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Give Them Hummingbirds Some Hot Lips !

Posted by TrueLight Expressions on April 19, 2023

Posted in: Flowers, Hummingbirds, Macro. Leave a comment

Hot lips Salvia …. not only a plant I seek out for purchase every year, but one of my favorite photo subjects as well. Especially after a morning rain.

Salvias of many kinds are a hummingbirds’ favorite. ‘Hot Lips’ is one of my favorite annuals to provide for them. Just look at that gorgeous pink-magenta lipstick … what hummingbird could resist? Open-mouthed smile Another salvia that I purchase and provide every year is the “Black & Blue” salvia …. and a new one (below) called, ‘Purple Majesty.’

This is what’s so beautiful about photography ….. not only being able to capture a moment in time for all to enjoy, but being able to provide for the birds, butterflies, & bees while enjoying my love of flowers and photography too.

JUST PLANT IT ….. and THEY WILL COME!! Enjoy the season!
And as always . . .
Keep facing the SON!
~deb

Winter’s Wonderland

Posted by TrueLight Expressions on December 29, 2013

Posted in: Seasons, Winter. Tagged: seasons, snow, winter. Leave a comment

It’s my least favorite of seasons …. winter. The cold, the wind, the ice, the bleakness of nature around me. Most songbirds are gone, and all flowers have faded. And the butterflies … those beautiful miracles with wings … have either lived out their cycle, migrated to a warmer climate, or are overwintering in a chrysalis somewhere. Either way, I sure do miss them! I miss ALL of it! I thrive much better on the smell of garden dirt and mushroom soil; on soil-stained knees and worn out garden gloves. From the first day of below 40 temperatures, I am counting down the days until Spring!

But if there’s got to be just one thing I’d have to admit liking of winter, it would be the snow. The purity, the glistening, the reminders from heaven that God is still near. And although it’s still only December, and we still have 2-3 months of old man winter’s bitter cold breath to chill our bones, I am reminded that the beauty of nature and the awesomeness of His creation comes in MANY forms. As the saying goes, “without the winter, there’d be no spring.”

So .. while I anxiously wait to wear those new garden gloves and dirty up the ole’ blue jeans, I will try to rejoice in this day — winter-cold as it may be — because it is still indeed, a day of LIFE to be had. AND appreciated.

Keep facing the SON !
~deb

A New Creation

Posted by TrueLight Expressions on October 11, 2011

Posted in: Butterflies, Monarchs. Tagged: butterflies, insects, monarchs. Leave a comment

Monarchs ….. in my eyes, one of the most awesome wonders of God’s creation! From one day in August watching them as little caterpillars munching away on my milkweed leaves, transforming into these gorgeous black and orange butterfly angels just a few short weeks later, will never cease to be a miracle to me. What a truly amazing transformation that goes on from within its chrysalis – and one day appears as a totally new creation! Just like us, when we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we become new creations in Christ. 🙂

My 13 yr. old granddaughter got me interested in raising monarchs this summer. I’ve given thought to it before, but always imagined that there was too much involved, or more work to it than I was willing to give it. But all it took for me to get hooked was 4 little caterpillars that my granddaughter and I brought in from the butterfly weed (asclepias) in my garden and placed in an old 20-gallon fish aquarium. She went home from her stay here right after that, and I was left to take care of these little guys… and from that point on I found myself totally smitten with a new hobby, and raising nearly 30 caterpillars to monarchs till the season had ended. And I’m already looking forward to next spring and summer, with new garden and flower growing ideas for their eating pleasure, as well as saving every kind of container that I think will make a great caterpillar house. 🙂

Anyway … in the midst of raising all these caterpillars and monarchs, I had the awesome privilege of watching this wonderful miracle take place – the transformation into a new creation! And of course, many photo opportunities as well. Here is a collage that I made with some photos I shot of the ‘birth’ of the monarch. Enjoy!

Keep facing the SON !

~deb

Come, rest a spell ….

Posted by TrueLight Expressions on August 9, 2011

Posted in: Birds, Hummingbirds. Tagged: birds, hummingbirds. Leave a comment

Update Note: Since the date this photo was taken, I have made the wise decision to no longer use red dyes in my homemade hummingbird nectar. It has been studied and proven to … like so many other things …. cause cancer and other illnesses in hummingbirds. Please strongly consider doing the same, if you feed these sweeties.

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If you’re familiar with hummingbirds, you know how ‘speedy’ they are. “Zoom, zoom, zoom” was written just for them. They can fly from 0 to 60 in 5 seconds, it seems. (Okay, maybe just a bit of an exaggeration.) Their zig-zaggy, speedy ways make them not the easiest subject to shoot; at least if you are trying to shoot them being still.

After a nice summer rain shower, I took my camera out on the deck for a quicky photo shoot (no tripod), and stood very near to this feeder with my 200mm zoom lens . . . so, although the result isn’t perfect, I am fairly satisfied.

Hummingbirds give us so much pleasure and enjoyment, it’s always so sad to see them leave. Here in our corner of Pennsylvania, they will begin migrating around Labor Day/the first week of September. We continue to leave the feeders out thru the months of September and October, however, as the ones from up north come thru and stop in to fuel up, before continuing on their long journey south. I sure will miss them.
Keep facing the SON !
~deb