RATHER FISHY (if you ask *me*)

Lately the fish population in my aquarium has been exploding! This is the culprit. He seems to be the only (and very prolific) male among 4 similarly sized OB Zebras. In the past weeks three of the females have either "had" their babies or are about to spew them forth. The male below has been displaying this vibrant coloring for the entire duration. The picture doesn't do justice to the iridescent blue he flashes as he swims.



Here is proof of his spawning abilities.... newly arrived baby cichlid; no bigger than 1/4" long.

Recently I was gifted with a card to use at my favorite fish store. Today I used the gift card to add some color other than the orange blotch. This is a powder blue cichlid and he (or she) is gorgeous.

Another addition: yellow lab. I have a lone yellow lab and decided it was time to add some potential mates.

More demasoni cichlids. For some reason it is very difficult to keep these alive. But I keep trying.

This is a red jewel cichlid. Another gorgeous show of colors. Turquoise spots against a reddish-salmon color.

Naturally after adding the fish to the tank I had to take photos. The challenge of capturing the details of the fish with clarity as they swim is overpowering at times.

Until the next time...

SPRING FLOWERS

The other day I was the lucky recipient of 2 spring floral bouquets; one from my parents and the other from my sister. There are definitely some advantages to having a birthday in springtime. Here I share some of the photos. I was playing with closeups without benefit of a macro lens.

Beautiful lilies!

Look at the fallen pollen on the petal. Wow! No wonder we sneeze so much in the spring.

Lime green flowers. I once saw a rose this color at the Tyler Rose Festival.

Several weeks ago I noticed some female cichlids in my aquarium were incubating fry in their mouths. This weekend I discovered they had been released and were hiding in the plants and rocks. Trying to take their photos proved more than a bit difficult. I tried numerous times without much success. Manual focus is the best way to shoot.... but even though this photo below is very out of focus, I loved the colors.

Finally I was able to capture a tiny fish among the leaves. Total length is about 1/4 inch!

It's been an eventful few days.... depending on your perspective. I broke a tooth over the weekend; visited the dentist this morning to learn the best he could do was pull the dang thing. Not very good news, but at least I was able to get into the dentist quickly. Hopefully the residual pain will subside in a few hours.

Until another day....

A BEAUTIFUL SPRING DAY....

I reached my 56th year earlier this week. I celebrated by taking a day off work (I never take vacation so I decided this year I will at least take a day here and there for "me") and going to the Dallas Zoo. I hadn't made a return visit in several years and was anxious to see the new exhibits being heavily advertised. Besides, it was a great excuse for toting the camera gear.

The last time we went to the Zoo, it was a very cold, winter day. I think there were a total of ten visitors that day. Needless to say, many of the animals had stayed indoors rather than brave the elements like their stupid human counterparts. So last time there were no gorillas to photograph. This time I headed to their habitat first! I share now a brief "show" of what was seen. No commentary necessary.

And that was that!

Until another post...