Monthly Archives: August 2018

Recent Visitors on Our Lawn and Passersby

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The last couple of weeks, I’ve been seeing four of these fellows on our lawn.  They particularly like to congregate beneath the mulberry tree.

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For a while, I thought they might be immature turkey vultures.  I have yet to spot one, even though they nest nearby.  But much observation and the above photo show that they are American crows.

While the American crow enjoys his freedom, children in the area are not.  The new school year started today.  In my days as a scholar that didn’t happen until after Labor Day.  Today, the students end their school year earlier.

That came back to me when I saw a bus whizzing by yesterday.  Strange that it was neither early morning nor in the mid to late afternoon.

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Sylvia informed me that it was a new driver who was driving the route under supervision of an experienced driver.  That makes sense.

Do keep an eye out for the school bus and obey the safety rules for the children’s sake.

In Front of Our House

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This morning I took camera in hand to get a picture of the Suzies that grow on the front side of our house.  They are always very charming.

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This one was entertaining a visitor.

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These two shots I added to the two images I capture Sunday evening.  I went out Sunday to capture a photo of my favorite day lily before it was too late.  (It [they] grow[s] on the front side of the house.)

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You can see why I particularly enjoy this beauty.  After capturing that image I turned 180 degrees to see the sun low in the western sky.

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We had received a quarter inch of rain to supplement the 1.5 inches we’d received a couple of days earlier, so the sky was cloudy.  The peeking sun did put some drama in the scene.

In the Garden

I haven’t done a good job of reporting on out garden, so this morning I captured this image.

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On the left, fence-climbing peas.  Behind them are onions that heavy rains have bent down.  We’ve harvested about half of them already.  Potatoes and tomatoes are behind the onions.  Rhubarb grows along the far fence.  It doesn’t look big, because we keep it well harvested.  The taller green plants are zucchini, which are as prolific as you would expect.  Beyond them is New Zealand spinach–a favorite of ours because it doesn’t bolt in warm weather and gives us great greens from spring until first frost.  Beets grow along the fence beyond the blue spinner.  They are quite tasty this year.  We are fed up.

It’s all about timing

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Perhaps I’ve learned my lesson.  I hope that is true.  It wasn’t easy.

Sylvia’s friend, Shirley, gave here some hollyhock seed.  She had white holly hocks, but these were different.  The new ones came into blossom this year.  I saw them and went out, camera in hand, to capture the beauty.

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I was so glad that I didn’t wait . . . like I did for the beautiful red rose.  The weather had been hot and I had terrible pain in my feet so I waited.  Obviously too long.

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The day before it had been beautiful.  Yes, I was sad, but willing to own my own neglect.

For years, turkey vultures have nested in an old hollow oak tree.  I could never remember to take my camera when I’d go that way.  Last winter a storm split two main portions of the upper tree.  I was putting the pro in procrastination.  (apologies, Scott)

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The turkey vultures nested there again this year, but it is not the same.  At least it’s not the same to me.  Can’t say what the vultures think about it.

There is another beautiful oak tree that stands in the middle of a field.  I love seeing that tree every time we drive past it.  I think, “Next time I must bring my camera.”  I hope to remember one of these days.  Perhaps I will.