Green Thumb to the Rescue

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Green Thumb to the Rescue Gardener, nature lover, photographer, environmentalist.

09/08/2026
08/08/2026

Young juvenile male Northern Cardinal perched in a cedar tree. I was able to get a couple shots before he realized I was watching him and flew away. Southern Pennsylvania.

08/08/2026
Read the story of this bird!
08/08/2026

Read the story of this bird!

A miracle of Mother Nature wading through "stained glass".

Sometimes making photograph is as much about the light as the subject. In this case the early light created cattail reflections that looked like stained glass.

I did in fact take several photos of just the water and the rippling reflections. But since this is my BIG year for wildlife, I couldn't resist including a subject.

In this case, the subject is a juvenile Black-necked Stilt. You can tell it was born this year because the back is not all black and the legs haven't turned bright pink.

Black-necked Stilts are one of the most elegant of shorebirds. They have the longest legs in proportion to the body of any bird, exceeded only by flamingos.

So what's the miracle? The beautiful bird was hatched in a prairie pothole in the Sandhills a couple of months ago. It has learned to forge and feed itself.

It is also learned to fly. And the real miracle is that it will fly hundreds of miles this fall to the coast or Mexico, without any experience of ever making the trip before.

The beauty of photography is capturing a special moment in a life story.

Photog Nerd Data:
Canon R5mkII, 200-800@800mm, distance 42m, f/9, 1/5000, -0.7 EV, ISO 1600
*Neg -0.7 EV set to minimize blowing out the white feathers
*1/5000 set in order to capture takeoff and inflight shots

08/08/2026

While out cutting flowers for a bouquet just now a yellow swallowtail butterfly landed on a Zinnia about a foot away from me. I could see it perched on the pink petals using its legs to gather pollen from the small yellow spires in the center of the flower. I tried to stand as still as I could. I couldn’t believe it wasn’t aware of or at least not bothered by me. Then it flew to another flower, then another, and then it soared, swooping fast and far away! And I had to savor the experience without documentation!
See in comments: 14 types of Swallowtails, photo of my bouquet.

Bouquet with new flowers from the border garden, August 8, 2026. Photos by Kathy Parrent.
08/08/2026

Bouquet with new flowers from the border garden, August 8, 2026. Photos by Kathy Parrent.

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