Day 111—Portobello?

Mady and I walked along Miner’s Ravine Trail in Roseville again late this afternoon. I decided to try to capture the frustratingly elusive pipevine swallowtail butterflies using Shutter Priority (we’re studying it this week) and I thought a fast shutter speed coupled with my 28-300mmm lens would do the trick. It’s only been a couple of days since the meadows were covered with these black beauties but today there were probably a quarter of the number that were out a few days ago. Perhaps it was the time of day (a little later than the other times we’ve visited) or the temperature (somewhere between the high 80’s to low 90’s) but I didn’t get a single shot of a butterfly.

Despite the searing heat today, the rains from a few days ago provided enough wetness that an interesting giant mushroom emerged in the shadow of an oak along the trail. It looks like a wild portobello. I kneeled down to take a few shots. Today’s challenge topic is “growing wild” and this wild mushroom certainly fills the bill. On the way back to the car, I let Mady walk along side the asphalt trail on the grass so it wouldn’t be so hot on her feet. A guy on a bicycle warned us that he’d just shooed a rattlesnake off the trail about a hundred feet up the trail minutes before; he thought they’d emerged onto the trail for the heat. Mady and I stayed in the middle of the asphalt after that and no more wading into the grasses to find the butterflies or the perfect poppy photo. Yikes.

Focal Length 300mm
Mode: Shutter Priority
ISO 200
f/6.3
1/160
SOOC