Wednesday, May 31, 2023

5/31/23

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is the Prairie Rose.  They have been having a good year and have been blooming quite beautifully and profusely in the area.  They usually bloom May through June.  The flowers don't last much more than a day but they smell quite wonderful.



Tuesday, May 30, 2023

5/30/23

 Today's image is how I usually see Heron's flying away from me, so I usually only get a butt shot.  This is the first Heron that I saw this year and I was fairly pleased because it was somewhat close and I could see it's head and beak as well.



Monday, May 29, 2023

5/29/23

 It's Memorial Day here in the US, a day to honor the people who died while serving in the US military.  I thought this image was appropriate for the day.  I took this at the Great Overland Station in Topeka, Kansas recently.  This is the All Veterans Memorial on the ground.  There are flags of all states on each side in order as they were admitted to the Union.



Sunday, May 28, 2023

5/28/23

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  This weekend has been the weekend that I go and "play" Garden Trains with some friends at a house not far from us.  They are really into live steam locomotives and have taught me a lot about that.  I thought I would share another Spring image of my garden railway with one of my trains by the miniature Lilac.



Saturday, May 27, 2023

5/27/23

 I have not posted a sunset in a while.  On Thursday evening I was coming home from a dinner out at Milford Lake and this was the view I had while crossing the dam.  I was not driving at the time.  😀



Friday, May 26, 2023

5/26/23

 It's Friday, TGIF!  I planted some Siberian Iris this past autumn and was pleased to see that they, mostly, all came up and bloomed this Spring.  I love the shape of these and the colors.  These were mostly white with some colorful accents but still pretty.  I have dark purple ones that started blooming a couple days ago.  I chose this image due to the bokeh because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, May 25, 2023

5/25/23

 My Leopard frog buddies have been elusive since we got some rain a week ago.  I caught this one before that in a much better setting and being rather cliche.  My pond was back to normal and the Lily pads were coming out.  When young they have a more reddish look to them and turn green as they develop.  


 

Wednesday, May 24, 2023

5/24/23

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is another early one that blooms for a while, April through June.  This is Yellow Rocket and is in the Mustard Family.  It originated in Eurasia and was introduced here in colonial times as a garden plant that was used for salads as the taste is similar to a Dandelion.  It is now advised not to eat because it has been associated with Kidney malfunction.  Birds will eat the seeds of this plant.



Tuesday, May 23, 2023

5/23/23

 It's a double digit day today!  😀  The Mississippi Kites are back.  They are hanging out on the wires south of where I live mostly at the moment.  I was walking the one day last week due to it being wet and drizzly and I was able to capture a few shots of them.  One got tired of me and flew by my and I was able to catch it as it went by.  I live their dark eye masks and their unique whistling call.  You can hear their calls at this site:  Ebird.org  The one I am referring to is at the Listen link and is the 3rd choice down.



Monday, May 22, 2023

5/22/23

 Happy Monday!  The Peony flowers are blooming right now.  They smell so wonderful, I wish they were longer lived but the blooms are fairly dainty for being so large.  These are a couple of blooms that were in my front yard.



Sunday, May 21, 2023

5/21/23

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  The Overland Park Arboretum has a very neat Garden Railway display with several high trestles and old time KC displays.  I captured their steam Tank engine as it passed over one of the bridges in front of one of the 2 large waterfalls.  A tank engine carries it's water over the boiler in the tank and has a bunker for coal on the back and so usually does not have or need a tender.



Saturday, May 20, 2023

5/20/23

 The Baltimore Orioles are back and have been very enjoyable to watch and hear, they have a rather distinctive chirp.  We put grape jelly out for them and they really go through it until the Mulberries ripen up.  We actually got some rain a week ago and I captured this male looking a bit bedraggled while trying to take some shelter in the Mulberry tree.



Friday, May 19, 2023

5/19/23

 It's Friday, TGIF!  Today's image is one I took recently on a trip to the Overland Park Arboretum.  I love these flowers and need to plant some bulbs this fall of them.  This one was being visited by several insects.  It's a large Allium, I do have some miniature ones.  I chose this image for the lovely bokeh because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, May 18, 2023

5/18/23

 This guy has startled me a couple of times this year because I will be working around the yard and suddenly it moves and I had not seen it.  One evening I was out by the backyard pond for a reason I can't remember at the moment and I looked over toward the downspouts for the gutter and saw something odd.  I went in and got a flashlight and saw this Gray Treefrog waiting for a meal.  



Wednesday, May 17, 2023

5/17/23

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  There are so many wildflowers blooming lately that it is hard to choose what to share.  I finally decided on this one, Blue False Indigo.or Blue Wild Indigo.  It is in the Bean family and blooms in May and June.  It is a good year for it in my area right now as it is blooming rather profusely in many areas.



Tuesday, May 16, 2023

5/16/23

 I captured this image early this spring as various birds were traveling through the area.  I captured these ducks after they took off from the pond they were on and flew in a circle and landed back on the same pond.  I believe these are Blue Winged Teals.  one may be a Mallard though.  There were both on the pond.



Monday, May 15, 2023

5/15/23

 Happy Monday!  Today's image is of some miniature yellow roses that I received a couple months ago.  I captured them against my white backdrop with a ring light.



Sunday, May 14, 2023

5/14/23

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  My miniature Lilac was blooming on the garden railway so I had to do my Spring photo with it.  This is my Consolidation type locomotive posing with it's passenger cars beside it.



Saturday, May 13, 2023

5/13/23

 I have one of these birds nesting on the back porch.  I find it kind of a silly place for it to have chosen as it will be disturbed fairly often when we go out onto the porch for various reasons but whatever.  This is an Eastern Phoebe.  Their name comes from their familiar "phoebe" vocalizations but they do make sharp "peep" calls as well.  I captured this one sitting in a Walnut tree not far from the nest.




Friday, May 12, 2023

5/12/23

 It's Friday!  TGIF!  So the Dandelions in my yard have mainly gone to seed.  It's amazing how, even after you mow, all the ones that pop up.  I captured this macro image of one with a bunch of water droplets on it.  I had to share it today because it also had some great bubbly bokeh behind and Friday's Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, May 11, 2023

5/11/23

 I have been able to see several honeybees this year foraging on different plants.  It's good to see them around.  This is another that I captured while my little Grape Hyacinths were still blooming.  It was busy flying from one bloom to another and feeding on them in-between.



Wednesday, May 10, 2023

5/10/23

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  There are lots to choose from right now.  The one I chose for today is a somewhat nice looking plant I think but it is very invasive and they suggest pulling it when you find it in this area.  It is Garlic Mustard.  If left to grow it can rapidly threaten native flora.  The seeds can stay viable in the ground for several years.  If you crush the foliage, it has a garlic-like odor.  It blooms April through June.  It originally came from Europe and is thought to have escaped from gardens in the 1800s because it was used for it's flavor and also medicinally as it was used to treat asthma.  Ground foraging birds will eat the seeds.  If cattle eat the plant, their milk will have a garlic flavor. 



Tuesday, May 9, 2023

5/9/23

 Today's image is another Red Tail Hawk one that I am pretty happy with.  I captured it in flight and not only was it in focus but it was looking at me.  I loved the way it had it's head positioned.




Monday, May 8, 2023

5/8/23

 Happy Monday!  Today's image is of one of my favorite Tulips that has returned for several years.  Unfortunately, something, I think it was the Turkeys, ate most of them and then this one to the ground so most didn't get to bloom and fortunately I was quick to get this image.  They must taste better than the red ones because nothing ever ate them.  Next year I will have to cage them to be sure they get to come up and bloom if they even can because they won't have been able to collect some energy.  



Sunday, May 7, 2023

5/7/23

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image goes way back in the archives to an early visit I made to the Colorado RR Museum.  This is Rio Grande Southern #20 built in 1899.  It originally operated on the Florence and Cripple Creek line.  After floods destroyed much of that line it was sold to the RGS in 1916.  It operated on that line until 1951 when it was sent to a hotel in Alamosa where it sat until the museum opened and it was donated to it in 2006.  The 20 had undergone a major 14 year restoration at the Strasburg RR in Pennsylvania and is now back in at the museum and operating which is wonderful that it was brought back to life.



Saturday, May 6, 2023

5/6/23

 Today's image is of a bird I don't get to see very often, they are very elusive around here it seems.  I was weeding in an area of my yard and looked up and saw it in the Sycamore tree and was able to get a few captures from a distance and then was able to move closer and get more such as this one.  This is a Bluebird.  They are quite lovely but not bird feeder visitors so it's nice to get a glimpse of them.




Friday, May 5, 2023

5/5/23

 It's a double digit day and Happy Cinco De Mayo!  TGIF, it's Friday too!  I was able to see and capture Red Admiral butterflies quite often this spring.  They are usually the first one I see and there were several of them around.  On this day there were at least 5 on the Lilacs at one time and then a couple over in the Crabapple tree.  I chose this particular image of one enjoying the Lilacs because of the lovely bokeh because Fridays Are Bokehlicious!



Thursday, May 4, 2023

5/4/23

 My frog buddies at my backyard pond are around and active.  I captured this Leopard frog sitting at the side of one of my plants while I was repairing the waterfall leak.  The pond was low at that time and accumulated some algae which it is sitting in, so not a picturesque capture of it but it was nice to see frogs around again.



Wednesday, May 3, 2023

5/3/23

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog.  Today's image is a new one for me and one I had to get help IDing as the first resource I used said it was found in the eastern part of the state.  This is Rock Buttercup I believe.  It blooms in April and May.  I need to update my Wildflower Page with this one.  Remember, I have those pages available by color to help you identify what you are seeing.  



Tuesday, May 2, 2023

5/2/23

 I recently got my second opportunity this year to get a Heron image and it turned out to be one of the best I have ever been able to get.  As usual, it was flying away from me but it made a circle and actually landed back in the pond across from me and I was able to get some shots of it there which I will probably share later.



Monday, May 1, 2023

5/1/23

 Happy Monday and Happy May Day.  The year is really moving along quickly.  These Tulips are blooming right now but this photo is from last Spring and I never shared it.  I love these tulips as they start out as a very pale pink, almost white color and as they age, become more and more pink.  It's interesting to watch.