Summer heat

For the past week, the birdbath has been the most popular feature of our yard, as the heat index has consistently been over 100 degrees. I counted twelve young robins in the yard at one point, waiting to bathe. Sometimes they seem to wait patiently, at other times they seem like squabbling siblings jockeying for position.

We've had to refill it at least three times a day. They splash with abandon, sending a spray of droplets all over the lawn around the birdbath. Some of the robins walk around underneath, fluffing out their feathers in the wet grass. There is almost always one sitting on my statue of St. Francis's head, waiting for a turn. I don't think he'd mind.

The evenings have been spent watching fireflies and bats. These days the sun doesn't go down until almost 9pm. The days seem to go on forever. In spite of the heat, I'm treasuring these moments with the young birds, the fireflies, and the cicadas. Fall will be here all too soon.

To make a prairie...

The poet in me loved this:

My Wildflower!

With the help of some very nice folks at the Fontanelle Nature Center, and Neale Woods, I found my flower!

This is the flower I've been looking for: the purple prairie clover. More on that later!

It was a beautiful morning out at Neale Woods, but it quickly got very, very hot in the sun.

I was able to see many flowers today. Flowers like this one, which I know as claret cup, and the local guidebooks call purple poppy mallow:

And these mixed prairie flowers:

There were bees everywhere, sulphur butterflies, a monarch, and what looked like skippers. I also saw a bird that appeared to be a summer tanager in the woods, but I am not sure.

I saw where a deer or another large animal spent the night:

All in all, it was a beautiful morning. I took 150+ photos out there. Time to rest!

Pluto and New Horizons

The images coming from New Horizons of Pluto and its moons are so incredibly exciting. I think a lot of us had forgotten how wonderful it is to see a new world for the first time. I was a little girl when we landed on the moon, but I still remember sitting in front of the tv, amazed. Now, I'm sitting in front of a computer screen, but the same joy and excitement are there!

 New Horizons home page

We, humanity, are still searching and discovering things. We are still exploring. How beautiful and exciting is that?

And the heart image on Pluto... oh, my. I use the heart theme often in my art work. It is personally meaningful to me. I can't wait to do a painting of Pluto from Charon. Space art is a new interest of mine. I'm still developing a style in that genre, but I love it... it is so much fun.

We had rain yesterday, but I can't complain. We had heat indices over 100 degrees, and now it is cooler. Once the sky clears of clouds, it will be time to stargaze again.

Thank you for visiting, and don't miss those images of Pluto!