliments of the "Washburn Game Reserve" aka D & J's yard

"Colder by the lake"

"Colder by the lake" a common refrain used in northern Wisconsin. In this case it appears to be true.

Lake shore lawn.

Ground level shot of frozen blades of grass. No mowing required here.

Traveling day. Happy Thanksgiving to all.

Butler traveling to family thanksgiving gathering. Traditionally oven roasted smoke coho salmon with side dishes of broiled whitefish and his favorite frozen fish stick casserole. He'll have to loosen the old cummerbun before dessert. Sardine pudding delight.

From the archives.

From the archives.

White Christmas cactus.

The Christmas cactus. In many families it has become an heirloom passed from generation to generation with and occasional offshoot being given to friends and other family members. It's a plant, no, it's a member of the family that requires loving care and "just the right" conditions to make it bloom. Some care givers have the touch and can make it do it's magic year after year. Others, sadly never quite get the formula. In our house the care giver has a green thumb. For less fortunate plants our care giver runs an intensive care facility for neglected and dying plants. This Christmas cactus is a family member. It is a daughter plant started from a cutting of a family heirloom. The parent plant is twenty three years old.

Red Christmas cactus.

This Christmas cactus is a gift from a friend and is not a recovering patient. Both however are always welcome by the photographer in the house.

A very watchful eye.

Rough-legged hawk in the Bibon swamp Bayfield County Wisconsin (see October 25th posting for additional shots). Apologies to all. This is not a very good shot(s). Low light conditions, the outer limits of the 75-300 lens, hand held exposure and a very very jumpy subject. But for those who rarely get the chance to see a large bird of prey it's worth the space on the blog. So enjoy!

Winter fields.

Hay wagons "waiting" for next summers crops. Snow fence in the foreground. Common along Wisconsin highways. Usually set in early November and taken down each spring.

Billycreek's front window view.

American Republic arriving Reiss Coal Dock.

Arriving laker navigating the channel of Chequamegon Bay.

Last laker of the season.

American Republic. November 17, 2005 15:27 CST

Off loading coal.

Foraging for berries.

By special request of "minn" in the comments section. Andy Warhol version?

"Budscicle"

B...r...r...r, shiv...e...r, drip!

For S & K.

Jointer trip.

Sunrise, sunset on the road.

Sunrise (left photo). Sunset (right photo). Red sky at night sailor's delight. Red sky in the morning sailors take warning. One day on the road sunrise and sunset.

Season's end.

From the archives.

Creepie-crawlies

From the archives. The left critter is a Cicada. This insect has a long life cycle. They live a large part of the life cycle underground and emerge in the adult form every 13-17 years. These are the critters that make the high pitch sound (much like a smoke alarm) on warm summer days.

Look close. "Hard H2O"

First ice. Compare the right and left half of the water. This is the first ice I've seen skimming this little roadside pothole south of Grand View WI. Going to dig out the ice auger and sharpen the blades. Just kidding! No ice fishing yet.

Gentle breeze.

These ornamental grasses swayed in the gentle unseasonabily warm breeze yesterday (11/08/05). Not so today. Today the were straight out horizontally. Wind chill temperatures in the mid teens with constant winds and gusts at 40 mph. Maybe not the gales of November but a stark difference from 24 hours ago.

A little "photoshop magic".

Here they are together the moon in the southern sky and the sunset in the west taken within minutes of each other.

Moon November 07, 2005 17:43 CST

This shot of the moon was taken within minutes of the sunset posted below. Notice the blue sky in the sunset photo and the blue sky in this photo. The photo was taken with a 75-300 telephoto lens. Tripod mounted. I'm no astronomer. Amateur or otherwise. But I've had fun with the details in this photo. Try going to this website The Full Moon Atlas and compare the atlas with the photo details. Go to Section E-5 in the atlas. Click on the sector. Find the Crater Theophilus (100 km) next to the "T" in the word EAST. You can clearly see this crater in the photo.

One full day on the bay.

November 07, 2005 what a great day on the bay. Temperatures in the high 50's, sunny and very little wind. I started the day with a pre-sunrise shot (see below) so I decided to end the day with a sunset shot. I suppose the gales of November can't be far off.

"Helicopters" or "whirligigs"

And, AND they will stick to your nose! Do kids still do that or do they have to buy the factory version at Wal-Mart?

A random shot.

This is one of those wonderful surprises that a photographer finds on an "exposed roll". Or in the case of digital photography a full media card. It caught my eye while uploading from the camera to the computer.

Closer view.

Pre-dawn lights across the bay.

Click on this or any other photo for an enlarged version.
Washburn WI. The Bayfield County court house dome can be seen in the center of the photo.

Oh! to be a kid again.

The reason to love fall leaves.

Remnant of the front flower garden.

Light at the end of the tunnel.

bt