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.