Sunflower Study

It's been a beautiful day in southwestern Ohio!  Dreary as all get out, but not insanely hot, no major storms, and not all that humid.  I'll take it especially since I got to turn the AC off and open the windows.  Nice fresh air.  Ahhhhh.

I have to admit that I was more than a little surprised to go out back today and see how nicely my volunteer sunflower was doing.  I thought for sure the birds and the squirrels would have decimated it by now (as they have in the past for any that got close to flowering).  I am very pleased and thankful they have decided to leave it alone.

Considering the weather and lack of sun, this rather tall but unplanned beauty made the back yard much cheerier.

I quickly found myself captivated by the symmetry and geometricity (I'm pretty sure that's a made up word, but ya know what I mean by it!) of the flower, not to mention the contrasting and complementing colors.

As I moved slightly to study the change in light and perspective, at times I felt as if I were looking at an optical illusion.

A quarter of an inch move brought different sections of the plant into the focal point.

Each section is utterly awesome and amazing on its own; different from the other parts, but so necessary for the bloom to exist.

The more I looked and the closer I zoomed, the more I felt as I was being drawn into a vortex of amazement.

So many views.  So many different focal points.  But all combine for a beautiful flower.

I think I'm going to go back and slowly go through them again.  And try not to smile.  What about you?

Cloudy Vision

The experts say the first step in overcoming a problem is admitting it.  I feel it's time I admit that I am completely obsessed with clouds.  

We've been having another hot and humid weather system, and I've not been up to battling the heat or headaches to get out and take pictures.  I hate that.  But, as I drove hither and yon, here to there and back again, I noticed that for the last week or so, we've had a LOT more clouds than normal, and they've been awfully pretty.

I had planned to go out a little earlier to visit Mom today since I knew it was going to be another scorcher, so on the off chance the weather wasn't too oppressive when I left her place, I put the camera in the trunk and off I drove.

I probably shouldn't admit this, but I missed my turn to the street Mom lives on because I was checking out the clouds and didn't realize I was there already.  I may need an intervention.

All of the photos above were taken from the very posh and elegant location known to the locals as the Friendship Village parking lot.  The remaining photos were all taken from the very posh and elegant location known to the locals as the Huber Heights Target parking lot.  Maybe I need a parking lot intervention, too . . .

One of my "issues" in taking pictures of the clouds is that I usually see shots I want while I'm driving.  Part of that is because there are fewer wires ruining the view, but also because there's a larger panorama to view.  Stopping in a parking lot sometimes allows for the larger view point as well as the lack of phone/cable/electrical wires.  In my case, the locations were also relatively close to the highway, and more likely to afford the views I'd been watching while driving.

I don't know if any of the Target shoppers noticed me in the back corner of the parking lot, but I hope not.  I'm sure if they did they thought I was bonkers - what the heck could I be taking pictures of?  There's nothing interesting out there; it's a parking lot, for Pete's sake!  I prefer to believe they were so focused on getting out of the heat (either into the store or getting the car started so the A/C would work) that they never knew I was there.

But what's so spectacular about the clouds that I'm constantly checking them out?  Part of it is the contrast between the white of the clouds and the blue of the sky; other times it's the contrast of light and shadow on the same cloud.

Sometimes it's a dark cloud next to a cloud so brightly white it seems to glow that captivates me.  Other times, it's a whole palette of subtle shades and colors blending and merging together as the cloud dances past.

Sometimes it looks like an artist has been trying to carve the clouds, but finds them difficult to work with and puts it aside for the time being.

Sometimes I just look up in awe at the expanse of the sky and the ethereal beauty before me, completely at a loss for words.

Re-blooming (Honest!!)

FINALLY.  I am submitting my photographic proof that my re-blooming lilac truly is re-blooming!  You can see there are buds past their prime, a few in their prime, and several waiting to bloom.  Hopefully in a few more years, more than one branch will re-bloom at any given time . . .  it's still a   young'un . . . only planted about 3 years ago.

I've been thinking about perennials lately, and have come to a couple of conclusions about myself.  It's already well established that I'm lazy efficient, but there are plenty of other reasons that I enjoy perennials much more than annuals.

I swear this picture should have been part of my Crafty Nature post - all I see when I look at this is a cartoon drawing of a purple female camel w/ thick eyelashes!  See it??

Sorry, that was a complete non-sequitur, but I had to include it!

Why do I like perennials so much better than annuals (aside from the obvious efficiency perspective)?  I like watching them grow year after year, not just for a short season.  They're almost family after a while, with some sentimental attachment to them.  We're in it for the long haul together.

They are survivors.  They do not easily fall victim to the weather, and while at times beat down by  sun, wind, rain, frost and/or ice, they often come back of their own accord when things return to "normal."  Other times they may need some TLC and extra efforts, but they live and thrive.

If planted appropriately, they require little maintenance.  Planting flowers that need huge amounts of sun where you only have shade doesn't work, and to have even minimal success turns those plants high maintenance.  I'm not a fan of high maintenance under any circumstance (and you can leave the drama out, too!).  Nice, dependable plants that do their job in the ecosystem.

The potential for them to live on long after I'm gone exists.  They do not count on me to provide their nourishment; they seek it out for themselves as nature provides.  When the time is right, they no longer grow or bloom for a while, but reduce their needs to the minimum of existence.  They rest and prepare.

Sometimes the startling truth is they are just as beautiful, or more beautiful, when the bloom is gone.  That flash of color was pretty and beautiful, but look what's left behind that lasts even longer!  Open your eyes to different.

And while this sunflower is NOT a perennial, it's growing because the seed fell from the bird feeder.  I did not plant it; I have not watered it.  And yet it grows.  I doubt the squirrels will allow it to get much further along in blooming, but I have to respect it's tenacity and durability.

There are so many lessons we can learn from watching nature.  I've decided to be a perennial sunflower, figuratively speaking, of course.  I am a survivor (but can always be more tenacious), relatively low maintenance, and I try to continue to learn and grow in experience and knowledge.

I also know that when the body is no longer able to function, I will bloom in a new garden with annuals and perennials of every type, and each of us will be perfectly happy in the presence of the Son.

Flutterin' By

I'm guessing you won't be able to figure out where I was today . . . 

Not even with these wonderful clues . . .

I finally made it out to Cox Arboretum's Butterfly House!!  It was a nice day (a bit on the hot side, but nothing like last week) and I figured it would be the last chance to check it out before Mom got back from her trip (picked her up at 5:30 this evening).

SO glad I went.  I did see a lot of Monarch Butterflies, and some of the smaller moths, but there was at least one beautiful surprise AND several caterpillars!

Loved the flowers, even though I didn't really pay attention to most of the names of them . . .

One of the caterpillars!

I really wish this had been completely in focus, but I still love it!

I spotted this Black Swallowtail clinging to the screen relatively high up (almost got a crick in the neck watching him).

Fortunately, he decided to move to the vegetation closer to eye level for me!  (Is it just me, or does this seem to be an almost Batman pose?)

Beautiful, beautiful colors!

I loved how close I was able to zoom in on this shot.  LOVE the vein-like quality of the wings.  I can almost feel the texture of the wings just looking at the picture.

This little guy was hidden away, but the workers were kind enough to point him out to everyone.  He was right by the exit door, so he was the image that remained in my head, mostly because of the green/blue combination, and how he was hanging upside down.

I do want to go back in about a week and see if there are different butterflies, more butterflies, etc. The Butterfly House is only through August 26th, so I'd really like to make it back every week to see the changes.  We'll see how well I manage that.

Red Hot

I swore to myself that I was not stepping foot outside today.  With temps hitting 102, and still at 99 at 8 p.m., I knew I'd melt as soon as I opened the door.  Unfortunately, the trash and recycling cans do not return themselves to the back patio after being emptied, and the plants were getting pretty darn thirsty.

Being so good at procrastinating (and practicing it ALL day long), I managed to wait until 8:30 to get out of the pajamas and into real clothes so I could go outside to retrieve those darn cans and water the plants.  Fortunately in that extra half hour, the temps dropped another 10 degrees, so I'm not nearly as sweaty as I was Thursday evening!

I had absolutely no intention of taking any pictures, but then I saw the mandevilla blooming nicely and remembered I hadn't gotten a good shot of the re-blooming lilac in re-bloom mode.  So, whether my intentions were solely artistic or not, I forced myself back into the nicely air conditioned house to retrieve the camera.  Forcing myself back outside again took every effort known to man.

But, I'm pretty happy with the pics I got . . . no drama, no extremes, just a couple of nice flower shots, and a bit of speculation at the end.

This is my first try with begonias, and they're in a pot near the hummingbird feeders, which is why they have water on them.  Seems the feeder was right over the A/C unit and was dripping sugar water all over the A/C unit, which in turn attracted ants.  Of course I had to hose down the unit, which ended up spraying water everywhere!

First time trying to grow verbena, too.  It's in the same pot w/ the begonia.  The dahlia in that pot isn't blooming right now, or there'd be a pic of it, too!

One of the Crimson Mandevilla blooms.  There are a lot of buds just waiting to open up.  I think I'm liking this plant, although I wish I'd read a little more about it before I put it in the ground.  Apparently SW Ohio winters are too harsh and it needs to be brought indoors, even if it is a perennial.  Hmmm . . . will think about it when the time comes, I guess.

The overly abundant trumpet vine.  It too, likes the heat and is growing like crazy.  I'll have to get out in the next couple of days and do some more pruning . . .

I like Queen Anne's lace.  Ever since the days of putting them in a vase w/ food coloring added to the water . . .

More trumpet vines; these by the back fence where I'm TRYING to get them to grow over the top of the clothes line.  It's an on-going process, so IF it ever gets to a point that I'm happy with, I'll take a pic.

And now for the speculation . . . this is one of the blue jays, and he's looking a bit worse for the wear.  I'm thinking he probably had a tussle with one of the local feral cats (one of the neighbors feeds them, but she and her daughter also trap them and have them spayed and neutered so I'm not complaining too much).  I'm hoping he makes it.

And what I just noticed?  The pictures I posted tonight are all red, white, and blue (jay).  I tried again to get a good pic of the re-blooming lilac, but I am having a heck of a time with it.  I don't know if I need to try earlier in the day when I'm not tired, or what, but it's NOT getting the better of me!