Untouched & Untouchable

They aren't stained-glass windows.......but, what they be are three photos taken out in God's creation recently, and I really like them just as they are in their untouched state. For that reason, they have earned a spot in today's post.

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Milkweed pod:

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Turk's Cap Lily pods:

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Woolly bear caterpillar: (Supposedly, the severity of the upcoming winter can be predicted by the width of the caterpillar's stripe. Is this true......does anyone know?)


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Today, November 9, is St. Benignus (or Benen) Day. He is an Irish saint known as "St. Patrick's Psalmsinger" or chanter. Here's info from Wikipedia about him. And, here's more
info from an Irish Catholic Celt site.

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A legend says that St. Patrick, Benignus, and several companions were once miraculously changed into deer to avoid being captured by soldiers of the Irish high king, Laoghaire. Below is the prayer---composed by St. Patrick---which led to his entourage appearing as eight deer and a fawn (the fawn being the boy, Benignus) to King Laoghaire's soldiers. St. Patrick, Benignus, and company, were----UNTOUCHABLE!!

I arise today through God’s strength to pilot me,

God’s might to uphold me,

God’s wisdom to guide me,

God’s eye to look before me,

God’s ear to hear me,

God’s word to speak for me,

God’s hand to guard me,

God’s way to lie before me,

God’s shield to protect me,

God’s host to secure me -

against the snares of devils,

against temptation of vices,

against inclinations of nature,

against everyone who shall wish me ill,

afar and near,

alone and in a crowd.

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Perhaps the group did not turn into deer, but God made them appear as deer in the eyes of the enemies. Interesting. I had never heard of this story before today. Do I believe that such a miracle could take place? Yes, absolutely! With that in mind.......MY DEARS........may I say, "Have a very pleasant Sunday! May trouble be unable to find you!"

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Bloomin' Mums & More

Oh, I know its Friday, the day for SkyWatch........but, floral is my mood instead.

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The other morning I stepped outdoors to be greeted cheerily by this early-morning-sunlit begonia, in its old teakettle abode.

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Around the corner from the door is a rock garden.......a good place to display "pretty" rocks we find here on the farm. The mums are blooming nicely next to this smooth hunk of chert I picked up out in the field a few years ago.

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An especially colorful mum with a daisy-like demeanor:

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And, last but not least........the volunteer pumpkin growing amongst the rocks and flowers. Its a little bit bashful----can you tell?!

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Have a bloomin' wonderful Friday!!

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Traveling to the Cake

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My niece turned twelve today, and we were kindly invited to her house for Dairy Queen cake........Oreo Blizzard flavor! I went alone, as my snoring Husband and son could not be roused from their recliners after Sunday dinner.

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But, its good sometimes to travel solo, for then I can stop on a whim to take pictures! Click the photo above to see the rubicund-leafed plant growing out of the crack in the boulder. (Rubicund was the Dictionary.com Word of the Day for today.) Here's more rubicund foliage!
Its only about five miles to my sister's house.........with the choice of taking the highway, or quiet gravel roads.

You can most likely guess which route I chose!


Always......always.......STOP to enjoy the view along your way!!

And, STOP for cake, too, when you have the chance!!

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Solomon's Seal & Friends

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Due to the title of this post, did you hope to find a biblical prophecy theme here today? Solomon was into proverbial wisdom and love songs more than prophecy. The END TIMES may or may not be upon us, but I will continue to take pictures of God's creations.........plants and flowers and whatever else looks interesting! If the Rapture roundup angels come to this area, they may have to look in the road ditch to find me.

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Well, the fruits in this photo below resemble blueberries or small grapes.........but, they're not, of course. They are Solomon's Seal berries and I've no idea whether or not they're edible and am not brave enough to bite into one to find out! My wildflower book states: The roots were used as medicine and food by Native Americans and pioneers, and were ground into flour or eaten boiled.

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Here's a website devoted entirely to Solomon's Seal........this quote can be found there: Common experience teacheth, that in the world there is not to be found another herbe comparable to it. ---- from Gerrard's Herbal, 1597. (I'm not necessarily promoting their product, but it is interesting to read about.)

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Here's something I know is edible........and usable for many, many purposes, from cooking oil to motor oil.........soybeans! The golden leaves of a week ago have turned brown and shriveled, revealing pods clinging up and down the bean plant stalks. Harvest-time for this field looms in the near future.

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This branch-full of wild plums hides out in a road ditch a couple miles away from here.

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And, here's another view of the wild grapevine down by Crane Creek. I adjusted the color a bit so if you click the photo to enlarge it you should be able to see the clumps of tiny grapes draped like strands of jewels around the tree branches!

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Have a wonderful day! Find some autumn beauty in your little corner of the world!

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Great Blue Lobelia

In connection with this recent post about a white lobelia........here is a Great Blue Lobelia which I found today while exploring a road ditch a couple miles away:

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Oh, I just love the colorful changes that the advent of autumn brings to the road ditches! You may have to put up with me saying that many, many times.......I LOVE AUTUMN!!


(The Blue Lobelia is in this scene, too........click the photo to enlarge it and see the details better.)

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White Lobelia

I shouldn't do a blogpost today.........since The Cows already did one; they can be just so considerate at times! But, I had to show you this wildflower from the road ditch:Its a pure white lobelia, a rare occurence, so says some of the wildflower literature I've read. Elsewhere in the ditch are the usual blue-colored lobelia. Evidently the pure white variety is just an occasional fluke........if you keep the seeds, they won't grow back white again, so says the literature. You have to do a root cutting, it said. There's only one stalk of this white one and I hate to mess around with it, but would love to somehow transplant it to my flower garden. I'm goofy like this, but I think this flower was sent in honor of my son and daughter-in-law's wedding this summer!

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I also wanted to show how amazingly gorgeous the sky was this morning! We're having much cooler temperatures now; I've worn long sleeves all day today. Autumn is my favorite season......so BRING IT ON!!

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The Cows mentioned the wedding videos, I see. Sigh. Yes, its wonderful to have the lovely ceremony captured forever on video.......but.......but........I won't whine anymore.

Husband's brother did the videotaping with his new little video camera; it records on those smaller-sized CD's. He was here today and we were trying to figure out how to make copies of them, without success. I did manage to copy them onto our computer, but cannot burn them to a DVD........an error message keeps popping up: "Copying disabled." OK, whatever.

Besides the wedding ceremony, Brother-in-law taped the whole receiving line coming out of the church, as we parents greeted everyone. (The bride and groom stood in the church aisle and greeted guests as they exited from the pews.) The receiving line is really fun to watch, for you get to see everyone who was there! And, there's my voice shrilling in the background, saying for what seems like hundreds of times, like a broken record: "Thank you for being here!" Good grief. When my next child gets married, I'll need to come up with some variants of that greeting!

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Kingbird Abacus

Yesterday morning, just as I was starting to scrape the barn after the cows had been let out, Husband hollered from outside, "Hey, one of those big herons or cranes just landed in the crick........maybe you should go down there and try to get a picture." Well.........pull my string & I jump!! Ditching the scraper, I ran to the house, grabbed my small camera, and headed down the hill toward the "crick".

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Along the way........voila.......an abacus appeared on the fence! I think these are "Eastern Kingbirds".

Here's what my Birds of Iowa field guide by Stan Tekiela says about Kingbirds: A common bird of open fields and prairies. Perceived as having an attitude (COOL!), acting unafraid of other birds and chasing the larger ones. Bold behavior gave rise to its common name, King. Perches to watch for insects. After flying out to catch them, returns to the same perch, a technique called "hawking". Males and females return to mating grounds and will defend a territory together.
Anyhow........what number would these Kingbirds be displaying if they were an abacus? I recall working with an abacus way back in grade school, but don't remember exactly how the numbering system works.

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I do know this number below is "FOUR"!

........and "ONE"........One being the loneliest number, you know........according to "Three Dog Night"! Anyone remember that song? Or "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog"?!! Or, other "Three Dog Night" songs?
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Well, my walk to the crick was definitely a "wild heron or crane" chase, for such a bird was not in sight anywhere! But, there were some patches of weeds beginning to turn to fallish colors.......smartweeds, vervain and timberweeds. Amazing that autumn's approach causes even weeds to be beautiful!!

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(Thank you, rhymeswithplague, for pointing out my huron/heron spelling error-----now corrected-----I did not go to the "crick" searching for one of the Great Lakes or a Native American tribe!)

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Dirt Road Prairie

This is a post that keeps getting pushed aside in the queue........I must get it published before summer is completely over with!!!

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Not far from where I live is a testament to a bygone era.........a never-graded dirt road, one mile in length. Why was it never graded? I suppose because it has no houses or farmsteads along its length. Why has the county left this road open all these years? I don't know for sure, but I'm glad it IS open, although, truly, it leads NOWHERE. Maybe its kept open for fans of mudding.......there are some of those crazed guys around the area.......they thrash their pickups through here after heavy rains.

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This crazed blogger appreciates the dirt road's continued existence because of the prairie plants growing there. It isn't difficult to envision a horse-drawn wagon or buggy making its way through here years ago:

One day about three weeks ago, before my son's wedding, after running errands in our small town, I took the long way home by way of this dirt road. Oh, look, there's company up ahead........click the photo above to better see the rabbit!

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One of my great-great-grandfathers was a farmer/veterinarian in this area........he most likely traversed this road many times. He had received his veterinary education in Berlin, emigrated to the U.S.----to Pennsylvania----and later, to Iowa, to farm and work as a vet in the German communities in southern Bremer County. A very elderly lady, now long deceased, a lifelong resident in this neighborhood, once told me that she could remember his buggy coming to their farm when she was a little girl.......that would have been in the 1890's. I've been told that, although he was a veterinarian, he also did tonsillectomies........on HUMAN children!

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Along the road, there was a nice patch of Prairie Sage, conspicuous with its dusty, whitish appearance. When I did a Google search for Prairie Sage, this IonExchange website came up.......its a seed company from Harpers Ferry, Iowa, up along the Mississippi River. Cool! I had not heard of IonExchange before.

Here's their page for Prairie Sage.........the information detailing the uses of this plant by Native Americans and early settlers is interesting. It was used in ceremonies and burned like incense.

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Here's a white flower, unfamiliar to me........I'll have to look it up in the flower book........done.......that took about five minutes: It is Whorled Milkweed, I believe.

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Waving in the breeze was Big Bluestem Prairie Grass:

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Oh, wow! This dirt road prairie must surely boast the township's mother-lode of Queen Anne's Lace (AKA Wild Carrot)!

This old avenue with its prairie plant borders would be a lovely spot in the evening, cast in the sunset's golden glow.......or even at sunrise. If I one day find the gumption to drive over to this lonely place at dusk or dawn, you'll be the first to see the photo evidence.

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Hey.........this quiet, secluded old road would be a perfect place for "PARKING"......... in one of those vintage cars, for sure (wink,wink)! I'm sure none of you readers would step forward to 'fess up to ever doing that! Hahaha!! Although, "parking" needn't necessarily involve anything immoral........it might simply be about sitting in a car and talking.

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Golden Flower Season

Here's what currently showing on the road ditch stage right now: the glowing footlights of sunflowers and goldenrod. (Lots of ragweed, too........Ah-ah-ah-CHOO!! Yes, I have hayfever this time of year; runny nose and itchy, watery eyes. I look forever like I've just had a crying jag. I don't take medicine for it, but do take plenty of tissues along! Years ago, my mom didn't believe in spending money on kleenex, so I always had to have an icky handkerchief with me. She loved pretty hankies, and still does. We had to iron them back then, too!)

I believe this to be Showy Goldenrod, solidago speciosa, of the Aster Family......so says the wildflower book.
Many prairie sunflowers are a-bloomin' now, too, and each one seems to have its own bug-in-residence:
Although golden-colored blossoms are in the majority right now, there are a few dissenters.........here's a purplish one........it may be Germander. If anyone recognizes it as something else, let me know in a comment.
And, lastly, this is "Oyster Plant" or "Salsify". Here's what the Peterson Field Guide says about it: Note the long grasslike leaves and spiky, sepal-like bracts that exceed the rays. Flowers close by mid-afternoon. Stems hollow. There is a similar yellow species, Yellow Goat's Beard, with which it often hybridizes. (Early in the summer, we did have lots of Goat's Beard in bloom here.)
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Enjoy the glow in your world today!! If you care to, describe it as one color in a comment. I'll go first: GOLDEN!

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Very-Vain Vervain

We humans are invariably vain, never satisfied with the veritable way things are, searching for ways to spruce-up our vital appearance, "improving" the way we look........so is our virtual illusion, anyway. Who would have thought that this trait of vanity also inhabits wildflowers?! Down in the vale of our road ditch this bluish-violet colored variant of the Vervain/Verbena Family is so VERY-VAIN that it demanded a verved-up version of its original photo. Sheesh.......but, OK.......though its vexing to do so, I'll oblige, though I don't see the value of it.......

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(Hm-m.......on second thought, this photo might be fit to post on the blog called

Paintbox Pictures, an offshoot of Wiggers World, an EXCELLENT blog from the U.K.)

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Below is the original photo.......and, verily, it is a vaguely pale comparison to the gaudy scene above. HOWEVER, do you see what I see in the background of the photo? In the vicinity of the right side? I hereby vaticinate that that little thing will be the subject of a post on this blog in the very near future (after I do some volitient research). Perhaps it is the vivarium of a vizarded viceroy.......or a little spaceship from Venus......I'll try to find out for you, so you can vicariously visit this special spot in an Iowa road ditch.

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(By the way, my voyage through the "V" section of the dictionary volume was great fun! This is fascinating.......did you know that the word "veronica" is versatile and can mean:

1. A group of plants of the figwort family.....

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2. A cloth or ornament bearing a representation of Christ's face......

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3. A maneuver in bullfighting, in which the matador slowly turns with the cape without moving his feet, as the bull rushes toward him.....(If I witnessed such an event, I'd be inclined to shout a vivid vivat to the matador!)

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"Viva, blog readers!!!"

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Primrose of the Morning

Growing wild all over the place around here and perhaps in your area, too, is the flowering plant called Evening Primrose, considered a weed in most cases.

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In the flower garden near my house, I've been tolerant, allowing Evening Primrose to shoot up wherever it pleases (within reason). Sometimes its doesn't act very "prim", as when its gangly, stiff stalks grow too long and heavy to remain upright. The other morning a stalk broke off and I absently tossed it into the wheelbarrow............

I was planning to turn heel and march away, but the half-closed blossoms near the top end of the broken stalk caught my eye......hey.......why not.......they deserve a photo shoot before being thrown on the trash heap!

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So here and there in the morning sunlight around the farmstead, the doomed Evening Primrose blooms were posed against various backgrounds.

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Pumice-look stone and rotting log:

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Rusty livestock trailer:

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Old wood gate, hearts, and horseshoe:

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Wavy, galvanized grain bin:

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Old chicken coop with chain:
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Rusty milkcan lid:

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Old flare-box farm wagon:

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Chicken coop door hinge:

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Well, that completes the Evening Primrose photo shoot.........now its back into the wheelbarrow for the poor thing. By the way, these photos were taken in the morning........you can see how Evening Primrose flowers appear at that time of day. They open completely by late in the afternoon.......providing for the origin of their name, evidently.

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Here's an update on my son's summer detasseling career, which started two weeks ago and is scheduled to last another two weeks, although he'll be done with it when football practice starts next week. I'm proud of him.......he gets himself up early each morning to be in town to catch the detasseling bus at 6:00 a.m. He's been promoted to what he terms a "checker"------it has nothing to do with a cash register------its more like an inspector. He follows a crew through the corn rows, making sure they've yanked out all the tassels.

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I think it crucial to offer you a "word to the wise", as Iowa is most assuredly high on your list of desired travel destinations: IF your car ever breaks down in Iowa corn country during mid-July to mid-August, leaving you helplessly stranded along a cornfield-lined road, and a car filled with seemingly friendly, helpful teenagers stops to offer you a ride........DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES GET INTO THE VEHICLE WITH THEM! You'll regret it, for they are probably detasselers on their way home after many hours of tromping through steamy cornfields, and you would surely be overcome by the aromatic atmosphere in their vehicle!! Egads........when my son gets home each day, I hold my nose and point to the washing machine so he can personally toss in his disgustingly smelly, sweat-drenched clothing. So be aware, and beware! Aren't you glad to be forewarned.......before you head to Iowa.

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Bonus question: Which "Evening Primrose of the Morning" background do you like best?

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Mystery Flower....Help!!

After much paw-twisting, Betsy agreed to be a field specimen backdrop for this photo:

I can't find this plant in my wildflower books, and am beseeching you readers for some help! Its the only one I've ever seen; it is growing along the driveway to our "crick". I figured I'd better get a photo of it before the cattle chomp it off.

Please, someone enlighten me as to the name of this plant! Thanks!

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Fascinating Flower Awards

This week there's been a flurry of awards traveling hither and thither amongst the blogs in the orbit of the blogosphere that I spend time in. In order to allow the wildflowers to get in on the fun, I've decided to bestow a "Fascinating Flower Award" on five very unusual, unique blossoms that are currently on display in the road ditch in front of our farm. These photos were taken yesterday morning.

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1. Culver's Root

Culver's Root, of the Snapdragon family, is saddled with the impossibly long scientific name of Veronicastrum virginicum. Other common names are Blackroot, Culver's Physic, High Veronica, and Tall Speedwell. The roots of this plant contain powerful chemicals that were used in folk medicine......so says my wildflower book, Tallgrass Prairie Wildflowers by Ladd and Oberle, published by Falcon Press.

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2. Goat's Beard

I have done a previous post on Goat's Beard. This is simply its remaining seedhead. But what I hope you can see is the SHINY GOLD color of the strands, which makes this seedhead simply fascinating to gaze at as it shimmers in the late morning sun. It should be called "Gilded Goat's Beard" at this point!

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3. Winter Cress (I think)***Update 8/1: I think it may be a type of mustard plant.

It might be something else......if anyone knows, just tell me. I could be wrong about anything. The scientific name of Winter Cress is Barbarea vulgaris.

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4. Queen Anne's Lace - Wild Carrot

The queen is actually Daucus carota, and when her flowers age, they curl up into a cuplike shape, and even into a ball, like this one.Click to see Queen Anne's Lace in black & white.

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5. Common Mullein

Also of the Snapdragon family, Common Mullein's scientific name is Verbascum thapsus, and it is just a very unique plant with an unusual shape to its flowerhead. Several years ago, I transplanted one from the ditch to the flower garden near our house........maybe not such a good idea, as the thing spreads like the dickens! Fortunately, it pulls up very easily, root and all.

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There you have it.......the five Fascinating Flower Award-winners for today!

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