This photo---taken yesterday---of Swamp Milkweed contains a surprise bonus........a UFB! Yup, that's right.....an Unidentified Flying Bug, aiming straight for the unsuspecting rose-pink blossoms.
Things are busy on the farm right now and you may ask why I have time for the frivolousness of photographing wildflowers. Good question. The answer is that I habitually tote my camera along while walking to the mailbox each morning, and can I help it if photo opportunities show up along the way?
My son was cutting a new field of hay:
Husband was raking hay in a field which had been cut last week:
This alfalfa was cut last Wednesday, and then received a drenching by heavy rains the next day, which certainly did nothing to improve the quality of the hay to be baled. I think most of the dust is from white mold which formed under the winrows in the days following the rain.
In the scene above the rake is bringing two winrows of hay together to make one larger row (like the larger winrows which are visible in the left portion of the photo).
It was late morning when this raking was going on. After lunch, Husband took the baler to the field and began making the big round bales.
This final photo shows the baler opening up to allow a fully-formed bale to roll out:
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As I stated above, things are pretty busy right now around here, making me feel like I'm in a log jam. Its midsummer, with weather is very warm and humid, prompting the lawn to grow steadily like a creeping green monster. Weeds have erupted everywhere......what opportunists they are! I don't like to use sprays, so the weeds either get pulled or cut or allowed to live out a happy, natural lifespan.
On the calf-feeding front, I've been inundated by newborns, and now have 21 calves on bottles. Back in the good old days of about a month ago, there were only 5 calves to feed. That spoils a person really fast! More calves means more carrying of pails of milk bottles, pails of grain, pails of water, and more spreading of straw for bedding. My upper back is reminding me of that tonight with a painful tightening of muscles between my shoulder blades. Dang.....I don't really want to go back to the massage therapist, but may have to.
I'm also aware of what a poor blogging friend I am right now and sincerely apologize. The log jam will pass eventually, once we get the hay made and once the lawn and weeds stop growing at such a virulent rate. That will depend on the weather, of course, and right now it shows little sign of veering from the humid, rainy path its been on. Other places are in the grips of worse weather patterns, though, so I really shouldn't complain. I'm looking forward to weaning some of those bottle calves in a couple weeks, too.
Have a pleasant day!
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P.S. - Almost forgot to mention.....my daughter did call yesterday. She excitedly told me about her weekend in Paris! The Eiffel Tower.....Notre Dame Cathedral.....Arc de Triomphe..... The Louvre.....oh, my!
She and her companions stood on the top level of The Eiffel Tower at midnight, watching the the amazing light show. They stood on top of the Arc de Triomphe. They toured the crypt below Notre Dame.....it contains ruins of Roman structures which existed in that location before the cathedral was built. They gazed upon Da Vinci's Mona Lisa at the Louvre, and in the same room was a large painting called The Wedding Feast at Cana. Other Louvre highlights she mentioned include The Seated Scribe and Napoleon's Apartments.
Daughter exclaimed over the phone, "Oh, Mom......you just have to go to Paris someday!" But, you know what......I have no burning desire to go to Paris, or Rome, or......anywhere, really. Do you?? I blew it.....should have traveled to exciting places back when I was young and unencumbered, like my daughter is. If there ever was such a time......
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16 comments:
Thank you for sharing your photos with us. You are a talented photographer.
A great, interesting post from a very busy, talented, articulate person!
Here's a poem (not original with me) from one very tired grandpa:
"I've seen the lights of Paris,
I've seen the lights of Rome,
But the sweetest lights I ever did see
Were the lights of the grandkids going back home."
Lovin' the bug... looks sort of like a goofy shaped helicopter... *giggles*
Di
The Blue Ridge Gal
Oh, is your daughter in Paris for Bastille Day? That would be something!
Re: the UFB, looks like a variety of wasp to me, which means I, personally would be running a mile!
Kat
We all hit log jams now and then. I seem to hit them more and more!
You have been a busy lady, and not too busy to catch a UFB!!!! Wowsers!! LOL. :)
Yes! I would love to go to Paris! I was sort of hoping that my son would take the job he was offered. I even got my passport (finally, after all these years). So I settle for New York. But Paris!!! Yes!!!!
Ah, yes. I would love to be footloose and fancy-free and travel all over. But that will likely never happen, unless a pile of money drops out of the sky on top of me. LOL
I enlarged your UFB photos -- it does look a bit waspy to me too.
Thanks for identifying my little butterfly - I put an update on that post linking back to you. :)
Re: the busy life thingamajigger right now. Same here. I feel bad that I haven't had time in over a week to visit everyone. I started a new full-time job last Weds, and well, let's just say that learning it all is giving me a giant headache each day. :)
Speaking of Paris, I watched the fireworks at the Eiffel Tower this evening on the internet. They were spectacular. I suppose it was part of their celebration of Bastille Day. I enjoyed it more than if I would have been there among the many thousand that were there. I have no desire to go there, I'm to old and settled into my own little corner of the world. I prefer to go to these faraway places on the internet, TV, DVD's or Blogs.
Great pictures again today and I thought maybe the insect may be that little insect that resembles a hummingbird and likes blossoms just like the hummingbird. One evening a few years ago before we enclosed the porch I had planters of flowers setting out on the porch and this funny little bug came buzzing around, at first I thought it was a baby hummingbird, I was telling someone about it and they told me about the bug or moth or insect that resembles a hummingbird. So the next evening when it showed up I watched it delighted that it came back. But never saw it after that.
The insect also reminds me of a yellow jacket bee.
Nice catch on the UFB. My vote is for a paper wasp or hover wasp. Probably don't have to tell you about stings, but their engineering talent is also amazing. Liked the photos of the haying. Too bad the rain has played havoc with that cutting. Do any of the farmers in your area use a swather? My dad use a mower and a rake similar to yours.
BT: So enjoy your comments on my blog. You get my twisted jokes and even laugh at them. Best wishes with those calves. Been there too.
Great pictures. How do you get all those babies fed?
Hi, evansmom,
Thank you for visit and for your kind words! Capturing the bug in the photo was a complete surprise!
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Hi, rhymsie,
Well, I appreciate your kind words, too. And, the cute poem which has the ring of truth....I can tell that already even though I don't have grandkids yet!
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Hi, Blue Ridge Gal,
Yes, I thought, too, that it resembled a little copter or bugcraft of some sort!
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Hi, Poetikat,
No, she's back in Germany today. That is interesting, though, that Bastille Day is today. She did tell me she saw the place where Marie Antoinette and her husband lost their heads.
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Hi, Mary,
I'll bet you even get into "soap jams" now and then!
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Hi, Country Girl,
I sincerely hope you do get to use your passport someday to go to Paris! And, we would love to see your photos from there, of course!
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Hi, Oz Girl,
Wow....you sound like one busy woman! A new full-time job....best wishes with that!
It could be that the bug is a wasp. I honestly did not see it when I snapped the photo.
Thanks for linking to my blog!
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Hi, Gramma Ann,
Hey, that's neat you saw the Bastille Day fireworks! And, that's a cute hummingbird/bug story you have there. I think maybe I've seen those big moths on occasion, too, but not for several years.
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Hi, Leenie,
Hey, you're up on wasp info....good for you! It might be a wasp, but it really was a very small bug....smaller than a normal-sized wasp.
I'm not sure what a swather is, or at least how it differs from our haybine which cuts the hay and forms it into a winrow....or, swath, it could be called, perhaps.
I love your sense of humor, Leenie, and you do a great job of weaving it into your blogposts!
Hi, Gail,
Sorry, I skipped you! Oh, the calves aren't hard to feed, but it gets time-consuming when there are so many of them. But, what else is my time for, right??!!
"Weeds have erupted everywhere......what opportunists they are!"
"should have traveled to exciting places back when I was young and unencumbered, like my daughter is. If there ever was such a time......"
Ooh, love the weed line. And the second, write about that one.
Best of luck with this busy time and, as usual, your photos rock. Might sound stupid, but I've always wondered how those balers work.
Hi, Midlife Jobhunter,
Hey, its not stupid to wonder how something works. Its a good trait to have.
My "unemcumbered" line probably sounds more intriguing that is actually is. You know how it is....as an eldest child I grew up taking care of and feeling responsible for younger siblings....and then got married young and had four kids. Its all been wonderful, but encumbering, that's all.
Thanks always for your thoughtful comments.
Such a busy time on the farm! Feeding those calves keeps ya hoppin!! Enjoy your pictures so much!
I'm sorry you're feeling inundated. My back tightened up just reading your post.
As for Paris, we went there nine years ago, and I can't wait till we go back. I love that city.
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