Lovin' Bloom

Yes, the title is intentionally grammatically incorrect.  It's also a bit of a pun.  In my little world (which you are now visiting), a pun trumps grammatical incorrectness.  Usually we hear the phrase "Love in bloom."  Well, I'm loving the blooms in my backyard (and what that brings along with it), so if I figure my love is in bloom for the blooms . . . and lovin' bloom is much more poetical than bloomin' love!

Yes, you will be subjected to some photos from the good ol' SW Ohio backyard.  Actually, I poached a couple of shots into a neighbor's yard.  They have enough bird feeders that I would bet they go through 40 lbs. of bird feed at least every other day.  They also have squirrel feeders, and are the same neighbors that feed the feral cats (and for you newer readers, they also trap new feral cats, have them neutered/spayed, and checked by the vet before releasing them).

It's been a muggy day, raining off and on, or threatening to at times.  It's been cooler than normal, which is a welcome relief, and the rain is desperately needed.  I figured my best opportunity to photograph much of anything in any form of comfort would be to hit the back yard again.  I wasn't disappointed.

I didn't realize how hardy verbena was or I might have planted some before this year!  I love the color, and it's handling the dry summer very well.  If only it were a perennial.

I don't have a clue what this is, but it has popped up next to the clothesline post with the trumpet vine vining around it.  Since I've had several suet feeders hanging nearby, I'm assuming it's a volunteer plant from one of the seeds from one of the suets.  Heaven only knows which one!

I'm more in love with the mandevilla than I am the verbena.  Part of that might be that it's a perennial, but it's also offset by the fact that it probably won't make it through the winter unless I dig it up and bring it inside in a pot.

I love the look of this piece of clematis that had died.  It has an ethereal quality to it.

I am anxiously awaiting the blooming of this daisy plant.  It's growing like crazy, but I haven't seen the first bloom on it yet this summer.  I don't remember if it's a late summer bloomer, but I'm hoping that's the reason for no blooms as of yet!

This is the pic where I "poached" my neighbor's yard.  Can you blame me?  How gorgeous are these birds??

I know this has to be a weed, but I found it absolutely fascinating!  Once again, it was a situation where I didn't see half of the detail when I took the shot, and was thrilled to see it "up close" on the computer.

And I waited outside again for one of the hummingbirds.  I guess if I want to catch a photo of the mature male hummingbird, I'll need to be out there around 11:00 a.m.  That seems to be when he likes to show up.  And I know it's a male because of the bright red gorget . . . it's a good thing that I've been inside when I've seen him because I have a tendency to gasp at how brilliant his colors are!

This is what the sky has looked like an awful lot today.  Either this, or bright sun.

I'm assuming this is one of the goldfinches preening, but it just looked so odd from where I was standing that I had to get a shot.

I think the hummingbirds are getting used to hearing the shutter on the camera - they don't fly off when they hear it, but they do stop feeding and sometimes hover instead of perching.  I'll just have to make sure I'm out at their feeding times to get them adjusted to hearing it.

I'm enjoying the challenge (and discipline required) of getting shots of the hummingbirds.  I haven't had to wait very long for one to show up (I try to be outside at least 10 minutes before the time they showed up yesterday, if that makes sense!) but I really have to remember to use the bug repellent!  I'm also going to have to get the camp chair out of the trunk of the car because it would be nicer to be at least a little more comfortable while waiting for them to arrive.

It's more than a bit ironic that I'll wait an hour or so to try to take a picture of a hummingbird, but can't stand it when I'm stuck behind someone driving under the speed limit, or someone who doesn't have their act together in the checkout lane at the store.  Hmmm . . .

And since you've made it this far, I'll give you another chance to enter the raffle for my 100th post.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

It's Here! It's Here!

What an odd day.  Got to watch one of my favorite mini-series from the BBC again (well, most of it . . . at least the parts that are swoon worthy), get some snoozin' and snugglin' in with the beasties,  AND get some um, unusual pics.  Most importantly though, this is my "official" 100th blog post.  In honor of that milestone, I'd like to have a raffle for my wonderful readers!


The raffle is a Rafflecopter giveaway and there are just a few things you'll need to do to earn your entries.  Yes, you can get more than one entry per person.  The raffle will be open until Saturday night, and I will announce the winner on Sunday.  You can leave a couple of comments on today's blog (What kind of photo should I feature on my 200th post? and/or Of the blog posts you've read, which is your favorite?) and become a follower of my blog (there are TWO entries for that option!).
a Rafflecopter giveaway

Yes, I know some of you are anxious to know what I'm raffling off . . . and one of the things near and dear to my heart would be Duck Tape duct tape!  The winner will receive not one, but TWO rolls of patterned Duck Tape, pictured below.

Now for some fun and unusual pics from a fun and unusual day!

It's such hard work to get in a good nap when Mom's always taking pictures of Bandit.  Pinkerton at least usually hides when he's napping.

Tried to get a pic of the verbena the other night, but it just didn't work out.  Tonight it did!

I'm having a hard time finding the right angle to show what I've been trying to create with the trumpet vine behind the bench . . .  If you can see the blue rope, that's what needs to be replaced with a trellis.

Butterfly bushes, above and below; the other one I have hasn't started blooming yet!

I found a very large pot of mother hen and chicks one day at Meijer's.  There are a bunch of them in the pot, and they are loving this hot weather we've been having!  I'm glad THEY are.

This looks VERY different from the sunflower pics I posted previously!  This is the stage it's now in, and I'm hoping to beat the squirrels to some of the seeds.

I caught one of the hummingbirds tonight (on camera)!  I think this is an immature male, but I KNOW I saw a mature male at the feeder earlier.  I'm pretty sure these are different birds from last year because they're very shy around me.  They were pretty good tonight (this one), but the female flew off right away; last year it was the female that stuck around.

Nice shot of the hummingbird feeder!  The little green blob was NOT cooperating while near the feeders.  He was gone in a flash . . .

That's it for the 100th post!  Hope you leave a comment or two and become a follower for your chances to win some of my favorite Duck Tape!!  There are a LOT of uses for it (some fun, and there is always the possibility for nefarious use).

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!