Freezing Time of the Year..........

Last night was the last night that I had to get the flowers brought inside.  I carried in two large planters of agapanthus plants and then started cutting flowers.  The resulting bouquet made me question why I hadn't been bringing in zinnias all summer.  The antique glass vase of my wife's holds a very nice bouquet of rescued blooms. I have two dahlia blooms in the bouquet also.  My wife and I also brought in the last of the rose buds that were about to bloom. Maybe I will show photos of them later.

Bowl Full of Jello.......

Memories are sometimes all that we have.  Sometimes though, an item, a writing, or a piece of glass has definite memories that can bring back the times in an instant.  My Grandmother Brooks lived on a farm north of us a few miles and her farmhouse seemed to be the meeting place for Christmas or Thanksgiving every other year.  Her house was small but the spare back room was used for the dining room.  On the same large oval walnut table that I now own sat all the food from all the families that were at the event.  The potlucks were fun.  At the table there was always red jello in a glass bowl with bananas sliced into the gelatin dessert. It was my grandmother's favorite and always watched for it being on that oval table.  It was probably what she could afford. I don't know the company that made it but I have a lot of glass pieces that have that same star pattern on them as seen on bottom of the bowl.

The table itself isn't so big but many boards made it bigger back then.  I remember it being large while in fact I think the room was actually small. The table will set four when it isn't stretched.  I also now have the bowl. There are small fruit dishes to go with it.  I really don't remember how it came my way unless my mom gave it to me.  My mom probably didn't know that grandma had already given me a different glass bowl set with small dishes in a different pattern but I enjoy both of them. Both sets mean a lot to me now as most adults at those family outings are now gone.  One aunt is all that is still living.  The table and glass dishes are a wonderful way to relive the past with such more simple times.

Fall Blooms..........

I had the choice of sharing these blooms or a photo of cold, cloudy, winter looking sky.  I chose the blooms.  I will have plenty of cold looking skies in the future.  The colors of these mums are really great.

Helping Out with Everything........

The neighbors cat likes to come over and share himself with us.  He likes to eat from the free food bowl on the porch but he does just like people.  While I was out near the shed he was everywhere that I was.  He kept moving his head so I don't have a photo of him in perfect focus.

To prove that he was everywhere, here he is coming back down the ladder next to the apple tree.  He had climbed up the ladder and before I could get a shot of it he started to come back down. He has a very unusual voice box as his meow is different than I have ever heard.  It is a very low meow.

It Must Be Spring......

The wild violet was blooming yesterday as I was looking for new fall shots of the garden. Our weather warmed up enough and there is plentiful moisture.   I am sure the snow that falls on this violet will cause the plant to be disappointed. I just saw a  science film today about ants.  The Nova movies says that the ants spread the seeds of the wild wood violet.

Happy Sunday......

I have a few zinnias left to bloom.  They have done so well this summer in spite that I had planted them late.  That sure seems like a long time ago when I was planting in late May.  Our days are a lot shorter now but we are enjoying a warm spell for now.

Birch Bark............

The house shades part of the tree and the rest of the tree reflects the sun that is setting in the West.

Worker Bee........

The newest dahlia bloom is having a bee visit it.  The bugs are sure enjoying the larger bloom so seeing this small honey bee was a great opportunity for me to get the picture.

Fall Reds.................

As I press leaves in books, I find that they don't keep this color.  They mature into a darker red color as they age in the pages of a book. The nicest orange red patterns leave and they all equal out as the same red color.

Late Bloomer.............

I bought two roses late in the season and both are now budded and will try to bloom one more time if the weather holds out.

The Sentry.........

The new corner in my backyard fence was a big change for Barney and he didn't quite know what to do with it.  Now it is his major spot  to watch people and dogs go by..  He discovered it as a useful place to be while I spent time painting on the south side of the house. He stays out with me all the time that I am out there working. So he was able to really check the new corner out.  When  a distant neighbor walks by with her two very large dogs he can really get excited.  He  loves to see them and bark at them once they go by.

Red Maple........

It is a young tree that behaves differently every year.  This year the east side has changed color and the west side is still green.  I do think the red is a better richer color than in the past years.  We have one tree in town on main street that is pure bright orange and I think it is the only one like it in town.  I hope to get a shot of soon.

Blue...........

Creeping bluebell puts out one more stem of blooms.  All other plants are died back but this one seems to want to pretend that it is spring.

Sunny Saturday........

The Stella is putting out a couple of stalks of buds for one last time.  I am sure they will get frosted and frozen before it gets through opening up all the buds that are on the plant.

A Bright Spot......

Some of the zinnias still have buds on them and the new ones are coming on right now.  They are in sharp contrast to the many fading older blooms.

Welcome Sunshine........

The color of our house is similar to that of the artist Calude Monet's house in France.  It looks its best in the spring and the fall yellows really help it to stand out in color. 

Blue Water, Blue Sky..............

A photographic challenge for me is taking shots of water.  I took a lot of neat shots that proved to be only focused on the reflection of the trees in the water. The trees were in focus and that which was in the water would not take.  This ended up being my best of the bunch.

Fall Scene.......

The sunflowers are falling down in the foreground.  The walnut tree has lost its leaves and the neighbor's leaves are falling quickly. It is a different maple than most in the neighborhood as its leaves are large.  The seem to migrate east toward my property and they will need to be raked.

River Birch Beauty..........

It was late in the afternoon and the light was overcast and low.  I was still able to zoom in on the trunk of the tree.  Its shedding bark is always a great thing to see.  The tree is slowly turning but when it reaches a certain time it will just drop them all to the ground. 

By sharing the larger picture you can see it is just starting to turn.  The whole tree allows its bottom branches to reach to the ground.  This is the first year I didn't trim them up so it is hard to walk near it without ducking the branches. I have found if I trim them up that the next set of branches grow out and sag down to the ground.  So I left them alone this year.  I rarely mow under there but I do have to dodge it when I go to pick raspberries.

The Last to be Picked.......

We played games yesterday and went to the mall.  While there we ate at the food court and then settled into the bookstore at the mall.  So I did my chores after we arrived home and after supper.  This is the last time I will be picking tomatoes.  What I picked are in various stages of development.  I took this photo as I wanted a good shot of the pinkish one.  I could never get it to come into focus but putting it into a group let my camera focus in on the group and they are all in focus.

Spotty Reds...............

The red maple looks like this from the east side of the tree. I wouldn't know it were turning until I walk around it to check it.  It has changed fast since the last picture of it was taken. The leaves appear to be a lot deeper red this year. I am sure the moisture supply has a lot to do with that.

Friday's One Yellow Flower........

A pot of petunias has dwindled into the filler plants with a couple of single blooms.  The petunias have been gone a couple of weeks ago. The dead geranium stem leaning into the neighbor pot adds accent color to the one yellow flower.  I carried everything back into the house last night and it did not freeze.  I don't care as long as they don't die on me at this stage.  I may not take them back outside now.

Get a Drink Outside.......

Barney prefers water from the fish pond or the bucket that is outside.  He will drink rainwater from flower pot trays.  He does have a water dish inside the house in the kitchen but sometimes he just doesn't drink unless someone is with him in the kitchen. Sometimes I think he forgets that he is thirsty, if that makes any sense, and he drinks only when he has a major change in movement as leaving the house or drinking right before he comes in from outside.  He has always had some strange ways but he is a good dog.

Wednesday's Many Dabs of Color.......

This makes up a great color scheme with its many values and hues of color.  The zinnia actually does lean and I too kept wanting to rotate it but this is how it looks on the plant right now.

Scattering of Light......

The sun shining through the window onto the raspberries creates a varied set of reflections as if they were a rock pile in the sun.  The two cups of berries were mixed and smashed with two cups of sugar and turned into a great tasting syrup.  I will return and pick more berries in another day. 

Artsy One...........

I saw this composition the other day and was pleased to shoot it.  I had never notice that the fishscale like texture on the bud actually stays on the flower as the bloom opens. The flower had itself bent over when the wind took the plant to the ground.  So when I propped it back up the flower head stayed bent from the damage of the wind.

In Season Again.......

I am out picking apples and I walk by the raspberry patch.  It is like we had a second spring as the raspberries have all reset blooms and are putting out fruit.  I would never thought that would happen even thought I bet they are everbearing plants.   I get to go pick raspberries tomorrow afternoon.

Weathered Wood..........

The one side of my blue gate needed some filler to add to the design of the roofed doorway.  I create things and then walk away not really appreciating the good or bad of the design.  The birdhouse was an afterthought as I was trying to create an interesting design.  All is good with it as I do appreciate it but I see the one board that everything is standing on is about to fall apart.  Of course I won't fix it until it does fall apart as there are other things in line to be done as far as projects go. I do think I can get at lest one more year out of the set up.

Blustery Friday........

Cold, foggy day, late afternoon and there were a few glories out there.  I put on a coat and caught a glimpse of this beaten bloom.  I don't know if something got to it after it bloomed or is it was beat up as a bud.  I suppose an insect could have chewed on it before it opened.  All of the glories opened late in the afternoon as we had rain clouds most of the day.

 Another bloom on the trellis didn't seem to be mistreated at all.  The vines, the majority, are now dead.

A Different Kind of Shot.......

I am out yesterday afternoon, late, trying to find different things to shoot.  I know that one can only take what is out there.  Those who only follow my Photo a Day blog probably wonder if I will ever get out of the flower rut but I do take more than just flowers.  It is the beauty of the flower or butterfly that I find is the dominate good shot. 

This shot seems to be different and out of the groove. The weather from last year effected the holly hocks this year and the showing of two stalks of blooms with hundreds of leaves is an unusual year. Seeing this one bloom dipping its head really expresses how the plant must be feeling this year.  I should have many stalks with many blooms with as much green growth that came up this year. Blue Boy seems to be a little sad that I didn't get him placed better in the picture.  Foggy and rainy today so I may not get out for any photography today.

Natural Red........

The old fashioned rose bloomed this year butr it did seem to have a tough time with our weather.  As you can see on this one bunch of stems, only one rose hip formed. All the rest seem dead or dried up after the had formed.  This is the old fashion pink rose that is next to the house, which is quite different than the wild Iowa rose in my back yard.

I had to go digging in the archives to find the bloom of early spring.  I knew where it should be but I have a lot of things blooming at that time of there year. It definitely has no similarities to the wild rose.  This rose was growing next to the kitchen when I bought the house back in the late 70's.