Busy

Busy-ness blew in over the weekend, leaving me in a state similar to these breeze-blown coneflowers.  (And, here I thought I lived in Iowa.)

I hosted a bridal shower (for my niece) here at the farm, plus had overnight guests (including my grandbabies)---certainly pleasant occurrences, but naturally involving a host of preparations.  Make sure the house is straightened up, laundry all done, lawn mowed, gifts wrapped, goodies baked, meal plans thought out, crib set up, and baby toys unearthed from storage.  Whew…..almost too much for this farmwife who owns VERY LITTLE AMBITION!

Odd Mullein

The other day I walked down the road a little further than usual and found this unusual plant.  It is Common Mullein, an odd-looking plant in the first place, but this one was REALLY bizarre-looking:

The whole plant was about eight feet tall.  I’ve seen many Common Mulleins, but never one with these multiple flower stalks at the mid-section, and never one as tall:  

Maybe a showering of farm chemicals was to blame for the berserk growth pattern.  Usually, the Common Mullein has only one flowering stalk above its leaves.

 

Sundial Time

Can you tell time?  Sundial time, that is…..

The shadow points to XI, eleven o’clock in the morning by sun time.  That’s twelve o’clock noon by Central Standard Daylight Savings Time.  Hey, what am I doing taking a picture!?  Its time to fix lunch!

White Coneflower

Several years ago I purchased this white coneflower.  Not that I like white flowers that well---fly spots and dirt show up readily on the color white and heaven knows there is plenty of both on a dairy farm.

 

To get a picture of a clean white coneflower, you have to catch it early in its blooming career, as shown in the photo below (which is a bit dark because it was taken in the evening).

Wingspans

I really shouldn’t be blogging photos of winged fliers of the butter and dragon variety since my blog’s title announces that I blog wildflowers, but what the heck.  Yesterday, I walked out of the house to pick a green pepper to add to cucumber relish and nearly collided with this Black Swallowtail butterfly.  After fetching my camera, I waited, still and quiet, for a few minutes and was eventually rewarded with a full wingspan view.  (Looks like this Swallowtail has a partially swallowed tail!)

For good measure, here’s two dragonfly photos taken recently.  This first one shows a Twelve-Spotted Skimmer.  Notice the blue color near the end of the tail.

Lastly, here’s a Widow Skimmer displaying its glittery, copper-tinged wingspan:

Gold Strike

Move over, bird dogs and coon hounds……meet Buster, avid hunter of shady resting spots! 

His enthusiasm for a walk never wanes.  Recently, we got lucky and struck gold…..coneflower gold, that is.  Reached almost as far as our eyes could see.  Fort Knox, here we come!

(My plan is to eventually chop and crop this next photo into hopefully artistic renderings.  Maybe Buster will help me.)

Its Butterfly Time

I’m writing these words yesterday.  Think about that for a moment---it truly makes no sense.  Anyway, I just returned from a wildflower hunt on a sweltering Sunday afternoon in which instead I happened upon butterflies.  Its that time of year.

Above is a Pearl Crescent butterfly posing atop a Black-eyed Susan.  Below is a Black Swallowtail which was fluttering like crazy through a patch of Queen Anne’s Lace.

At that point, wilting in the heat, my camera and I turned to leave and almost missed this Eastern Tiger Swallowtail busily extracting nectar from a cluster of Swamp Milkweed.

Find the Monarch

This photo probably shouldn’t have been taken because the lens I use is not the correct one for landscape scenes---backgrounds and foregrounds turn out unfocused---but I pressed the shutter button anyway.  The pink flowers are Swamp Milkweed and the purple ones are Vervain.  Look closely to find an orange monarch butterfly focused in flight.

From Gold to Gold

The wildflower named Goatsbeard dabbles in its own unique brand of alchemy. 

It starts out with a blossom full of bright yellow gold.

And, eventually---after steeping in a potion of sunshine and time---transforms its visage to a shiny metallic form of gold!

Phlox from the Past

Recently, I drove past this head-turning flock of phlox blooming at the edge of an overgrown, abandoned farmstead.  The profusion of lavender, white, and pink reached even into the tree-shaded depths beyond.   

The colors were very beautiful, this photo hardly doing justice.  A farmwife of long ago probably planted these garden phlox in an effort to brighten up her little corner of the world. 

Queen’s Floret

Forget that photo of a Queen Anne’s Lace center blossom I posted last week.  Here is a new and improved view…..

The wildflower book states that Queen Anne’s Lace---aka Wild Carrot---often has a deep purple floret in its center (looks more like deep red to me).  For many years, while on my daily walks, I would plod right past these roadside plants, never noticing the tiny, colorful center florets.  Then digital cameras were invented and I bought one and commenced my pastime of photographing wildflowers, an activity which naturally involves coming to a halt for that often-neglected closer look.

Breezy Blooms

A scene from the prairie patch on our farm…..

Blazing Stars

Yesterday afternoon was perfect for a Sunday drive to the spot about three miles away where I had spied a patch of Prairie Blazing Stars a week or so ago.  And, there they were, like a crowd of stand-up comics, displaying their goofy, sparkler-like blooms……

Coneflower Crop

Currently, I’m enjoying the bumper crop of coneflowers blooming in my flower garden.  They provide for an abundant crop of photos…..which can then be cropped…..and, that’s how this picture came to be:

It originated within this next rather unsatisfactory photo scene:

Queen Anne Center

Ever since the Queen Anne’s Lace began blooming a couple weeks ago, I’ve been hunting for one whose deep-plum-colored center would show up in a photo.  Often, the dark center is hardly more than a tiny dot and is very difficult to see with the naked eye, much less capture on camera. 

Here’s a closer look…..not exactly beautiful, but it is part of the flower, so why not show it off.

A Survivor

Here is a visual aid to demonstrate one reason why I like coneflowers…..they are able to bounce back from adversity. 

These two photos are of the same flower.  Lately, we’ve been experiencing a wave of extreme heat and humidity.  The photo below shows how this coneflower looked late one recent afternoon, withered and curled due to the oppressive weather.  (My camera lens fogged up the moment it hit the sauna-like outdoor air.)  Believe it or not, the above photo shows this same flower the following morning, refreshed and restored after a night’s rest and a drink from the watering can. 

Queenly Underskirts

“I see London, I see France…..I see Queen Anne’s underpants.”

Yes, these blossoms of Queen Anne’s Lace were displaying their underskirts in a most uninhibited way---right there along the roadside, for all to see---aided in no small way by a strong summer breeze.  I hope they didn’t mind their immodesty being captured in a photo.

Grandma’s Lily

Many years ago, I dug up this lily from my grandmother’s back yard…..

Its dark color prevents this lily from ever being very conspicuous.  The photo here, however, shows how a bit of flaming sunset glow can transform a flower’s personality to almost flamboyant.

More New Wildflowers

Here are a three more entries into the wildflower category of I-have-never-seen-these-before.  Before a few days ago, that is, while enjoying my wildflower-hunting expedition on a country road in our vicinity. 

This first one goes by the name of Great St. John’s Wort.  I’ve always wanted to see a St. John’s Wort and it was certainly an honor to happen upon a Great one.

   

Shyly displaying its slender stems and tiny blossoms was this White Vervain:

I almost didn’t drive down the road where I found this next one---Prairie Blazing Star, caught in its initial stages of “blazing”.  At the top of my next week’s “to do” list is a reminder to go back and snap more photos as the blazing/blossoming progresses. 

Bunchflower

Recently, I went on a wildflower hunt a few miles from our farm.  Found several I’d never seen before, including a bunch of fetching Bunchflower.  The wildflower book states that “when found, it occurs in abundance”, and that was absolutely true in this case, for there was an enormous patch of these pretty Bunchflowers growing along a roadside. 

I also happened upon some Milk Vetch, growing in tandem with wispy sprigs of wild asparagus which provided background interest for this photo.