Wow, it's the last day of November already. This autumn we did end up having some color in the area for a little while before the high winds blew all the leaves off the trees. This is an image of the Kansas River that I took while on the way back from Manhattan KS.
It's Friday, TGIF! It's Black Friday here in the US which is a shopping day usually known for great sales. It's not quite what it used to be due to internet shopping which can be a good thing as people could get fairly crazy literally fighting over items. Anyway, today's image is one to remind me of summer because winter is fully here. This is a flower that I discovered recently in the grand scheme of things but one I really love. It's easy to grow and lovely to look at. Butterflies like it as well. I chose this image for the lovely bokeh behind created partly by some out of focus Marigolds because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
It's Thanksgiving Day here in the US. Traditionally the meal for today consists of Turkey because it is believed that's what was consumed back in the day. These days people eat a much more domesticated variety. If Turkeys were really on the menu, it would have been more like this one. This is a male that I captured in my yard while he was really strutting his stuff for the lady Turkeys. I always have to laugh because they are usually very uninterested and are instead looking for seeds under the bird feeder. Hope you have a great day no matter how you spend it.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog. Today's flower is Garlic Mustard. It usually can be found blooming May through June. It is a highly invasive plant and can choke out other native plants. When the leaves are crushed it has a garlic like odor.
Today's image is another of one of my favorite birds that I was able to get this spring. This is a male Cardinal in the Walnut tree. I captured him just before he flew off the branch he was perched on.
Happy Monday and happy new week. A short work week for me as it is a holiday week here in the US. Today's image is one I was able to capture this spring of a butterfly I don't see very often. I saw this one while biking along the river trail. This is a Mourning Cloak butterfly. Apparently they are named this way after similarly colored clothes once worn during times of mourning. These butterflies are known for being a sign of spring as they are one of the very first to emerge and brighten the still brown landscape.
It's a double digit day! 😀 It's also Steamy Sunday here on the Blog. Today's image is a bit different as I am actually in it. I had someone shooting some video with my phone and I pulled this off the video. It was a 3 whistle salute to the owner of the railroad who has passed by the 3 operating locomotives he owned. Ottaway 1011 is on the left, 1045 is in the middle and #5 which originated as 1031 is on the right. Steam going up into the whistle and moving about the chamber and out creates the sound to extremely simplify how a whistle works. It was the first time all 3 locomotives were operating together.
I took this image last week while heading home from a bike ride. This was the last "Super Moon" rising up above some grass. The term "super moon" annoys me a bit as they make a big deal out of it and it is barely perceptible. Yes, the moon is a bit closer but it is not rare or really all that much larger than a normal full moon. It does get people interested so I guess that is a good thing. It was a lovely moon rise.
It's Friday, TGIF!! My Fuchsia was enjoying the weather this autumn and was blooming again. I captured these blooms with some fantastic bokeh behind them. Sharing today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
While out on a bike ride one day recently, I saw this female Praying Mantis on the side of the road. After taking a couple of photos, I encouraged her to move off the road into the grass. I hope she stayed there and did not go back out into the road and get run over.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! I took this image in early October. It was in an area that gets mowed fairly often so it was quite short and harder to tell what type it is. I believe this is Panicled Aster which can grow to 6 feet tall. It usually flowers August through September.
Today's image is how I commonly see these birds, they are flying away from me. 😏 I got a bit lucky with this one because it turned in front of me and I was able to get a bit closer image than when it first took off. This is a Great Blue Heron. I love to watch them fly with their long legs hanging out behind.
Happy Monday and happy new week! November is flying by! Today's image is a surprise one for me. I captured this image just last week. This is a Common Variegated Fritillary that was visiting my hanging on Zinnias. I was glad I had something for it to eat while it was out and about on a warm November day.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! This is an image from the Santa Run late in October at the C & H Railroad. The semaphore works and is a neat fixture at the railroad. There are a lot of actual pieces of railroad equipment or buildings in use there which makes for a more realistic experience. You can see the semaphore operating in the video I had posted HERE.
I took this image this past Tuesday evening of the colorful sky to the east as the sun was setting and the moon was rising.
It's Friday, TGIF! I was over at my Gazebo pond recently and the Sea Oats grass was still looking good. I took this image with my phone and really liked the bokeh in the image. Followers to the Blog know that Fridays Are Bokehlicious here!
I went walking last week after a rain and there were so many snails out on the sidewalk. In just a short span I counted 50 of them so there were at least double that amount if not more. I had never seen so many at one time. This is an image of one of the larger ones, most were about half the size or smaller. I thought it's shell was rather interesting with it's design.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! This is another flower that surprised me this past week. I was walking to get the mail and looked down and saw several blue blooms of my Chicory! That was quite the surprise as it is usually not even blooming at this time of the day much less this time of the year. Chicory usually blooms July through September, this plant was obviously confused. Chicory grows along roadsides fairly commonly and can be seen along I-70 in Kansas and Missouri during it's regular bloom time fairly consistently.
Sharing an image for today to bring a smile. A couple of the many Budgies that were in the Budgie enclosure at the farm I visited a few weeks back now. These were just as you went inside. I am sure they were hoping I had some food. Budgies are also known as Parakeets which are a type of Parrot.
Happy Monday and happy new week. I need things that make me happy. This really surprised me last week when I was out walking around the yard. One of my Cosmos plants is still happily blooming. Most everything has been frozen out by the frost we had so it was very surprising to see. Cosmos are a fun flower and apparently rather hardy. 😁 I almost forgot to mention, it's a double digit day today as well!
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! During the memorial run at the C & H Railroad one of the former engineers was out for the event and got locomotive Number 5 steamed up. He and I were taking some artsy images of it and this is one of them. Number 5 is a highly modified Ottaway locomotive and is the first locomotive that was run on the railroad. It was nice to see it operating again.
Today's image is of a lovely sunset I viewed while walking a couple of weeks ago. Venus is captured in the image as well. The comet is probably in it as well but it was much too dim at this time to see it and the sky much too bright. 😄
It's Friday, TGIF! Today's image is another for Autumn. This is some more leaves from my Amur Maple. Most of the leaves on this tree and others are mostly down now after the 50mph wind gusts we had for a couple days last week. I chose this image for today due to the lovely bubbly bokeh because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
Today's image is another from a visit from a large White Lined Sphinx Moth. It was visiting my Surprise Lilies and I was able to get a few images of it of which this is one. They are also known as Hummingbird Moths because their movements are very similar as is their size.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's wildflower is one that I didn't see much of this year, this is a Maximillian Sunflower. They usually flower in August and September. They are nutritious for livestock. They are a bit different than the usual Sunflower because of all the many blooms they produce.
Posting a bird that I love to capture, they are very bright and beautiful to see. This is a male Cardinal that was hanging out in the Walnut tree in the backyard late one afternoon. I was amazed that it stayed long enough to get several shots of it from a couple different places.
Happy Monday and happy new week! Starting off with an image that makes me happy, a butterfly and a Zinnia. This is a Clouded Sulphur butterfly I captured this past week on one of the Zinnias in a pot on the deck.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is from last Saturday at the railroad I help out at outside Topeka Kansas. It was a lovely autumn day and the weather was pretty good and Santa came and visited with the kids which they enjoyed very much. This is an image of one of the steam trains as it was crossing the bridge as it left with it's passengers. I also have a short video of this run HERE if you would like to watch.
The trees have been pretty lovely this autumn, much to my surprise. It's been so dry several trees have dropped most of their leaves already. The ones that have been left are putting on a nice show. On a day while walking about 2 weeks ago now, we actually got a little bit of rain. The late afternoon light on the trees against the rain clouds was making the colors really stand out.
It's Friday, TGIF! It's also November, Christmas is coming! 😂 My Amur Maple tree is producing some lovely colors in it's leaves. I had to share this image I took due to the fabulous bubbly bokeh behind the leaves. If you follow the Blog you know that Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
