Category: Flowers and Gardens

FOR OUR WORLD hosted by these five wonderful bloggers:  Arija, Gattina, Lady Fi, Sylvia, and Sandy.   Thank you ladies!

It's a between-season time out here in the RV Park near the wetlands.   Most of the summer flowers (wild and tame) are gone, but there's not much Fall color yet.  It's still sunny most days after cool foggy mornings. 

Wildflowers are ghosts of their former selves.  Cattails (which would be perfect for Autumn arrangements) have already gone to seed.  A week of hot weather did them in. 

The good local apples haven't appeared at the Farmer's Market yet, but abandoned old trees out along the street where we walk to the wetlands have fruit.   (These apples might be OK to make applesauce out of, if you were careful.  But because the trees aren't cared for, the fruit isn't good to eat out-of-hand.)  

These trees are survivors  — planted years ago when people used to farm this wetland area.   Before the flood-control reservoir was built.

School started a couple of weeks ago, and while Autumn hasn't quite officially begun in this hemisphere, it always feels like Fall as soon as those yellow buses start appearing on our country road  – — even for those of us who are years and years past living on a school schedule.   

FOR RUBY TUESDAY hosted by Mary at Work of the Poet.

 
 
Although it is almost officially Autum, the roses are hanging in there.  That's about it as far as flowers go — the Fall color really isn't here yet and the other summer flowers are looking timeworn.

  This one is is a flower memory from earlier this summer.  Our two great-grandsons (and their mother) were here visiting their grandparents — (our daughter and son-in-law).   (Here's the earlier post.)

The not-quite-two-year-old loved this flower.  At that point, he only had the important things in his vocabulary (his big brother's name, mom, dad, dog, football, grandma and grandpa, and, of course, no.)  But he was fascinated by the pink and blue hydrangea and, with the help of his grandmother,  added that word to his vocabulary.  It was fun hearing his baby version of this big word and knowing it meant that he'd be talking in paragraphs very soon.  (His mom tells us that he is now.)

 *DISCLAIMER:  The grandmother who taught him to say the new word was our daughter, not me!  (Bill and I are both called GG!)

 
 "Imagine all the people living life in peace." 

 September 11, 2011  TODAY'S FLOWERS

John Lennon's "Imagine"  Click for link to the full lyrics and link to video.

Visit TODAY'S FLOWERS.  

Our kids and grandkids used to enjoy gathering bouquets of wildflowers.

And now our great-grands do.  And so do I.  But I have a different method of gathering.

Here's a bouquet of (mostly) white ones from a recent stroll down the country road.

This reddest of all the red wildflowers was a welcome roadside find on our summer roadtrip.   Linked to RUBY TUESDAY.

 FOR MELLOW YELLOW  MONDAY. (Definitely yellow, maybe not so mellow.)

This bright yellow wildflower (weed?) is growing in several spots along Jeans Road.  We didn't remember seeing it when we've stayed here in previous summers.  And lo and behold the local section of this morning's paper has an article about how TANSY RAGWORT is making a comeback in the area.  It's a weed that is lethal to horses and cattle and it was thought to have been eradicated.  Here's a link to the article and picture, which looks just about exactly the same as the one I took.  So although I thought I was going to post about the pretty little pools of sunshine growing along the side of the road, instead I am posting about a pretty poison.   

But the bees don't know it's dangerous.   

FOR WEEKEND IN BLACK AND WHITE

We drove past the house we used to own the other day.  I'm glad we don't own it any longer, but I still want to check up on it whenever we're in the area.  (Are we the only ones who do that?)

When we first looked at the house, in 1971, we were entranced by the big beautiful Grandiflora Magnolia Tree in the front yard.   I wanted that house before we ever set foot inside.  It was a good thing that the rest of it met our needs!

The house has changed a lot since then, but the Magnolia Tree is still there and still as beautiful as ever.    I jumped out of the car for a quick picture and a quick fix of its beautiful fragrance. 

LINKED TO SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY  AND TODAY'S FLOWERS.

Taken during our visit with the kids in Colorado.  I was resting and admiring the wildflowers as Lisa hiked ahead on a trail at Hall Ranch near Lyons. 

I knew my legs needed a rest, but I thought my eyes must really be tired too when it seemed like part of the flower I was looking at just upped and flew away. 

Luckily, the flying part landed again a few seconds later so that I could get these pictures.