07-06-2021 - Flowers In The Morning

Thanks for stoppin' by and checkin' out the Bsombin' blog! I'll make this post quick. Just wanted to share this flick of a white African Iris that I shot the other morning...

 

Living In The Garden - Part 2 (The Mantis & The Rose - 09/30/2019)

Thanks for checkin' out the Bsombin' blog! Before we move on to the next lowrider event, I wanted to go back in the archive and pull out some more old images (aside from the museum tours). I had these pictures of a praying mantis that had been living in the back yard on the rose bush, in my archives. I realized, after finding the pictures, that I had actually started a segment on the little critter and forgot to continue adding to it. I looked up the old post and realized that these images should be the next post in the segment and decided to pick up were I left off with the segment. I think this is a new record for the most time between updates in a segment, though.

Sadly, the little mantis in gone. They only have a life expectancy of about a year. So, I'm sure she's long gone, by now. I started learning about mantises while she was living in the rose bush. I was able to determine that it was a female because of the number of sections her abdomen had. Females have fewer sections and the sections are wider. While males have thiner abdomens with more sections. Females have have 5 sections and males have 8, usually. If you look closely at some of the pictures in these posts, you can count the sections of her abdomen. She lived there for several months before disappearing one day. And during that time I was able to get a lot of pictures of my little green neighbor. I learned a lot about mantises during her stay in the rose bush. So I'll be sharing some of the stuff I learned as I post the images. ...Like how to tell male and female mantises apart, for example.

Image From The Past...

The first thing I'm pulling out of the archives is a single image that could have been taken recently. But it was taken on 09/17/2019. That's about how far back the unposted content goes. ...So you get an idea of how long this stroll down memory lane will be.

 Check back soon to see the "DiVinci" display that was at the Ronald Reagan Library back in September of 2019. That up next, along with a lot of automotive photography! 

Living In The Garden - Part 1 (The Mantis & The Rose)

When I was little, I was told that seeing a praying mantis was good luck. Over the years, I've paid attention and feel that there is some truth to that. Good things tend to happen, for me, after I see one. Which is one of the reasons why I have come to love these little critters. I love photographing them too. They are fascinating creatures. Their eye trip me out. They're like orbital sockets that turn in all directions. So, they can look at you while you are standing behind them, even if they are facing forward. They look like little aliens to me. I could see them getting on a little green spaceship and flying away one day... 

Recently, I have been seeing a lot in the garden in the back yard. So I have been collecting pictures of them and all the other critters that I have been finding in the bushes while shooting the mantises. This particular mantis has actually been living in the rose bush for a couple of weeks now. I've been getting a lot of pictures of her, since I first noticed her. I learned that you can tell the sex of a mantis by counting the sections of their abdominal. Females have 6 while males have 8. The males' abdominal sections are smaller too. I've been keeping an eye on this female since she started living in the rose bush. Whether or not they are actually luck isn't something I can prove. But, I will say that I've been having some great things happen in my life ever since she showed up...

I'll be sharing more from the garden, in-between all the other content I will be sharing, since I have been growning my collection of critter pics. As always, I have a lot more art, pics, poems, and stories to share. So check back soon for more Bsombin'!

Bud & A Lady Bug

Revisiting Spring In The Summer

Thanks for checkin' out the blog! Remember the Super Blum? Back when all the flowers were blooming in abundance, the kid and I went to Riverside to visit our friend Deeana and her kids. When we got out there, we decided to go to Mt. Rubidoux and go hiking. Mt. Rubidoux is a mountain near downtown Riverside with a trail to hike and some amazing views along the trail and at the top. The mountain was covered in flowers, swarming with butterflies, and crawling with big colorful lizards, when we got there. I saw the biggest fly I've ever seen, too. It was pretty warm, that day, I remember. But still a great day for a hike. I was chasing butterflies, most of the way up, trying to get a good shot of one. It's a lot harder than I thought I was going to be to get close enough to shoot a butterfly. But I didn't have a telephoto lens. So I had to chase them from flower to flower. Finally, when we got to the top, I was able to get some pictures I was happy with. The lizards made it just as hard to get pictures of them too, since they were quick runners and amazing climbers. I almost fell off a giant rock formation, trying to get a picture of one. But, thank God, I was able to regain my balance before falling. And, I got the shot! The beautiful day drew a lot of other people to the mountain as well. There were some great photo opportunities (some I got, some I missed), with all the activity on the mountain. So I was able to get a lot of shots worth sharing. Our trip to Mt. Rubidoux was a great time. Deeana, the kids, and I all had fun hiking and catching up. We all got a pretty good workout too. And I finally got some good pictures of Butterflies!

Thanks for checkin' out the blog. Check back soon for more stories, photos, art, and more!

Vasquez Rocks

I updated Bsombin.com earlier this week. After thinking it over for a while, I decided to remove the watermark from all the images on the site. I want the images to be able to make their full impact on the viewer, without anything taking attention away from the content of the images. I just don't want my viewers being distracted by a logo anymore. So no more logos on the site images. The same goes for the images on this blog. I stopped adding watermarks to images a few posts back. The logo will basically be for marketing and merchandising, moving forward. I got out some pictures I took at Vasquez Rocks a few years back, while fixing the images on the site. It's Thursday (the day for throwbacks). So I figured it'd be a good day to share some of them.

My brother Jefroe and I got up early one morning to go catch the sunrise at the rocks. It's a beautiful park and nature area with some amazing rock formations. It's located about 45 minutes north of downtown Los Angeles and has been used in several commercials, TV shows, and movies. It got it's name in the late 1800 from one of California's most notorious bandits named Tiburcio Vasquez, after he used the rocks to avoid being captured be law enforcement. It's a great place to visit, if you enjoy hiking and the outdoors. And the scenery makes for some great photos...

Colorful cloudporn

Thanks for checkin' out Bsombin'! No long story this time. Just wanted to share some colorful cloudporn that I shot the other day...

I'm working on some new video and design projects, and am finishing up my book of poems, right now, and I will have some new video and poetry to share soon. So please check back soon for more Bsombin!