Monthly Archives: July 2016

At Sunset

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As the sun set last evening I stood on the front deck with camera in hand.  It was one of those “perfect” moments.  The sun was going down in a glorious way.  The air was pleasantly refreshing with just the slightest hint of a breeze.  Then I heard a cardinal calling.  I looked back over my right shoulder and saw him sitting high on my tower.

I looked back toward the west and then I heard a second cardinal calling–this time from my left.  This one was farther away.  I was enjoying the enchantment of the unfolding scene.

Then I spotted a fawn running on the hay field just beyond our lawn.  Soon I saw the doe, but only one fawn.  Where was the sibling?  As I watched mom grazing and the young one playing, it became obvious this was not the doe with the twin fawns.

A few minutes later, mom and the twins came out as they frequently do around sunset.  That was the first time I’ve seen the two does and three fawns together.  It gives me pleasure to watch those fawns play just for the pure joy and exultation of running, turning and leaping.  (Wouldn’t it be nice to do that again?)

I found myself wishing that our granddaughter was there to share in the moment.  I came back in the house, took my camera to the office and sat down at the computer.  There was an e-mail from Briana.  That made my day complete.

Garden Fresh

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Sylvia harvested beets.  I found them on the kitchen table.

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That is a quarter in the bottom center.  Like most of this year’s garden plants, we are seeing the best harvest ever.

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That big?  Really?  No, not really.  It’s called parallax.  That beet was three and a half inches diameter.  I say “was” because now it has been eaten.  Yes, it was yummy with a touch of butter, salt & pepper. #ReadyForMore

Jalapeño poppers for lunch today.  I’m ready. :food:

Nomination

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I was looking through my photo archive this morning when I found a picture of our now departed kitty, Midnight.  He looks so comfortable.

Then I realized it’s more that comfort.  His philosophy seemed to be why expend energy when you don’t have to do that.

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That’s why I should have nominated Midnight to be the official mascot of the energy conservation movement.  What do you think of that?

Visitors

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It was Monday late afternoon.  I stepped out of the house and onto the end deck on my to the garden.  That’s when the aerobatic show caught my eyes.  They were swallows, but not the barn swallows that come out and “dance” with me when I mow the lawn.  (The barn swallows love to go after the insects that the tractor stirs up when I mow.  I enjoy watching their moves to gather in their treats on wings.)

These birds fly in a different pattern.  They look different in color and body shape.  Yet they are obviously swallows.

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It’s a tree swallow.  There were a few dozen of them and they loved to light on my antenna at 75 feet in the air.

By sunset, they were gone.  I haven’t seen them since Monday.  I will, however, keep watch for these delightful little creatures.  They put on a good show

As Day Ends

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The sun had just dipped below the horizon.

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I looked out one of the new windows in the dining area.  There in the twilight were the doe and her twin fawns.  The fawns have grown a lot in the last several months.  I went to the office and returned with camera in hand.  Mom and the fawns had separated enough that I couldn’t get all three in a single, useful image.  You know who I chose.

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I’ve zoomed in a lot.  I’m hand holding the camera.  It takes four or five images and combines them to make it seem like full daylight.  (I did not manipulate these pix.)  It’s the multiple images that’s creating the blur.  I tried again.

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Better results even though the subjects didn’t cooperate by standing still. 😀  These two have been so playful.  It has been a lot of fun to watch them run and jump and enjoy our lawn.

Harvest

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I’ve recently had some troubles posting to this blog.  The problems seem to be solved, so here goes.

My most recent post (a week ago) featured a photo of Sylvia in the garden.  She was harvesting zucchini.  A couple of days later, I harvested six zucchinis and two jalapeños.  Two days after that, Sylvia brought these in.

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We’ve been wanting some poppers, so a trip to the store for bacon was next.  We enjoyed immensely our first jalapeño poppers of the year.

A couple of days passed and Sylvia went out to the garden to “check on things.”  She was gone a long time.  When she did come back in, she brought these with her.

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She also had a plastic shopping bag half full of green beans, some broccoli, an onion, some beets, and a cabbage as big as your head.  That first coleslaw of the season was super good.

We had to prune the butternut squash vines before they took over the entire garden.  Could it be the 15 loads of manure that we put on the garden last fall?

As I look out the window I see day lilies in blossom.  Beside them, the large hosta is also in blossom and an American gold finch visits to check out the blooms.  An earlier visitor was a humming bird–always fun to watch.

 

Out in the Garden

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It was on June 27, that I last posted a pic of our veggie garden.  You should see it today.  Thanks to Sylvia’s efforts, it is flourishing.

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That is a zucchini in Sylvia’s right hand and those are the zucchini plants behind her.  We will have an abundance of these beautiful summer squashes,

Looks like were in for our best year of onions, beets and butternut squash (these three not visible in this pic).  Also the jalapeños are loaded and some are ready to harvest.

Excitement

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I was mowing the lawn when I noticed several vultures circling over the neighbor’s field.  It is not unusual to see a vulture or two–a pair nests in a hollow oak tree a short way from here.  This time, I easily counted a dozen and more were on the ground.  I parked the tractor and went into the office and opened a window.  With camera in hand, I tried to capture the action.  (Note to self: Next time try video.  Stills don’t capture the dynamics of this action.)

The vultures were doing horizontal circles above the field.  A couple of American kestrels would swoop down vertically and pull out of their dive just above the ground.  It was great to see.

I did capture one usable image of turkey vultures on the ground.

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I think the spread wings are to promote cooling.  At one time, four of them were in this same pose.

Speculation leans toward an unsuccessful raider of the neighbor’s hen house.  I’m sure he’d see that as a fitting end to the failed attempt.

Independence Day

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On this day we celebrate our founding fathers’ Declaration of Independence in 1776.  That document did not secure liberty.  That had to be bought in blood through “liberating strife.”  My fifth great grandfather (5 greats), John Hutchinson paid part of that price at Valley Forge as he served under General Washington.

Perhaps that’s why I like this version of America the Beautiful

Enjoy the day and think about what it means.