she and He

Did you ever look closely at the bits of a corn plant that bring you that delicious, butter drippy corn on the cob in midsummer? The she is the cornsilk on the infant cob, the he is the male tassel providing the pollen.

If some romantic compares your eyes to cornflowers, they probably mean old fashioned bachelor buttons, and if your hair is "like cornsilk", it is probably cornsilk in August. Otherwise you would resemble some Dr. Seuss-like creature with strange eyes and funky  hair.

The Lorax

high Summer

High summer, high clouds, early morning, after fireworks

independence Day #2

At 6:15 am, he and his siblings were surveying the outside world and being stuffed with breakfast...

by 8:15 am, they had launched themselves into the air for the first time and were scattered throughout the Thicket and being fed a snack!

Live long and prosper, little bluebirds.

ADDENDUM

A quick snapshot of one of our babies, a Monday afternoon visit to the deck railing.

Independence Day

Happy 4th!

Happy Picnics!

Happy Fireworks!

July is...

a

and BLUE

July is...

WHITE

July is...

RED

briskets and rump Roasts

mystery Solved

I wondered why my little "Florida Swamp" garden (that is a water hyacinth and water lettuce in a pot on the deck, a reminder of Sanibel trips), was having such a problem with evaporation. Searched for leak, then caught the guilty party in action! Ma Nature has been getting a little help from Lucifer lowering the water level, I have a suspicion that Jack Sparrow, his partner in crime, is also in on it. I just haven't caught him yet.

redbirds in a Tree

I just put this penstemon cousin in one of my perennial beds, what do you think? Does it look like birds in a tree?

Being a birder meant I had to have it just because of the name. Seriously, the name of the plant is Redbirds in a Tree, an offering from High Country Gardens in Santa Fe.

keeping Company

Still life with starlings and bovines

June day on the short grass prairie

Golondrina verde-violeta

Tachycineta thalassina

Golondrina verde-violeta

Hirondelle a face blanche

Violet-green swallow

Sharing the same habitat and ecology as the tree swallows, these are our swallows of the West, the Black Hills being the easternmost part of their range. Although we have this pair, there are others in the area, they seem to forage together, sometimes riding the thermals to dizzying heights after flying insect prey. 

They nest every year in the birdhouse offered high over our small deck on the sunrise side of the house. The swallow kids will have a featherbed to grow up in, courtesy of the wild turkey troupe that frequents our neighborhood. They will also cheerfully take offerings of parakeet feathers and down from expensive bed pillows.

tranquil and Tumbled

 

Rapid Creek on the way to the Cheyenne river to the Missouri to the Mississippi to the Gulf. Fresh water traveling to that which is fouled, wishing it could help make it clean again

la Grenouille

Bon Voyage, Becka and Andy as you hop on the plane tomorrow. Safe travels, have a wonderful time!

Okawita Paha

Known to non-Lakota people as Harney Peak. Okawita Paha is a sacred place in the Black Hills (Paha Sapa) of South Dakota, a place of ceremony and reverence to the Lakota. At 7244' above sea level, it is the highest point in the United States east of the Rocky Mountains. View is looking west about a mile from our house, you can see a similar view from our roof. I prefer this one.

Summer Solstice !

The sunflower is the symbol of the Summer Solstice, this one is waiting to greet Helios.

Enjoy this day of the longest daylight hours and the shortest night-time hours of the year.

and

Happy Birthday, Fearless Leader

the bearded One

Here is the reason they are called "bearded iris". Mme Chereau has a white beard, just like the Bearded One, whom my daughters call Daddy. 

Happy Father's Day, DS

weather Weirdness

These are mammatus clouds, a rare example of clouds forming on sinking rather than rising air currents. It is a common myth that these warn of an imminent funnel cloud or tornado, however, they are harmless. They are seen after the passage of a strong summer thunderstorm, after your garden has already been turned to coleslaw by hail. The hail missed us this time.

morning Ablutions

on my favorite pond, the drake blue-winged teal (Anas discors) does his morning ablutions, his lady was out breakfasting among the water plants

the Hudson River School

Asher Brown Durand (1796-1886)

Self Portrait
(borrowed from the Web)

Asher Brown Durand was the leading light of the Hudson River School of Landscape Painting in the mid nineteenth century. Along with Thomas Cole, these painters believed that Nature was a "manifestation of God" and rendered their oils directly from nature. They worked along the Hudson River valley, the Catskills and in the Adirondacks, the home of my childhood. I have always liked the paintings of this group of artists since encountering them in an Art History class in college. The post thunderstorm clouds from last night's weather events would have intrigued and inspired them.

The storm had passed to the east and was illuminated by the setting sun.

seeing is Bee-lieving

It wasn't till I looked at the pictures in Photoshop that I realized I caught the bee leaving. My Harrison's Yellow, the old fashioned, thousand thorns per square inch, immensely fragrant rose is at its peak. Full of every conceivable kind of bee and perfuming the whole yard. It would be the perfect rose if it bloomed all summer, not just as an ephemeral June treasure.

one red Clothespin

Fortunately, we have not had the terribly heavy rain that some folks have, but June has been wet, wet, wet. My sheets on the line have had a "soft water rinse" about 6 times. Today dawned bright and sunny, hopefully, things including the laundry, will dry out a bit. After several years of drought we are glad for the rain, but a sunny day is most welcome.

where have you hidden the Fawn?

She must have a new fawn hidden somewhere nearby, she was browsing alone in the side and back yard every couple of hours yesterday. We saw a doe with tiny, still wet fawn several days ago, just a couple of doors down, so we know the fawns are arriving. I have a suspicion where the little one might be, but will respect her privacy.

in the Basswood

This pair of robins has honored us by choosing the basswood in the front yard for their nest. It is right outside Rachel's window, but they have hidden it among the big basswood leaves, so you can only see from one spot underneath. He likes the dead top of the neighbors' spruce to sing and keep watch. She has been sitting patiently for about 5 days among the greenery as he guards their territory.

happy 100th Birthday....

my Tevas on Sanibel Island

Capt. Jacques-Yves Cousteau

explorer, ecologist, inventor, researcher, film maker, conservationist

again, Madame

Madame Chereau, the most sought after iris of the 19th century, blooms in a Stafford garden for the 93rd year. Originally planted by my grandmother-in-law in northern NY in 1917, I transplanted some to my western SD garden several years ago. Madame always reminds me of Cora, gardener extrordinaire, when it blooms in early June.

the disembodied Foot

Attempting to take pictures of the robin's nest in the basswood, I turned around at a strange sound behind me, this is what I saw. Lucifer lounging in a second story window, catching some rays. His "unattached" foot looked so weird, I gave up on robin portraits for the moment.

we are excited and Proud

Rachel Anne

Stevens High School Class of 2010

June 6, 2010

our youngest daughter graduates today!

love you,

Mom, Daddy, Becky, Andy, Beth, Nate,

Erik and Amelia

It has been quite a week of celebrations for our family.

Terra Firma or the wild blue Yonder?

A June sky from the ground up, or is it the sea from the sky down?

welcome to the World

Amelia Jane Davis

June 2, 2010

7 lbs. 15 oz.

20"

Our new granddaughter!

and who lives here do you Suppose?

For my friend Terry, and his new yard bird...the 5am Caruso.

on Memorial Day...

Thank you

candy box Colors

Front porch flavors

lemon, cherry, apple, mint, raspberry, melon, orange

in a sea of Lilacs

In a sea of lilac flowers and cloud of fragrance there is a flotilla of Red Admiral butterflies feasting on nectar.

the picky yellow Roses

Many more 90 degree days like today and the "picky yellow roses" will be blooming. These are the old fashioned farmstead roses (probably Harrison's Yellow) that have a bazillion thorns per square inch. They are insect magnets and mine often has beady little eyes peeking at you right about eye level. My Plains' garter snake family knows fast food when they see it. Rather startling to see those bright eyes checking you out.
My bush is a sprout from a very old one that is growing in Chadron, NE, around a home built pre-1910.

robin's Treasure

The bees and butterflies are crazy about them at the moment, but come August, the robins and cedar waxwings  will snarf down the chokecherries in a noisy mob scene.

raining cats and Dogs

Yesterday it was "raining cats and dogs", today I found these at Office Depot. They kindly provide paper for people to try out gel pens before they buy. There were several pages of doodles and try-outs, made me laugh, although some were probably not entirely appropriate or politically correct.

the storm Passes

We've had flash flood warnings, tornado watches, high wind advisories and severe thunderstorm warnings posted this afternoon, some going on all at the same time. "Pouring cats and dogs" at school dismissal time made bus duty fun today! Even big kids get drawn into running through puddles and splashing down the sidewalk.

This was looking south as the storm finally moved on with a stiff wind behind it. 1.7" of water in the rain gauge since morning and lots more up in the Hills.

crystal Clear

Look at the way the water eddies over the rock and yet leaves it as visible as though looking through glass. I was experimenting with shutter speeds, and captured this view of a random rock in the middle of Rapid Creek 44N 103W.

halloween colors on a spring Day

the black-headed grosbeak has arrived back for the summer, isn't he a stunner?

it's Cymbalic

 with thoughts of a friend,  the Good Knight