Some More Photos Taken With My Macro Lens

Some More Photos Taken With My Macro Lens

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I enjoy exploring the areas near my house with my macro lens. It requires me to pay attention to things so often overlooked and allows me to see a whole new world of  that surrounds us. And a beautiful world it is, whether it be the delicate wings of a dragonfly,

or the petals of a chicory flower, walking with my macro lens allows me to see and appreciate their existence. The invasive chicory plant, it was brought from Europe by the colonists,  is common along are roadsides, waste areas and trails. It is edible and has many medicinal uses. Its roots can also be gathered and roasted and used as a coffee substitute. 

Some plants look pretty up close, however, you wouldn’t want to pick them. These beautiful leaves are from a poison ivy plant.

Other may be eaten, and quite delicious, but not just yet. These are unripe blackberries. It seems like yesterday they had only begin to flower. 

Another plant was just beginning to flower. These small clusters of flowers will produce elderberries in mid Summer. The local coal miners of days gone by would use them to make jam, jelly and wine.

 

I also came across a few of  these berries, high bush blueberries, or, as the locals call them “swampers” . They  should ripen in a few days. I picked hundreds of quarts  of these delicious berries  over the years. 

 

Now  the berries this flower will produce are something you don’t want to eat, they are flowers of the pokeweed plant. All parts of this plant are poisonous to humans although birds eat them and could become intoxicated if the berries ferment. 

Most of my afternoon walks took me to the coal strip mine reclamation area.  The area is low lying and some wetlands formed in this area. And where there are wetlands there are dragonflies, 

and damselflies. Unfortunately not as many as in previous years. 

There are also a lot less bees, wasps, butterflies and other flying insects. I saw very few essential creatures. Just this butterfly and a few

I think, honeybees.  The use of pesticides is killing  many of the insects that are needed for pollination of our fruits, vegetables and flowers. 

I also came across many wildflowers on my walks. Including the invasive, but still pretty, sulphur cinquefoil  and 

grass pink.

As well as the native comfrey plant.

Every walk with my macro lens opens up  a world of wonder and beauty, both, while on my walk and when I come home and edit the photographs. And I love sharing this beauty with my friends who follow this blog. As I often say, you don’t have to travel far to find the beauty of nature. It is everywhere in our own back yards. You just got to walk with your eyes peeled. 

 

Here is a link to a gallery with some more photos from my hikes with my camera and macro lens. Macro hikes June 2 to July 5 2020.

“The two most engaging powers of a photograph are to make new things familiar and familiar things new.” – William Thackeray

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