Just a few notes this evening: the cicadas are back. The temperature has climbed back into the upper 80s, and I hear them again in the maples. Summer has a couple of weeks to go, after all!
This morning, Venus shone very brightly in the Eastern sky. The Summer Triangle is still overhead.
Sunflowers and thistles are flowering on the roadsides. Their cheerful colors have been around for a couple of months now, so I find myself taking them for granted, until I think about how things will look in winter. That is incentive enough to delight in the intense yellows and purples.
Enjoy the last weeks of summer!
Showing posts with label wildflowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wildflowers. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 15, 2015
Friday, August 21, 2015
Gumbo Weather
Did you feel the hint of fall earlier this week?
Fall stirs such mixed emotions in me. As a Louisiana native, I feel a vague sense of panic, living this far north, and realizing that winter is coming. I love cold weather, but here in Nebraska, winter itself is something to endure.
At the same time, fall is my favorite season. I love the colors, the crispness of the air, the sweetness of freshly picked apples. I love Thanksgiving. And pumpkins! We will not mention football. It all depends on how our favorite team is doing.
Also, as a Louisiana native, that first cool snap gets me thinking about making the first gumbo. Had the cool weather hung on a few more days, I definitely would have honored this urge, and made a huge, steaming pot of gumbo. It is in my blood.
That first gumbo day is coming. I can see it in the browning of the seeds of my wildflowers. Fall stars are peeking over the horizon at dawn. Birds are migrating. Days are getting shorter. And the weather is changing. I am not ready for it, yet, but it is almost here.
Fall stirs such mixed emotions in me. As a Louisiana native, I feel a vague sense of panic, living this far north, and realizing that winter is coming. I love cold weather, but here in Nebraska, winter itself is something to endure.
At the same time, fall is my favorite season. I love the colors, the crispness of the air, the sweetness of freshly picked apples. I love Thanksgiving. And pumpkins! We will not mention football. It all depends on how our favorite team is doing.
Also, as a Louisiana native, that first cool snap gets me thinking about making the first gumbo. Had the cool weather hung on a few more days, I definitely would have honored this urge, and made a huge, steaming pot of gumbo. It is in my blood.
That first gumbo day is coming. I can see it in the browning of the seeds of my wildflowers. Fall stars are peeking over the horizon at dawn. Birds are migrating. Days are getting shorter. And the weather is changing. I am not ready for it, yet, but it is almost here.
Thursday, July 16, 2015
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!
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!
Thursday, June 25, 2015
A Wordsworth day
I went in search of a particular wildflower today. More on that, later. Sometimes it can be a mistake to look for a very specific thing, because you may not find it! I did not find my flower. But I did find so much more.
It was hot and humid... there was a misty rain earlier today. It left behind heat and steam: just like Louisiana, where I am from. It felt familiar.
Walking along one of my favorite paths, I was serenaded by meadowlarks and robins. Swallows were swooping though the air around me, almost hitting my head. There was a strong smell of honey in the air, and I found the source:
Basswood. It made me think of forestry class, and one of my favorite professors. Good memories, there.
There were flowers, bees, and butterflies everywhere. What a joy, if you stop to look.
Although it was overcast, the scenes around me reminded me of the famous Wordsworth poem, "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud." I wasn't looking at daffodils, of course, but the joy was the same.
In another post, I'll try to catalog all I saw in list form. For today, though, I'm just basking in the joy.
It was hot and humid... there was a misty rain earlier today. It left behind heat and steam: just like Louisiana, where I am from. It felt familiar.
Walking along one of my favorite paths, I was serenaded by meadowlarks and robins. Swallows were swooping though the air around me, almost hitting my head. There was a strong smell of honey in the air, and I found the source:
Basswood. It made me think of forestry class, and one of my favorite professors. Good memories, there.
There were flowers, bees, and butterflies everywhere. What a joy, if you stop to look.
Although it was overcast, the scenes around me reminded me of the famous Wordsworth poem, "I Wandered Lonely As A Cloud." I wasn't looking at daffodils, of course, but the joy was the same.
In another post, I'll try to catalog all I saw in list form. For today, though, I'm just basking in the joy.
Friday, April 17, 2015
Warmer?
Is the warmer weather here to stay?
The 20th is the date of the last average freeze in my area. An average, of course, means it could still freeze. Gardeners tend to be gamblers, and will try to plant things out anyhow, and keep the row covers handy.
Tulips are coming up, cherry trees are flowering, and the dandelions are popping up everywhere. The color yellow is so welcome. I stopped to take a photo of one yesterday. A guy who was passing by must have thought I was a little off my rocker, stooping to take a picture of a dandelion. Later in the season, they definitely wear out their welcome. But right now, if you look closely enough, they are actually pretty.
The juncos are not as numerous in my yard. I'm seeing more robins and blackbirds.
And the morning's cup is spilling over with birdsong. It must be spring.
The 20th is the date of the last average freeze in my area. An average, of course, means it could still freeze. Gardeners tend to be gamblers, and will try to plant things out anyhow, and keep the row covers handy.
Tulips are coming up, cherry trees are flowering, and the dandelions are popping up everywhere. The color yellow is so welcome. I stopped to take a photo of one yesterday. A guy who was passing by must have thought I was a little off my rocker, stooping to take a picture of a dandelion. Later in the season, they definitely wear out their welcome. But right now, if you look closely enough, they are actually pretty.
The juncos are not as numerous in my yard. I'm seeing more robins and blackbirds.
And the morning's cup is spilling over with birdsong. It must be spring.
Thursday, October 9, 2014
Cottonwoods and Milkweed
Today we went on a long walk to see signs of fall. It was a beautiful, sunny, and crisp fall day that eventually became overcast and cloudy. Our walk was a success, though, because we saw a beaver swimming, meadowlarks (I love meadowlarks!), a garter snake, milkweed pods and seeds spilling out, and fall color in the sumacs and cottonwoods. I love how this tree seems to be changing from the bottom up:
We stood under a cottonwood for a while, looking at the leaves. The yellow is not as intense as the yellow of aspen leaves, but the cottonwoods also make a rustling sound. It is a peaceful, awe-inspiring thing to listen to trees in the wind. It is good to stop once in a while, and listen.
Trees have always been a source of joy for me. I felt lost without them when we lived in the desert.
The showy milkweed seeds were spilling out everywhere. It looks very different from the last picture of them that I posted!
The fluffy seeds were caught on the grasses everywhere I looked. And the grasses were beautiful. The grama was a purplish color, and the foxtail was a lovely raw sienna. I am still learning the grasses here! There are so many unfamiliar ones.
The goldenrods are finished flowering, and beginning to dry. Asters, mostly white ones, were everywhere. And there is something tall with yellow flowers in the highway ditches, but I have not been able to find any yet on a side road to pull over and investigate.
There were ducks out on the water, but I was not close enough to identify them.
We stood under a cottonwood for a while, looking at the leaves. The yellow is not as intense as the yellow of aspen leaves, but the cottonwoods also make a rustling sound. It is a peaceful, awe-inspiring thing to listen to trees in the wind. It is good to stop once in a while, and listen.
Trees have always been a source of joy for me. I felt lost without them when we lived in the desert.
The showy milkweed seeds were spilling out everywhere. It looks very different from the last picture of them that I posted!
The fluffy seeds were caught on the grasses everywhere I looked. And the grasses were beautiful. The grama was a purplish color, and the foxtail was a lovely raw sienna. I am still learning the grasses here! There are so many unfamiliar ones.
The goldenrods are finished flowering, and beginning to dry. Asters, mostly white ones, were everywhere. And there is something tall with yellow flowers in the highway ditches, but I have not been able to find any yet on a side road to pull over and investigate.
There were ducks out on the water, but I was not close enough to identify them.
Wednesday, September 17, 2014
Summer's Close
We took a brief walk on a local trail to soak in the last of summer.
The only sounds were the insects: cicadas and grasshoppers. I didn't hear any birds.
I noted fat milkweed pods ripening. One had dried and split open, spilling fluffy seeds out. One was full of red and black milkweed bugs.
Some grasses were drying, and turning a beautiful shade of umber. And the Asters have appeared. These have always been harbingers of fall for me.
Sunflowers were still flowering, but I saw many seedheads.
Just a few more days until the official start of fall!!!
The only sounds were the insects: cicadas and grasshoppers. I didn't hear any birds.
I noted fat milkweed pods ripening. One had dried and split open, spilling fluffy seeds out. One was full of red and black milkweed bugs.
Some grasses were drying, and turning a beautiful shade of umber. And the Asters have appeared. These have always been harbingers of fall for me.
Sunflowers were still flowering, but I saw many seedheads.
Just a few more days until the official start of fall!!!
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