Thursday, June 30, 2016

Hollyhocks.........






I only have two stalks of hollyhocks.  The one white one has frilly multiple petals in its flowers.  The other one is just a plain looking white hollyhock.  I did see pink the other day and I was surprised.  I now see that the shriveling white flower turns pink as it shrinks.


This single plain flower is shown below. When genetics is taught in high school, the traits of a hollyhock are used as they apparently have dominate  traits that make them grow with different traits. My neighbors many hollyhocks directly across the street are mostly pink.





Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Early Morning.........


The sky was  painted with many colors this morning with the sun rising to the left of this  photo.  I am sure it was more beautiful with a broader view.

Thirty minutes later the whole scene has changed. The colors of red and pinks are all gone now and the glow of white light takes over the scene.  The clouds are a part of a system that will give us sprinkles or nothing in the way of moisture.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

Red Hot Blooms......


It has been a perfect spring to help bring out abundant blooms on the lilies.  I forgot how red this flower is but I did get a true capture of its color.

I kept checking on the conditions of the light throughout the day and bright sun was not the perfect time for a photo. The evening photo above was the best time to take the image. I normally only have a couple of blooms in the summer but this year I can see over a dozen buds yet to bloom.

Monday, June 27, 2016

Summer......


Two different kinds of daylilies join the one Asiatic lily that grow in this one garden area. Hosta blooms are mixed in the profusion of blooms.  A good rain made all of them perk up after high temps the past few days.

Sunday, June 26, 2016

A Day of Rest........



Another hot day with the 90 degree temperatures for most of the day. Angel boy gets to be in the shade at least half of the day. 

Saturday, June 25, 2016

Sunglow.........


The sun glows over the cornfield giving it the warmth it needs to make the plants grow.  The high humidity makes the corn grow well regardless that we have very dry soil.

The corn here was planted early and it has done well. It seems like you can see corn going on forever across to the horizon.  In reality, you can see it growing up over the hill and beyond as it is the crop of choice for the farmers again this year.  Corn loves hot humid weather and that is what we have had for a couple of weeks now.  A good rain would be nice to see in the future.

Friday, June 24, 2016

Hydrangea a la Foundation..........




This is one of the best springs that we could have had for the hydrangea. It received plenty of rain early in spring and caused robust growth.  I didn't pay much attention and then there is the wonderful explosion.  I posted these blooms a couple of weeks ago and they are now fully opened up and beautiful.

I can see why one of the varieties like this is called a snowball bush. This one was an old foundation hydrangea that I am sure does not have any special pedigree.

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Early Morning Blues.........


A clear sky at night gives us a cooling off period.  It was 64 degrees this morning when I was up with the dog. There are small skiffs of clouds but to them most part it is a clear morning. The night of the strawberry moon it was completely clouded over with no moon in sight.

Looking the opposite way to the west you can see a similar sky. The trees make a great looking foreground as the leaves make the tree to be more solid as a shape.

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

WildlIfe on the Roof.......


The racoon lives in the big silver maple.  Most nights it drops to the ground and rushes over to my porch and climbs up the support post.  Once on the roof he seems to just sit. Earlier I am sure he was eating maple tree seeds. Maybe waiting for it to become completely dark.  He has been know to help himself to the leftover dry cat food before climbing the post.   Once we noticed that it was doing that we now bring in the cat food each evening. When the cornfields mature and there is corn on the stalks I am sure it will head for the field. I had just brought Button out this side of the house and it was getting to be dull light.  I turned and looked up and there he sat.  He didn't seem to be too scared as he was high above us in his treehouse.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

Grandma's Lily.......


The regale lily was a hand down from my mom that originally was owned by my grandmother. She would show off her lily as it grew tall and strong.  She held it up with heavy binding twine, tied to nails she had hammered into the side of the house.  She counted the number of blooms each year remembering the number from the year before. I always knew that I could buy the variety again but I really did like the idea that it has been in the family since the 70s.



It has been slow to bloom but it seems to be starting to open up couple of  buds at a time.  I have a brace system for it to  keep any weather from knocking it to the ground.  I didn't have any old binding twine around to put on it but grandma used what she had to do the things that needed to get done.

Monday, June 20, 2016

Surviving the Heat.........


The growing cycles of hollyhocks are hard to keep track of with out keeping notes on them.  They grow a base set of leaves the first year and then the second year they shoot up a stalk filled with buds. I had no blooms last year so the hollyhocks must have used last summer to regroup their growth cycle.

Sunday, June 19, 2016

River Birch......



I don't know for sure how it got its name but I don't have any river near this tree.  It has seemed to grow strong and straight and is getting old.  I bought one for my neighbor at the same time and her tree is wimpy compared to mine. 

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Moss Rose......Rose Moss.


I do not know the origin of this plant but it is a confusing combination of things.  The flowers themselves seem to be perfectly formed ones that can remind me of a cactus bloom or a rose itself.


The foliage is unique that does remind me of a sedum plant.  The macro on my camera can capture the perfect bloom of this plant.  One day is the length of the bloom and another batch will bloom. I borrowed a piece off the internet that shares the different names of the plant. It also grows in Aisia.

Portulaca grandiflora, (Urdu: گل دوپہری‎) is a flowering plant in the family Portulacaceae, native to Argentina, southern Brazil, and Uruguay and often cultivated in gardens.[2][3] It has many common names, including rose moss,[4] eleven o'clock,[5] Mexican rose,[5] moss rose,[5] sun rose,[6] rock rose,[6] and moss-rose purslane.[citation needed]

Friday, June 17, 2016

River Birch..........


The river birch is a beautiful tree.  The bark is always a treat to see but the leaves are also great looking.  This photo tells a story though.  I left the ladder there as I need to get onto the garden shed roof and trim back the branch that is laying on the roof.  I have an apple tree branch on the other side that is doing the same thing.  After being on the roof to do the shingle job i just transferred the ladder to the next job.  The list doesn't seem to get shorter of things to do as the cupola needs to come down for major repairs.  I made it 14 years ago and it just needs to have some better wood on it to  replace rotting wood.

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Fancy Shot........


They yellow daylily was the first to bloom but this is the more showy one.  Its colors are so great and the plant itself seems very strong and ready to bloom. I have a new bloom on three different stems. 

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Hot Sunny Days.....then Rain.


I have the spare part that is missing on the windmill.  I am thinking maybe I can figure our how to rig wire or something to get the two blades back on the thing. I would like it to spin when the wind is blowing but I think I am not going to get that.  Tornadoes and the winds that surround the area take out lots of things ant the windmill was one of them. The wild vine is back and is filling in on the whole bottom of it.

Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Sunrise..........




In order for me to take a photo of the sun rising above the horizon I have to include the neighbor's set of trees and garage.  I had to stand just right to get it to show through the trees.





A half hour later the same scene looks like this and there is enough light to show the flowers in front of the fence.

Monday, June 13, 2016

Stella........


This lily blooms all summer.  I have evidence that it had bloomed early with seed pods present but I don't think the blooms amounted to much with the then cold weather. This one bloom looks a little battered from the weather we have been having.  Small hail did fall in the past few weeks but I couldn't believe that it was that damaged this bud. 

Sunday, June 12, 2016

Buried Bumblebee.........


I haven't seen many honey bees in the garden but the bumblebees seem to be plentiful. I kept trying to get a good shot of this guy and he kept crawling inside the rose as far as he could go.





Here he is again on a different rose flower. It is a hot day and they seem to work faster when it is this kind of weather.

Saturday, June 11, 2016

Sunset Showing..........


Living on the east side of town I really can't get a setting sun shot.  This time the color stretched so high in the sky that I could get enough for show. I had to stand in the middle of the street to get it.

Friday, June 10, 2016

Apple Tree and its Apples.........


I did not think there would be apples this year.  We had a hard freeze that made me think that no bloom will survive that.


I was so excited to see that I had apples on the tree. I went out  in the heat last evening while the sun was going down and took some photos.  I deleted all but two shots as I am getting too many pictures saved when I only need the best ones.

The apples are few in number and that is a good thing.  The less amount of apples on the tree, the more energy and growth that the tree will get to them.  Last years abundant crop was just too much so this year things should be good.  I have two other apple trees out there and I have not journey over to see how they are doing.   I know the pear tree isn't going to have very many pears this year just by the first glance. 

Thursday, June 9, 2016

Early Morning.......


There is no talent in taking an accidental shot with an iphone.  The good thing is when I can use it though and recognize that it is a good, fun shot.


Our smaller, older dog had me up early this morning. I do get some interesting shots at the early morning time. I moved the angel to a new location as she was falling over in the first place that I had selected. The lush foliage of the hostas and lilies give to her a place of distinction.  The sun is not up yet but I like how I still got a glow from it on the horizon.

The platform is left over from the glass globe that I use to own until a hail storm took it out.  I have never been able to find a true glass globe like the one that I had.  The use as a platform for world famous statuary fits the bill for its repurposing.

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Jet Streams......


I have shared a single jet stream in one of my early morning photos in a past blog.  I shared that the jets come from out of Omaha area at the SAC base.  Yesterday afternoon verifies my comment that the single jet was rare as there usually are a set of three or more. I think I can see here the old streams that they left as the first went over and then the newer streams as the four jets went back home. Sometimes when the lighting is just right the shine of the jet does reflect back as if flies overhead.

Tuesday, June 7, 2016

Dianthus......


When the plant was transferred to the area both hostas had died back some.  So placing this into a blank space next to them made sense.  It still does make sense but the hostas are robust with larger leaves this year. I had to move the one big leaf back out of view to get the photo of what is groing under it. The colors of this midge carantion adds a nice contrast to all the green out there.

Monday, June 6, 2016

Slant Shot......


This new purchase has proven to be a good buy with the iris have six or more blooms.  I take more shots of it as it is about done blooming.  I will have to wait a full year to see it bloom again.  The beard on this iris has an orange cast and when it is seen down like this the blue and orange mix visual colors to give it a brown color.


These are the last two on the last of the two stems. I again tilted the camera to get the shot.  The metal stake used to keep the stem upright adds a little accent color to the shot. The rain gets the ground to be so soft and then a gust a wind takes them down pretty quickly.

Sunday, June 5, 2016

Blaze Rose........


Having not bloomed for years this rose chose to share some blooms.  It has survived many seasons and now wants to show its colors.

Saturday, June 4, 2016

Full Foliage.........


I share so many photos of this birch during the seasons when most of the branches are visible and the leaves are thin. The white bark is the stunning part of the tree.  Have leaves framing the trunk as the white bark shows through makes a perfect shot. The birch is so clean and clear white right now with all the rains washing away all the dust and dirt.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Afternoon Sky.......


The sky is suppose to be the center of interest in the shot but I know the dead trees compete with it. We will live with the two trees until fall when I will have them removed.  The one is small enough that one could cut it down without difficulty.  The larger one will need professional removal.  The larger tree was a good looking one that was inexpensive.  It put out the shoot on the left.  It is like a poplar tree though and dies way too soon. 

Thursday, June 2, 2016

Surprise Pink Spot......


I bought this cactus like plant a year ago or more and now it starts to bloom.  I see it has formed three or four buds.  My Christmas cactus have all died but this one is doing well.  I instantly watered it when I saw the bloom and later wondered why I had done that.  I think it getting dry and being watered lightly helps it to bloom.  I won't water it again for a long time.

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 ...