Birch Bark,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

The leaves on my birch tree are still not turning color at this point of time. As the length of the days change the tree will be effected by it. I am looking forward to the yellow leaves that it develops but not to the loosing of the leaves onto the ground.

As a kid, I didn't see birch trees in southern Iowa.  It is not a natural tree for the area.  When my family would take a yearly summer trip to the Colorado area I would see this kind of tree.  I always thought they were so special.  The trinket shops out in the West of course always had small replicas of a canoe made out of Birch bark. It would be two pieces of bark cut into a canoe shape and laced together with a natural reed-like plant.  I remember owning one of those canoes as a kid. When I see the bark I do have memories of Native American's and early settlers using the tree to make their canoes.

Today I also have the great memories of the birch in Minnesota and along the North Shore of Lake Superior.  This tree is a sprout that I brought home 35 years ago and is probably the only birch tree in the area for miles.  The river birch and clump birch are everywhere now because of commercial sales but the strong true birch is still rare in Iowa.

Seeds to Save.........

The pods are containing seed for the next year's morning glory plants. I don't always get seed collected but this batch is right off my porch and can be watched daily. I should be able to clip off a lot of seed.

Wednesday's Blooms...........

William Baffin Rose

Mandevilla.......

I have a difficult time remembering the name of this flower. The blogspot people don't believe that the spelling of it is correct.  This is the first bloom on this potted plant for the season.  I have about five  more buds yet to bloom.

Out on a Limb......

The balsam pine is getting old but I doubt it will die for a long time.  This is the tree I photographed like this  a few year ago. You could see my leftover Christmas twinkle lights hanging from the limbs that had not been removed 10 or more years ago.  I was shamed by a few people so I took them down with a very tall ladder helping to get to them. The special lighting was not planned but I was glad to have it work for me.

Skip, Skip, Skipper.......

The skipper has an orange tinge to the inside of its wings.  I have never seen the wings open ass they are so quick when they move around and fly around. Not to upset my viewers but I feel this photo is a lot out of balance.  I originally thought all the small flowers on the left were going to balance out things but I don't think so.  If it instantly bothers then it is unbalanced.  I am opting for imperfection today.

Late Bloomer......Two.

I was outside last evening with the dog and looked over to see if the white moon morning glory was blooming.  It was not but this blue one was.  It is a vine that grew from leftover seed from last years planting.  I had only planted new red ones this year.

This morning the vine had a new bloom opened.  It was still windy but I did catch it with the macro lens.  The blue is a nice change from all those red morning glories that I have out there.

A Late Bloomer to Enjoy......

The yellow of a sunflower is so pure and  bright. This bloom should have time to mature its seeds before the snow flies.

Signs of Fall.........

Eventually I will be able to get that fresh flower look only from the flowers that I am growing inside the house. The color of the fall leaves will still give me some colorful photos but the days are numbered for the flowers.

Wednesday's Two Shots........

The river birch that I mistakenly bought as a regular species birch is one of my favorites.  If I ever move, I will plant another.  I don't know if I can ever move between having my Minnesota birch and this one.  They can't go with me.

This birch should be turning yellow pretty soon as its leaves turn to autumn color. The leaves will be dropping too soon for me.

Unplanned Composition........

The falling branches from a tree being cut down still need to be collected and burned.  One branch fell creating a good composition with the phlox in which it landed  A setting sun helped to give me special lighting to the blooms.

A Masterpiece of a View.........

Sunday morning seemed like a normal morning.  It seemed like it had already become daylight and that I had missed the sunrise.  Barney went out and I followed him just to keep him company. It was a surprise to see such a wonderful sunrise.  The sun has moved to the right a lot more as our earth keeps tilting. The sun is now behind the neighbors house and I had to block the view of it to get these photos.  Blocking the sun means stooping down so the angle keeps the sun out of the view.

Gentle Bloom.....

The multi-flora keeps at least one bloom on the bush at all times.  The small buds open slowly and then emerge with all the glory that a larger rose would have. I keep cutting back the spent flowers hoping that I can just keep blooms through September into October.

Sunny Sunflower......

My late sprouting sunflower seedgrew up to be three feet tall.  It has bloomed now with the colors showing to be true and vibrant.  It is late for it to be  blooming now and I doubt the seeds everbecome mature. There are two of them and they will make great specimens for me to photograph.

Tut..Tut,..It Looks like Rain........

The clouds were forming last evening with all their beauty and form showing.  It did rain too as I had to walk Barney between the thundering and lightening.  We did end up walking in a sprinkle-like rain but neither of us melted.

The Rewards of Color....

One more shot of a zinnia in one more different position is all I could come up with for you.  I can't resist trying to capture the shape and colors of this flower one more time.

Not just branches and leaves..........

The river birch is just starting to show a little change in color of some of its leaves.  It is one of my favorite trees on the property next to the regular birch tree. No other trees compare to their beauty.

With the dead tree down I can now see the river birch in full view from a distance.  Now two of my favorite pets are buried under this tree. Yellow Kitty was buried there many years ago.

Line Design........

Morning glories continue to bloom with all the cool wet weather that we have been having.  I like the compositions that the vines make with the spots of great color added in to them. I mentioned in another posting that the trellis will loose its natural look and become white once the vines have died down from the frost.

Skippers........

A skipper and his larger friend are having a feast.The larger butterfly is actually a silver spotted skipper.  I have numerous insects on my sedum this year and the skipper is a new one for me.  I have never seen them before this year. I suppose the wetter weather has brought them to our area.

A Mini Migration......

As I stepped out the door Sunday a very large monarch butterfly was floating around me.  I followed it to the burning bush but is didn't stay there long as it headed for the sedum.  He was the perfect model then as he sat and ate sweetness from the flowers.  I looked around and there were about 7 monarch perched in bushes and trees. The monarch would flap its wings once in a while from the closed position as if he was coming up for air.

Many years ago we would have a migration of the monarchs come through town. There would be a thousand or more that would cover the apple trees and bushes.  Maybe this year we are going to have a small migration and that will be great.  If it is a larger migration then there will be more on the trees when I get home today.

Honey Bee.......

The sedum is in full bloom and it is covered with many kinds of bees.  The honey bees are an almost transparent insect compared to a bumblebee. They are so small that I didn't really know if I had a photograph of it until I edited the picture.

Cloudy and Cold........

This is an afternoon scene with the fluffy could look.  I can't decide if the line is a front pushing through or if it was a jet stream.  It really is too big for a jet stream from one of our Air Force jets flying over.  It maybe a natural cloud formation that I have just never seen before now.  This is a clear view of the sky that I now have without my two dead trees.  I do not miss those trees at all.

Friday's Focus..........

I enjoy sharing a variety of things on my Photo a Day but sometimes the photo of a new and different thing ends up being out of focus.  I have shared a lot of zinnias in different blogs but with this color and the nice background makes it a great photo to share. The one piece of white ash on the petal is from a bonfire that I had going to get rid of fallen limbs from a tree.

Pink Petals......

The multiflora puts out two blooms at the same time.  It is a smaller sized rose and still has all the same great look as if it were a larger sized rose.

Big, Old Tree.......

Silver maple trees become too large after while as they keep growing through the years.  In the past, before I lived here, one of them fell on the kitchen roof.  I had one taken out in an 80 mile an hour wind.  Three others were removed by the city.  It made the house fit better when the era that it was built in with old fashion big trees shading the house.  Now with this older one in front, I will probably have to take it down before in lands on the house.

Unknown Insect......

We was going to title this "bee being at work"but it is not a bee.  I think it reminds me of a butterfly but I have never seen it before now.  The enlarging of the photo cleared up the bee identification problem.

Monday Morning Sky.....

The day will be a hot one but the early morning temperatures seems perfect.  The variety of shots that I could have taken were there but I didn't take the time.  The whole idea is to show you what I see in the morning so I leave the edge of the house in the scene. Eventually the sun will be behind the balsam pine and I will have problems getting the sun in the shot. 

When I crop it, the view could be a view from anywhere in the world.  The problem though is that there is always going to be a power line visible in the photo. Just once I may get a stepladder and take a shot but I am not that fanatic at this point. Well, maybe I am and I just won't tell you when I use a stepladder.

A Late Bloom......

The creeping bluebell puts out a late sprout with blooms on it.  I find it to be a bad weed but yet I can't deny that I really do like seeing the blooms.  Most of this plants have died down now with just brown stems. 

The Corn in Decline.......

The earlier planted cornfields are now starting to fire.  That means the stalk is dying and will be totally dead before the hard dry corn is picked. The shorter front row of corn never developed as it must have been effected by the grass spray done by the landowner.  The foreground shows a railed area of gravel for the neighbor's camper.  The tree is positioned in a fence row between corn fields.  Can you see the pole in the far background? It must be a  power line pole.

Morning Glories.........

I took some shots yesterday before leaving for school.  They are shriveled up by late afternoon. I have lots of buds that will give me opportunity to find new and creative ways to take pictures of them.

Thursday..........

The multflora rose puts out one more batch of blooms.  It forms buds so quickly and the small blooms look like the big roses of the world.