Wild flax flowers, 6 August

Wild Flax in Raindrops © Elizabeth Bennefeld, 2018-08-06

During the night hours, a thunderstorm came through the area. When I first took the Scampers out for the before-breakfast outing, I brought along my camera. In the course of taking photographs, I found raindrops coming down once more. Lovely!

Wild Flax in Raindrops © Elizabeth Bennefeld, 2018-08-06

Wild Flax Flower #6171

Wild Flax Flower #6163

Wild Flax #6160

Wild Flax Flower

The top photograph and the other wild flax flower that resembles it are growing in the south side garden, where I was in despair that nothing would grow, this year. I’ve more Baby’s Breath, a number of Blue Wild Flax, and the Plains Coreopsis; I am under the impression that the one version of the Wild Flax is annual and the other, perennial, but I do not know which, anymore. I do know that the flax plants that have the larger, smoother petals reseed like crazy. Only one of the other type showed up in this year’s backyard garden.

The only moth that I spotted today was resting on the outside of the back door, protected by the storm door. A smaller version of the other that I recently posted (on one of my blogs), but a bit darker and with sharper markings. (Ach! I will see if that photo is also close at hand.)

This morning’s moth

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Insects and Flowers, 4 & 5 August 2018

Cabbage Butterfly

Ladybug Wings

Green Grasshopper

Honeybee, On the Edge

Honeybee in a Poppy Flower

The weather was stormy, earlier in the week, with small clusters or lines of thunderstorms and rainclouds. This is the time of the year when the wildflowers die off in my garden. There are lots of seed pods on the blue wild flax stems. I do not know about the coreopsis, other than a few have appeared that might be from the second sowing of seeds, a few weeks back.

In the side garden, I’ve got mostly weeds, but a couple of Baby Breath plants have flowered, and also a Plains Coreopsis. Waiting to see if anything else appears from those seeds. They are supposed to be drought tolerant, once they germinate. Below are a few photos from my last outing with the Scampers, this evening.

The Scampers, Oblivious

Rabbit

Wildflowers

Plains Coreopsis

Baby’s Breath

I expect that ragweed season will soon begin, if it hasn’t already. I’ve just changed the filter in the air cleaner in my room, after Al gave it a good cleaning out. Hoping that if I stay inside on the breezy days and exercise in the gazebo (glass all around and equipped with a fan to maintain the direction of the air flow), my breathing will loosen up, again.

Hate giving up the out-of-doors for any reason, for any length of time, however short.

Retrospective – October 2013

Photographs from 7 October 2013

New Day, New Flowers

 

Wild Flax

Poppy in the Garden

Flowers at the Gate

Hidden

dawn’s deep shadows
lighten as breezes flow
clouds fade away

the dogs have overslept and
now the rabbit takes his nap

Copyright © 2018-07-29, by Elizabeth W. Bennefeld.

I expect to be in the back yard, again, this second day of the Air Show, waiting for the Blue Angels to fly overhead. During their rehearsal on Friday, they came right over the house. The joys of living in an airport’s flight path. The rattling windows!

Outside the Garden

Among Dead Branches

White flowers growing at the gate to the back yard, over bricks and between discarded branches from trimming the cotoneaster trees. I do not know what sort of vine produces these wildflowers.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

Copyright © 2018-07-22/2018-07-23, by Elizabeth W. Bennefeld.

Just for Fun

Blue wild flax flowers—playing with the colors, textures, and lighting. From today’s photographs.

After the storms

We had a number of thunderstorms. (I slept through two Code Red storm alert calls, the phone within 30 inches of my head.) Tuesday night’s took out most of the Sweet Williams and in the early morning, a lot of the day’s new blooms. The rain has, however, encouraged some new flowers. The pollinators were also in evidence.

Some of my favorites from the past few days, now. Clicking on the photo and likewise on the attachment page should bring you to a larger version of the picture.

4 July 2018

Coreopsis tinctoria (golden tickseed)

Bee, another Coreopsis Lanceolata

Bee and Coreopsis Lanceolata

Bllue Wild Flax

5 July 2018

Blue Wild Flax & Hoverfly

Coreopsis tinctoria & Bees

California Poppy

Blue Wild Flax

Coreopsis tinctoria

Blue Wild Flax, Morning Light

3 July 2018

California Poppies

Monday’s Thunderstorm

Storm Clouds

California Poppies

While the U.S. Independence Day fireworks (illegal, but omnipresent) were loud, including someone shooting off the stuff on the street in front of our house, the Scampers and I weathered the noise. I put on some opera music (mostly tenor arias and operatic songs), and the dogs soon fell to sleep. I later switched to Mozart symphonies, and they napped until it was time for their last snack and outing and into their kennels for the night. I am quite happy that the celebration is over for another year.

Our dogs are accustomed to joining us in the gazebo for thunderstorms, and so the loud noises do not upset them. I jump when the strikes are too close. When we were children, we lived in a large house on a double lot that had ten or more gigantic cottonwood trees that inevitably drew lightning strikes. And we would be out in it, since the water buildup in the basement window wells (we started out living in a “basement house”, the main floor not added until the ’50s), with our little buckets, bailing out the water before the windows could pop open and send the water into the living room, bathroom, and bedrooms. Such fun!

This might be Thursday

Sweet Williams

Blue Wild Flax Flower

Coreopsis Lanceolata

Much too hot outside (82ºF, headed for 90º), this morning, and so I took some photographs in the wildflower garden while the dogs explored the back yard. After they’d eaten, we went outside, again, when I managed to get through 3.5 miles on the exercise bike in the gazebo.

By the time I finish my shower and get dressed in going-out clothes, it will already be time for lunch. I don’t know where the time goes!

I suspect that Al will concentrate on inside activities, rather than tackle any more sanding or painting. He’s currently working on the outside of the gazebo. Hoping that we don’t get any brilliant-red paint on the windows. 🙄

 

A Rainy Sunday Morning

Wildflowers in Rain

Wild Flax

Sweet William in Grass

Cotoneaster Branch

Sweet William, Sweet Clover

Blue Wild Flax with Sweet Williams

Blue Wild Flax

Rain coming down since late evening, but this morning, no thunderstorms, yet. Wet grass, light breeze, more storms in our vicinity. Yum!

Sunday Tulips | My Spring Garden

May Tulip, Elizabeth Bennefeld (2018-05-06)

In Morning Sunlight, 2018-05-06, by Lizl Bennefeld.

Apeldoorn Tulip, Lizl Bennefeld, 2018-05-06

Two, Together, by Lizl Bennefeld, 2018-05-06

The cold temperatures and rain lasted long enough that we did not get garden spaces cleaned out before plants began to come up. I have since (this last week) thrown down some flower seed in the back garden (mixed California poppy, annual blue wild flax) and the south side of the house, after adding old coffee grounds from last summer and some peat moss: nasturtiums (an extra seed packet that came with an order) and annual blue wild flax. I have more flax seed and half of a wild-flower mix that I got last year, which came up nicely.

We also have dandelions and wild violets in the yard.

Along my Sidewalk

Dandy Dandelion, 2018-05-06, by Lizl Bennefeld.

My Shy Violet, 2018-05-06, by Lizl Bennefeld.