Solitary

taken:
day seventy two
08.31.2013

One solitary feather among the rocks on the shore of Lake Mille Lacs.

Airy

taken:
day seventy one
08.30.2013

The light and airy tassels on the ornamental grass in my flower garden are growing tall and wispy, 

showing the promise of feathery plumes in the fall.

Fascinating

taken:
day seventy
08.29.2013

Bumble bees are completely intoxicated on pollen and nectar lately. They bobble about from bloom to bloom covered with bits of golden pollen. It's so fun to get up close to observe them. Sometimes they take their time and you can follow along. They're fascinating!

Hanging Out

taken:
day sixty nine
08.28.2013

Just a little grasshopper hanging out on this corn stalk leaf still speckled with morning dew.

Dynamic

taken:
day sixty eight
08.27.2013

I'm so excited about this 'salsa' sneezeweed that I picked up on clearance at a local greenhouse. It's incredibly bright and dynamic with tons of blooms. I can't wait for it to add abundant color to my garden year after year.

Far From Mammoth

taken:
day sixty seven
08.26.2013

This emerging sunflower is supposed to be a 'mammoth' sunflower. It's far from mammoth though. It's shorter than me and the bloom is only abut 6 - 8 inches. It's supposed to be 9 - 12 feet tall with a 12 inch bloom. Not sure why it's so small. Maybe it's because the seeds came from the dollar store or because I planted the seeds a bit late? Sometimes I feel like my green thumb is a little off. Ok, I feel like that a lot actually. Gardening is hard and tricky work! Things don't always turn out as you envision. Oh well, this sunflower is still pretty and cheerful and makes me smile.

Wavy

taken:
day sixty six
08.25.2013

I love the wavy petals of this graceful 'picotee" cosmos bloom.

Perfectly Posed

taken:
day sixty five
08.24.2013

Another dragonfly.

As I wrote before, they're all a flutter these days.

This one perfectly posed for me as it perched and hunted.

Gripping Gaze

taken:
day sixty four
08.23.2013

The beautiful black and white flecked feathers of this chicken, in the Poultry Barn at the MN State Fair, first caught my attention. After I took a closer look, it's eyes captivated me. So interesting and kind of haunting. Makes me wonder what he or she is thinking. Also makes me wonder if this chicken is a he or she? I wish I would have looked at the tag on the cage to see if it was a hen or a rooster. Either way it's a beautiful chicken with a unique and gripping gaze.

Radiate And Glow

taken:
day sixty three
08.22.2013

Warm late morning sun beamed down on this zinnia, allowing it's petals to radiate and glow.

Ruffled

taken:
day sixty two
08.21.2013

The ruffled petal of a tropical hibiscus.

Droops With Droplets

taken:
day sixty one
08.20.2013

After a showering from the sprinkler, this pink morning glory droops with the weight of water droplets.

Transformed

taken:
day sixty
08.19.2013

I'm seeing a trend in the garden lately, lots of pink! 

It's bursting everywhere. 

Here's the 'queen red lime' zinnia again. 

It's now transformed into a billowing bloom of exploding petals.

Dashing

taken
day fifty nine
08.18.2013

Dragonflies are all a flutter these days. 

Dashing here and there. 

This one rested it's wing for a bit by perching on the curled leaf of a lily.

Simple

taken:
day fifty eight
08.17.2013

A simple wild sunflower growing street-side near the shores of Lake Mille Lacs.

Right Moment

taken:
day fifty seven
08.16.13

Lake Mille Lacs has some of the most stunning sunsets. 

They're even more spectacular when a sweet little family of ducks float by at precisely the right moment.

It's Time To Smile

taken:
day fifty six
08.15.2013

"Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened."

~ Dr. Suess

I try to remind myself of this wonderful quote when I'm feeling sad about change or moments passing too quickly. 

Around this time every summer I start to feel a little sad. With sunflowers in full bloom it means summer is slowly adjourning. It's always difficult for me to come to terms with fading summer. 

Shorter days are around the corner and it's way too soon! It seems summer just barely arrived and now we're close to saying goodbye. 

On the other hand, it's a time of great excitement as a gardener. Seeing all your hard work pay off, proudly reaping what you've sown. I love it! 

It's time to harvest ripening tomatoes, flourishing zucchini and plumping cucumbers. 

It's time to find joy in the bright and cheerful sunflowers and feel delighted with the memories of warm and green never-ending days.

It's time to smile. Because it happened.

Photogenic

taken:
day fifty five
08.14.2013

Just another beautiful cosmos blossom. This one, a 'picotee'. Cosmos are very photogenic. I can't help but snap dozens of photos of them every day or so. You might say I'm obsessed with these graceful and lovely beauties!

Prettiness

taken:
day fifty four
08.13.2013

On this day I took the boys to a new park. It was just a plain old park. Nothing too special except it had several soccer fields. 

So while the boys raced from goal to goal, I meandered around looking for something pretty. I found some wild flowers growing in an overgrown area of the park.

These purple wild flowers caught my eye. Bees were buzzing about enjoying their purple prettiness too.

My favorite part of searching for prettiness is stumbling on something that would otherwise be overlooked.

Delicate And Durable

taken:
day fifty three
08.12.2013

Here's some hens & chicks growing in a container along our front sidewalk. They're a fun little addition to a container garden. I like the subtle hint of pink stemming up from the base and the itty bitty spikes outlining each and every leaf. How is it that succulents look delicate and durable all at the same time?

Sunlit

taken:
day fifty two
08.11.2013

After I cut a bouquet of my annabelle hydrangeas and placed the vase on my kitchen window sill, I noticed how pretty the leaves looked with the bright sunshine streaming in behind them. I adore how defined the sunlit veins are. They remind me of tiny little roads on a tiny little neighborhood road map.

Fluke

taken:
day fifty one
08.10.2013

I just might have a thing for these tiny bees OR maybe they have a thing for me? They seem to always be around these days when I'm out exploring. While I was snapping some shots of this 'bright lights' cosmos, this tiny bee landed for one single quick moment and it just so happened that the focus was dead on. I literally had one split second to press the shutter before it flew off. I love little flukes like that!

Color

taken:
day fifty
08.09.2013

Color, it's happening! This zinnia, from the other day, is changing, growing, emerging and brightening with color. This is a 'queen red lime' zinnia, a new variety I've never grown before. 

Adorned

taken:
day forty nine
08.08.2013

The morning sprinkler left water drops dripping from all the blooming flowers in my garden. This pretty pink lily adorned one of the refreshing droplets.

Fuzzy

taken:
day forty eight
08.07.2013

It's the time of the season when sunflowers make their appearance. This 'strawberry blonde' sunflower is along a border in the back of my veggie garden. I love the fuzzy texture of it's swelling flower bud that is close to opening any moment now.

Sweet Little Orange

taken:
day forty seven
08.06.2013

This sweet little orange daisy is growing in a container on our back deck.

Anticipation

taken:
day forty six
08.05.2013

The zinnias that I planted from seed this spring are just starting to open. The buds look so interesting just before it's petals slowly uncurl, full of possibility and anticipation. I can't wait to see this one in full color once it's completely revealed.

Wispy Whimsy

taken:
day forty five
08.04.2013

Some wispy fountain grass that I have growing in a container garden along our front sidewalk. Fountain grass is one of my favorite things to plant in a container garden. I love their purple blades of foliage and soft plumes that emerge later in the summer adding some fun texture and whimsy.

Sparkling

taken:
day forty four
08.03.2013

Here's some wild grass sparkling in the golden evening sunshine. I'm in love with the way the setting sun illuminates with magical and glittery sprinkles of light. It's so fun searching for light, the right angle and a subject that will glisten.

Any Moment

taken:
day forty three
08.02.2013

Just a lonely wild sunflower growing among some other prairie flowers. 

It's about to pop open at any moment now.

Teeter Tottering

taken:
day forty two
08.01.2013

On a nature walk with my boys and my mom we saw this dragonfly teeter tottering on some tall prairie grass. The dragonfly fought the wind, shifting back and forth, this way and that, using it's wings to keep balance, struggling to stay perched. Then it would take to flight for just a brief second, loop around and land right back on top of the tall prairie grass, hunting in the usual manner that dragonflies do.