Nature Notes: Summer Flying By

The large crepe myrtle blossoms that were knocked off the tree by the rain separated into little pieces that nestled into the ground.

 

We are continuing to have lots of rain.

The female cardinal still has her immature beak.

Her feathers blend into the deck.

Almost looks like a different bird standing up tall.

Below is a male house finch at one of my deck bird baths.

The rest of the shots are ones I took at Grace Garden in Durham, NC.

The frequent rainfall is keeping everything very green.

Usually by this time of the summer, heat has started burning and browning my world.

This year the rain and cooler temperatures have resulted in a much greener fresh looking environment.

Although there were some flowers in the garden I focused on the green shots.

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Today's flowers and weekend flowers: late July

Hard to believe that July is almost over.

I took the shot above and below in Grace Garden (downtown Durham,NC) this week.

 

The next shot is of my backyard crepe myrtle tree which I photographed one afternoon this week.

The last shot is one I photographed in the morning of my front yard crepe myrtle tree. The lighting makes the two trees look like their blossoms color is different but they are the same color. The difference is in the morning and afternoon light.

Click here for Today's Flowers and here for Weekend Flowers.

Photohunters: Planter at Home

When I saw that the photohunters themes this week were at home and planter, I knew what I'd use to combine them.

All of the shots in this post are of the planters taken at home in my garden. The first 4 shots are five and six years old.

I used to start vegetables early in the spring and continue growing them late in the fall, using the covers to trap the sun and heat during cold nights.

 

In addition to the four square planters in the first two shots, I have planters around my daughters old swingset.

The last two shots were taken this week of my home garden planters.

I don't have the energy to garden anymore and I've let my yard turn into a jungle which has started to eat the home garden planters.

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Nature Notes: Birds, a bee, a flower and trees

The summer continues to have a lot of rain and humidity.

It's still not as hot as most NC summers but the humidity makes it feel pretty warm.

The bluejays hop in and out of the bath pretty fast.

The American Robins spend a lot more time on their baths and primping.

I seem to get more shot of the adult robins this year although I've seen some juveniles.

The catbird blends into the deck.

The juvenile cardinals are frequently at the bird baths.

I love the way they look with the patches of color.

 I like the way they constantly move their head.

The mourning dove was under the rocker and it blended in so well I almost didn't see it.

The American Robin looked like it had something to say.

I think the next bird is a young brown thrasher. Their beaks are longer as adults but other than a smaller beak it looks like a brown thrasher.

The female cardinal still has a bit of dusky color in its beak so I don't think it's fully grown yet.

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Today's Flowers and Weekend Flowers: Usual Suspects

This week I've been photographing flowers on some of the same plants in my yard I've used before.

The echinacea (coneflower) above and coriopsis below are flowers I enjoy in the summer at my house.

Rose of Sharon (hisbiscus syriacus) below is another summer flower that is prolific in my yard.

The gardenia below is on my neighbor's bush but it grows over into my yard too so I consider it partly mine.

I like to shoot into the center of flowers like the pink rose of sharon below.

The bee below was burrowing deep into the rose of sharon.

Click for the home of today's flowers and click here for weekend flowers.

Photohunters: Really and Favorite Household Appliance

This week the two photohunter themes are easily melded since one is really and the other is: What is your favorite Household Appliance?

My initial thoughts as to what is really my favorite household appliance was to consider my kitchen but then I thought about having central air and heat regulated by the Farenheit thermostat below.

Then I thought about how much I like having a laundry room with a washer and dryer so perhaps they are really my favorite household appliances.

After a little more thought I decided that my favorite household appliance is in the bathroom since I really wouldn't like having to relieve myself in the bushes or even in an outhouse.

Click here for the really photohunters and here for the favorite household appliance photohunters.