Tangled Wire

I found this tangle of barbed wire the other day:

We’re going to start filling silo today, an annual late-summer event here on our dairy farm.  That involves chopping the entire cornstalk and putting it into the silo where it is then known as silage, which is food for cattle.  Silo-filling is happening a few weeks earlier than normal this year.  Spring weather arrived early this year, allowing the corn to be planted earlier than usual, plus the summer has been dry resulting in the corn being ready to chop now.  When crops are ready for harvest, that’s what you do, no questions asked.    

Barn Charm

This photo was taken back in mid-April.  The trees were pretty much fully leafed out, which was unusual around here for that early in the spring.   

Visit Bluff Area Daily to find the other Barn Charm photos for this week.

Weathervane & Texture

I should be mowing the lawn, but instead I’ve been goofing around with this photo of an old barn weathervane.  I wanted to see if a photo of a piece of wood would work as a texture.  It ain’t that great, but it is what it is.  (Yes, we use the non-word ain’t  around here sometimes.  My dad used to say that the only thing he learned in school was that ain’t  ain’t a word!) 

Diffuse Glow

I tried the Photoshop effect called “diffuse glow” on this photo: 

I like the color of the tassel-topped cornfields right now.  We’ll be chopping some of our corn for silage later this week.

Painted Lady Butterfly

Yesterday afternoon I was taking a walk, along the way looking for a butterfly I’ve been seeing lately everytime I don’t have my camera along!  It looks like a small Fritillary.  I didn’t find it, but this Painted Lady fluttered close enough for photos: 

Your Sunday Best

I almost deemed this photo unusable because it was shot into the sunlight and the shadows were very dark.  Then before hitting the delete button I decided to dink around with it in Picture It  and was happy with the results.  I could also then identify the bird as a Song Sparrow.

Visit A Rural Journal to see the other entries to Your Sunday Best.

Weekly Top Shot

Here’s my favorite shot of this week.  I liked the dramatic lighting as the storm clouds approached.

Visit The View From Right Here to see the other entries to

 Weekly Top Shot.

Pink Clouds

Around sunset last evening, there was a gathering of pink clouds in the distance:

 

The clouds looked pretty from here, but there was a storm going on where they were.

Yesterday’s Skies

Yesterday afternoon a weather system moved through our area bringing lots of interesting clouds and eventually some rain.  It was impossible to resist taking lots of photos!  Here are a few of them: 

Skywatch

I just went outdoors and took a random shot of the sky. 

Nothing special, but it does show how things look here today.

Thanks for stopping by! 

Visit Skywatch Friday to find photos from around the world.

Worn-out Camera App

My faithful Canon Powershot camera is getting old.  This photo from last evening came complete with a grainy texture.  Partly, it might be because I had the lens zoomed out all the way, but the unzoomed photos I took were fuzzy, too, and they shouldn’t be.  Maybe this look could be marketed as the “worn-out camera app”.  (For anyone who doesn’t know, “app” is short for application---a texture or look that is added to a photo.  I often see “app” mentioned in connection with photos taken with cell phones.)  I really like the camera, though, so I’ll just keep using it until it goes completely kaput.   

There was a storm passing by in the distance when I took this.  The sun had made a brief appearance before disappearing below the horizon, making the corn tassels glow even more golden!

Birdbath in View

Don’t worry, the laundry is not in any danger…

 

Yesterday afternoon the sparrows threw a hilarious, impromptu swimming party.  It was over as quickly as it began!

 

From the table where my computer sits I can look right out the window at the birdbath.  Of course, I planned it that way when we placed the birdbath in the yard earlier this summer.  I didn’t realize how much fun it would be to watch the birds’ antics.  I think that’s a young robin in this next photo.  He looks like such a big galoot next to the sparrows!

I don’t have the right lens to get really good close-up bird pictures, but I have fun shooting them anyway.

Straw Hat

I took a picture of myself wearing this straw hat yesterday.  Can you tell why I had it on?

 

Yup, I was raking hay with the old John Deere… 

That’s so my husband could chop the hay for silage…

I was out there for about three hours.  A good task for a sunny summer afternoon.

Yesterday

Here’s more photos from my walk yesterday afternoon…

Whorled Milkweed which was growing right along the edge of the road:

Goldenrod in bloom---a sure sign that summer is moving ever onward toward autumn:

 

The fields look pretty good, but the rain we’ve gotten came too late and yields are expected to be less than usual:

 

The Vervain continues to bloom.  I love taking pictures of this wildflower!  Here’s one I jazzed up to use as a computer screen background:

The sight of hay being cut greeted me when I got back home:

  

White-tails

Today brought cooler, more comfortable temperatures so I took advantage of that by taking a long walk in the afternoon.  This doe and her fawns were out doing the same thing.  We stared at each other for a few seconds…

…then they high-tailed it out of there…

…demonstrating why they are called White-tailed Deer!

Your Sunday Best

This group of sparrows at the birdbath gave me a chuckle, especially the ones who appear to be studying their reflections!

Visit A Rural Journal for Your Sunday Best.

Rain Clouds

We got some much-needed precipitation earlier this afternoon.  Here’s how the sky looked right before the rain started to fall… 

Weekly Top Shot

This photo gave me a chuckle---the sparrows look as if they might be having a discussion about the robin in the background.  He usually chases them away from the birdbath!

Visit The View From Right Here for Weekly Top Shot.

Evening Primrose

Evening Primrose is a wildflower in our area.  They are blooming right now in spite of the dry weather.  This photo was taken this morning and shows one that is growing on our farm:

The flowers open at night and close in late morning.

Cat in Hiding

Last evening I caught this cat attempting to hide behind a Black-eyed Susan!

 

She gets the honor of being in the first photos taken in August.