a study in black and White

Is Lucifer a black and white cat or a white and black cat?

How do you tell? He is noncomittal on the subject.

fall Color

Sundown October 20  The Black Hills of South Dakota

season's last farmers' Market

kettle corn!

if you were counting Heads...

would there be zero geese in this picture??

on a Picnic

Even the leaves enjoy sitting at a streamside picnic table, basking in the sunshine and listening to watermusic.

yellow Taxi

The yellows were so astounding I made a quick turnaround and went back to catch it. Man, I am glad I carry a camera some days.

epic Failure

Just wandering along Rapid Creek yesterday, taking photographs on a lovely fall afternoon. I found the path blocked in one of my favorite spots,  It was an epic failure for the local beavers. They had selected a tasty cottonwood to harvest, but had an engineering problem. Unless beavers can jump about 8 feet in the air, all they provided was a squirrel bridge across the creek rather than lunch for themselves. My Architect-in Residence informs me it is indeed a "gnawing problem" about what to do now for said furry engineers.

first, there was a Flower

This time of year a pumpkin's "cheeks" are the focus of our admiration, searching for the perfect place to create the face of a Jack-o-lantern. I found its nether end was the coolest mix of textures and colors where the blossom had done its work, disappeared and left a mosaic.

catching the last Rays

wild grapes reflecting back some late afternoon sunshine along Rapid Creek

you might just Be

showing the world a "Full Moon" if you stepped into this Crescent Moon outhouse, provided it didn't go to pieces and take you with it.

overnight Changes

Saturday morning last week we were in shirtsleeves at the Pumpkin Festival and Weigh-in. This Saturday morning the frost is definitely on the pumpkin, or more accurately, the SNOW is on the pumpkin and other things.

good Neighbors

Thank you to the hard working farmers and ranchers who put food on our tables every day.

full Moon

October 1  6:45 am

bird Bath

The robins seem to have left a bit of their rusty color behind in the birdbath.

festival Festivities

The giant pumpkin I have been watching all summer was right there in all its glory waiting for the weigh-in at the Pumpkin Festival at Main Street Square this morning. I was excited for the people who grew it that they were able to haul it there unscathed and ready for its debut. I didn't get to see the weigh-in, but one  considerably smaller had just topped the scales at 474 pounds! Waiting to see results in tomorrow's paper.

mcSpelling

illuminated Manuscript

World History, dateline 16th Century, manuscript by W. Huston, Esq.

wait Up

I have been that mom who is saying, "hurry up!" while the child following me is hollering, "wait for meeeeee!", These two were having a similar conversation.

ready for Cinderella

Our annual Giant Pumpkin Weigh-off is next Saturday, Sept. 29. After such a hot and dry summer, I hope these folks enter and are winners. They have been tending these babies since May, the vines literally cover their entire front lawn. These two are the contenders, but there are several other smaller ones hidden in the foliage as well. I don't think either of them would fit in the trunk of the car in the driveway.

sword Fighting

You can get in soooo much trouble with your mother for sword fighting in the house with ripe, ready to burst cattails!

vanity Plate

What is this all about? Who is Big Woof? Why Lil Woof? What does Woof have to do with the Buckeyes? Just curious.

goose, goose, Duck

sometimes a good soak will Do

and sometimes it is good to add a shower. I turned on the sprinkler to water in some new perennials, it is so dry here that sprinklers are bird magnets in moments. This robin sat for at least 5 minutes with his feathers fluffed out and just let the sprinkler rain down on him. Glad to oblige, Feathered One, there is a line waiting now, hustle up.

it's Mythological

Charybdis

one of Many

Lots of us in the world proudly sport freckles on our hides :o)

game On

Football isn't the only Fall sport, soccer season is in full swing and the fields are busy all over town.

sun Flowers

Prairie asters on a sunny afternoon = sunflowers

character from a sci fi Movie

Mantis religiosa or Praying Mantis

Is she not an amazing creature! Hollywood special effects artists couldn't come up with anything any better, in my humble opinion. Being a photographic model was not something she was real interested in doing, so I shot pictures as I could with the camera at hand.  She has left an egg case on one of my garden trellises, so I will be looking for her children in the spring among my delphiniums and iris.

a bit out of Sync

Ready to greet the Fall Equinox instead of the Summer Solstice

9/8/12

The creamy white candles of the yucca usually show up around the second week of June. For some reason best known to itself, this one decided that the second week of September was the proper time to bloom with the fall Asters instead of the spring Penstemon. It is lovely from a distance and even lovelier up close.

about 1 am, I am thinking....

Please bag up your barking dog and deposit him in the nearest container, dear neighbor.

wannabe Monet

 A quick afterschool trip to my favorite greenhouse for perennials, their lily pond is still in full summer splendidness with multiple lilies open. I would love to have these in the yard, but with my luck, the deer would become aquatic, wade in and eat them, or we would suddenly find moose among the turkeys and the whitetails. Sigh.

on Foot

Would you be able to take your afternoon snooze standing on one foot in the middle of a creek? Nearly grown mallards pretend they are taking a nap just like my daughters did. Although I did not detect any fake snoring from this one, little girls used to try that one.

yipes, Stripes!

dr. Seussian

Garlic chives and castor beans just look like they belong in a Dr. Seussian landscape somewhere.

omigoodness!

It is September 1, it's 98F, I don't know whether to drink the quart jar full of ice water or pour it over my head!

in a Whirl

Zinnias in Disguise

The first week of school has been exactly that! New kids, new schedules, new staff, new books and same old summertime weather. Today was only day #3 and we had early release due to heat. It was 105F early afternoon and most of our school buildings have no AC. Usually early release comes in January when blizzard conditions develop and we need to send kids home for safety's sake. Bring on a little snow, we'd love it today!

This was our week to "get back in the saddle", so to speak. Inservice on Wednesday through Friday, last minute organizing and buying school supplies.  The kiddos start back with us tomorrow, with all the excitement and butterflies that come with the first day of school. Our district has implemented some huge changes for this fall, so the kids aren't the only ones with a few butterflies.

Rock on, teacher blogfriends, and everyone sending kids back to the classrooms and college campuses this week.

dude! let's get Going

they called our number, we are supposed to be in the show ring! Get those chaps on and mount up, we are late!

working Hands

Riders waiting for the tractor and drag to smooth out the arena after hard use, and for the next class to start competition.