Author Archives: Kim Smith

Falling in Love…with Beetles

Posted on May 18, 2019

I might be in the early stages of a love affair…with beetles. A sort of beetle-mania, so to speak. I was aware that there are more species of beetles than plants on our planet, but hadn’t paid any special attention … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Dandelion Delight

Posted on April 24, 2019

Yes, you read that right — I said, “Dandelion Delight,” alright. Many people despise these little yellow flowers that pop up in lawns in early spring, and do everything they can to eradicate them.  In fact, there may be no … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Ohio, Toledo | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

Spring Ephemerals

Posted on April 19, 2019

I spent last Saturday in Dayton, Ohio, attending a spring wildflower symposium. After the day’s events concluded, I spent a couple hours photographing wildflowers in the area. Dayton is about 150 miles south of Toledo, and so things bloom earlier … Continue reading →

Posted in wildflowers | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Dork Alert – Galápagos, Part 4

Posted on April 12, 2019

Maybe I should have titled this, “Birder True Confessions,” because I’m going to admit to some embarrassing things that happened on this trip. The first is that I sometimes get excited about birds that other people don’t. I wrote about … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Travel | Tagged , , , , | 12 Comments

Penguins and More – Galápagos, Part 3

Posted on April 3, 2019

On the morning of March 12, the ship anchored off the coast of Isabela Island near Elizabeth Bay. We piled into the zodiacs in groups of about 15 people, and headed off to explore the beautiful and peaceful mangrove lagoon. … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Insects, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Pirates of the Sky – Galápagos, Part 2

Posted on March 30, 2019

In my first post about the Galápagos trip, I showed you photos of the beloved and iconic blue-footed boobies. Most of those images were made on North Seymour, a small island that’s host to large colonies of the boobies as … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

And…We’re Back – Galápagos, Part 1

Posted on March 24, 2019

Well, that went by quickly, didn’t it? The anticipation of the Galápagos trip lasted for months, and then it was all over in a flash.  I’m editing hundreds of photos and struggling with how to write about it. There were … Continue reading →

Posted in Birds, Travel | Tagged , , , , , | 18 Comments

Destination: Zero Degrees Latitude

Posted on March 8, 2019

Yep, that’s right, I’m headed for the equator! If all goes as planned, by the time this post is live on the blog, I’ll be 30,000 feet above the planet in a giant metal tube, headed for the Galápagos. If … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | 5 Comments

Odes in Winter: Where Are They Now?

Posted on February 24, 2019

Here in northern Ohio we’ve entered a period of the year that I think of as, “Is It Time Yet?” We’ve been through the depths of a frigid winter and have been treated to some brief warmups in which all … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Odonata (dragons and damsels) | Tagged , , , , , | 6 Comments

A Visual Ode to the Holiday

Posted on February 14, 2019

These are Familiar Bluets in their heart-shaped mating wheel. These damselflies belong to the insect order called Odonata, and we often shorten that to “odes” when talking about them among other ode lovers. And below is a photo of one … Continue reading →

Posted in Insects, Native plants, Odonata (dragons and damsels), wildflowers | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments