Today's selection is another 3D pop out photo created in Photoshop. I captured this inquisitive raccoon last summer when he came to check out my bird feeders.  He was kind enough to stop and pose for me before he continued on his way. 

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Today's photo selection was created in Photoshop to make the butterfly pop out of the photo. The butterfly is a Silvery Blue Butterfly (Glaucopsyche lygdamus). It is similar to the Eastern Blue Tailed Butterfly. This tiny butterfly is a common sight in late spring and early summer. It can be found in backyards and along roadsides throughout Maine. I took the original photo this spring.

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Today's photo is a Bellezza D' Autuno sunflower. Although the flowerheads are smaller than traditional sunflowers, they more than make up for their small size with their rich colors. 

According to Greek Mythology, the sunflower was once a lovely maiden named Clytie. Clytie was tall and slender with blond hair and large brown eyes. One day, the maiden cast her eyes to the skies and caught a glimpse of Apollo in his chariot and fell madly in love. Day after day, she stood in the garden watching Apollo as he traveled across the sky. Instead of returning her love, Apollo became angry because he was disguising himself with the brightness of the sun and did not want mortals to see him. Apollo cast a sun arrow upon Clytie's head. Her brown eyes grew larger as her blond hair transformed into the petals of a flower and her toes grew into strong roots that anchored her to the ground. Clytie spent her days gazing upward and following Apollo's path across the sky.  The sunflower has followed the path of the sun across the sky ever since.

There is some truth to the belief that sunflowers follow the sun's path across the sky. Sunflowers are heliotropic, meaning they turn towards the sun, but they don't follow the sun forever. Young sunflowers do track the sun across the sky, facing east in the morning and west at sunset, but as the sunflower matures, the flower typically stops tracking the sun and becomes stationary, facing the east. 

If you grow sunflowers for their beauty, or you want to grow these flowers to take photos next year, choose a location on the north or west side of your property so the sunflower blooms are visible in your yard.

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Today's photo is Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria L.) growing through a fence along the road. This plant gets a bad rap for being an invasive species, but I have always found it extremely beautiful as it adds a brilliant splash of purple to the landscape.

Loosestrife was introduced to the United States from Europe in the 1800's as a medicinal and ornamental plant, explains the Natural Resources Council of Maine (NRCM). The problem is: This aggressive plant spreads rapidly and displaces other native plants, posing a risk to wildlife that depends on them.

You can find loosestrife growing along roadsides, in ditches and in marshy areas throughout Maine. It may be tempting to add them to your backyard, but it is not recommended. This plant spreads at a rate of a foot a year and self seeds readily. One plant can produce up to 30 flowering spikes and produce an amazing 3 million seeds each year, says NRCM.

If you enjoy the beauty of loosestrife, go ahead and have fun photographing this beauty, but resist the urge to transplant them into your backyard.

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After blooming in mid to late summer, the Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) flower begins to form seeds. The stems to the cluster of tiny flowers curl upward. Initially, the spent flowerhead resembles a graceful heart, but as it matures it resembles a brown bird's nest, giving this flower the common name of bird's nest flower in many parts of the country.

Queen Anne's Lace is also known as a wild carrot, and it is no wonder. According to Audubon, this flower is the ancient ancestor of cultivated garden carrots. The roots give off a distinct carrot scent. Healing Herb explains that Queen Anne's Lace has been used for medicinal purposes for centuries and is reported to work as a contraceptive and diuretic to heal kidney stones, a cure for hangovers and even to stimulate the pituitary gland to release sex hormones.

Whether you are seeking herbal remedies or, like me, you just enjoy the beauty of this striking flower and it's spent blooms, you can find Queen Anne's Lace in open fields, ditches and along roadsides from mid to late summer across the state of Maine.

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I found this little grasshopper sunning himself on a zinnia flower at sunrise. I believe it is a two striped grasshopper (Melanoplus bivittatus). Grasshoppers can be found nearly all summer in Maine, but are the most noticeable in the fall of the year when adults can be found on flowers and weeds. They are easiest to photograph in the early morning as they are lethargic until their bodies warm in the sun. They are most active during the heat of the day and provide another photo opportunity at the end of the day when it cools down. If you are interested in photographing grasshoppers (or you just want to observe them) aim for early morning or late afternoon just before sunset. Not only will they be less active, the light will be ideal for photography, too.

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