evening Spotlights

Just before sunset, the swallows are still flying in with dinner for the little guys, and for some reason best known to himself, a blue jay is pretending he is a red-tailed hawk in the pine out front.  This is the leading edge of a promised cold front, temps have dropped by 20* in the past hour...thank you, Ma Nature for the break from the 100s you have been sending.

flight school Candidates

My little violet-green swallows are just about ready to try their wings. They are actively shoving each other around like kids on a family vacation, each wanting a window seat in the car. It won't be long.

the Bookends

Sunday morning laziness

cool Water

With folks (including us) all over the country seeing hot, dusty and dry days, having your toes in cool, clear water seems like the perfect idea. The plant has the right idea.

waiting for the Olympics

Can those springy young gymnastics stars do this??

I admit freely to being an Olympics junkie. Winter Olympics, Summer Olympics, doesn't matter which, I will watch nearly anything they want to broadcast. I will stay up late, I will get up early, I will root for the USA, I will root for the underdog, the pride of one small nation, the kid, the "old" guy. Love it all, admire the perseverance, the sacrifice, the indomitable spirit of the human race. Opening ceremony in 2 weeks!

family Portrait

Ma Wood Duck and family just loafing in the morning sun. Pa was behind them on the shore. He was hardly noticeable in the lakeside plants, except for his bright red eyes. Drakes are molting out of breeding plumage and the males in particular are rather drab and tatty looking. Gone for the moment are the brilliant colors, being replaced by feathers that resemble their more conservative ladies. They will be in this eclipse plumage for several weeks and molt again into their characteristic flashy colors again in the fall.

once upon a Time,

On a July day, when the lilies were blooming and the bees were busy, about 4 in the afternoon, a little girl made her debut on the Planet. She had been known for months as Sarah Surprise, because she was just that, the Surprise of the Century. Today, she turns 20. The years have flown by and she has become a terrific young woman with a mind of her own and her eyes on the future. We are proud of who she is becoming and can't wait to see where she goes from here.

Happy Birthday, Sweetie

bottoms Up!

Breakfasting geese

drum roll, Please

Had you told me when I started this blog (upon a challenge from my kids) that post #1000 would ever appear, I would have never believed it. This is post #1000. I am still getting a kick out of doing the photography, trying to find interesting or unusual things to comment on, and particularly reading the efforts of the other bloggers I have "met" out there. Cool people are everywhere and they can and do brighten my day, lift my spirits and make me laugh right out loud  :o)

fast Food

It is high noon in the front yard and time for LUNCH, Mom!

4th of July

Happy Birthday, America

crummy photo, play with Photoshop

also known As

Ratibida columnifera

Native prairie wildflower aka Mexican hat, long-headed coneflower, or Thimbleflower.

Traditional Sombrero or Mexican hat (from Internet)

making Connections

Coreopsis "Jethro Tull"

Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull

coming and Going

Papa Violet-green swallow arrives with lunch, delivers the goods and heads out for another round of chow for the kids.

forest fire Sunset

What the Pentax saw        

We are fortunate that the forest fire about 10 miles from us now has a containment line around it. Thank you, to our local Firefighters, for your tireless efforts, and to those battling the Colorado wildfires south of us. The one silver lining, if there is one, is the sky as the sun sets on another day.

6/28/12   44N 103W

a drop to Drink

The Horse Fountain   7th and Main   Rapid City, SD

1911 Lion's Head horse fountain placed by the National Humane Alliance of New York. It was restored in 2004, and placed in its original setting on 7th and Main Streets. The upper basin was for watering horses and there are 2 small basins that are at nose level for cats and dogs that visited as well. It has a lovely cool sound on a day when the mercury reaches in the 90s. If you search the web, many cities had similar fountains for their equine citizens during the pre-automobile days.

lemons into Lemonade

Central States Fairgrounds, Rapid City, SD

When your huge old Grandfather Cottonwood dies, find an amazing chainsaw artist and let him create!

a brand new Pair...

...of Terrible Twins to eat my flowers.

thistle Thought

Does this prairie thistle have its own Fairy?

Thistle Fairy, Cecily Mary Baker  1928

lots of thorns, not a Rose

Prickly pear on a prairie evening

upLand

Upland Sandpiper

One of my favorite denizens of the shortgrass prairie, it is always a treat to find one on a fencepost on a summer afternoon.

after the T-shower

the rain has stopped,  but water is still spilling off the roofs, creating puddles

and rainy daisies on the bricks below

kermit the Frog

visits Art Alley just in time for Summer!

in line, Please

How's this for keeping the family in line?

goin' Swimmin

right in a bowl of Cheerios, this morning

happy Father's Day...

to all the Uncles, Daddies, and Papas who help small people untangle their kite strings, their fishing lines and their dilemmas  in life.

a chorus Line

...performs for an audience of corn, soybeans and photographer

sky Stitchery

It seems to have been a busy day for jet traffic and one of very little wind at a certain level of the atmosphere. The morning sky was stitched with lines of contrails through the cirrus layer of clouds, holding the blue in place above the trees.

kids will do that to You

Parenting sometimes leaves you feeling pretty frazzled, my chickadees are starting to look a little tatty and worn from their parental duties. Usually dapper and sleek, they have a frumpy, frazzled aspect when they come in to the feeder on the deck.

lemon Thyme

Still life with lemon thyme and muddy fingers

Tiniest flowers ever! Wish you could smell the fragrance of the lemon thyme, it is amazingly herbal and fresh. I put it in for the contrast of  tiny variegated leaves with verbena and little petunias, but the smell is so pleasant that you have to brush the foliage when you walk by the plants on the deck.

new, new, New

Rachel and I went to look for the patch of wild daisies in the side yard a few moments ago, and found this in the freshly mowed grass! What a treat! Even if she grows up and eats all the flowers I just brought from the greenhouse (to replant the ones her sisters and cousins and aunts have eaten this spring!) We'll call her Daisy, unless she turns out to be a he.

We left her peacefully resting in the sunshine.

on with the Show

Today marks the beginning of year #3 of my adventures as a blogger. It began with a photo of Canada goose goslings, on a challenge from my very tech savvy children who wanted to "help" improve my photography skills. It has turned out to be way more than I expected! My photography is better and I hope more interesting, my writing skills are more to my satisfaction, and I have met some of the coolest, most creative and interesting friends out in the blogosphere. Thanks, Becka, Andy, Beth and Rachel for the "inspiration", and Nate, Erik and Mia for adding to my photo opps, too.

white clouds, clouds of White

Syringa reticulata   Japanese tree lilac

Clouds of blossoms and clouds of the cumulus persuasion on a Sunday afternoon in June.

lions and tigers and ...

monkeys and zebras

Part of the coolest driveway gate ever, in the middle of corn and soybean fields in rural Cottonwood County, MN

The folks who live on this farm raise exotic animals, we missed the baby giraffe this time because they take their animals to County Fairs all over the midwest during the summer season. We did see the kangaroos who didn't get to go on this week's trip.

world class Gymnast

Could you hang by your feet and get your head turned around like that just to see what the crazy lady with the camera is doing behind you? I think not.

moonrise, Sunset

Cottonwood County, MN 

 It seems like the Sun has a string attached to the Moon on full moon nights. As the Sun puts itself to bed, it pulls the Moon up into the evening sky. At the direction of Apollo and Artemis,  we mortals always have a bright orb in the heavens to keep us company.

busy Fingers

When you are 2, and it is your birthday, sometimes it is SOOO hard to wait for the cake and ice cream part of the party!

moving In

We've been landlords to a pair of violet-green swallows for several years, they favor the box on the side of the house outside the laundry room window. We are having the house painted at the moment, so I had to relocate their rental to a pole attached to the shed, about 25 feet away, with a south view. Apparently, the move is acceptable, she was busy building this morning. They are lovely neighbors.

string of Beads

Misty rain, no wind, the woodbine tendrils on the chimney turn themselves into jewelry.