Middle of the Week Already....

 Good morning to you from my house.  I am on the deck and it is cool today.  I will warm up though.

I have taken a photo of these before but I couldn't remember the name of them. Skipper is what they are called and there are different colored ones out there.

They do move quickly from one flower to the others.  These two were being friendly. I see they have no color preference as the work all the flowers. 

A neighbor at my old place threw away his grown son's decoys into my dumpster.  I have had it a few years but never noticed there was a circle hole at the tail.  You can tie them together and let them float around in a bunch..  The decoy joins a rock collection of my dad's and a wood bird on a stick. My wife's painting of the white and black cat is keeping an eye on things. 

I did a lot of different things this morning but the major project was to mow the back yard.  I had a long conversation with my neighbor lady and gave her some white iris starts for her daughters. I was glad to share. I talked with my other neighbor guy who was replacing his mailbox post this morning.  It had been hit by a truck or whatever and it was flattened to the ground.  My neighbor was busy putting down concrete mix around the post to make it strong.  I gave him tomatoes and also the lady on the other side  got some too. 

I messed with some clay and made a pot this morning and I think I am now done for the day.  The clay story I will tell about later on a good day.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Tuesday's Things....

 The sun was hard to find but it did peak through for a very short time. Two hours later the clouds did partially clear.

The sparrows were busy eating this morning.  They are getting use to the big bird that comes to share their seeds.

Big bird looks like this.  I think it is a young one because doves normally come in pairs to the feeder.

I didn't get this rose bush trimmed back after it bloomed. It formed rose hips getting itself ready for winter. 

This dogwood bush has developed its berries later than the one bush beside it. I guess the green berries must ripen to a darker color before the birds eat them. They never turn red in color. 

Our cooler weather and damp dew mornings has brought back our grass.  It still has patches of dormant places but the front yards are all looking greener.  I could mow my front yard again, soon, as it is shaded by three trees.  The shade kept the grass from going so brown. 

A busy day today means getting the garbage out and working on projects.  I planted the last of my white iris yesterday and moved one from the wet clay garden to a better location.  I am moving slow today but plan to get some things done. 

The sun is finally shining. Thanks for stopping by today.

Monday, Monday....

 I was disappointed that I didn't get a shot of the downy woodpecker.  I looked out again with the camera thinking I would just take a shot of the sparrows. To my surprise the morning dove was sitting there in plain sight.

It really wasn't too concerned about the sparrows but wanted certain things to eat immediately.  One time I did see a dove get aggressive toward a sparrow, but their size does give them and advantage. 

 

 It was a good thing that I got a shot of this tall marigold as I see theis morning a rabbit it ate it off the stem.  A few yellow petals were laying on the ground below where it was. 

One area only has the yellow and orange splash of color.  It is interesting how that all works out when I planted from harvested seed from the year before. 

No big plans for today. It is just another Monday for us.  We both have artistic projects going on this morning.  Thanks for stopping by today.

Sunday...

 

Another shot of looking down on the raised bed shows all the blooms of the morning. It took a long time for the marigold to be in blooms. 

 

 I share garden flowers with the neighbors at the land line so I guess I am allowed to take shots of their Knock Out rose. 

The pink rose on my side of the line has grown to be as large as their's.  You  can see the sit close together.  My pink one is in bloom more now than when this photo was taken.  I will have to go back and take more photos. 

I shared more tomatoes today with the neighbors and brought in some for bacon, tomato and lettuce sandwiches.  The soup bowl is an older one from a collection I have of the dishes from thirty years ago. I bought them at an auction in Coin, Iowa and another batch at an antique store in Osceola, Iowa. The pattern is Mildred.  There is a blog site that shows people who collect the pattern and share their stories about it.  We used the pattern for everyday for a long time as it matched the antique tables we used.  We finally got a new everyday set and it gets very little use now.  

The rambling morning glory seems to set up its own compositions among the tomatoes.  I could introduce another color in this area but I haven't succeeded in getting any other color to grow. 

It has been a quiet Sunday with very little traffic or dog walkers. The neighbors swimming pools have been quiet today too.  We are getting rest and have no plans of celebration for tomorrow. I guess our adventure to the bookstore was our weekend celebration. We have not been to the bookstore for two years and it was time. The store had been closed for a year because of covid.  

Thanks for checking in today.

Stuff....

 

 

 

A late posting with the sharing of things with color. We had a cooler day today and rarely saw the sun.  It seems hot but it really is just high humidity that makes it seem hot.  Thanks for checking in today.

Finds.....

 Old artist never die, they just make birdhouses.  My winter obsession was creating a dozen plus colorfully designed birdhouses. I have given some away and have the rest of them on display. Most of them will be brought inside after the first snow. 

My water feature looks good but the plastic flower pot has to be toxic.  As I had put goldfish in it and some of them died. I am hoping that the water will leach out whatever chemical is in it and next summer I can try growing fish in it again.

 

 I tolerate the volunteer morning glories.  The grow among the flowers and tomatoes.  I pull a lot of them in spring to cut down on the number of vines.   I clip them when they seem to be destructive to a tomato. The marigolds really blend in well with the leaves. 

I think they look good together with zinnias and marigolds. I am going to till the area this fall and it might slow some of them down. 

I eat these out side while I am working in the yard or garden.  We have plenty of red ones so I am not destroying our supply in the house. 

It was good to have this visitor to the feeder. The feeder is not a hit for the birds and they prefer the cloth sock feeder.

It was nice to go see a movie last night. Kathy Lee Gifford created an Orotorio.  It was filmed in different locations but some of them were in Israel. We saw sights of Jericho and Sea of Galilee. Other parts of Israel were in the background too.  The music was a part of the story telling of people in the Bible.  It was well done.  We had rain as we left the theater and it made it difficult to get home.  We made it fine but water does cover the white dashes of lanes making the curving streets of a moderndevelopment hard to follow.  We only got a tenth of an inch at our place but any rain is welcome.  I finish mowing the front of my yard this morning.  It again was a third dormant but grass under the trees was green and long. 

Thursday's Things....

 

I mowed in the back yard today next to the cottage garden. Only two thirds of it was long while a third of it is still dormant.  I won't have to mow again for a couple of weeks.  Things are greener because of our two inch rain from last week. 

 

 It is a flower lined stairs that is looking very decorated.  I never planned for the stair railing to become a trellis for these roses but it sure does work.

The yellow rose on the opposite side does the same as its flowers grow throw the rails. The weather has cooled enough that the roses are going through a great blooming cycle. 

Looking down from the top of the stairs you can see the grass is greening. I am sure that their is probably more clay in the soil where your see the brown area. Iowa is known for black soil but construction people scrape it off and get into the clay layer as they change the landscape.  My former property had black dirt eight to ten inches deep. 

The dogwood shrubs put out great berries that the birds love to eat. I guess the green berry is desirable as you can see lots of them have been picked off the branches.  During the day I can see the branches covered with different birds. 

Going to see a movie tonight and get something to eat at the mall.  We have not done that for many months.  Traffic will be bad on the way to the big mall but it will clear out by evening. 

Thanks for stopping by today.