It's the first day of July, we are halfway through the year already! It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one that makes me happy and is blooming like crazy this year. This is Black-eyed Susan which bloom May through September. It's in the Sunflower family and is formally known as Rudbeckia Hirta.
While I was in Minnesota, I had the opportunity to see and photograph a Loon that was pretty close to me. It was very cool to see and didn't seem very bothered by me as it stayed fairly close. I was taking photos from my vehicle so that probably helped. Loons have a very distinct call and it is cool to hear. It is the state bird of Minnesota.
Happy Monday and happy new week! My Speedwell, or Veronica, was blooming recently. I love the color of this particular variety. Speedwells can be found in many colors and they have spiky flower blooms like this one and also small dainty blooms as well.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! As I mentioned yesterday, I was in Minnesota last week. I was able to be "playing" with this locomotive, the Ortner Railroad Wagner 14 inch scale. I took a photo of it here, stopped by our station and loading area.
I was in Minnesota last weekend for the first of my usual trips. I was out walking during the early evening and came upon this scene. There has been a recent addition to the Steam Thresher's grounds of this old granary (building to store and process grain). I thought it looked rather picturesque across the field.
It's a double digit day today! It's also Friday, TGIF! I have Phoebe birds that have built their nest above the bathroom window next to my home office. Once in a while I see one of the parents sitting on a wire right outside my window as it keeps an eye on the nest and I was actually able to capture it doing that. I liked the bokeh in this image so sharing it today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
I have several stands of milkweed and the yard and I am pleased to see when Monarchs are on it. I was even more pleased to see that I had caterpillars that resulted from it. I couldn't find it the next day but I choose to believe it was just somewhere I couldn't see.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one that has been in bloom recently, Spider Antelopehorn. It is in the Dogbane Family and is also a milkweed. It blooms April through June. It is named after an antelope because as the fruits of the plant develop, they elongate and curve and resemble their horns.
I have been lucky to get some nice and closer Heron images lately. This one was at a pond in the neighborhood right behind my house. I decided to stop by with all the rain we have been getting to see if one was around and there was. It was on the bank right near me and then flew to some rocks that were not very far away. I was amazed and got off a few shots before it took off from there of which this is one.
Happy Monday and happy new week! My pond Iris bloomed pretty well this year despite the late cold snap and regular Iris not blooming at all or in very small amounts. This plant can spread quite a bit so I have to keep it in check but I find it quite lovely. I wish the flowers lasted longer.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is a very appropriately steamy one. This is one of the Ottaway locomotives as it was being "blown down". This where you open the valve on the boiler and let the remaining steam and water and, hopefully, any sediment that may have gotten in there to blow out. It helps to cool the locomotive off the rest of the way and to get all the water out to help prevent rust and scale.
As I have been mentioning, we have had quite a lot of rain lately. We went 3 months with basically nothing and now, we are getting it all. When we went to play trains a few weekends ago, we were running in between storms. These are some retreating clouds that I really liked how the setting sun was illuminating. The cloud just to the right of the windmill was especially cool with it's light outline.
It's Friday, TGIF! As I have mentioned, I love Musk Thistles even though they are not a very desirable plant. I love the geometric patterns on them and I think they look good even from behind. I love the bubbly bokeh in this so sharing it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
I love Ladybugs and so I am happy when I get an opportunity to see and capture one. This one was feeding on some stalks of grass and I captured it as it was spreading it's wings to possibly take off. It continued on after the photo and didn't leave.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is Indian Hemp Dogbane. It blooms June through August and is usually 8 to 40" high. Native Americans used the plant fibers to make various things like thread, cord, bow strings and fishing nets.
Due to all the rain we have been having, I actually went for a walk recently instead of bike riding. I was walking under a power line that a Mississippi Kite was sitting on. We looked at each other but it did not fly off which was rather surprising so I was able to get this image.
Happy Monday and happy new week! Starting off the week with an image of some Periwinkle or Vinca flowers. This is a vine plant that can spread quite a lot but fortunately has remained somewhat contained in an area of my garden. It has some nice greenery when not in bloom for a nice ground cover.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! I was over at the railroad I volunteer at recently to do a run in between some rain storms. This image is of the 12inch scale Ottaway locomotive and it's train that I like to run, I was currently taking a break while the hubster ran it.
We had quite the storm roll through our area on Monday into Tuesday. It had very high winds and lots of rain with it, we received right at 3 inches. It caused a lot of tree damage in town, we lucked out with only one major limb down from a Sycamore tree. Fortunately the old Oak didn't receive any more major damage than it had gotten in the last storm. This is what the sky looked like to the east in the aftermath, still some Mammatus clouds.
It's Friday, TGIF! The butterflies are making use of the Common Milkweed in my yard. I have several stands of it, one on purpose and the others are volunteer. The bit of bubbly bokeh behind in this image prompted me to share it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
I have seen a family of Raccoons recently in the dark. This past weekend I was able to get a better look at them at dusk as they were feeding on Mulberries that had fallen on the ground. The mom had 4 little ones. I am not thrilled that they are hanging around my yard but they are rather adorable.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one I have seen recently and is about done in my area, Prairie Larkspur. It blooms in May and June and is part of the Buttercup family. This flower is poisonous to cattle if they ingest it. They may eat it as they find it palatable so it needs to be removed from their pastures.
This past weekend, while on a bike ride I was able to see and capture a Scissor-tailed Flycatcher. I seem to see them about once per year and sometimes get to capture them but rarely. I got lucky again this year. Their long tails make them very agile fliers. Males are more vibrantly colored than females, especially the salmon-pink flank so I am guessing this is a female.
Happy Monday and happy new week! My Columbine is alive though not really thriving. I need to refresh it's soil. It did flower this year so that made me happy as I love these flowers.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! This is another image from last year of the Porter and the 353 sitting outside the roundhouse while we had our safety meeting. I'll be up there soon to help out around the area but won't really work with these two locomotives till Labor Day weekend during the annual show.
It's a double digit day! 😀 Today's image is an older one I had taken of a nice sunset with my drone. It is overlooking our huge high school complex.
It's Friday, TGIF! We have been having rain lately which has been good as were incredibly dry. I took this image of raindrops hanging off Cedar trees on last Saturday morning. I loved the bokeh in this image and so I am sharing it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious.
One day recently, while on a bike ride, there was a friendly horse up near the road. It allowed me to get a few photos so I picked some nice green grass for it and fed, I think it was a her, as a thank you.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one that I find quite photogenic. This is Musk Thistle which blooms May through August and is part of the Sunflower family. It is considered a noxious weed in many states because it can spread very rapidly and will form dense groups that keep other plants from growing. It is very easy to spread and can reproduce even after being cut down. I find the leaves very geometrically appealing. I should have used this image for Friday as the Bokeh is fantastic. 😁
Today's image is one that I took a while back of a bird I see fairly often all year. This is a Red Tail Hawk which are very common in my area of Kansas. They can be easily identified in flight by the short black band on the underside of the wing that you can see in the photo. When they are just sitting, they appear similar to a couple of other hawks, the Red Shoulder and the Sharp Shinned.
Happy Monday and happy new week! My water Lilies have started blooming and looking lovely in my small backyard pond. I captured these two together recently.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! I went to the Steam Up that a friend has on Memorial Day weekend again this year. It was a fun time as always and I got to see some neat Live Steam engines. I ran a couple of mine as well and this was my C-21 2-8-0 running in the evening on the ground loop that he has. The conditions were really good that day and the locomotive was putting out a quite nice plume of steam as it ran along the line.
I was out by Milford Lake the other day and was a passenger in the car so I was able to take this image as we were crossing the dam. We have actually been having a good amount of rain lately. The clouds over the lake and the sun in the one area was interesting to me and, hopefully, to you as well. 😂
It's Friday, TGIF! My Common Milkweed is blooming and I was able to capture a Monarch butterfly that was enjoying it. That made me quite happy to see it benefited even just one so far. I am hoping it laid eggs and I will get to see caterpillars soon. I chose this photo for today due to the bits of nice bubbly bokeh in the background because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
Last week I was able to capture my first frog at the Gazebo Pond. This guy was quite unlike the usual frogs there who I usually only hear giving a squeak before they jump in the water. I was skimming some debris in the water and even hit into the Lily pad it was sitting on before I saw it and it never moved. That was quite amazing. It was fairly small so maybe the older ones had not yet warned it to be afraid of me? I only want to take their photo so there is no reason. 🤣
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the blog! One of my favorite flowers is blooming right now, Queen Anne's Lace. I had transplanted some to one of my gardens a couple years ago and these do not have the tell tale red spot on them able to be seen well. This does seem to be fairly normal as even on the Kansas Wildflower's Page there are photos where it is not prominent. They are in the Carrot family and usually bloom June through September so mine are quite early this year. They are a biennial plant and spread by seed. I find them very photogenic.
It's a double digit day today! 😁 This Spring I had a couple opportunities to take better Heron photos. I was able to get fairly close before they decided to fly off. This one was in a pond in the housing area not far from where I live and I was able to capture it while out on a bike ride one day.
Happy Monday and happy new week! It is also Memorial Day today in the US. I decided to share this photo of my Poppy which is appropriate to the day. The red poppy became a symbol of remembrance during WWI for military personnel who died in service. Vibrant Poppies bloomed across the devastated battlefields of Flanders, Belgium where many soldiers were buried. Thanks to all soldiers for their service.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! A few weeks ago I traveled to the newly revamped and refreshed Kansas Museum of History in Topeka Kansas. The museum contains the oldest surviving steam locomotive from the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad, Number 132. It is a 2-8-0, Consolidation type locomotive that was built in 1880. It was used for service on the steep grades of Raton Pass in New Mexico. It was donated to the museum in 1983 and the current museum was built around it. It was restored to it's original appearance when donated to the museum as well. It's a gorgeous locomotive.
It's not Wednesday but wanted to share this image. 😉😊 I have an area in the backyard where i have some Ox-eye Daisies that have kind of taken over. I enjoy it in the Spring as it is like a small field of them and quite lovely. I have tried to transplant some but I never seem to have much success. They like this spot by my small pond and a raised garden bed. I made the beginning comment because Ox-eyes are technically a wildflower. The image is a bit different in size because it is a phone photo and I changed the format it takes photos in to a more cinematic style.
It's Friday, TGIF! The Iris were not as abundant this year due to a very late very cold snap. It hurt a lot of Spring flowers in the area. This is one of my lovely ones from beside the Gazebo pond. This photo is actually from last year, none of them in this area bloomed. Hopefully they can come back and bloom next year. This image has my favorite bubbly bokeh so sharing for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
Today's image is a fun one I was able to capture on the evening of the storms that rolled through the area, Monday. I was biking by this pasture and saw these birds that looked like Egrets and the cattle were unusually close up against the fence, I guess because of the weather. I did not have my actual camera with me at the time and my phone ones did not come out great so when I got home I drove back and the birds were still there. This is my first time of capturing Cattle Egrets! They apparently feed off the bugs that get stirred up by the cattle. This one looked like he was trying to kiss the cow but I missed getting a shot when he was even closer to it's face. 😄
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! The Russian Olive trees have been blooming like crazy this year. They smell quite nice when you ride or walk by them. They usually bloom in May and June. It spreads by root suckers and can be invasive. Birds eat the fruits it produces. They are drought hardy.
This is an image I took quite a while ago now but never shared, I have a bird photo stockpile. LOL This is a Blue-jay I was able to capture while it was sitting in the Walnut tree.
Happy Monday and happy new week! The Lilacs are, unfortunately, finished blooming for the year. They did not do as well as past years, only produced a few blooms. I think it was due to the late extreme cold that we had. I was able to get a few images and this is one. I wish the flowers lasted longer as well as they smell so lovely.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image goes back to August at Rollag Minnesota. I was attending the safety meeting for working on the full size locomotives and they were both parked outside the Roundhouse at the time. This image shows off former Soo Line Switcher 353 with the Porter off to the left. There is even a diesel locomotive in the photo as well. 😏😂 It is used to move cars around and also if one of the locomotives has an issue.
Thursday night we had a very small storm cell moving into the area. As usual, we did not get much rain out of it but it did produce a quite lovely sunset sky.
It's Friday, TGIF! I have had a Phoebe couple build a nest and raise their young over the bathroom window next to my office window at home. Once in a while I have seen one or the other go sit in the Walnut tree not far away. I captured this image one day while it was nicely lit by some morning light. I also really liked the bubbly bokeh behind so sharing today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
I captured my first frog of the year and it is even a Leopard Frog. They are my favorites to see and are fairly elusive at times but this one was quite cooperative. I captured it in the small backyard pond while I was taking some Lily photos.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is from one of our trees, a Black Locust. I love these flowers, they remind me of Wisteria. It normally blooms in May and June but I took this image in the last week of April. Even though it is a tree, it is part of the Legume family. It's leaflets fold closed at night and it is drought hardy.
