It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one that is very common in my area, Flannel Mullein. It normally blooms June through September but I found this one on October 11th. Their leaves are densely covered in woolly hairs which help to prevent water evaporation and makes them feel very soft. They can grow to 7 feet tall and are not very great looking when their lifespan is over so are a bit of a pain. Birds seem to like the seeds though. They are in the Figwort family.
While out on a bike ride near Milford Lake in recent weeks, I have been able to see Egrets out in a lagoon area. I captured this one in flight as it was heading off to another area. The Egrets are usually more cooperative for picture taking and don't fly off as readily as the Herons do.
Happy Monday and happy new week! It is a double digit day today! My Toad Lily has started to bloom recently. I find it quite the interesting flower, very unique and photogenic with the hairs and beads of nectar on it.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! On August 1 while I was out at the Cumbres & Toltec Rwy for their special event, I was waiting for the special train to return to Sublette for a short stop. In the meantime, the regular train from Chama on it's way to Antonito, came in for it's short stop. It was being led by locomotive 489.
I finally made it down to southeast Kansas and drove on Route 66 with my classic car. I went over to Joplin Missouri as well and a bit south of town is Grand Falls. There had been good rain in the area so it was flowing quite nicely. It flows over formations of Chert rock. Chert usually has edges that are razor sharp when it breaks, Native Americans used to make tools from it. Because of the many years of flowing water, this Chert was quite smooth and rounded and rather different looking than usual. It was a lovely falls.
It's Friday, TGIF! I captured this Bluejay patiently waiting to go get a peanut at my in-law's house in Missouri last week. I liked the bokeh created by the leaves and berries of another tree behind. Sharing for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
I saw a perfect looking Buckeye butterfly on Route 66 in Galena Kansas on this past Sunday. It let me get fairly close with a normal lens on which was nice.
