04/22/26

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog.  It's a special one today as it is also Earth Day today!  My flower for today is a great one as it is fairly easy to grow.  This is Rigid Goldenrod which blooms August through October.  It is very drought hardy because it has deep roots.  Goldenrod gets a bad rap in general as people associate it with allergies but it is Ragweed that is causing it.  As you can see Goldenrod is a magnate for Monarchs, it's one of the last flowers blooming at this time of the year and provides them some sustenance on their way south.  I will also make my usual pitch for Zinnias, they are very easy to grow in the ground and pots, are quite cheap and butterflies LOVE them as well.  Think about flowers to plant to help nature as you are planning your garden this year.

10/10/25

 It's Friday, TGIF!  It's also a double digit day!  😁 Today's image is another of the Monarchs I was able to see enjoying the Goldenrod on my land.  Due to the subdued bubbly bokeh I had to share for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!  

10/01/25

 It's Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog!  It's also the first day of October already and an interesting digit day as the first 2 numbers are palindromic.  I missed pointing these out in May, my bad.  😞 Anyway, the wildflower today is Stiff Goldenrod also known as Rigid Goldenrod.  This variety blooms August through October.  It can grow to 5 feet tall, mine is about 3 to 4.  It can be identified by it's rounded flower clusters or inflorescences.  This Goldenrod is VERY popular with Monarch butterflies that are passing through in late September.  I have a video of some enjoying it HERE.

09/22/25

  Happy Monday and happy new week! It's the September Equinox where we have almost equal day and night  hours and we transition into Autumn.  Every September Equinox, for the last few years I have been able to see a Monarch on the Goldenrod and this one was no different.  It was actually on the 21st which Was the start.  The actual Equinox is today at 1:20pm CST.  I captured this at 4:47.  Anyway, I was excited to see several Monarchs in my yard yesterday, one of which was laying eggs on one of the Milkweeds!  Cool!

02/29/24

 Happy Leap Year Day!  It's a special extra day that should have a special photo it seems.  So, I decided to share a Monarch image since it's always a joy to see them due to them being endangered.  I had several opportunities this past year and I was even able to capture some with my phone camera which was the case with this one.  This past September there was a Monarch visiting the Goldenrod near one of the garages.  It was cooperative as I was able to catch a few images of it.  I hope to see them around again this year soon.

10/16/23

 Happy Monday and new week!  I thought I would start off the week with a butterfly.  This is another image of a Monarch enjoying the Goldenrod in my yard this autumn.  I think that most of the butterflies have left for warmer areas but it was nice to see so many Monarchs this year.

10/6/23

 Happy Friday, TGIF!  To tell you how this week has been, I almost forgot to post this, so TGIF indeed.  Today's image is another of the Monarchs that were visiting the Goldenrod in my yard.   There were 5 of them around and I was able to capture 3 at one time.  The lovely bubbly bokeh in the background made this photo perfect for today because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!  Not sure how many flowers or butterflies will still be around after tonight as it is supposed to get near freezing.  Not ready for that.

9/29/23

 It's Friday, TGIF, the last one of September!  Around the Equinox every year I seem to have a common sight which I enjoy.  Monarchs, as they pass through my area, come and feed on the Goldenrod I have growing in a few spots.  I captured this one with a Bumblebee coming in for a taste as well.  I chose this image for the lovely subtle bokeh for today as Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

2/1/23

 Happy first day of February!  Spring should be on the way in not too long a time in my area.  It's also Wildflower Wednesday here on the Blog.  Today's image is a bit different.  I took tis photo very recently.  This is Canada Goldenrod in winter after the flowers have dried.  The stalks stay green for quite a while into winter.  It normally blooms July through September.  It is falsely accused of causing Hay Fever.  It's pollen is spread by insects and not the wind.

11/10/22

  I have not posted a bee image for a while.  They are all probably hibernating these days since the cold has arrived.  I look forward to seeing them out and about in the spring again.  I captured this Bumble on the Goldenrod back in September.

10/8/21

 It's Friday!  TGIF!  I finally had some Monarchs visiting my Goldenrod flowers in the yard.  I wasn't able to capture them together but I did get several captures of them by themselves.  This is one that I was surprised to see had a nice in focus bee in flight as well!  I also chose it for the lovely bokeh it had because Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

3/10/21

 It's Wildflower Wednesday on the Blog!  Today's image is one I took last September when the Goldenrod was blooming.  I believe this variety is Canada Goldenrod.  Butterflies love it.

10/3/20

 The Goldenrod is in bloom and the Monarchs are traveling through right now.  They have been enjoying some of the flowers that are still blooming in the yard like the Butterfly Bush but they always seem to enjoy the Goldenrod as well.  This image shows the blooms of a Goldenrod up close as well, they look like little bursts of yellow.

3/20/20

Today's image is a lovely Monarch that came to visit my yard last autumn and enjoyed the blooming Goldenrod flowers.  Sharing this image with some great bokeh in it because Fridays Are Bokehlicious even in these crazy times.

3/6/20

Jumping back to summer with an image I hope to see a lot more of this year.  We had butterflies but they weren't very abundant.  I was very happy to see the ones I did.  I had some Monarchs in late September visit to feast from the Goldenrod in the yard.  I plan to plant more Zinnias this year, I didn't have as many as I usually do last year and they are a good source of food for Monarchs and other butterflies late in the year and they are inexpensive.  I am also sharing this image because I love the creamy bokeh behind and Friday's Are Bokehlicious!

1/9/20

I am starting off the year with my favorite things to photograph.  I love when I get a chance to see and capture butterflies.  Monarch are a special treat since I usually don't get a lot of them through my yard.  In September there were a couple of days where there were about 4 of them around at least.  I captured this one enjoying some Goldenrod and was surprised to see that there was a bonus in the image as well.  A wasp was coming in to enjoy the blooms as well.

10/11/19

Fridays Are Bokehlicious and for butterflies.  I had not seen many butterflies around late this past summer.  Just before I left for Pennsylvania the Monarchs were beginning to show up around the yard.  I was able to capture this pair on the Autumnal Equinox as they were feeding on some Goldenrod blooms.  I loved the creamy bokeh for the background that made them standout nicely.

12/27/17

Yikes it's cold out.  A high of only 16 F today or -9 C.  I need something warm today so here is an image from summer with a nice summer feel to it.  This is Stiff Goldenrod, a lovely wildflower here in our area of Kansas.  It provides a lot of golden color in late summer and is not the culprit of most allergies.  😀

10/11/17

It got pretty cold here last night but I don't think enough to kill anything but tender plants, we shall see.  Since late summer and now into early autumn, the Goldenrod has been in bloom.  There are several different varieties in Kansas and this one is Prairie Goldenrod.  I find it interesting how the colors change in the wildflowers as the year progresses, autumn ones are mostly yellows and purples. 
Due to that I was able to update those 2 pages of my Blog of the Wildflowers in Kansas.  They can be a help to identify what you are seeing so hope you will check them out.  They are linked at the top of the page on computer and on a phone on Android off the home button at the top, sorry couldn't check IOS.

10/15/16

Posting this late.  This is a panorama of 2 shots that I took out on Konza Prairie a couple weekends ago.  It shows the Goldenrod in bloom and it was a good year for it.  Goldenrod is thought to make people sneeze but it is usually the ragweed that grows along with it that actually causes the problems.  This image is best viewed large of course by clicking on it.