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.

Backyard Blast

taken:
day thirteen
07.03.2011

On the eve of the 4th of July the fireworks are usually already flying. 

My dad and brother set off this spectacular show. It’s always fun to try to get a few photos of the fireworks. I’m often surprised when indeed some of the photos turn out because I don’t use a tripod and in between pressing the shutter release button I’m continually swatting away flocks of mosquitos. Granted they’re not award winning photos but still fun!

Tangerine Horizon

taken:
day twelve
07.02.2011

There’s nothing like the serenity of watching the sun disappear behind the horizon. It’s almost as if you can feel the world calming as the air cools and the light fades. And sometimes you are blessed with colors so vivid that you’d swear you were on a another planet.

This is the sunset over Lake Mille Lacs. The lake is so vast that you can only barely see land in the distance. Sometime I imagine I’m on a Hawaiian Island or on the shore of Jamaica soaking in the finale of a tropical day. And with dew points reaching the 70s on some summer days, Minnesota can feel pretty tropical itself.

Glittery Droplets

taken:
day eleven
07.01.2011

I just love surprises in the garden. And gardens offer up many surprises, usually daily.

Just in time for July 1st my day lilies began blooming overnight. After a good soaking from the sprinkler right away in the morning this lovely day lily is glittering with water droplets.