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.
