nature

A grizzly and her cubs in a field of flowers

~ laura lecce ~ 7 Comments
A grizzly and her cubs in a field of flowers – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Life doesn’t get much better than this. Watching a mamma grizzly make her way slowly through a field of yellow wildflowers while her two cubs run around her. This picture was taken in Spring in Teton National Park. There were quite a few female grizzlies each with two beautiful and bouncy cubs. Predictably they took the same route every day, so on each day you could catch a glimpse of them making their way through this field. I learned that a grizzly can be distinguished from other bears because of the hump on it’s back above the shoulders. They are so much bigger than I imagined, and every time I saw a bear on this trip I would forget to breathe. You really feel like you are in the presence of a magnificent and truly special animal. What a truly wonderful experience.

Friday Flower – Balsamroot with a backdrop of Tetons

~ laura lecce ~ 6 Comments
Wildflowers with the Tetons – Photograph By Laura Lecce

These beautiful, bright and sunny wildflowers are known commonly as balsamroot, or scientifically called Balsamorhiza. They are a member of the sunflower family and make a stunning foreground for a photo of the Teton mountain range. They are a golden flag for the Spring season and provide food for many grass and plant eating animals such as deer, elk, pronghorn and bighorn sheep. There were many grassy valleys and hillsides inundated with large tufts of golden flowers, and they appear in so many of my wildlife photos. They wildflowers really brightened up my trip and I hope they brighten up your weekend, have a great one everyone!

Friday Flower – A close look at a zinnia

~ laura lecce ~ 2 Comments
Zinnia close up – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Sometimes it’s more interesting to look at something familiar from a different perspective to gain renewed appreciation. Have you ever looked at a zinnia this close before? I discovered a tiny forest of golden furry trees arranged in a perfect circle surrounded by a bed of brilliant red petals. Each yellow tree has a trunk filled with nectar that attracts bees, butterflies and moths. Each visitor gets a secret powdering of yellow pollen to transport to subsequent flowers, unknowingly becoming a pollen postal service. I go the garden to relax, unwind and refresh my mind, and while everything around me may seem tranquil, it is in fact the opposite – each and every flower, every insect and every plant is very hard at work.

Red zinnia – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Friday Flower – Pink with an Eastern Black Swallowtail Butterfly

~ laura lecce ~ 6 Comments
Eastern Black Swallowtail – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Ok, so this photo is not so much about a flower as it about the stunning black butterfly perched delicately on these tiny pink flowers. Those large dark wings with golden circles and a powdering of shimmery blue. The signature elongated wing tips of a swallowtale and delicate lines of white dots along the abdomen. This butterfly truly turns heads as it flutters past and really tested my patience as I waited for it to sit still long enough for a photo that was in focus. I will dearly miss the warmer months this year as the weather is already getting too cold for my liking, and we still have so much further to go into the cold abyss of winter. Have a warm weekend everyone!

For more butterflies please click here.

The eagle and the bird who hates him

~ laura lecce ~ 20 Comments
The eagle and the bird who hates him – Photograph by Laura Lecce

It’s tough to be so loved and admired, to be an American icon and a symbol of great strength. Lucky for this eagle, his ego will be a little smaller because of a little bird (well little sitting next to this eagle) who absolutely despises him! As I was in absolute awe that I got lucky enough to get up close and photograph this stunning bird, the bird next to him was determined to shoo him away. At one point the little bird was hanging off his tail feathers trying to yank them out with his beak and flapping around the poor eagle’s head and making a hell of a racket. I guess having a large and cunning predator so close to home must be a bit distressing. It was also spring time in Yellowstone National Park, which probably meant chicks in a nest that need protecting. Lucky for the little bird that the eagle didn’t seem on the hunt for lunch. Also lucky for me and my camera that the eagle didn’t seem at all surprised or phased to have this annoying bird bothering him, and just sat his ground looking as regal as ever. What a fantastic experience!

For other pics and posts from Yellowstone National Park – please click here.

Friday Flower – Yellow zinnia with a yellowjacket

~ laura lecce ~ 4 Comments
Yellow zinnia with a yellowjacket – Photography by Laura Lecce

This cute little bug might seem adorable sitting on a matching, bright yellow flower, but do not be deceived as it is a fearsome, predatory wasp. A yellowjacket wasp that lives in a colony underground and can pack a pretty nasty sting as many times as it wants. If you disturb or injure one of these wasps near their home, they send out a distress signal to all of their friends and relatives as a sign that they must attack and defend. At that point you have no choice but to make a run for it! Cute photo though.

I met a marmot

~ laura lecce ~ 2 Comments
The marmot I met – Photograph by Laura Lecce

I met a marmot for the first time in Yellowstone National Park, and these little critters are now quite possibly at the top of my favorites list (well second,  lizards still win). They are such a cute, cuddly-looking, round ball of orange-brown fur. In the case of the photo above, the fur color was a perfect blend with the rock that this marmot calls his home. Never straying far from the safety of his fortress, he went on happily munching the grass shoots in his front yard while I sat and took his photo. It took a while for me to get a good portrait as he mostly had his head down pulling up grass, then would periodically put his head up for a just a second to check that I was still watching him. Capturing a photo of a marmot is a very seasonal activity, as you wont find them around from about September to May as they happily hibernate through the colder months of the year. I wish I could do the same!

Friday Flower – Ironweed with a monarch

~ laura lecce ~ 6 Comments
Ironweed with a monarch – Photograph by Laura Lecce

Ironweed is a species of plant within the larger genus of Veronia. They have very distinct and intense purple flowers, which are a fantastic pairing of colors for this stunning orange monarch butterfly. I was very lucky that this gem sat still long enough to get a photo of it’s wonderful spots. When summer ended I made sure to take my camera to the local flower gardens to catch the last of the butterflies before they depart during the colder months. Ironweed is a great addition to your garden to make sure that the butterflies come to visit. For other posts on butterflies please click here.

Happy weekend everyone!

The yellow eyebrows of a blue grouse

~ laura lecce ~ 2 Comments
Blue Grouse – Photograph by Laura Lecce

This is a gloriously proud male grouse who had decided I was infringing upon his territory. To let me know this he performed his intimidation dance – tail feathers sprawled, neck feathers on end to uncover that red wrinkly skin, and an angry frown with his bright yellow eyebrows. Little did he know, that instead of scaring me away, his dance was what got him noticed in the first place. After taking his photo, I let him think he won and scared me off with his territorial display. Such a gorgeous and unusual bird!

Friday Flower – A bright star Allium

~ laura lecce ~ 3 Comments
A bright star Allium – Photograph by Laura Lecce

This sharply pointed, geometric flower belongs to the Allium genus. A spring flowering bulb related to garlic, onion and chives that comes in varieties of pink, whites and purples and different sized flowers. The flowers cluster on the top of a single long stem and once opened, they appear as a bright firework of color. Many of them also have a glittery shimmer on the petals, catching the light and adding to their stunning beauty. This flower is a wonderful addition to any garden since purple flowers against a backdrop of green always looks so impressive. Its great to be back, have a wonderful weekend everyone!