Blistering Hot & Spiders!

This was Sunday's view from the ridgetop. I usually can get a decent shot from different parts of the ridge, but this year, no one on this ridge is growing soy beans. My choices to see the sun rise this year are slim. I have to walk a mile to get an open view of the sky without corn blocking my views.

Our hollow doesn't see the sun for about an hour or so after sunrise. The sun has to come up over the trees on the ridge to shine down on us. In a way I miss places I used to live where I had a fairly clear sight of the horizon. But I'm used to it now after 29 years [this coming weekend].

The humidity and fog are intense in the valleys in the morning. The shot below is from when I drove down to the gas station in Readstown for some milk. It was taken in Infrared that was the camera I had with me. The valley fog from the river was dissipating but it still makes me stop and admire it after all of these years.

Infrared Shot

Before the sun gets into our hollow, I get the chores done and make sure the tanks for the ladies have fresh water. The mules are spending a lot of time down in the Buckthorn Forest where the sun doesn't shine and there always seems to be a bit of air movement.

Our mornings have been like this muggy, foggy, and a very high dew point ---> that leads to the discomfort of being outside. If one's sweat doesn't evaporate, one does not cool off.

I did the smart thing on the hottest of days. I organized and re-organized my files regarding our financial paperwork. I need to get together with my daughter in law and have her teach [or reteach me how to do a spreadsheet]. I could do this at one time, but can't remember how to do it now. I learned over 30 years ago.

I did stuff I normally don't do until the first day of fall. I organized my 'junk' room and cleaned it up again. So I can make another mess.

My early morning walk this morning to check fences revealed that one of the critters was in a spot she wasn't supposed to be in. Tsk, tsk. After some chasing, I got her settled back with the others and moved on to go into the neighbor's large and wild meadow.

This was the view.... 

A huge meadow filled with spider webs from Orb Weavers or Orb Spiders. 

I saw it the day before when I didn't have a camera with me. I couldn't resist climbing through the fence [I'm allowed to hike there whenever I please] and explore.

I found lots of empty webs, and quite a few occupied webs.

The spiders don't bother you if you bump into their web, they just scuttle off into the grasses or bush they built on.

Imagine that they remake or build a new web each day -- or night? How industrious is that?

I used to be so afraid of spiders until I met a 9 year old girl who wanted to become an entomologist. She and I would go around and look at spiders and any other insect we could find together. I started photographing them with her and of course, I found a new and exciting subject to 'shoot'.

This stunning beauty is in one of my wilder flower gardens. I won't go in and pull weeds or anything until she is done for the season. 

I'm going to go out early again tomorrow morning and each morning to try and get glimpses of these beautiful creatures. At least until they are done for the season. 

I find them to be so amazing and so oddly beautiful.

Flowers

There are a few flowers I grow because they bring me particular joy and they are really quite easy to care for.
That would be Zinnias and 4 O'clocks.

It is the 4 O'clock that brings me the most joy because of their sweet evening scents that they wrap the house in. In the morning, I can enjoy them before the sun closes them up for the day. My grandmother grew them in her small garden. Before summer's end, we'd collect the little black seeds before they dropped and save them for the next summer.

Now these flowers come in multiple colors. Pink, white, yellow, and a bright red. If you collect the seeds for several years, the flowers will start to become multicolored as they cross pollinate. 

Their scent is heavenly. did I say that already?

I noticed that one of the plants on the west side of the house has bright red blossoms that are tinged with a yellow edges. 

The Zinnias that I tossed into the dirt and raked about are going gung ho. They aren't as tall as I've seen them in the past but I heard other flower gardeners say the same about some of their plants. 

I will collect seeds from the Zinnias this year.

Most of these Zinnia seeds came from a seed exchange with Aurora. So I have her to thank for the beautiful array of colors.

I collect several vases of them each day and fill a section of my countertop with a mix of vases and jars to hold them.

This is the time of summer that I am the happiest with a riot of colors to see and enjoy. 

In my wildflower garden which was just a patch of bare dirt in the middle of the yard, I have Bachelor's Buttons and a variety of pink flowers, along with some sunflowers that are getting ready to blossom. 

In front of the house on the east side, the few sunflowers I planted are blossoming. I planted some of the tall ones and some ones that are only supposed to get to 2 feet tall. 

One of the shorter ones just budding out!

I didn't have much luck with the red sunflowers, but I see a short one budding on the porch garden.

The goldfinches are happy as are the bees. Today I took out a chair and just watched the fun while sitting in the shade.