07/31/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  Dragonflies provide good opportunities for nice images and great bokeh as well.  The latter part is important because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

 

07/30/26

 Today's image is one more decent image I was able to get at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan Kansas.  This Leopard was up and walking around it's enclosure even though it was fairly hot out that evening.  I was able to get this image when it looked my way.  fortunately, I was behind, or, actually, it was behind glass.  😅 This leopard is an Amur Leopard and their natural habitat are forests of far east Russia and northeast China.  They are critically endangered.

 

07/29/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is one that is blooming in my area right now, Western Ironweed.  It usually blooms July though September and is in the Sunflower family.  It is one of the most common pasture weeds in Kansas but is very bitter so cattle will not eat it though sheep will.  It can grow up to 5 feet tall.

 

07/28/26

 I like being able to see these guys.  I usually can find them in the cooler months hanging out on the gravel road that I bike ride on fairly consistently.  On this particular day, I found and captured one on a road by the high school.  This is a Horned Lark and you can see the feathers that give it that name.

 

07/27/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  Starting off the week with an image of a couple of bright orange Marigolds.  I have never been thrilled with the smell of Marigolds but I like the look of the flower and the details it has up close.  Apparently other things in nature aren't fond of the smell either as it is a good companion plant to deter pests.

 

07/26/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog on a double digit day!  😁  The Union Pacific Big Boy locomotive 4014, has been on a trip across the country to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the United States.  It is on it's way back home to Cheyenne Wyoming after having completed it's east coast run.  I was able to capture this image of it as it was passing through Grantville Kansas on it's way to Topeka for a scheduled stop.  I had to take this image in the rain.  It's an incredible sight to see though, such a huge locomotive, a 4-8-8-4 wheel arrangement, basically 2 engines put together under one boiler and articulated in the middle to help get around curves.

 

07/25/26

 In early June we were having pretty significant storms about once a week.  This is the sky between a couple where we had about 5 inches of rain total.  It was a crazy evening but made for a beautiful sky.

 

07/24/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  I haven't been seeing many butterflies, as I have mentioned, but lately the Skippers are showing up a bit.  I captured this one on a Teasel bloom not long ago.  Love the bubbly bokeh in it so sharing for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

 

07/23/26

 The other day, after washing my truck, I came out to move it and was treated to this sight.  A Polyphemus Moth was clinging to the back tailgate.  I ran back in the house to get my camera and it was still there when I came back out.  I watched it for a bit as it would very slowly slide down the clean tailgate towards the bumper.  😃  It eventually moved here on the bumper and then I coaxed it off as I didn't want it to either get hurt while i moved it or trapped in the garage.  It was quite cool and at least 5 inches across.

 

07/22/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is Carolina Horse Nettle.  It is in the Nightshade family so it is related to tomatoes.  It usually blooms May through September.  It produces small yellow fruits that resemble tomatoes but are poisonous.  Even though they are poisonous to humans and livestock, several types of birds like wild Turkeys, Pheasants and Quail will consume them.

 

07/21/26

 Today's bird is one that I captured back in late May and never posted.  From what I can tell, it is an Osprey.  They are not usually in mt area so guessing it was just passing through. The plumage is of a juvenile supposedly.  Feel free to correct me if I am wrong.  

 

07/20/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  I love Echinaceas or as they are also known, Cone Flowers.  I love looking at their centers up close as they have quite the neat pattern.  Reminds me of that old drawing tool, a Spirograph.

 

07/19/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  I had to share this image because it has been months to get it done.  I finally got my ground garden layout weeded enough that I could run a train on  it.  I have been trying since April and some parts were weeded at least 3 times before I finally got it all done.  This is my Accucraft Santa Fe locomotive and it's train making some rounds on it.

 

07/18/26

 Last weekend I went to see a Cattle Drive in my town with a friend.  They did take to the sale barn from surrounding ranches but they were not Longhorns like these.  There were 18 Longhorn Cattle up from a ranch in Oklahoma.  They were herding them down the street from the Sale Barn to the downtown market area.  In the rear, in red, are the General's Mounted Color Guard from Ft. Riley.  It was great to see them as, for a while, they were going to be decommissioned.  It was fun to see something a bit different and it was all an effort to bring people into the downtown area which it seemed to as there was quite the crowd. 

 

07/17/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  Today's image is one that I just got from my pond this past week.  This Dragonfly was nice enough to sit a bit for a photo in a spot with some great bokeh.  Sharing this image for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

 

07/16/26

 Today's image is another from the Sunset Zoo that I thought turned out fairly well.  I had to shoot through a fence but it got blurred out fairly well and I liked the expression I captured of this Lemur.

 

07/15/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is Showy Evening Primrose which blooms in May and June.  I found these growing fairly close to my house in a pretty large group which was lovely to see.  They usually open in the evenings and then close during the heat of the day and can also open on cloudy days.  They are usually all white in color and are also known as White Evening Primrose but can get pink as the blooms age.  Hummingbirds, Hawk Moths and bees like them.

 

07/14/26

 I was able to get this photo of a Dickcissel on a bike ride a few weeks ago and then totally forgot about it till I was getting ready to back up my photo folders.  It was stretching while singing.  

 

07/13/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  I am growing a couple varieties of Ice Plant.  They are succulent perennials that like heat and drought.  They have not had much drought until recently as we have been getting a lot of rain but they should be perking up now as the heat has finally come on with less rain.  This is the pink variety, I have an orange one as well.

 

 

07/12/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image goes back to Minnesota in June.  This was taken while I was getting it ready to head out onto the track for the day.  Behind it is the scratch built caboose.  The kids really love riding in it.  The extended Roundhouse is very nice as well.

 

7/11/26

 The Black-eyed Susans have had, what I would call, a super bloom this year.  There are quite a bit of them everywhere brightening up the landscape.  I took this panorama out by the Milford Lake spillway about a week ago or so.

 

7/10/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  The Sunset Zoo had some nice gardens in it as well.  One had Tiger Lilies which I have always liked a lot, I should grow them.  Anyway, this image of one of the blooms had some really nice bokeh in it so sharing for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!

 

07/09/26

 Today's image is a bit different.  I was at an event at the Sunset Zoo in Manhattan Kansas on a fairly hot evening.  The zoo's mission is to inspire conservation.  For being a small zoo, the animals seem to have fairly large areas to be in which I thought was good.  I was able to get this image of a Tiger lounging in the grass, a lot of the animals were inside in the a/c.  

 

 

07/08/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  Today's flower is one I grow for the Bees and is called Beebalm or Wild Bergamot.  It is in the mint family and usually blooms June through August.  They are usually long blooming plants and are fragrant and attractive to bees.  They are also drought tolerant which has not been an issue for us this year, so far anyway.

 

07/07/26

 When I was in Minnesota a few weeks ago, I was lucky to have some opportunities for some bird images.  I even got to see and photograph a Bald Eagle fairly close.

 

07/06/26

 Happy Monday and happy new week!  My Balloon Flower has been blooming.  It's in a shady spot over by the Gazebo pond and it has been windy so challenging to get a decent photo of.  I liked this one though.

 

07/05/26

 It's Steamy Sunday here on the Blog!  Today's image is from Rollag Minnesota where I was about 3 weekends ago.  This image is from last year and shows the 2 locomotives that I am privileged to work on.  353, a former Soo Line Switcher and the Porter Tank engine behind.   I didn't work with these locomotives on this last trip but hopefully will be able to in September.

07/04/26

 Happy 4th of July to those in the USA!  It's our 250th and there are celebrations going on across the country.  We went to a local neighbors show last night.  He was trying to beat an oncoming storm so was setting off lots of fireworks almost constantly.  It's always a great show but was really impressive.  Unfortunately, the wind came up pretty bad right at the end and caused a grass fire that I am sure created some excitement and anxiety for a bit.  It was a fun time though overall.  This image is from the beginning of the show before it got totally dark.  I did some drone footage as well that I need to work on and share.

07/03/26

 It's Friday, TGIF!  This flower has been blooming recently and has been looking pretty lovely.  This is butterfly Milkweed which usually attracts butterflies but, unfortunately, butterflies are few and far between this year.  I saw Monarchs early in the year and a few others but have not seen much of any since.  Makes me sad.  Anyway, this is a wildflower but sharing for today because of the wonderful bokeh, especially on the left hand side because Friday's Are Bokehlicious here on the Blog!

07/02/26

 I was bike riding by the spillway at Milford Lake this past weekend.  I went lizard hunting to see if these little guys were out and they were!  I believe this is a Six-lined Racerunner.  It wasn't as brightly colored as I have seen before, supposedly as they become warm, their color brightens.

07/01/26

 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.