It's the last day of July, wow the year is going quickly! It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one of my favorites. It is Sulphur Cinquefoil which is in the Rose Family, must be why it is so lovely. 😀 It blooms in May and June. This image is of some blooms on the plant that I moved into my garden and it has done really well this year so I was very pleased.
Recently while on a bike ride out by Milford Lake I saw this sight. There were two Redwing Blackbirds chasing a Red Hawk. I always have to laugh when such small birds are actually successful in chasing a big hawk away. I'm guessing it got too close to their nest.
Happy Monday and happy new week! We are in for a hot one, 100+. 😓 These flowers always make me happy so i thought they were perfect for today. These are a few of my Shasta Daisies that had bloomed this year. They are done now but I enjoyed them while blooming and now enjoy the photo.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Last weekend we took our Steam Roller to it's first show while we have owned it, in Mankato Kansas. We took it through the parade on Saturday and Sunday and rolled it around both days so people could see how it works. The gearing on it is very similar to a Shay type locomotive. It seemed to be a big hit so it was a successful weekend. It is an Iroquois Road Roller 5 Ton built somewhere between 1910 and 1915 in Buffalo NY that was being used in Iowa and has now made it's way to Kansas. This image shows it as we were first steaming it up on Friday afternoon to do some practicing with it.
You can view a video of it in operation HERE if you like.
We had a quite lovely sunset about a week and a half ago. Lately the sunsets have just been hazy and a very red sun, I believe this is due to smoke from some western fires. This image shows the damage to our poor old Oak tree, tallest tree in the middle, as well that it received in the bad storm we had a few weeks ago. It used to have a nice curved shape to the top but now there is a huge chunk out of it on the right. 😢
It's Friday, TGIF! My Surprise Lilies are starting to bloom. These are the first ones to emerge and open up. I hope they bring the Hummingbird Moths again. I chose this image for today because of the lovely bubbly bokeh it has because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
While I was working in one of my garden beds the other day, this guy ran across my hand and then kind of stopped and looked at me as if to say, what did I just run over? 😁 We kind of looked at each other and I went back to working on my plants. He stayed around, moving back and forth along the railroad tie that I have on the back part of the bed so I took a few shots of him with my phone. It is a beautiful Blue Tail Skink with a very vibrant blue tail.
It's a double digit day! 😁 It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one that is basically done flowering and the birds are enjoying the berries that come afterwards. This is Elderberry that can have some very full lacy looking blooms. They bloom May through July. The berries can be used to make jellies and wine. The plants generally only live 3 to 5 years but new ones continue to come up from the rootstock.
I have seen several Killdeers around since they came back to our area this spring. There seems to be a group of them around our high school area that I often see while on a bike ride. I saw them again last week so I stopped to get a few photos of which this is one.
Happy Monday and happy new week! My Butterfly Bush, also known as Buddleia, is finally blooming. I have not seen any butterflies on it yet but hopefully they will find it soon. It's a lovely flower I think.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Since I shared the Porter locomotive in the Roundhouse, here is the other locomotive I get to help fire on, 353, in the Roundhouse as well. It was also having some work done and I was there painting the area under the part that was being repaired. I am looking forward to firing on this locomotive again over Labor Day weekend.
The wild Turkeys have been back with their little ones lately. I was able to capture this family the other evening as they came to visit and get seeds dropped from the bird feeder. The little ones are so cute.
It's Friday, TGIF! I was able to see and capture a Great Spangled Fritillary visiting my Cone Flowers/Echinacea. It was rather tattered looking, wondering if it was damaged in the hail storm. It didn't seem to hurt it's ability to fly or float as I observed it doing both around the blooms and was able to capture it just after takeoff from this one. I am sharing this image today due to the lovely bokeh because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
When I am in Minnesota, I usually get to see many dragonflies and damselflies. The area must provide what they like because they are everywhere. I was photographing some Damsels one afternoon when I saw a Dragon returning to basically the same spot repeatedly so I decided to try and capture it in flight. It took a while but I finally managed it. 😁
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one that is pretty much done blooming in my area now. This was an almost perfect bloom of a Prairie Wild Rose that I found in June. This Rose is very drought hardy but they have not had to worry about that up until this point this year. We have regained all our lacking water and then some. When it rains it pours as they say. Anyway, these usually bloom May through July. The Rose hips have a lot of vitamin C and can be eaten raw.
While I was in Minnesota, I usually take a drive to some favorite spots where I can usually spot some birds. I didn't see many this time but I was treated to a Blue-winged Teal fairly close, at least closer than I usually get. 😏
Happy Monday and happy new week! My small pond's Lilies took quite the beating in the storm with the pads becoming all broken up, you can see some pieces of them in the image. Two days after the storm though, I had one of the most perfect and beautiful Lily blooms open which was quite the surprise and lovely to see amongst the damage.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! When I was up in Minnesota this past June, both the full size locomotives were having some work done to them. Today's post is a bit different as it contains 2 images. This first image is the Porter locomotive, a tank engine meaning it carries it's water over the boiler instead of behind it in a tender. It was inside the roundhouse getting new tubes or flues as shown in the 2nd image. The flues start inside the smokebox and extend to the firebox (where the coal or wood is burning). The heat travels through these flues and heats the water in the boiler to make the steam to power the locomotive. A locomotive can require new tubing for various reasons, the 2 main ones are age and improper firing. If you let cold air into the smoke box the tubes can expand and contract too much and become loose and allow water to leak from the boiler which is not good. It will be nice to see the Porter back out and running at the show over Labor Day weekend.
It's been two weeks ago now since the big storm. This was just before I finally got home after waiting out the rain at the restaurant to ride my bike home. It was also before I knew what damage the storm had brought to my yard which we are still cleaning up. It could have been worse, my home was not damaged like many were in town. It was even difficult to get home on a bike due to flooding and downed trees.
It's Friday, TGIF! With all the rain we have received, my pond has been nice and full and lovely. There were a number of Dragonflies around this past weekend enjoying it and I was able to get a number of shots of them as they perched for a moment on a reed. This one had some beautiful bubbly bokeh behind it so I chose it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious! This is a 12 Spot Dragonfly.
Last Friday I was out at the garage earlier in the day than usual. I saw this guy hopping around on the driveway. He stopped long enough for me to get a few shots. Some kind of Toad, I think possibly a Woodhouse's Toad named after Samuel Woodhouse a 19th century naturalist.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one of my favorites and is actually growing in my garden because I collected some seeds and spread them there. This is Queen Anne's Lace. It blooms June through September. This particular bloom shows off the red spot that helped give it it's name. It is supposed to resemble a drop of blood that Queen Anne supposedly shed when she pricked her finger while sewing some lace. It is in the Parsley family and is also known as a Wild Carrot and can be an aggressive spreader. It is one of my favorite flowers to photograph.
When I was in Minnesota I went for my usual drive to the spots where I can find wildlife fairly reliably. Sure enough, the Redwing Blackbirds were out and about. I captured this one sitting in a plant and calling and showing off why they received their name. 😄
Happy Monday and happy new week! My Hostas are blooming and somehow did not get destroyed in the storm. This is one of the flower stalks on a newer plant. I love the trumpet look to the blooms when they open up.
It's a double digit day today! It's also Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image goes back to my visit to Kansas City to see the Empress, CN 2816. It was difficult to get a photo without people in it as it was only on display sitting and not moving. It was still great to be able to see it though. If you ever want to watch a beautifully filmed and interesting film about railroading in the Canadian Rockies, Rocky Mountain Express is worth your time. This locomotive is the star of that movie and where I first became aware of it.
This image is from Friday June 28 and looks deceptively lovely. It is an image of the end of one of worst storms we have ever had in my immediate area. We had looked at the radar and there was a very small rain cell visible so we decided to ride our bikes to dinner and then by the time we finished eating it would be out of the area. We were very wrong. We were stuck at the restaurant for 2 hours. The storm grew in size and sat over my town and dumped 6.9 inches of rain at my house and collapsed a building in town and caused A LOT of tree damage among other damage. They have decided it was straight line winds of at least 80MPH. We are still cleaning up limb damage on our property.
It's Friday TGIF! My Cone Flower/Echinacea has been blooming and attracting various nature. I captured this Skipper enjoying the blooms one late afternoon. I chose this photo for today due to the bubbly bokeh because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
It's Independence Day here in the US! I don't have any recent photos of fireworks so how about some natural looking fireworks. These are Bee Balm flowers in bloom that I planted last year and came back and flowered this year. They have 3 bees visiting, 2 fairly prominent and then a very little one you may have trouble spotting.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! This flower has been very prolific in my area this year. It is Wild Alfalfa. It is a native legume and is very drought hardy as it's roots can grow to 10 feet deep. It resembles Alfalfa but livestock do not particularly like it unless it is cured in prairie hay.
I was able to see a Swan family while on a drive near the area I was staying at in Minnesota a couple of weeks ago. I stayed in the truck and was able to be fairly close to them. They still swam away from me though. I believe that these are Trumpeter Swans due to the color of their heads. There cygnets were just adorable.
Happy Monday, and new week and also new month, it's July and the second half of the year! 😁 I have been able to see these butterflies more often this year. Right now they have been around and feasting on all the Mulberries that have dropped to the ground from the tree. This is a Question Mark butterfly, the mark can only be seen when the wings are closed. I captured this one resting on a rock between feedings.
