Strays from the Past

 

 

 

 

Peace

 An interesting cloud formation was out there this morning. The whole view was good but when I looked up at the corner of the vista I saw this wonderful formation.

This was the actual view at half past six in the morning.  We were not cold last night as our temps are normalizing. The low 80s F. is good. 

 I spent my morning cleaning the two bird cages. It was more than just my routine cleaning. I really cleaned. I also filled up the birdbath in the yard with water and felt guilt because I hadn't water the tomatoes for awhile. I refilled the watering can and set to work. It didn't take very long and I know that it will help them to produce better. So as I watered I did another harvest of them.  I gave a large sack of these to friends last Sunday and maybe in another week they will want more. 

I took a break from folding for a couple of days. I did get some more done last night before our movie started. The magic number right now is 409.  Maybe you can catch my drift about what that number means. The story about a thousand cranes is not necessarily a happy one but in the story the little girl makes  that amount for the sake of peace. It keeps my mind sharp as I fold some each day. When I first started out I was folding them backwards. I would fold and then have to refold to get it right. I finally figured out where to start on the first step and I have been successful ever since. You mess up at the very first step it ends up in disaster for sure.

                                                               Thanks for stopping by today.

Friday Final Shots

 

 

 

 

 The day started out cool which gave me time to mow outside in comfort. The sun did hit hard so I had to take off the long sleeved shirt. I mowed my front yard and with a couple of breaks I also mowed the backyard. In some areas of our yard we are shutting down the green condition and it is getting dry and straw-like already. It is the end of the week and we have a grocery run to make this afternoon. Thanks for stopping by today.

Thursday's Here All Day

 The morning temps were warmer than yesterday. The clouds were gone soon and it proved to be a an low 80s day.

The front yard pink rose was liking the weather and can be seen here in the sunlight. I took the shot right before I started to mow the neighbor's front yard.  I was stalling because a woman and her little boy were coming up the sidewalk with a stroller with a baby. I didn't want to start up the mower until they went by the yard. 

Another view of the swallowtail from yesterday. This is a zinnia but the butterfly liked the marigold just as much from which to get nectar.

The William Baffin rose is puting out a few last blooms for the season. I didn't get the buds dead headed so it probably won't bloom all over again. 

The two tall marigolds fit in great with them being the same height of the zinnias. The shorter zinnias are so showy but I can take pictures of them and enjoy them. 

My yellow rose has two stalks that are reaching for the sky. It puts out great blooms all the summer season. 

Thanks for stopping by today.

Middle of the Week....

 A swallowtail was at my zinnia patch again today. It was different one as the last one had damaged wings and this one was in perfect shape.

 It looks like it is an airplane but actually it was eating with its wings out flat, straight out.

 There were two monarch but only one stayed around when I showed up with camera. The one that stayes looked good on one side but actually had damage on its wings.

 You can see the damage on this side. It did seem to be able to fly normally which was hard to believe. 

I planted some pumpkins but I am sure they were too late to germinate. It does have some blooms on it now but I don't think there will be anything with actually any good size. 

We are cold right now in the mornings. We will now warm up and the nights won't be so cold. I worked in the garden again this morning and will start mowing grass tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by today.

Tuesday's Stuff for the Day....

 

 My marigolds are looking good now with this cooler weather. We now are needing rain. 

 

In my loose leftover seed I had some tall yellow marigold seed in there. They are as tall as the zinnias.

I spent some time this morning trying to dig out a major growth of purple sage. It was not an easy task as the plant shoots out large runner roots that help it to sprout. It was very difficult to get under it and cut off roots to be able to lift it. I know where I am going to plant it in the back yard but I didn't have any energy left to do it. I will do it tomorrow as I know it isn't going to die being out of the ground. It reminds me of a tough weed and I was tired of it taking over the circle garden. I also dug up some iris the was spreading too quickly. 

I thought that this one sunflower was going to be a mammoth variety but it isn't. It has multiple heads. I guess since it cam up volunteer in the corner and it was crowded that it just grew taller and had larger leaves. 

The knock out roses are not blooming so well as I haven't been watering them. I thought the rains would be good enough but they are partially covered by an eave.  The red is so wonderful to see. I remembered to blog today. Thanks for checking in today.

 

Monday....

 

 

 We are having cool weather. It is nice to be out and work with a light jacket on and not get overheated. We are said to be warming up but today was a relief day.

Saturday Stuff.....

 It is a subtle sunrise with a token of a few clouds.  We have cooled down with a hight of 74 degrees F. being welcomed. 

I picked a bouquet of zinnias this afternoon, It was time to bring some in and enjoy all the colors and textures. 

While I was out there clipping blooms a yellow swallowtail flew in to join me. It really was more concerned about nectar than me with my phone camera. I had seen a monarch earlier but it didn't show up. 

 We had a strong wind this afternoon and the butterfly kept flopping over from side to side. The sun gave me some great lighting and bright colors show up in my shots. 

While I was out there I also picked another round of tomatoes. I don't mind picking them early as they ripen inside pretty easily. I am going to have to refrigerate some of them to keep them from ripening any further. I plan on giving away some of these tomorrow. 

We have a collection of different plates that we use everyday. Some are antique ones that are from garage sales and others were Della's mom's dishes. Others are Blue Willow and some are Angel Tree antiques. This one pops out with the group as a memory from Minnesota. We owned a cabin in the state for a number of years and it was stocked with dishes that renters would use before we bought the cabin. When I sold the place I got to have these dime store plates that replicate the Blue Willow idea. I really like the pattern and it is a fun everyday dish.  I enjoy using them and they bring back many summer memories. After we sold the place the new owners tore down the ragged old place and built a more modern cabin. So when I did them out it really is a remnant of the past.

Thanks for stopping by today.

Friday.

 Spots on its underneath neck makes it identifiable. Some do not have the spots. 

Multiple blooms is a great thing to see. The vines in all three of the flower boxes are taking off with many blooms. 

Two of the three have lots of history. I will probably never put a new handle on the spade as I have a dozen spades and shovels. When one is the last person standing you get all the tools in your possession. I have shovels and spades from my dad's garage. I have the same from my late bother's construction tools that he had left in my dad's garage. I bought spades and a sand shovel when I set up my own household with gardens when I bought my first house. Then when we moved to our new place in Ankeny the former owner left me a tool shed full of tools, all bought at Ace Hardware.  The petrified wood rock has history too as it belong to my dad who brought it back from Wyoming, He didn't get it from the park which is illegal but he found in a large desert field where rock hounders searched for them. 

I keep picking tomatoes. They are not big but they taste great. I have to give some of them away soon. I know the neighbor lady who comes to check on her house could use a sack full. We hit the bookstore today.  It was good but the were in the middle of a remodel so the coffee shop was closed. It was good to get out of town.

Thanks for checking in today.

Thursday's Things

 It was a clear sky when the sun showed up on the horizon. We made it up to the low 80s F. this afternoon.

The sunflowers keep putting out blooms. The  morning glories are now shooting vines all over the etems. 

Lots of purple blooms are scattered all over below as the tomatoes are putting out orange to red tomatoes.  

The vines are actually growing  and blooming flowers. They were slow in development but each year is different. 

As I mentioned the tomatoes earlier you can see half of the harvest here on the counter.  I picked another batch this morning that were about of this same number.  I have to get in contact of friends to help us eat these.

It is a blurry bee but you can catch the idea that the bees are hitting the blooms this season. 

I mowed the back yard this morning when it was cool. I didn't get overheated, and it looks great and green. I can see that the grass is starting to turn a little brown in the front yards where there are no trees.  It is the time of the year when we shut down on the mowing but the rains keep coming. 

Thanks for stopping by today.