It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is Blue Sage also known as Pitcher Sage. It is in the Mint family and usually blooms July through October. Livestock will eat it and it is very nutritious for them. I find it rather photogenic too.
While out for a walk in the early evening one day I was able to get this image. There was a Red Shoulder Hawk sitting on a power line and it stayed as I walked past so the setting sun would light it better. It lost it's tolerance for me and flew off the wire but I was able to capture it as it did.
Happy Monday and happy new week! I am starting off the week with an image of one of my water lilies. I like the reflection of it in the water.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is a bit different, it's not a train. 😄 A few weeks ago,the steam roller that we own was a participant in "The Bigger Dig" which was a huge construction equipment show in Kansas just south of Concordia. It is held every 5 years and our roller was making it's second appearance there but the first since we owned it. The roller was built by the Iroquois Company somewhere between 1910 and 1915 and used by the Barber Asphalt Co to roll roads back in the day. Barber developed asphalt and bought the Iroquois Co. It is pictured here alongside the steam traction engines that were there for various displays like plowing. We fire it on wood.
It's a double digit day! 😁 This past week I went to the World War 1 Museum in Kansas City and also to Union Station which can be seen in this photo promoting the Chiefs. I found it a bit surprising that they were promoting them as the Chiefs are moving to Kansas and this is Missouri. It's all weird an I really don't care. 😆 Anyway, I took this image from on top of the museum which has a concrete courtyard and a great view. There is a tower you can go up in for a higher view but I didn't find it necessary. The Western Auto sign seen on the right, was recently restored to full operating condition and financed by the homeowners in the building it sits atop. Very cool to keep the iconic sign going even though the company does not exist any longer.
It's Friday, TGIF! For the last few weeks I have had the most Hummingbirds around my feeder at one time that I have ever had. I had to put out a second feeder for them. They have been quite fun to watch and I have been able to get some nice photos of them as well. This is one of 4 of them visiting the feeder at the same time. It has some fabulous bubble bokeh so sharing it for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
While out for a walk close to a pond one day, the same one I captured the Heron at, I tried to capture Dragonflies in flight. I thought that this picture turned out pretty well.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one that is hard to get, a Venice Mallow. It only blooms for a short time in the morning and I forget to look. This example is not even fully open. It usually is found blooming July through September. It is also known as "Flower of an Hour" due to it's brief bloom time.
I was on a walk recently near a pond where I have been lucky to see a Heron every now and then and have been able to get fairly decent photos too which is rather rare. It had flown from the opposite end but I was able to catch here before it flew off.
Happy Monday and happy new week! Today's image is of the other Clematis that I was gifted by some friends. It's rather unique looking I think and I look forward to spring and seeing more blooms on it.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! This is one f the full size locomotives that I get to fire on at the Western Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. It is an ex Soo Line Switch engine and is over 100 years old and still running. It's great fun and challenging to fire on and I enjoy my 2 hour shifts per day for 4 days of getting to do it. In this photo it is just pulling into the station to off and on load passengers and change out shifts.
While in Minnesota recently, there were some interesting skies due to storms around the area. One evening I was out on my bike to possibly get a nice sunset photo and was rewarded with this exceptionally vibrant sky with neat cloud formations.
It's Friday, TGIF! Today's image is of one of my Morning Glory flowers. It's a lovely purple and the light was hitting it in a way to make it look like it was lit up inside. I also love the bits of bubbly bokeh behind which is perfect for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
It was hot and dry for a while and I was watering my flowers and discovered this. This is a female Praying Mantis that was on the leaves of one of my Coneflower plants. Females have the larger abdomen than males which tend to be rather skinny. They also are of a paler color usually.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is Western Ironweed which normally blooms July through September. It is part of the Asteraceae - Sunflower family. It is one of the most common pasture weeds in Kansas but is very bitter so cows will not eat it though sheep will.
I was in Minnesota recently and while driving I saw quite a number of Swans. I was able to capture these 2 on the way back from dinner one evening.
Happy Monday and happy new week! I was given a couple of Clematis by some friends earlier this year. They have been establishing themselves and must be doing okay as they bloomed recently. I always thought they only bloomed in the spring. Anyway, I really love the colors on this one and thought I would share it for today as a lovely start to the week.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's photo is from my trip last week in Minnesota to work the Western Minnesota Steam Thresher's Reunion. I work a 3 hour shift in the afternoon with this locomotive, a 14 inch scale Wagner. It's a fun locomotive to operate. I took this photo in the morning on a cloudy day of it in front of the newly completed, expanded roundhouse.
While I was in Minnesota, I was working the Minnesota Steam Threshers Reunion. During some times of the show, some storms were in the area but missed the showgrounds for the most part. This was good as some areas received quite a bit of rain, like 7 inches in one spot. Crazy. It did make for some very interesting cloud formations.
It's Friday, TGIF! I just returned from a trip to Minnesota. It was much cooler there than at home. I also saw the usual Hollyhocks in bloom. I like this pink one and the bokeh was very nice which works for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!
I was out watering my flowers recently and found this little guy in one of my planters. This is a Copes Grey Tree Frog. I find them rather cute.
It's a double digit day today! 😁 It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog. Today's flower is one that has been blooming quite a lot in my area, Snow On the Mountain. This plant is in the Spurge family and is related to the Poinsettia which I think it looks a lot like. It usually blooms June through October though in my area it is rarely seen before mid August. When a lot of it is in bloom, it can look like snow covering the area. I find it very photogenic as well.
Today's image is an older one I was able to get of a red Tail Hawk. This image really shows off how to identify them. They are easiest to identify when in flight because you can see the distinctive bars on the wings.
It's Monday, happy new week! Starting off this week with another variety of Zinnia. Another reason to grow them other than them being so easy to grow, there are so many different types, you can never be bored. 😀 I like this type as it reminds me of Spoon Flowers which are African Daisies and I can't seem to find any longer at the plant centers.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is a very steamy one. This is one of the 12 inch scale Ottaway locomotives that I work with during a blow down. This lets the water and steam out of the boiler and, hopefully, any solids that might be in it as well like scale. It also cools the boiler down fairly quickly so you generally want to wait until most of the pressure is gone so that there isn't too rapid a temperature change which is not great for the locomotive. I learned recently that it takes at least a week for the Big Boy to cool down enough to blow it out. WOW These only take about an hour or so.
I had to make an unscheduled trip to Minnesota recently. I saw numerous Sunflower fields in the area but most of them were all sad and done. I got lucky and found one field still in bloom. Some of the flower heads were the largest I had ever seen, like dinner plates. I was capturing this near sunset but it was rather cloudy at the time as well.
It's Friday, TGIF! There have been some Dragonflies and Damselflies at my Gazebo pond lately. I was able to capture this Damsel with some lovely bokeh provided by water drops on leaves behind. Sharing for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
I was going out for a bike ride the other evening and only had my phone with me. I was able to capture this Ladybug on the Milkweed fairly well even so. Sometimes my phone impresses me. 😂
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is Prairie Coneflowers. They usually bloom May through August. Great Plains Indians brewed tea from the leaves. They are drought hardy and livestock consume the plants when young.
I have at least 3 Hummingbirds visiting my feeder and probably more. They had been very active due to how hot it had been the other week, at or very near 100s. They also have been visiting the flowers on my deck. I captured this one through the window enjoying the annual Salvia that I had read they liked but up until then had never seen them try to drink from. The butterflies are faded stickers on the window to keep birds from flying into it.
Happy Monday and happy new week! Today's image is of one of my Zinnias. Instead of a peppermint candy look, this one is a yellow variety which I find quite nice as well. Almost looks like paint has been splattered on it.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image is of locomotive 463 heading back into Antonito Colorado on August 1 after it's double header with 168 for the Centennial Limited event. It was about an hour or more late getting back and found out later from someone riding that they had lost and had to recover pressure at one point. There was a storm in the vicinity so it made for a rather dramatic image i thought.
We have been getting rain somewhat regularly this summer. I have been riding my bike later in the day as well so I was able to capture this storm moving in around sunset recently.
It's Friday, TGIF! I usually post my Sea Oats Grass in autumn with the brown color but I was at the pond the other day and saw that it was looking lovely while still green as well. It had some wonderful bubble bokeh behind so sharing for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
The Common Milkweed in my yard has been done blooming for a good while now. It is still serving it's purpose though as I have been seeing Monarch caterpillars on them recently. This one was the largest one I have ever seen so nice and healthy. Shortly after I took this image it disappeared. I hope it has made a cocoon somewhere and will be a monarch soon.
It's a double digit day! 😁 It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog. Today's flower is one that I don't see blooming very often, Wild Lettuce. It usually blooms July through September. It is in the Sunflower family. The leaves were picked and eaten as greens, the stems are milky though. When grazed, it can cause the milk to have an off flavor.
While I have been out on bike rides lately I have seen a couple of neat birds. One is a lifer that I have yet to capture, Quail. The other is this, a Nighthawk. These I usually only saw out on Konza Prairie but they seem to frequent a farm filed I ride by fairly often. I got this capture a couple of weeks ago. They are fairly distinctive because of the white marks on their wings and also the noise they make while diving after prey.
Happy Monday and happy new week! My Stella D'oro Lilies have been in bloom recently. I captured one of them up close. These are perennial flowers that are very reliable bloomers with very little care.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! Today's image goes back to the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 coming through my town on a rainy day this past July. We are lucky that it is a point it comes through on a lot of trips back home to Cheyenne Wyoming. It usually stops as well for a quick maintenance check. I took this image as it was just entering the small rail yard in my town.
A bit different image today. This is a view of the field in Minnesota with the Sandhill Cranes. Even this doesn't really do it justice as this is only about 1/3 to 1/4th of the flock that was there. It was so cool to be able to see and photograph them.
It's Friday, TGIF! Today's image is one I was able to get recently of a Hummingbird visiting something other than the feeder. It was feeding on my Calibrachoa flowers. I liked the nice soft bokeh behind so sharing today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
I have not been seeing many butterflies this summer. I would see one once in a while flying through the yard but not stopping. This Giant Swallowtail finally was one that stayed around a bit and chose to feed from the Zinnias as opposed to the other flowers I have growing. I have always said, if you want a very cheap, that you can grow from seed easily, flower for butterflies, Zinnias are it. There is also a Silver Potted Skipper enjoying them as well.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog once again. The year is already more than half over, time flies when you are having fun. Today's flower is the Fringe-leaf Ruellia also known as a Prairie Petunia. It usually blooms June through September, I found this one in early July. It's another where the flower opens at night and usually only lasts a day. It is very drought hardy.
I had to make a trip to Minnesota this past weekend for a family issue and on the trip up I was treated to an experience that was a "lifer" for me. I got to see and capture a very large flock of Sandhill Cranes! They were in a harvested wheat field and some were even dancing and doing their odd call. This is a link to their call at All About Birds: Sandhill Crane Listen This image is just a very small portion of the flock.
Happy Monday and happy new week! Decided to start the week off with something that makes me happy and hope it makes you happy as well. This is a yellow Sunflower I have growing in one of my gardens that was blooming last week.
It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog! The Cumbres & Toltec Railway was running a Centennial Limited special to celebrate Colorado's 150th birthday and the nation's 250th. They ran a special double header train on August 1. I was out there to capture it. This image was taken in the railroad town of Sublette, New Mexico where trains stop to take on water when they are heading out of Antonito ( they sop here on the way from Chama too but don't take on water as it is heading downhill all the way and they have enough. Locomotives 168 and 463 were being watered up to head to Osier Station for lunch and 168 would head back on it's own as they do not double head down grade due to uneven wear because of the weight of the train on the fairly steep grades.
We have been incredibly hot this past week, at or near 100 F and humid too. UGH Remembering back a couple of weekends to my trip to Colorado in the lovely cooler dry air. I was treated to a lovely sunset on the second evening as well.
Happy Friday, TGIF! Today's image is a close up image of one of my orange Cosmos flowers. They have a different shape to them than the pink and white ones but they are all Cosmos. This image has some very nice bokeh in it which also makes me happy and is great for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!
I was out taking photos pf flowers last week and found this Ladybug on a wildflower in one of the gardens. I always love finding them because they are great for keeping aphids off the plants. Plus, they are cute.
It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog! Today's flower is one of my favorites, Butterfly Milkweed. It blooms June through August but is mostly done already in my area. It can be found in varying colors of orange, from very light to an almost red. It is in the Dogbane family and is very attractive to butterflies, hence the name.
