Complete Harmony

taken:
day forty one
07.31.2011

My hostas are in full bloom. With delicate bell shaped flowers nestled among broad and hardy foliage they are an absolute contrast, living in complete harmony. A prefect marriage of dainty and robust. 

Which reminds me of a glorious day, 12 years ago, on this very date in fact, I was blissful bride. Marrying my husband, the guy I adore.  It makes me think of how every marriage blends contrasting lives and how every couple strives to achieve a complete harmony. Natures way of celebrating differences and unifying them in a way that makes each relationship uniquely beautiful and strong, much like a hosta.

Hazy Days of Summer

taken:
day forty
07.30.2011

Minnesota is proving it's capable of being as steamy and sweltering as the jungle. It’s been HOT. Hot, humid and sometimes hazy.  The air is thick and soupy with dew points in the 70s.

As I walked in my yard I looked up and caught this cloud as it blurred the already torrid morning sun. It felt nice to have the shade but it didn't last long.

Almost Cuddly

taken:
day thirty nine
07.29.2011

This fuzzy {almost cuddly} bumble bee was a buzz, visiting many of the purple 'spotted knapweeds' that grow everywhere around the area. These invasive purple prairie weeds are seriously everywhere. In fields, in yards, along roadsides and beyond. And where you find them, you'll find busy bees floating from one bloom to the next.

Where the Cosmos Grow

taken:
day thirty eight
07.28.2011

{I have a little more to say than usual.}

It was a special day back in May when my oldest son brought home 3 guppies from school. His class had studied them for weeks and the time came for all the guppies to find new homes. He was so proud to call them his own. Proud to share what he had learned about them. Proud to feed them every day. He thought the world of them and gave them each names 'Finy, Freckles, and Frisky'.

As we all know though, guppies don't live forever and on this morning we discovered all 3 had died overnight. It was a sad day. I never thought I'd shed a tear over losing a guppy but when I saw my son so heartbroken, gushing with sorrow, sadness and confusion, it filled my eyes with tears as well. I held him close and tried to make the hurt go away.

After I realized how heavyhearted he was I knew we couldn't just flush them. We decided to lay them to rest in the garden. My son picked a peaceful spot shaded along the garden fence, below the pink cosmos that he'd planted himself in the spring. We found an old cardboard jewelry gift box and placed all 3 guppies inside. Both of my sons each decorated a rock to place on the soil where they were to be buried. 

The three of us walked out to the garden, my oldest sons cheeks soaked with tears. Me fighting back the lump in my throat. And my youngest son following us along, just observing and wondering why people cry when things die.

I dug a hole with my garden spade. My oldest son took the tiny box, placed it into the hole and gently filled the hole back up with soil. Both sons placed their decorated stones on top. Then they picked some bright orange marigolds and placed them next to the stones. We stood there for a moment or two and then headed back to the house. This may all seem silly {after all they were only guppies} but I know my grieving little boy appreciated it and he'll take that sentimental memory with him forever.

This is one of the pink cosmos that shelters the guppies final resting place.

Midday Sun

taken:
day thirty seven
07.27.2011

After a quick stop at the store for some milk and other necessities, my sons and I visited a little garden on our way home. We'd stopped there in May when it was brimming with tulips and daffodils. Now it’s overflowing with lilies, coneflowers, garden phlox, black eyed susan's, ornamental grasses and much more. It's a garden beside a senior living community near a walkway and park benches. And even though it's along a busy road it has a feeling of serenity. 

This pretty pink lily was one of many blossoms soaking up the hot and humid midday summer sun.

Tiny Enchanter

taken:
day thirty six
07.26.2011

I have to admit, this day I wasn't feeling very inspired to take any photos. I just wandered the yard aimlessly looking for something interesting. Nothing was catching me. Then I noticed these little plants in the grove behind my house. At first what caught my eye was the small round seed pods or burrs along the stem. Then I saw the tiny white flowers and was drawn in. They seemed so precious, cute and enchanting. Later I learned this plant is called 'enchanter's nightshade'. Appropriate name, I'd say.

I'm wondering though, could these be those annoying burrs that can stick to your clothes or your pets fur and leave a tangled mess? If that's the case, these plants are not so precious after all.

Safe Distance

taken:
day thirty five
07.25.2011

Last year I planted a teeny tiny oregano plant. And this year it came back bigger and bushier than I ever would have imagined. I actually hadn't even realized that oregano was a perennial until it came back. A great surprise!

Now it's covered with small white oregano flowers. And there must be something REALLY special about those flowers because these little buggers are swarming the oregano like crazy.  I think they are wasps? They are definitely creepy and thankfully for my telephoto lens I could sit back from a safe distance, observe and get some fascinating close up photos.

Bright Lights

taken:
day thirty four
07.24.2011

The pesky weeds sure take over this time of year. And after 5 hours of plucking weeds from my garden I was able to step back and see the flowers again. Yay! 

Screaming out to me was this cosmo that my youngest son planted from seed in his own little garden plot. These flowers are like beacons of bright lights. In fact that's it's name 'bright lights cosmo'. They are perfectly bright and cheery!

Prettier Place

taken:
day thirty three
07.23.2011

There's no reward quite like working the soil, planting a seed, seeing the sprout emerge, then witnessing the true miracle of mother nature {the bloom}. If you are a seed sower you know that whether it’s a bountiful crop of healthy veggies or a bright array of pretty flowers, it leaves you with the feeling of true pride knowing you were a part of the whole miracle.                                                        

I wait with anticipation every summer for seeds to come to life. Now suddenly several of the annuals that my sons and I planted from seed are blooming overnight. Among them, this precious pink cosmo. Definitely making this world a prettier place!

Open Wings

taken:
day thirty two
07.22.2011

The bluebirds are active in our yard in the mornings. They perch in the trees scanning for prey then swoop down to the grass to feed on insects. This day I was determined to get some photos.

Photographing birds takes patience though. Patience that I don’t usually have. But patience paid off this time when I was able to get this shot of a bluebird opening it’s wings and repositioning itself on a maple branch. 

Proud and Beaming

taken:
day thirty one
07.21.2011

First of all let me just say that this was a proud day. A big, bright, beaming day for me. After a month of working on this blog {mostly} in secret I finally revealed it to the world and announced it on facebook. I had such an incredible reaction to it by many of my family and friends. It was so wonderful! I feel very grateful for the fabulous support sent my way. I've said it over and over and I'll say it again...THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART!


Now back to normal life, another trip to the library meant another trip down the nature trails. I'm learning so much about native wildflowers. I've always found them fascinating. Even as a little girl I'd play *flower shop* with the wildflowers {shhhh weeds} growing nearby. I even went as far as to tell myself that when I grew up I wouldn't have a yard with mowed grass but instead I would have a yard sprawled with wildflowers and tall grasses. Until now I hadn't taken the time to learn all the names and detailed information about these interesting plants that are such an important part of our surroundings.

I just learned that this sensational purple beauty is a 'hoary verbena'. It's standing proud and tall and beaming with color. 

Quite Fascinating

taken:
day thirty
07.20.2011

It's a busy time of year for dragonflies. They seem to be everywhere. Zipping through the sky, perched high in tree branches, hovering over tall grasses or resting on garden plants. I don't know much about these little guys but as I've watched them closely the past couple of days they are quite fascinating. I've noticed that some of them will stay in the same spot for a few minutes. Then fly and loop around and land right back in the same spot. They will do this over and over again. Another thing I noticed is that they move their heads kind of robotically. It's almost creepy. It's as if their heads aren't attached to their bodies, like they have bobble heads. Interesting creatures! I'd like to learn more about them.

This dragonfly landed on one of my hosta plants. Out of the whole group of hostas it chose the one and only leaf that was in the last beam of evening sunlight. 

Billowy

taken:
day twenty nine
07.19.2011

Hydrangeas are another of my favorites. They are so soft, dreamy and romantic. I love how a bunch of tiny blooms make up one big billowy flower.

I planted this hydrangea last year by my mailbox. It’s a {pink diamond} variety. It’ll turn dark pink as the season goes on. For right now I think the petals resemble little white butterflies with delicate wings.

Magical Simple Meaningful

taken:
day twenty eight
07.18.2011

As I strolled along the grove behind my house I noticed these tiny pink flowers for the first time. I was so excited to see them. They are so tiny. Like little elfin flowers. I researched and found that they are called American Lopseed.

When I was snapping away with my camera this small bee landed for a closer look too. Sometimes moments seem so magical. This was one of those times. Something so simple but so meaningful.

Something New

taken:
day twenty seven
07.17.2011

Is it a flower? No. It's a succulent. A Echeveria 'Perle Von Nürnberg' to be exact.

I tried something new this year. I started a little succulent container garden in a round planter tray on my deck. It was really fun to put together. Succulents have such an exotic look and are perfect for a container garden.

Hiding from the Sun

taken:
day twenty six
07.16.2011

Pink is popping in the garden but it's also hiding. I adore the way the coneflowers petals lazily droop down almost as if they want to hide from the sun. I also love the contrast between the pink petals and the rust colored spiky center.  

It's been HOT in Minnesota. I don't blame those pink little petals for wanting to hide and shelter themselves from the crazy summer heat.

Lettuce Patch

taken:
day twenty five
07.15.2011

It was a rainy rainy day. My veggie garden is really flourishing with all of the rain and humidity. It's almost like a tropical rainforest or jungle these days in Minnesota.

This is a small patch of some salad blend lettuce growing in my veggie garden. It's a very small patch. For some reason I haven't had much luck growing lettuce. Maybe I don't plant it early enough in the spring? Oh well, it's still fun to try and maybe one of these years I'll get rows and rows of lettuce instead of one small patch.

Rural Getaway

taken:
day twenty four
07.14.2011

My local library is surrounded by wildflowers. There’s several little nature trails winding through a prairie area, a wooded area and along a wheat crop. It’s a wonderful rural getaway in the middle of the active suburbs.

These pretty black eyed susan's and purple prairie clover are among the many wildflowers along the trails. The bees were going wild for the clover. We saw lots of busy bumble bees and some pretty butterflies. It was so fun!

Bright and Early

taken:
day twenty three
07.13.2011

I set out bright and early to my garden ready to abolish the weeds that were overgrown. Everything was still sprinkled with morning dew and glistening in the morning sun. 

This corn stalk was cuddling these tiny dewdrops gently in it's outstretched leaf.

Basking

taken:
day twenty two
07.12.2011

This striking little flower, a red mexican hat prairie coneflower {long name}, seems to be basking in the summers heat. I love this photo and how the flower appears to just pop off the page.

Bursting

taken:
day twenty one
07.11.2011

Here’s the lovely lily that was on the brink of bursting open the other day. It’s bright and beautiful and adds so much color to my garden.

First Light

taken:
day twenty
07.10.2011

This vine caught my eye in a morning stroll through my garden. I love the way it reflects the days first light. 

Brink

taken:
day ninteen
07.09.2011

This bud is on the brink of becoming a brilliant lily blossom. Any moment now it’ll burst forth into full bloom. 

To be continued...

Lucky

taken:
day eighteen
07.08.2011

Spiders that live near the shore of Lake Mille Lacs are LUCKY! They will never go hungry. Ever. There's no shortage of bugs and seems to be a new hatching of lake flies every week or so throughout the summer months. Sometimes the air is so thick with them that you can see clouds of flies and hear a constant buzz overhead. EWE!

This spider web was woven onto a street sign just down the street from the cabin. The spider that calls this web home will have a full belly after feasting on all of these lake bugs. Not a pretty photo but dare I say, interesting.

Evening Sun

taken:
day seventeen
07.07.2011

When I spend time up at Lake Mille Lacs I enjoy taking walks down the road from the cabin. It’s peaceful and relaxing.

These tall grasses grow everywhere off the shores of the lake. I snapped this photo down the road near a marshy area. I love the way they glisten in the evening sun.

Pure and Simple

taken:
day sixteen
07.06.2011

Daisies are in bloom. One of my favorite flowers! They’re so modest, pure and simple. I had daisies in my wedding bouquet. They added a touch of sweetnesss to that special day.

Flowers are pretty from all angles and these shasta daisies look so lovely with the sky as a backdrop. The’re beaming with simplicity.

Rainbow by Chance

taken:
day fifteen
07.05.2011

We had a brief dinnertime downpour. Within minutes of receiving gushes of rain the sun was shinning and a rainbow was forming overhead. I didn't get a photo of the rainbow in the sky since we were sitting down to dinner and I was too hungry to grab my camera and saunter outside. 

Later I was able to get many raindrop shots. And after I snapped this photo of a hosta bud I was excited to realize that I captured a tiny topsy-turvy rainbow along with some sun bursts. It was completely by chance. I didn't miss out on a rainbow after all.

Prairieland

taken:
day fourteen
07.04.2011

I have my very own prairie. Fitting since my favorite show as a girl was Little House on the Prairie. My prairie is a small patch of yard where we let nature take over with tall grasses and wildflowers. And this time of year it’s buzzing with activity. 

I was able to sneak up on this dragonfly resting on some tall grass in my prairie. It let me get really close and snap several photos before it zipped away.