Middle of the Week..........

My weather rocks got another cleaning last Monday night as it rained all the night.  It was a light rain but it never stopped.  I know these things because our older dog needs to go outside during the night.  It was a quiet rain at midnight as I let him out I didn't expect it to be doing anything.  At 5:00 in the morning the same kind of rain was happening with scattered drops falling continually.  Button doesn't stay out very long when it is raining and he does put out this look of disgust when he comes back into the house. It was passed over by 7:30 in the morning but a very cold wind continued. Today will be a dry day but the temperatures are still going to be low.

The berries on the burning bush are going to make the cardinals and bluejays happy this winter.  They must be bitter at first as they are not eating them this time of the season. I take so many shots of the burning bush that I sometimes repeat post them.  I guess I should put an x on them or something so I won't keep posting them again.  The red against green keeps attracting me to the shrubs for more shots.

My wooden decoration next to the fish pond still retains some of its barn board paint.  It has weathered slowly and always has a great look. On Tuesday is was so cold that the goldfish did not come to the surface when I fed them.  They go into a dormant state when it is cold to save energy. If the pond was deep enough they would go to the bottom and stay still all winter.   I will drain their water with a pump and they will come inside instead.  I won't do that until we have a warm fall day.

The patio container with a tomato plant is going to give me three last good tomatoes. It was the second blooming that gave me these as the first set never really gave me anything.  The two that were at first on it rotted.  I see by the photo that there are at least four tomatoes on the vine.  We had been have dry days and dry air so I had to water them every day for a week or so.  Now the gentle rains takes care of them.

I am in the high school science room this morning.  I haven't been here since school started but I spent a lot of time last school year. It is only a half day assignment so that will work out good for me.  I spent the entire day of Tuesday doing nothing and resting.  I really set myself back teaching all day Monday.  I am so much better now and will probably be cheering when it gets to be noon and I can go home. 

I thank you all for stopping by today.  Take care..........

Tuesday with no Tricks...........

It is definitely fall out there with the cold winds and the corn does look ready to be picked.  I was too ill to really go out and take a shot but I went out for one.  I got more than that but my neighbor saw me and walked over to me.  I had a long chat with him and was so glad when we decided to end the talk.  I got back into my sickie chair and stayed there the rest of the evening. I could watch the moon rise as I sat in my chair and it seemed like it moved quickly because of its size.

The power lines seem to cut right through the moon.  With the new shed, tall standing corn and the power lines there wasn't a chance to get a clear shot. I have a lot of blogger friends and facebook friends that have taken some wonder shots.

I spoke of a model T garage sitting on my neighbors lot.  This is the back side of it.  The house of the place is for sale and some people were at the house so I couldn't get a front view of it.  Lots of times they would put two strips of concrete on the inside of the garage to keep the car up off of the ground.  I think the driveway up to this one has the same thing.  Two parallel strips of sidewalk to drive your old Ford onto in any weather. One of the previous owners shingles the roof but didn't bother to trim off the shingles that stuck out.  That has been many years ago and they still dangle there today.

The doors on this kind of garage are distinctive for the years they were made.  The doors were like bifold and could be pushed back on both sides. My dad had one on his property many years ago and when he tore it down he found it was made with walnut two by fours.

I had a good day at school yesterday teaching wise but a very bad day with the temperatures of the room.  The air conditioning is set too low and I dressed for cold but this was too cold.  When I had a break I would go down to an older teacher's lounge off the library and just sit there.  I could feel heat being absorbed by my body.  I did that a couple of times during the day and also over lunch. 

When I got home I was so miserable with the cold that I had that I went outside and took photos to warm up.  Then I was done for the rest of the day.

While outside, two monarch were waiting for me on the zinnia blooms.  They were certainly bulking up on nectar.  There were a lot of bees there too.

I am home today and I didn't get any offers for work today.  I was going to refuse them if I had.  We are having a very cold ,windys, damp day today. I think the furnace did turn on for a very shot while.

I thank you for stopping by today.  I wish everyone to be well.

Monday's Views.........

Bucket boy always seems to have a pleasant expression on his face.  The dahlias seem to finally put out some foliage and the scultptures seeems hidden in the thicket.  I am anxious to see what colors the other dahlias are as they are just about ready to now bloom.

It is fall and the spreading bluebell has decided to put out a stray bloom.  The plants as a whole bloomed three months ago.  The plant acts like a weed so I am not really surprised to see it putting out a couple of blooms.

I didn't see the timbers of Maine this year.  Nor did I see the north shore of Minnesota with its diverse forests.  I didn't make it to Colorado either.  So when I see a scene like this through my own gate view, and it looks like a forest, I take the shot. It is actually a larger Minnesota balsam pine that is growing in my front yard.

My fellow neighbor is a hunter and fisherman.  I know some seasons are coming up as his boat becomes visible across the way.  He sometimes put netting and foliage on it for duck hunting.   It is fun to see the seasons change and the neighbor keeps me up on the wildlife schedule.




I am back at work in the high school English room today.  It is the same one I was in one week ago. The room is cold as that is the way the teacher likes it.  I keep being reminded that I should bring some meat in to hang as it is that cold.  My cold is a lot better.  I survived another one.  The sore throat and fever are gone.  I know that the working today isn't going to help me get better faster but I think I have outlived it now.

I hope all are doing well and this Monday is a good day for everyone.  Thank you for stopping by today.

Sunday's Stuff......

The special effects of the sun helps to give the scene a magical look.  Looking towards the alley in the afternoon you can see the old model t garage in the background.

They have a peach color but they are tomatoes.  I had to  throw one away already as it rotted instead of ripening. I hope these do ripen as I am down to very few left to eat. A rotting tomato has a horrible smell.

The fish in the pond have all grown larger.  I feed them every once in a while, not daily, as there are plenty of mosquitoes to eat on the surface of the pond.  I need to start the process of getting them out of the pond which means eventually draining the pond.  Before I do that I need to get the aquariums ready first.

I thought they were buds and then I felt of them.  They are seeds.  I need to watch them and try to harvest some of them.  All of the blooms are scarce now and I never can predict when they will show.  I am thinking that our night last night is so warm that maybe I will see more blue ones blooming this morning.

A smaller patch of sedum seems to be slow to bloom.  I find this is the only section of it that is n ow blooming.  It is in a protected area and maybe it just is too shaded to ever bloom more than this.

 The section of broken off sedum that I found on the sidewalk near school seems to be staying alive in the mug of water.  I am thinking I need to get it in some dirt to really get some roots to develop.  I am thinking this is the dark red variety and I hope a newer variety that doesn't collapse in the fall.

Off to do our Sunday school duty this morning only and not doing church.  The fall cold is so much like the early summer cold and we both are under the weather.  I have to be up and running tomorrow to go back to work.  I hope everyone stays away from these freely given viruses.   Thanks for stopping by today.

That Fall Feeling.......

The days are cooler and the air is dry compared to all out past summer humidity.  Some plants are just going to go ahead and fold not trying to last out the season. I have a spare phlox that has about seven blooms on it that still puts out some color but all the rest is gone. Leaves are falling a few at a time but the  trees are letting go of them.

The zinnia's have some dead blooms and others are clearly shutting down now.  Insects are doing their damage along the fringe of this flower.  Remarkably I do have about five small zinnias that are just now starting to bloom.

I picked up a fall cold from one or more of the sick students at school.  It is the kind that slows you down and you get all stuffy in the nose.  I also hate the sore throat that comes with it.  My activities for the day will be eating and sleeping and sipping liquid.  We both have had symptoms most of the week but mine hit full force last evening.  I am hoping it is a short lived virus. 

It is nice to have a couple of days off and maybe I can feel well on Sunday.  Thanks for stopping by today. 

Final Finish.....of the Week.

We had a day yesterday with no rain falling from the sky. We still have water puddles here and there and some parts of the state again got very large amounts of rain.

The Asiatic lily that I moved because of the cable guys, likes its new space. I didn't put much thought as to where I put it but this space should be great for next spring when it blooms.  I have a built in background that just won't change much.

While out taking photos of the morning glories I spotted this orange ladybug.  It doesn't look like it has any spots but it may be just the light reflection blocking the view.

I have read articles that criticize some cameras because they just don't get the color correctly duplicated.  I think that really does vary because of the light differences. I think the credit card thin ones were discussed about not being very refined.  The more expensive camera took the photo of the correct color blue.  I guess it is my job to  correct the blue by photoshop manipulation when the top camera doesn't give me true color.  I know that I do always work with the reds on my camera, the top photo one, but I didn't realize that I need to check out the blue too. A digital is an amazing invention and I really don't complain as one really doesn't have to face a court of law and prove you have true colors.  I belong to a facebook site that takes photos of Iowa to share.  I do know that a lot of photos I see are being made to look better because of the camera or the editing of them.

The photo tells its own story.  They bloomed early this year and half the season they lay on the ground because of high winds and rain.  The rest of the season they were staked up with twine to keep them semi vertical.

While at school I didn't get to see this in full bloom.  I did think it had a lot of character while in the shape that it is in so I snapped a shot.  I really like all the colors but red is my favorite.  I like that white line that it has on the back of the bloom.












I have worked all five days this week and it seems to be a good one. I think the year is a better year here at the school and the students seem to be better behaved.  It is hard to learn names but once you get a name down of a challenging student things improve.  Every single class has its own personality and one can not predict what it is.  After the first five minutes you do know what the period will be like.   I had a quiet first hour and then second hour was more like a hurricane.  They finally got to work and things did settle down.

This is homecoming week so it has been an exciting week for the kids.  Today they have an all school pep rally that will last an hour so it is a shortened day.  That makes all staff happy and me too.  Warm and muggy today but it will be a typical fall day.  Thank you for stopping by today.

I Lost a Day........

When I finally had time to go outside, it was gray muggy Tuesday afternoon .  I could only save about a third of the photos that I took.  This photo was taken at that low light and it does look like I was working for a special effect.  The impatience is liking this weather though and is doing well with all the moisture in the air.

I didn't get any blogging done on this site yesterday.  It was one of those days.   I had some photos assembled and then I arrived to school. 

This morning glory, my newest variety has not bloomed since Sunday.  In fact most of the glories did not bloom.  I guess they are reacting to the weather.  It was nice that Sunday was their day as I did get a lot of photos.

While I am at school today this is what I would have seen if I were home.  I noticed this morning while out with the dogs that the bud was just starting to open.  I had not seen it bloom since last Sunday.  It did hold its bloom open for two days straight night and day.

The rains have helped  the dahlia to finally bloom.  There are other buds but I don't know if I will ever see them open.  Everything in the dahlia world is late.  They had their leaves all eaten off and then they all came back with new foliage. I do have to remember to dig these three to save them over for next spring. I really do like the color of this one.

I have seen a certain insect do this to the hollyhocks before now.  I didn't have hollyhocks bloom this year but this scarce one did have three big leaves.  The insect apparently eats only the green and not veins.

A sure sign that fall is coming is showing of the colors on the burning busy.  I also noticed last night while outside that I have a bank of leaves now on the patio.  Thing are changing fast as our days get shorter.  I would like to see the time changed back to normal now as I don't like getting up an hour in the dark before the sun comes up for the day.

I have subbed for a music teacher the past two days. A part of his day is to drive to the elementary to teach kindergarten and first grade students.  I did that yesterday and will do it again today.  I taught art to kindergarten students back in the late1970's but I haven't been in that age group for a long time. I am sharing music on videos to help them understand how music makes us feel differently in different parts of the movies.  The one is a marching song that I share and the little first graders could not keep from moving their feet while sitting on their rug.

We are having lots of rain and lots of cloudy days.  It would be nice if it would start to clear soon.  Fall days shouldn't be stormy everyday.   Thank you for stopping in to my post today. 

Still Green....

One of my newest hostas has such a wonderful pattern on its leaves.  It really has not been one of my best growers but I assume it needs to self multiply some more to make it look more robust.  The leaves are interesting as they are not repeating the exact same pattern on each leaf. 

The red glories next to the back door come and go so fast that I am not getting photos of them.  In the afternoon I can get shots of the buds that are ready to open for the next morning.  They bloom and fold up within an hour or two. 

A neighbor across the way has one of these blooming.  I am thinking it is a rose of sharon but I am not certain.  I snapped the photo a few days back and it was lost in the pile of all the photos in the file.

I get questions about the blue door in the backyard quite frequently.  A student at school yesterday commented on it and though the blue was so cool.  He also asked as to what made me think to paint it in the first place.  I need to rebuild my other blue door on the west side of the yard.  It is on my list to get done before the snow flies.  It may be redesigned as I don't have time for picky detail right now.

I have files of photos saved on my computer but they are also saved in my picasa storage.  I find this to be a quicker way to find things so I don't delete them.  Eventually I will just have to do it.

I am at school again today and I just now remember that I have a group of shots of a dahlia that just started blooming.  I guess that will happen tomorrow.





Putting the work hours at school back into my life has been a lot overwhelming.  Two days in a row is ok but it seems to be that I need to get back into shape for the job. We are having good weather and it is nice to be having somewhat normal temperatures. I appreciated you stopping in today.

Monday's Not Muchness.......

The artist Georgia O'keefe created many oil paintings of flowers.  I have seen her apple blossoms one in Kansas City.  She also painted large canvases of morning glories.  This photo of the heavenly blue morning glory is cropped to look like one of her paintings.

My violets are not getting much personal care over the summer but this one thinks I am doing things right. They are so touchy and if I let them dry out they set buds but then I water them just a little to keep them blooming.  Over watering means the plant goes down again and wilts.  Sometimes I just can't bring them back.  I think right now that the sun is moving lower into the south and I need to move them away from the window a little bit.

After coming home Sunday afternoon I was surprised by one more different color variety of morning glory.  It has that pink stripe in it between its section.  While the blue one and this one is blooming the red one has slowed down in its bloom time. A facebook friend that lives in my area said she too was having morning glories blooming for the very first time in the last weeks of September.

I am happy to see this sedum doing so well in the clay tile. I have said before that we had this variety down on the farm when I was young and it sat in an old chicken watering pan out by the pump.  It bloomed yellow or white blooms every spring.

While walking into the building at school this morning I found a section of the sedum autumn joy on the sidewalk.  A teacher had been doing some landscaping this weekend and it must have been a piece that broke off from the main plant.  I have it is water right now, hoping I can get it to root.

A frame job I am working on right now is a drawing done by a high school student.  It is large and has taken a lot of time to get it to be all in one piece.  I have about a half hour of work left to do on it and it will be done.

I think the student copied the character from a comic book and as you can see the cat is hanging on tightly hoping not to be left behind. It was done in black ball  point pen with many lines to create values and textures.

I am in the high school English classroom today.  It is the upper classes of the grades so they are reading and doing a lot with literature. The messed up photo at left reminds me of what it feels like to get back into the substitute teaching mod.

Trying to interpret directions from the written ones from the teacher is sometimes a big challenge.  I know most of the kids names but a lot of them have changed in appearance from over the summer.  It is homecoming week so the kids are a lot wired for fun for the whole week. Unlike last week where I only taught a half day, I will be here all day.

It is cold today for a while but we will warm up nicely. Thank you for stopping by today.