Greetings and welcome to my blog, I am currently redesigning the site so some of my pictures are unfortunately missing because I had to close my sellers account that I had with the Smugmug site because as a free lance photographer I just couldn't afford it.
Once again I apologize for the bareness of my blog and will be working on it continually until I get it restored.
Thank you for your patience! -Megan

Friday, July 12, 2013

Remodeling my blog, more pictures soon!

Greetings, I am currently redesigning the site so some of my pictures are unfortunately missing because I had to close my sellers account that I had with the Smugmug site because as a free lance photographer I just couldn't afford it.
   Once again I apologize for the bareness of my blog and will be working on it continually until I get it restored.
   If any of you have a suggestion for a better site to sell your photography than the smugmug site please leave me a suggestion.
   Thank you for your patience!            -Megan

Saturday, April 20, 2013

Digital photos for $1 royaly free

Dear Bloggers, I am sorry that it has been so long since I have last posted a photo.
    I am excited to announce that I am now selling Digital downloads of my Photos out of my Etsy shop
You can visit it here https://www.etsy.com/shop/IntricateHandiwork
The instant downloads are only $1 and you may use the photos as you wish, I only ask that you dont mass reproduce them because they are still under my copyright.
These are the only two that I have in the store so far but I will have more to come shortly!
Click here learn more about the photo above

Click here to learn more about the photo above
Please Check back soon because I will have more photos available for instant download.

Sunday, February 10, 2013

My 5000th visit to my blog!

Dear Bloggers, Today I had my 5000th visit to my blog. Thank you all for your support and comments! I will have a new photo post soon!

Friday, January 11, 2013

Chocolate Flower Berlandiera lyrata


Greetings,  This Is a lovely picture that I captured over the summer of a Chocolate flower, Given its name because of its Delightful chocolate aroma it puts off when it blooms in the early morning hours. You can find items featuring this photo in my Zazzle store At this link

A.K.A. chocolate daisy, Lyreleaf Greeneyes, Berlandiera lyrata


A quarter-size, vibrant, yellow daisy with striking red striped undersides and chocolate-colored stamens.
A small plant with an airy habit, Chocolate Scented Daisy  (sometimes called Chocolate Flower) makes a nice, informal edging plant, and is most impressive and most fragrant when planted in groups.

 Although native to the Southwest, Chocolate Scented Daisy has shown itself to be adaptable to a wide spectrum of conditions.  A night bloomer, the flowers offer up their rich cocoa scent in the morning. As the temperature rises the petals close or drop and the fragrance recedes.
The calyxes flatten outward and make a convenient holder on which the large milk chocolate colored seeds will ripen. Left alone to drop or be carried, these seeds come up readily the next spring.

 If harvested before the seeds come loose at the center (note the cream colored attachment points around the middle), these make an attractive addition to the autumn dried arrangement.
The fragrant stamens do taste like cocoa, or more accurately like unsweetened chocolate. But, they are much more enjoyable adding their delicious fragrance to the garden.

Berlandiera dies back to the ground in winter and returns with a larger crown each spring, ultimately reaching about two feet across and about 18 inches high.

It Flowers nearly year round, and is very drought resistant making a perfect plant for Landscaping in the Desert Southwest.
It grows in Dry arid regions, sandy loams, rocky, limestone soils, roadsides, grasslands with mesquite, oak, and juniper; 700–2200. Found in Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and of course the Deserts of Mexico.

Berlandiera lyrata is cultivated in Arizona. Exceptional specimens that are scapiform (sometimes monocephalic) with mostly undivided leaves and with wartlike hairs on peduncles occur at higher elevations (south-central New Mexico, trans-Pecos Texas, and Nuevo León). They have yellow disc corollas, as do most collections from Chihuahua, Durango, Nuevo León, and Tamaulipas.
 Scientific Specifics:

Plants 10–60(–120) cm. Stems (erect to decumbent) usually branched. Leaves evenly distributed along stems; petiolate; blades oblanceolate or obovate to spatulate, often lyrate, sometimes ± pinnatifid (terminal lobes usually shorter than pinnatifid portions, crenate to irregularly incised), membranous to slightly chartaceous, ultimate margins crenate or entire, faces ± velvety. Heads in corymbiform arrays. Peduncles hairy (some hairs reddish, bulbous-based, wartlike, surpassing white, appressed hairs). Involucres 13–17 mm diam. Ray corollas deep yellow to orange-yellow, abaxial veins (sometimes whole surfaces) red to maroon, laminae 10–14 × 5.5–8 mm. Disc corollas red to maroon (rarely yellow). Cypselae 4.5–6 × 2.7–3.7 mm. 2n = 30.

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

Yellow Fish-hook cactus flower Hamatocactus setispinus


Greetings Bloggers!  I do apologize for the long delay between posts! Today’s post features the photos of the beautiful blossoms of the Fish-hook Cactus. I found these beauties on a local ranch in Western Texas, Near Del Rio.  I have created many new Products for my Zazzle store with these Photos, including Skins and cases for the Kindle and Iphone 5. To see these and other Products Visit my store here http://www.zazzle.com/meganrene88

Hamatocactus setispinus
Description

 Habit: H. setispinus is a typically solitary cactus that sometime will offsets from it’s base. This species produces a lot of fragrant yellow, orange-eyed flowers at the top of the stem. An attractive blooming machine.

Stem: Globular to cylindrical, yellow-green to dark bluish green of flabby texture like Echinocereus, up to 15 cm tall, 10 cm in diameter; distinctly ribbed.

Ribs: About 13 high and 1-2 mm wide, very evident, thin, wavy on the margin, straight or more or less spiralled.

Roots: Long fibrous.

Areoles : ± circular, 5-8(-14) mm long, 2-7 mm wide, 15 mm apart, with short wool and finally naked: Areoles typically bear extrafloral nectaries.

Spines: Both radials and centrals, white or yellowish and brown radials 12 to 16 (10-30 mm long), central 1 to 3 one of them usually hooked, longer than the radials, 6 to 40 mm long (or more). Tubercles absent.

Flower: Silky yellow with orange to darker red throat , 3 - 7 cm across, 3,8 - 5,2(7) cm long. Inner perianth segments oblong, acute, widely spreading. Flowers-bud pointed, covered with imbricated naked scales (whithout wool or bristles in the axil). Flower-tube narrow, funnelform.

Fruit: Red and fleshy, nearly naked, globular to ovate, 8-11 mm long, that dry and fracture basally at full maturity.

Seeds: 1,3-1,7 mm long and 0,5 -0,8 mm diameter, black tuberculate, hilum large basal, circular.

Phenology: Summer grower.

Blossoming time: It flowers very well, even when quite young, producing lots flowers in succession all Summer.


Distribution: USA (Southern-Texas) and Northern Mexico (Taumaulipas ; Nuevo Leon, Coahuila) Habitat: It is often found growing under Mesquite scrubs on costal lowlands. Altitude 0 – 550 m

Cultivation: This species is easy and well worth growing, wonderful when grown in containers as a patio plant in colder climates. Require little care once they have reached a nice flowering size H. setispinus is suited for any rich, well drained soil in full sun throughout the year (But do better with some light shade in summer). Pot culture: grow best in a well-drained container filled with a porous cactus soil mixture that doesn't contain too much humus. To insure robust plants water and fertilize during the aestival growth cycle, this plant need plenty of water (indicatively to about once a week) But needs to be avoided wetting the bodies of these plants while they are in sunlight. A wet cactus in the sun light can cause sun burning which can lead to scars or even fungal infections and death. Care must be taken to prevent sooty mould forming on the sugary secretions from near the areoles.

Frost Tolerance: In winter keep completely dry at 5°C this usually aids in maintaining a healthier plant, but it is hardy as less as -12 to -7°C depending on the origin. (Temperature Zone: USDA 9-11)

Reproduction: Seeds or cutting. Seeds are the typical way of reproducing. These cacti will easily grow from seeds and some from cuttings. Seeds can be sown in the spring or summer in well-drained pots of cactus soil; sow the seeds thinly on top. Cover them with a bit of fine quartz grit. Moisten and lay a piece of glass across the top. The pots should be set in a warm greenhouse until they start to sprout, after which the glass should be progressively removed so they can receive full light and air.  It isn't good to keep the glass over the seedlings. Well-developed seedlings can be planted separately in small pots.

Cuttings made from pieces of the stem of any size can be detached and laid aside for a few days, to allow a protective "skin" to form over the cut. They can then be planted in pots. Place them in a spot where they'll receive sun, and do not water until the soil becomes fairly dry. After a while the soil should be moistened regularly, but never kept constantly saturated.

Etymology: The genus name " Hamatocactus" derives from the Latin word “Hamatus” meaning “fish-hook” to describe its central spines furnished of a terminal hook and the word "cactus", the genus from which this segregate was removed. ( The genus name implies: "hooked cactus").

The species name "setispinus" Derives from the Latin name “seta” meaning “bristle” or “stiff hair of an animal” + “i” (connective vowel used by botanical Latin) + “spina” meaning “thorn, prickle, spine” + “us” (latinizing suffix) ( The specific name implies: " bristle-like spines ").

Saturday, November 3, 2012

More iphone cases soon!!

   Greetings Bloggers, It has been brought to my attention that I only have one iphone 5 case design for sale right now, I apologize about this because I had gotten an email from Zazzle as the iphone 5 was coming out saying that all of our designs that we currently had up for sale on  the iphone 4 they were going to make available for the iphone 5, and apparently that never happened, so I do apologize for lack of design choice, Not really sure what happened there!
     Over the next several days I will have many more designs put up for sale for the iphone 5, I have just designed several but they won't be available to te public until tomorrow, Nov 4, 2012.
I will feauture some of the designs here on my blog after I build up my inventory.
    Will post again soon!  Here is a case I just finished, again the link may not be active quite yet, but it worked for me so I hope it will for you as well. New Case Design click here!

Thursday, September 27, 2012

New Blog For Crafts

Greetings, I have decided to Create a new Blog for my Esty Store  so that I do not clutter this one up with posts about things that are not related to photography. So from now on all posts relating to my Shop Intricate Handiwork  on Etsy will be posted here
I will be posting A photo of each Item I list for sale with details about it on My New Blog.
I will also Add it to my Blog list on the side of the page so feel free to visit it anytime you would like to!
   Thank you for your paitence and I will have a new Photo posted soon!

 

 

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

New Shop on Esty, Handmade goods!

   Greetings bloggers! I will have a new photo post shortly so bear with me, But at the moment I want to annouce my New Shop on Etsy, here is the link : http://www.etsy.com/shop/IntricateHandiwork
You can also Click here! I only have two items up for sale for the moment. They are Handmade, Hand quilted Eyeglass cases made by my grandma. Please Feel free to take a look, I will short by adding some Handmade Earrings that I made.
    Everything in our shop will be handmade and comes from a Smoke- free, Pet-free home.
 

Friday, September 21, 2012

iPhone 5 cases for sale!

     Dear bloggers, Just wanted to share one of my new iPhone cases that are now up for sale on my zazzle site, to see my Whole inventory click here! to see my collections of Phone cases Click here to see cases
There will be many more iPhone 5 Cases to follow so please check back soon!
Here is an example.
Red and Yellow flower iPhone 5 case.
See other Red Casemate Cases
 
 
You can also purchase many types of Prints of these photos, including but not limited to canvas, metal, and photo. You can also download the photo royalty free for commercial  and personal use. Click on the photos themselves to view them larger or to view purchasing options.
Red and Yellow Chysanthemums.
Bright colored Red and yellow Chrysanthemum flowers.
Vibrant Red and Yellow Chrysanthemums.
You can also view my many other wildlife and nature photos on my website by Clicking here!

Monday, August 27, 2012

Our Guard Llama Photos


Greetings Bloggers, It’s been a few days at least since my last post sorry for the delay. These photos are of the Llama that used to guard our herds of Boer goats in our pasture in western Texas. I have added several new photos to my Animals and wildlife gallery, I have also added an entirely new gallery of Photos that I took at the Hot Air Balloon Festival at White Sands National Monument , right outside Alamogordo, New mexico.  Please visit my Website by Clicking Here and check out the new photos that I have added.  All of my photography is Available for sale and also for instant download for Personal or Commercial use.

Hope you enjoy the Llama photos!
Click on the photos to view them larger and to see other photos in my gallery.

Llama guarding a ranchers herd of Boer Goats in west Texas.
 
Llama guarding a ranchers herd of Boer Goats in west Texas. A Llama enjoying herself in a watertrough on a ranch in west Texas where she protectively guards the ranchers herd of goats. Llama guarding a ranchers herd of Boer Goats in west Texas.
The llama: (Lama glama) is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since pre-Hispanic times.

 The height of a full-grown, full-size llama is 5.5 to 6.0 ft. tall at the top of the head, and can weigh between 280 to 450 lbs. At birth, a baby llama (called a Cria, from Spanish for "baby") is also is used for baby alpaca, vicuña, or guanaco. Crias are typically born with all the females of the herd gathering around, in an attempt to protect against the male llamas and potential predators. A Cria can weigh between 20 and 30 lbs. Llamas can live for a period of about 20–30 years depending on how well they are taken care of.

 Llamas are very social animals and live with other llamas as a herd. The wool produced by a llama is very soft and lanolin-free. Llamas are intelligent and can learn simple tasks after a few repetitions. When using a pack, llamas can carry about 25% to 30% of their body weight for 5-8 miles.

 The name llama (in the past also spelled 'lama' or 'glama') was adopted by European settlers from native Peruvians.

 Llamas appear to have originated from the central plains of North America, then migrated to South America about 3 million years ago. By the end of the ice age camelids were extinct in North America.

 As of 2007, there were over 7 million llamas and alpacas in South America and, due to importation from South America in the late 20th century, there are now over 158,000 llamas and 100,000 alpacas in the United States and Canada.

Guarding Behavior:  Using llamas as livestock guards in North America began in the early 1980s, and some Ranchers have used llamas successfully since then to watch over flocks of sheep and herds of goats. They are used most commonly in the in western regions of the United States, where larger predators, such as the coyote, are prevalent. It was once thought that a single gelding (castrated male) is was the best choice for a guardian, but the knowledge has become rather widespread that a single unbred females make better and safer guardians because they are more alert and do not pose as big of a threat to smothering smaller livestock.

 Research suggests the use of multiple guard llamas is not as effective as one. Multiple males tend to bond with one another, rather than with the livestock, and may ignore the flock. A gelded male of two years of age bonds closely with its new charges and is instinctively very effective in preventing predation. Some llamas appear to bond more quickly to sheep or goats if they are introduced just prior to lambing. Many sheep and goat producers indicate a special bond quickly develops between lambs and their guard llama and the llama is particularly protective of the lambs.

 Using llamas as guards has eliminated the losses to predators for many producers. The value of the livestock saved each year more than exceeds the purchase cost and annual maintenance of a llama. Although not every llama is suited to the job, most are a viable, nonlethal alternative for reducing predation, requiring no training and little care.

Guard llamas may defend against predators in many ways. Llamas are instinctively alert and aware of their surroundings, and may draw attention to an intruder by making a startling alarm call. They may walk or run toward an intruder, and chase, paw at, or kick it. Some llamas may herd the animals they are

guarding into a tight group or lead them away from danger and to the spot where they may feel the safest. Others may stand apart from the group and watch the intruder. Although llamas have been known to kill predators (such as coyotes), they should not be considered attack animals. They are generally effective against single intruders only, not packs. In the US, guard llamas have been most common in ranches located in western regions, where larger predators, such as the coyote, have been more prevalent. Not every llama will guard however and it should not be assumed that because it is a llama it will guard.

History of the Llama in culture:

 Pre-Incan cultures

The Moche people frequently placed llamas and llama parts in the burials of important people, as offerings or provisions for what they believed was the afterlife. The Moche culture of pre-Columbian Peru depicted llamas quite realistically in their ceramics.

 

Inca empire

 In the Inca empire, llamas were the only beasts of burden, and many of the peoples dominated by the Inca had long traditions of llama herding. For the Inca nobility, the llama was of symbolic significance, and llama figures were often buried with the dead. In South America, llamas are still used as beasts of burden, as well as for the production of fiber and meat. The Inca deity Urcuchillay was depicted in the form of a multicolored llama. Agriculture was also boosted by using Llama dung as fertilizer.

 

Spanish empire

 One of the main uses for llamas at the time of the Spanish conquest was to bring down ore from the mines in the mountains. Gregory de Bolivar estimated that in his day, as many as 300 thousand were employed in the transport of produce from the Potosí mines alone, but since the introduction of horses, mules, and donkeys, the importance of the llama as a beast of burden has greatly diminished.

 

According to Juan Ignacio Molina, the Dutch captain Joris van Spilbergen observed the use of chilihueques (possibly a llama type) by native Mapuches of Mocha Island as plow animals in 1614.

Fiber :  Llamas have a fine undercoat which can be used for handicrafts and garments. The coarser outer guard hair is used for rugs, wall-hangings and lead ropes. The fiber comes in many different colors ranging from white or grey to reddish-brown, brown, dark brown and black.  The fiber of their coat is one of the finest natural fibers with a Diameter of 20-30 micrometres.

Please Click Here!To visit my website and check out the new photos that I have added.  All of my photography is Available for sale for prints on anything from paper and Canvas and even metal, All photos are also available for instant download for Personal or Commercial use.