November colors

Just about all the leaves have fallen, except some of the red japanese maples, in our yards. When the sun shines through the maple leaves, they are an unbelievably bright red. I had a hard time capturing that glow. Some of these pictures were enhanced with 'watercolor pencil' effect to bring out the details, but the colors are pretty true. Be sure to click on them for full size images.

 

Bee-n it's November....

 

Well, I'll BEE darned, more bee pictures!

I guess they are the most interesting things in the garden at this time.  I like the artistic effect of the one above. I do have a good time, playing with Photoscape. Great photo editor, and it's free.

After three frosty nights, we are having some nice warm days this week. Flower bed clean-up time. The marigolds are pretty nipped, I  took out the worst of them, the cosmos, and the tomatoes. Begonias and geraniums took a hit, too.  The hollyhock is pretty droopy, I'll see if it recovers.

The poor old bumble bee was not moving much. The honey bees were working on the allysum and marigolds.

Lots of different birds at the feeder these days, and the squirrels are very entertaining, as they stash away the acorns.

November Four

 

 Cold weekend ahead, with our first frost tonight or tomorrow night, so I gathered the last of the tomatoes, and picked some flowers.

I found a carpenter bee on the marigold, still stiff and cold with a dewdrop on his wings.

 Alyssum and marigolds are still making a very nice showing, and I'll hate to see them 'bite the dust'. Also my geraniums and begonias. I dug up some of the begonias to take indoors, but just don't have room for any more. :( 

The hollyhock is hanging in there, and I will have more of them next year.

I enhanced a couple of these pictures: the marigold above, and bird feeder, seen from the kitchen window. (watercolor pencil effect). And a cosmos at the top enhanced: 'cartoon'.  All of these were edited with Photoscape.

The Thanksgiving greeting-- that was also taken through the kitchen window, not well focused, so I enhanced it slightly with a 'watercolor effect'.

Azaleas in Autumn?

 Our azalea always has a few blooms in the fall, as well as the usual spring showing. Seems odd to see spring blossoms and fall colors at the same time.

My potted tomatoes grew lots of vine, clear up to the eves, and produced just a few tomatoes.  The plants were tagged as yellow tomatoes, but turned out to be red ones. Ah, well, they were tasty and made some really nice plants by the back porch.

Midweek nature study

 

I haven't identified this the insect. Does anyone know his name?   He was a big one! I found him crawling around slowly in my lantana.  . With the cooler fall weather, even the carpenter bees are moving slowly, so this one didn't seem to mind at all if I got in real close for a portrait.  Love those hairy legs!      The hollyhock has just begun to bloom. Grown from seed planted this spring.  The sassafras trees between our houses are at their peak color, fairly glowing in reds and orange shades. Fall colors are coming on everywhere, now.

Update on the "big bug":  He's a WHEEL BUG. 

 I found him on www.whatsthatbug.com    and also on wikipedia:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheel_bug

October 5 In my Yard

     Autumn crocus, cosmos, and  a single  geranium.

End of September

Take time for a nap, and to smell the flowers!

 

Found this butterfly on the ground near my front door. It must have just emerged, because the wings were still limp. Given a twig to climb up on, it did so, and I put it in the lilac bush, where it hung on and hung it's wings to 'dry'. By evening it was about ready to fly. We did a little research and found it's a black swallowtail, female.  I posted pictures of the caterpillar, below, on 8/29. Her wingspan is about four and a half inches.

So here we are, at the end of August!

A butterfly before wings.  Bunny in begonias.  An interesting little 'fly?' on the alyssum. Spearmint blooms, 'enhanced'. 

Bees and Butterflies, many kinds of butterflies in the yard this week.

If Trees Could Talk....

If Only

If trees could talk, their stories tell

Of seasons, decades, witnessed well:

Of love and joy, of grief and strife;

Of birth and growth, of death and life;

Of hopes and dreams: what might have been;

Of those who built, and built again;

Of those who passed, and what befell...

Ah, to hear what trees could tell.

...by Vada Dolph....

This magnificent ancient tree was already providing shade for all who passed by, when the first white settlers arrived in Kentucky, and established a fort in 1774, now known as Harrodsburg.  The restored site of Fort Harrod is a state park, a living history museum.