August 2010 Free Wallpaper Calendar

August is a month of hot summer and bright flowers. We often seek a shady nook in the dog days to escape the heat. This creamy stucco garden wall is catching the last rays of the day and beckons one to pause. The flowers become vivid and light up as the shadows deepen on the dappled wall. Where do you find respite on a hot day?

download your free desktop wallpaper calendar for August 2010 here

Easy Instructions
After clicking on the above link
you will be at my Flickr page. Simply click on
"Download the Original size"
at the top left of the page.
The file will then download to your desktop!

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Butterfly on Catmint

After a series on sunset lit architecture and a commentary on snakes, I am returning to more flower photos for awhile. Today I want to share with you my latest "Butterfly on Catmint." I am not sure what type of butterfly this is but they are very common in my garden. Do you know?

The flowers are catmint, a member of the Nepeta family that also includes catnip. I no longer have a kitty, but I do know they love to roll around in these plants. The honey bees love catmint too and the plants are always humming with their ceaseless activity. I hope you enjoy my latest!

Butterfly on Catmint
An orange butterfly is perched on the top of a stem of vivid purple catmint flowers gathering nectar. I am not sure what type of butterfly this is but they are very common in the foothills of Northern Colorado.
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The Differences Between Bullsnakes and Rattlesnakes

We were taking our Sunday morning walk with the dogs, chatting and enjoying the scenery, when Ric jumped and said "Whoa!" He was looking down and I saw a three and a half foot snake coiled up right next to the path. I backed up quickly and then looked closely. Whew! It was a bullsnake. In the West, they make you jump because at first glance they can look like a Prairie Rattlesnake. But if you look at the head it is really very different. The bullsnake has a much smaller roundish head and their eyes have round pupils. Bullsnakes are very beneficial eating rodents and keeping the rattlers away so he was very welcome in our neighborhood.

Bullsnake Coiled
On our Sunday morning walk we almost stepped on this bullsnake. They make you jump in surprise since we also have rattlesnakes in the area and they look similar at first glance.

Bullsnake Close Up
A bullsnake is feeling threatened by my camera and as they typically do begins lunging and backtracking at the same time in order to escape.

Rattlesnakes on the other hand, have larger heads that are triangle shaped with elliptical not round pupils. Their bodies are usually fatter too. And of course, there is that unmistakable rattle on the tail. If you have ever heard it you will never forget that sound. We almost lost our dog, Rob, to a snake bite last summer. So we are always glad when snake season is over and we do not have to watch where we step all the time. You just never know when that snake might not be a harmless bullsnake and instead be a rattlesnake with a venomous bite which can be fatal to humans and your best friend.

Prairie Rattlesnake
This Prairie Rattlesnake was found in the foothills of northern Colorado near my home several years ago.

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Water Tower at Sunset

Traveling in the American midwest you find many abandoned warehouses, factories, and old water towers. There is a reason this area of the United States is called the "Rust Belt." It is a vision into a past when America was the world's leading producer of goods. I remember that past and feel saddened by the direction our country has taken. But all that aside, I love the interesting rusty beauty of these old structures. I hope you enjoy my latest in this series from my Ohio trip. If you love to look at photographs of old water towers you should check out the work of my friend, Gary Heller. He has some fantastic shots of old water towers in New York City. Enjoy!

Water Tower
This old water tower with a golden sunset painting its rusty surface with an orange glow is found in Bucyrus, Ohio.
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Warehouse Moon

An old warehouse in Bucyrus, Ohio has been boarded up for a long time. Every time I venture back to my childhood home a few miles away, this building beckons my camera to shoot. If anyone recognizes this building I would love to know what its former life was. I think it is a very beautiful old building and in the west we do not see very much brick, especially used in such a big structure. I loved playing in post processing with this one. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did creating it.

Warehouse Moon
A slice of American history is preserved as a full moon glows over an old 19th century brick warehouse, long ago boarded up and abandoned.
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Sunlit Copper Dome

I admit it. As well as my love of nature, I love architecture and it is one of my favorite things to photograph. The abstractions and geometry fascinate the eye. This Greek Revival courthouse in Bucyrus, Ohio caught my eye just as the sun was near setting. The lighting was perfect as the copper dome caught fire with the glow of the sunset. The close angle really shows off the classical Doric style of the building and it almost seems to be tumbling in upon itself. I hope you like it.

Copper Dome
A copper dome catches the last light of the day atop the classical Doric styled architecture of a Greek revival courthouse.
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Stepping out of My Steel Box

If you are familiar with my work then you know I tend toward natural images found in the Western USA. Today I am stepping out of my comfort zone. You might think I took this photo in a major city, but in fact, it was taken at a rural interstate rest area in Wyoming. It is what my eye saw when I looked at that reflective steel face shining like a beacon in the sun. Let me know what you think.

Steel Box
A wedge shaped building with a face of reflective steel shines in a blue cloud filled sky.
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Golden Hillside

The day was cool and misty. It suited my temperament and put an extra lift in my step. The scent of pine enveloped me and stole my attention from everything else for a moment. Then, as I gazed down the hillside, a sprinkling of yellow flowers had seemingly appeared in the instant of my attention. I had to get close to the earth and take in their beauty in a gulp. The fog crept closer and the trees beyond the little mountain meadow started to disappear into the mist. I felt small sitting in the dirt with my mouse view. The world shifted and I was suddenly no one and everything all at once. Nature once again stole me away.

Spring Gold
A grassy hillside is sprinkled with late spring blooming yellow flowers and the majestic pines in the background are shrouded in a misty fog.
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