Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Another Butterfly......


I am in the middle of working on my drain system under my kitchen and I walk out to get a tool.  There was a monarch doing its thing trying to get every amount of nectar that it could from this flower.  Normally the monarch closes its wings while eating but for some reason this one didn't do that. Later in the day another monarch showed up.

I guess I can call that a migration with two butterflies. I suppose they will eventually get south enough to meet up with the larger groups.  With the first butterfly spending most of the day eating I am sure it is storing up energy for the next part of its journey.  I didn't have a chance to see how the second butterfly was doing but it didn't open its wings while it was eating.

Monday, September 29, 2014

Monday's Bloom..........


My cheap pot of petunias are doing one more final show.  The last major rain took all the blooms out but the three here are back in full force showing lots of color.

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Squirrel Power......


The squirrel has just finished eating a walnut from the neighbor's tree.  There were two squirrels out there picking up something and kept dropping it down in the grass where I had been mowing.  I noticed later that they both were enjoying walnuts.  I wondered why there where not any fallen nuts in the alley anymore.  After I took this photo the squirrel sat back on his hind legs and jumped up into the balsam evergreen tree to gain access to the silver maple above that.

Saturday, September 27, 2014

Gotcha.......





I noticed it in bloom while heading to the garden shed to pick up a tool.  It was already starting to retract from being in full bloom.  I immediately went for my camera.  I am glad I didn't wait for long to take it as within 15 minutes is was mostly crumpled back into the trumpet part of the flower.

Friday, September 26, 2014

Monarch Surprise........


I went out to the garden with my camera as I could see the butterfly out there fluttering on some zinnias. I really didn't think I would get one picture but I did.  The monarchs are probably not going to migrate through here this year as they haven't for three years now.  They seem to be following the Missouri River now as they head to Mexico.  I would wonder if the stray monarchs don't somehow join up with the migration some time along their way south.  I was glad the butterfly landed on one of the better looking flowers. 

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Look Both Ways........




The neighbor's white cat keeps me in photos as she likes to visit out porch and property a lot.  There is food on the porch and she isn't hungry.  She is just hanging out just like the Maine coon cat does.  It would be nice that she would be a little more tame but it is good that she is brave to visit without people contact.

Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Clouds in the Sky..........


The day was warm but not hot.  The breezes were gentle and the sun keeps setting earlier each day.  I was out checking on things in the evening before I shut down for the evening.  I had not been outside for two days and felt I should get some fresh air.  I normally don't see any good sky scenes as the houses to my west are big and the trees on my property block the view.

I was out seeing how the apples are dropping right now and I was picking up a few. While doing so  I noticed that there was a really super cloudy sky. In the alley looking west between the neighbor's buildings I could actually see the sun setting. The sun was not distinct as the rest of the town blocks that out but I did get some of the glow in the photo.  This morning now it is still cloudy as we receive one more light rain.  I can see water standing in the neighbors driveway so we have had plenty of it. 

Tuesday, September 23, 2014

Birch Leaves.......


I found one small section of the birch tree that is the first to show the change of color. I will have to remember to come back to this shot when all the leaves are off of the tree.  I have a couple of other kind of  trees that are raining down their leaves right now.  A gentle breeze makes them fall straight to the ground as they become unattached from the branches.

Monday, September 22, 2014

The Final Curtain.......


The smaller sunflower is seeing its last days.  Gone are the maroon leaves of the flower and now the seeds are maturing.  I keep waiting to see when the birds start to feed on them.  Fall is here even though I am not ready for it to be here.

As I search for interesting and different photos for my blog I have to discern a good photograph from a pretty picture.  I have some really great shots of color that look more just pretty than one that stands out as a good photo.  This shot was selected over many different ones as the maturing flower creates an ugly rather than a beauty.  I still think there is a beauty in it at this stage and the leaves and stems really do create a great design.

Sunday, September 21, 2014

Relaxing among the Foliage.......


My wife was in the backyard with Button.  Button was going crazy barking at something.  His little tail is wagging all the way shaking his whole body while he looks at what he is barking at in the greenery.  The neighbor's cat is not scared of dogs as he was raised with big dogs.  He just lay there enjoying the coolest of the shade and cool green leaves.  We believe he had the Siamese cat as his mother as he looks like a regular tabby and yet has this deep low unusual voice.  He is not ferel as he was raised in a house full of animals and does like us to pet him.  In fact he sometimes try to come into the house.

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Dueling Trumpets......


We had another rain storm last night keeping our soil muddy.  It is a strange summer.  The white glories are blooming in full force while the blue one shows off about every other day.






The day that I took this photo the flower itself looked pretty beat up.  I am not sure if it was the wind and or the cold.  It was having a hard time opening.

Friday, September 19, 2014

See the Wings........


Hummingbird Moth



I saw one of these the other day out in the orchard area but he was gone when I returned with a camera.  In the late afternoon I saw it again and did grab the camera.  They are a very  hyper moth that just doesn't stay still even when it is sucking nectar from the flowers. The research on these insects tells me they are a poor imposter of a hummingbird.  There are better pictures of these insects on the net that are taken with a faster lens that I have.  I really didn't ever think that I would get this good of photo as the moth doesn't land and stay still. 

Thursday, September 18, 2014

Pastel Light......


The sun in the west shines through the outside petal helping to detail the parts of the rose.  It makes me have a bright and dark side of the flower.  

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Waiting for Fall.........


The little squirrel ornament will be headed back to the basement soon the closer it comes to winter.  He seems to be hiding behind the leaves of the field lilies.  They actually have retreated a lot and he is more exposed than he was all summer. It is suppose to warm up today and may hit 70 degrees today. The leaves on the trees are starting to turn on the maples.

Tuesday, September 16, 2014

Anticipation.......


All I have ever seen from this one vine is shriveled up blooms.  I was able to get an almost focused photo of this bud and maybe this evening I will see the actual bloom. The vines are turning yellow now which means I won't see anything but dead vines in the near future. Fall is here.


Monday, September 15, 2014

Decorative Sunflower.........


A smaller sunflower that blooms in my sunflower garden looks more like a zinnia.  It is much larger than a zinnia as it is about the size of a salad plate.  The colors are so neat on this flower and unusual compared to the traditional yellow sunflower.

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Sunday's Kitty..........


There she sat on the narrow ledge of my fish tank. The neighbor cat was watching to see if Button was seeing her and he is so bad sighted that he did not.  I zoomed in on her as I didn't want her to become scared and fall into the water.  Her front paws were partially dangling in the water.  It was an usual sight and I had the camera close enough to catch it. She didn't fall in and she escaped being chased by our mean little white dog.

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Saturday.............Again.


The frost that was predicted did not happen.  I did pick the ripe tomatoes anyway to get them inside.  I took the warning seriously enough to bring all the pots of hardy geraniums into the house.  We are dodging them now as we walk around the dining room and art gallery.  I will take them back out a little later today when it warms up.

Friday, September 12, 2014

The Final Finish.........


The emerging dahlia is wondering what season it might be opening up into with the wather being so cold. All of the flowers are really struggling with the temps and one more rain shower this morning. 

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Getting Chewed On.......



It is very cold so one has to wear a jacket.  Even with the jacket, while the wind is blowing strongly, the mosquitoes cover your hands and face.  I had my hood up and they came in around my face to keep warm.  As you can see I snapped a shot of the one tomato that I had picked and I came back inside for the day.

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

Where Has the Sun Gone?


The photo of the phlox was taken last week sometime when we were having clear weather. We saw the sun for about 10 minutes this morning but it is now overcast again.  I started raining late afternoon and it was still coming down in the middle of the night.  I think our rain is gone for now but I really have not looked at the forecast.  They can't second guess it either.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Pinwheels and a Shoe......


The weathering of the top zinnia helps to make this a more interesting photo.  There really are two background visitors with my shoe and with the purple zinnia peaking through from way behind the front three blooms. 

Monday, September 8, 2014

Fluffy, Puffy, Frilly Sunflower.............


I had a package of special sunflower seeds that did not show this variety in the photo on the package.  I know that I have never seen this kind ever before now.

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Sunday's Sedum.........


It is a pale pink right now but I do believe it will darken in color.  This large branch of sedum reclines in the foliage of the daylily .  The smaller bees are swarming all over the flowers buzzing in and out for nectar.  The plant is almost backlighted from the sun in this photo giving it a spotlighted effect.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Splash of Color..........


A bold color statement comes from one of my hardy geraniums.  The bud heads are smaller now as we move into fall but the blooms still put out great color.  They seem to enjoy the cooler weather and yet like the hot sunshine in the afternoon. Fall is upon us with it being in the upper 40's for temperatures this morning.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Corn Rows and More Corn Rows.........






It is a two photo day for a one photo a day blog.  I ventured over to the cornfield across the street to see what was happening in the agricultural world.  I had not actually walked over to see the development but yesterday I did make it into the field.

I was surprised to see the morning glories were doing well throughout the whole field, especially along the edges.  I really don't think today's machinery is bothered by the glories but I still hear some farm people automatically complain about them.  The chemicals keep the big weeds down and they are the ones that wreck things when they get into a combine. I mentioned before that this variety of corn has only one ear per stalk compared to last year where there was one large ear and a small ear per stalk.

Thursday, September 4, 2014

Birdseed..............


During the past week the sunflowers have matured quickly.  It went from a flat small bloom to a large seed filled head.  I am always amazed at the texture of the little flower like parts of the center of the sunflower.   I am hoping to take in the seed head and put it out this winter for the birds. I will know when it is ready to be harvested when I see the birds start to feed from it this fall.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

A Quick Capture.........


It wasn't very friendly as it hung around for only a moment.  I thought it would stay and eat but it instead landed on one of my steel post.  With the sun shining in the direction that it was I thought it looked completely red.  As you can see it really is an orange brown butterfly.  It reminds me of the same variety as the painted ladies but I don't really know its kind.  I haven't seen this one only this once.  Maybe it will return today.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

A Hole in my Barrel.......


The old metal barrel has a hole in it part way up its side.  It can rain everyday but it still just holds this much water. I didn't noticed the well placed leaf until I posted the photo.

Monday, September 1, 2014

Still Life Junk............


A photo of mystery today as I try to find new and exciting things in which to take photos.  The item with the wheels, lacking the rubber part of the wheel, is sitting upside down to keep standing water away from the mosquitoes.  The neighbor who moved away 30 years ago charged me ten dollars for it as he sold off as much of his old stuff as he could before moving to Utah.  My dad's wooded squirrel feeder awaits my decision.  I will either use it this winter or burn it. The stray brick came from somewhere and the whole scene sits there out in public view.   I can still use the thing with wheels in an emergency but the wheels do slow me down.

Blurry Blue Cup Day.....

 It is Monday and I am a little blurry eyed today. It is fitting then my blue cup is blurred a little because it is in low light. I was too ...