Sunday’s Roses.......

An Old Time View....

Looking out the old kitchen window. Everything is still green in the yard and the old kitchen cabinets do show their age. The carpenter that  made this was falling the styles of the age which had to be in the 60s. While paining them I discovered that they originally were varnished plywood cabinets.

One Monarch......

There was never a migration of monarchs in my back yard. I think it is getting too cold for me to expect any more.  I am seeing pelicans on our lake that are heading south quickly.  They are there in the morning and by noon they are gone.

Carnations and Others......

A store bouquet that you can pickup while you are shopping for groceries. Our store is huge and you have to hike from one end to another to find things.

Moonlight at Night and Moon still Glowing at Day......

I was surprise to see the moon in a different position and still in sight. Day moons are common but it still was a surprise to see it when I went out with the dog at seven in the morning.

When I bring in the moon by editing it, the sky is a darker blue than it really is. The distance to the moon is a great one but sometimes I feel like it is just hanging out there like a kids ball.  I do think it is closer to the earth right now.

Not So Gold Anymore.........

The goldfinch are starting to loose that great yellow color. I think it is more of a brown than gray that they turned to in the winter.

This one must of been a younger one as it is trying to figure out the way the feeder work.  I will fill it soon.

Time to Drink.....

The bird bath had to be filled as we just were getting enough rain to keep it filled.  I had to zoom in on the dove and caused me to get too close to chop off his head in the photo.

I haven’t seen any doves for a few weeks so when this one appeared I grabbed the camera. I usually see them in pairs so this really could be a new one from a hatched brood over the summer.

Morning Glory Bloom....

Growing in the shade means you can open your bloom when the bud finally warms up enough to bloom.

Growing under the deck means the vines all grow up to get better light.  Most of the blooms are at the top of the vine in the sunlight. I will rethink this growing of the vines here next spring.

Fall Skies......

Even in suburbia there is a small slice of a view of this sky.  The streetlight adds to the flavor of the city scene. The color is the strongest that I have ever seen here.  I suspect the very cold air helps to make the colors more intense.

 In the back yard we could see the more subtle colors of the eastern end of the sunset. My now famous big tree is highlighted with the great sky.

Jungle with Gourds.....

The volunteer vine of squash-like gourds continue to grow into the fall. I see there is another bloom that is ready to form into another gourd. This is a twisted mess as my mower wheel hooked on to the vine and stretched out for a good length.  I just piled it back into the area.

Best Shot.....

I try to share my very best on this blog but sometimes I select that one that has the  best view of the subject for the day.

I shared the actors yesterday but by the afternoon there was this great visitor.  I did follow this one butterfly to the back yard to take many shots.  I have a former student that lives north of us a mile or so. and he is having a migration of monarchs in his yards.  The odds are not so great that we will have that in our yard.

Astors in the Fall......

It isn’t in full bloom yet but it is on its way.  The mums and aster are the last to bloom for the season before snow starts to fall.

Evening to the Next Morning.....

Monday evening was cooling down and the wind was shifting clouds. The colors seem passive and no place in Iowa received  rain from these clouds.

In the opposite direction from last evening’s photo is the sun glow presentation. It was pink at first but I didn’t get out there soon enough to catch it.  I was out front with the dog and things changed so quickly.

Monday’s Blooms in the Sun....

Multiple vines growing together, each vining on the tother,  cauings multiple blooms in one spot.  The vines are behind a shed and are not blooming there.  At the spot in the sunlight the blooms are soaking in the sunlight.

Backyard View.....

A picture is worth more than all the words that I could type. The sun puts a glare on the area predicting the heat will return again today.

Hot and Humid Day......

It is Saturday morning and we have high temperatures already.  We also have the high humidity that makes it very uncomfortable. I heard that we had fog all night helping to give us plenty of moisture on the grass this morning.

Clouds are the Story......

Yesterdays clouds were spotty with sun reflections on them.  They seem somewhat normal but hurricane season gives us a little bit different kinds of clouds, Again this seems to be normal formations.

This morning it is a different kind of morning. We will be partially cloud most of the day and the temps will be high as the winds are blowing the southern states heat into our area.

Big Tree.........

The neighbor’s large tree is changing as the earth starts to tilt back. The leaves on top are changing colors.  They almost look like they are showing the undersides of the leaves. Living in suburbia you have to find trees to appreciate. This one tree makes me happy when I look up the way.

Warming in the Sun.......

The butterfly sits on a leaf in the sun to warm itself.  There were three of them but this one is the only one i could photograph. I kept walking around him but I still could not get the true orang color.  I still like the photo as it shows it doing what is necessary to get himself warm enough to fly around.

Almost Didn’t Happen.....

I am sitting on the deck looking out and about seeing nothing to photograph.  I saw these two down low along the deck floor.  I didn’t think it would be anything more that all the hundreds of shots of morning glories.  I went ahead and zoomed in and snapped.  I did not think it would be much of a shot. Well all was proven to me that I was wrong as you can see, I took a great shot.

Glowing Red.......All Gone.

A blurry shot at left that shows better the glow on the chest of the hummingbird.  I was concerned yesterday that they were all gone because of migration.  The whole afternoon and evening the hummers were not out there. It is Monday morning and they are all gone.  Maybe the next wave of migrants will come soon.

The Full View.......

I am sharing three photos today.  It helps to give the full impression of what these vines are doing.  The cooler weather helps for us to see them blooming for longer times in the day.  The hummingbirds stick their beaks way inside of the flowers.

Ruffles......

I named this guy as he keeps hagng around and his feathers never smooth out. He goes to a vine below on the morning glories and rests, then heads back up for more to eat. I was going to call him White Spot but then I realized that it was already named a few days ago.

A Ray of Hope.......

The sun’s view of setting is squeezing through the overhead clouds and the horizon clouds.  Somewhere further west there was probably a great sunset. Rainy weather continues today and the sun may not be seen again today.

Wet and Wild......

It rains most of the day and six hummingbirds are fighting to eat at two different feeders. That gives me time to stop by the windows and shoot the activity.  This one is sitting in the rain and is just shedding the water. I guess it was just as good to sit there instead of a tree.

Under the Eave.....

Just like humans who seek shelter under the eave of a house, this finch is out in the rain, staying under the small roof. I didn’t get the photo of the bird leaning in close to the feeder to be out of the rain. completely. We have rain again today.  It looks like it is set in to just rain all day. The hummers are busy out there in spite of the weather.

Plenty of Water.....

The rains continue.  We have no drought now as the dry spell is done. We get to have a break today with a little sunshine available but the predictions for the next five days is rain. I filled the hummer’s feeders yesterday and they are so happy.

Big Blooms......

The second planting of sunflower seeds are now starting to bloom.  They are getting planting of rain to help them develop their seeds.  They haven’t seen sunshine for a few days.

Stormy Weather....

We  had an active afternoon and evening on Saturday.  The cloud formations seemed to be in three fronts as they took turns going over the place.  It was raining and thundering off an on through the night.  It was a surprise to see dry sidewalk. The rains were heavy as major college football games were canceled.

Phlox......

For this garden area this is the last of the blooms on the phlox.  Next year this plant will be fully established and will bloom a lot longer into the fall.