Saturday, August 1, 2009

Dog Days & The Cosmos

Cosmo

Its been incredibly uneventful…..(peaceful, actually)…..here on the farm today……so much so that I took to photographing the “unwild” annual flowers that are currently a-blooming. Wildflowers are my first love, you know.

This flower is a Cosmos, of course. It must have sprang from the packet of mixed flower seeds I haphazardly tossed into a random corner of the garden last spring. As a kid, I absolutely loved Cosmos……probably due to unconsciously wishing to be like them……graceful blooms atop a tall, slender stem, plus having a really cool name.

In this next photo, the Cosmos’ center didn’t turn out as clearly as I would have liked, but its getting posted regardless.

Cosmo closeup *

Speaking of The Cosmos……we are now in the Dog Days of summer. Do you think those two subjects are connected? They are, though I wasn’t aware of it until just a few years ago. I grew up thinking the name “Dog Days” came from the fact that this was the sweltering time of summer when all we humans felt capable of doing was loafing around in the shade…..like dogs do.

The truth is that the term “Dog Days” has connections to the very ancient past, and to Sirius, the “Dog Star”! Read more about it here and here. Seriously fascinating stuff! (I seem to have lost track of the former font.)

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As mentioned above, things are relatively quiet around the farm right now. With no hay or straw needing baled, Husband felt free to fly the coop for the day, so he headed to Wisconsin to visit his brother and attend an antique tractor show. I think its official name is The 38th Annual Western Wisconsin Agricultural Museum Reunion, with this year’s feature being Allis-Chalmers tractors and farm equipment.

My son and I are holding down the fort here at home, doing the necessary livestock chores throughout the day. It may be the Dog Days season, but today’s weather has been cool and comfortable. Actually, until noon it was too chilly to sit on the porch without long sleeves and pants. My coffee mug and I usually park ourselves out there after morning chores, to take care of any needed bookwork or bill-paying, enjoying the background serenade of sighing pine trees, whispering maple and ash trees, and chirping, twittering birds. That’s the brand of Twitter for me!

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Best wishes for a very pleasant weekend!
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11 comments:

Gail said...

Beautiful flower and I learned something too. Can't beat that!

Flea said...

Hasn't the weather been glorious? Chris and I went to breakfast this morning and sat outside, feeling chilly the entire time. It's wonderful.

I love your cosmos.

Jeannelle said...

Hi, Gail and Flea,

Wow....you two are very quick on the comment draw! Thanks for stopping by! Yes, the weather is heavenly!

Evansmom said...

Stunning. Thanks for sharing.

Nancy said...

I'm glad things are a little quieter on the farm these days. It's nice that your hubby got a little time away, I'm sure that doesn't happen too often. It has sure been nice weather here too. I'm not complaining about the cool days that's for sure. More great flower pics!

Anonymous said...

Hello -

I learned a lot too. I had no idea the dog days of summer started with something other than (sorry) lazy dogs laying about. Seriously! That was funny of me to not think beyond the box. :)

And the cosmos photos are great. I never knew what the flower was. I have always loved their color.

I'll throw something different out here, speaking of colors, and there are not a lot of them in this area, but I love to see how the wildflowers (or weeds?) bloom throughout the season. They will bloom blue for a few weeks, white the next, yellow for a while. Good to see these things.

I had a relaxing day yesterday too. I needed it. I shut it all down for the most part. Glad you enjoyed a peaceful feeling as well.

rhymeswithplague said...

Maybe it's the way I was raised, but I never sit on the front porch without pants....

Deb said...

I love when you do something haphazardly and the results are so unexpected.

Ruth Hull Chatlien said...

That cosmo is such a lovely, delicate color.

Country Girl said...

I hear you on the Twitter thing. I just cannot bring myself to begin all that. And I think it's fun when you forget the font. Keeps things interesting.
I spent most of the morning in my pajamas because well, I don't have chores like you do. I'm sorry.
I hope you can spend some time in pajamas, too. It's fun.

Midlife Roadtripper said...

Beautiful color on the cosmos. And I like the cloud from the skywatch also. Billowing thunderhead.