The beginning of August

Welcome August.
We saw our first buck in velvet close to home while having coffee in the morning. He was walking amongst several does who just stared at him as he walked through the neighbor's field and woods.

Something alarmed the gals and they took off to the west while the buck took off to the east. They look hazy because of the smoke and some fog.

I have 4 o'clocks blooming all over the place. Each year, I collect the seeds and then randomly drop them into different areas.

Some of them have grown to nearly 5 feet tall and others are being entwined with morning glories.

It's a mess in this spot, but I am enjoying the mess. I may chop it all down after a frost and see what comes up again next year.

Thankfully, Little Richard has been busy helping with the yard work. I put him in some spots that seemed to be growing faster than the rest of the yard and he did a nice job overnight.

Mornings are still the best to go look at things in the garden. The past few mornings are cool with fog and smoke.

The bees are really busy in the pumpkin plants I planted ... ahem, sort of ... by accident in front of the house.

Actually, having them so close is nice. I can see how the bees work the flowers and I can watch the funky pumpkins grow!

These pumpkins are a cross between some gnarly bumpy pumpkins I had last year and the original whitish-yellow pumpkins I had. So it will be interesting to see how large they get. 

I have several other pumpkins in another spot in the pasture that I fenced off. 

I have tossed pumpkins in for the mules to eat the past few years and it seems that they eat them and then stomp the seeds into the ground.

Here are some more flowers to enjoy. All of them taken early in the morning with dew drops on them.

I sure do love the morning glories!

 

Orange and not orange...

My porch is surrounded by nasturtiums and a pumpkin vine!

I tried to get them to climb a stick, but that didn't work well. Next year I think I might shape something out of chicken wire and a tomato cage to see if I can make them grow up that!

I really do love the way they try to take over. 

The plants actually grew on a chair after I coaxed the vines.

I will miss this riot of orange and green after the frost hits.

Here is an old barrel with a skeleton goat and one of the pumpkins that got chewed on. Since the other ones grew up nice, I may toss this one back in the pasture for the red headed mules to munch on.

I do adore the warty pumpkins, they have so much character!

And the stars of the oranges are the Nasturtiums.

These old time orange ones really shine and do so well. I've tried other colors and they aren't as prolific as these seem to be.

And not Orange.

Lil' Richard out in the morning light near the old oak.

This was another hot hot day. The humidity was pretty intense in the morning but that evaporated quickly.

I didn't get out in the woods to hunt up those maple trees across the field. For whatever reason, it seemed like grabbing a blanket and sitting under the pines in the shade with Charlie was a better choice late this afternoon. The breezes were soothing and cool under the trees.

So we just enjoyed the quiet time.

Tonight is a full moon with a partial eclipse happening! I hope to be able to stay awake for that!

AND...I missed a wonderful display of the Aurora Borealis last night. 

 

The color yellow

I thought that I'd go with another color. I picked a really difficult one.

Yellow.

This is one of the pumpkins that grew as a volunteer plant in the pasture. It isn't truly yellow, but it is yellow and orange. Maybe orange can be the next color I target.

I chose to go out very early in the morning and look for yellows. This was a very hard task. 
Below is a macro of a yellow cosmos. These cosmos are both bright yellow and tinted orange.

I took a shot of the seeds below. They are so easy to collect and then simply reseed anywhere. 

For years, I wasn't a fan of any yellow flowers. I avoided orange and yellow flowers in my garden but the colors have really grown on me. Next year, I think I'll be adding many more yellows. I'm eyeing marigolds. 

Below is a pumpkin flower.

This one decided to grow in and among my Nasturtiums. So far, this plant has provided us with 3 small white pumpkins. [I gave out as many extras as I could to the little neighbor kids for their fun]

Finding the color yellow got harder as I left the porch and garden areas. I went out to the meadow to see if I could find some Golden Rod.

Most of the Golden Rod was too faded to provide a colorful photo.

But...

The Orb Weavers were Back!

This one was wrapping up her breakfast which was a grasshopper she had captured. When I shifted my position to 'get' a better and closer shot, she left her breakfast and sat still on her web. She didn't drop off the web like others, but waited patiently for me to leave.

The second shot is the first one I took of her, it is a close up of her wrapping up her meal. Does the yellow and orange colors on her count as Yellow?

I don't really love spiders. I do appreciate the work they do. They are absolutely fascinating to watch. When I worked in Security, I recall the nights I spent in the guardhouse watching an Orb Weaver create the most beautiful web. She showed up each night for weeks. 

We called her Charlotte.

The fog and mist were lifting as I headed back towards the house. I saw the box elder showing off some yellow and headed out towards it. The box elders really put out the seeds this year!

I checked the old oak tree and found just one or two leaves that had color. They usually don't change first so I was surprised. The branches must be damaged in some way to produce dying leaves right now.

Sunday promised another HOT day and it produced it. By late afternoon, it was 90 in the shade and even hotter on our porch which gets full sun through the fall and winter.

This last shot was up through the old oak, I was going for a sun star flare and got one.

The yellows were hard! I need to walk up into my neighbor's woods where he girded some maples which are showing off some great colors right now. This week is going to be a hot one. 

Stay cool.

Seeding Frenzy

It is time for the annual planting frenzy.

This is part of the porch edge.

To those who like things in an orderly way, my gardening skills will offend.

The Ajuga aka Bugleweed, once covered most of this area. However, a winter with hardly any snow a couple of years ago demolished most of them. The rabbits, moles, and voles didn't help either. Last year I planted Nasturtiums in the bare spots.

The Nasturtiums are going to be back this year on the edges while  Forget Me Nots will be in the bare spots right next to the porch.

The Forget Me Nots aren't tall and won't overshadow the Ajuga allowing them to once again fill in the bare areas.

This is were the oriole and the hummingbird feeders are. We can eat our meals and watch the antics right outside the window.
Nasturtiums will come up through the mulch under the feeders to add color.

Hubby asked me why I didn't make straight borders. I replied
"Nature doesn't make her borders straight."

I may expand this a little next year depending on my moods...

I had to put up a temporary 'fence' made out of baling twine and spikes to keep Charlie out of the bare spots. He loves laying in the dirt in between plants.

He is staying out of the area now that I added mulch.

When he wants to stay outside and just observe the yard, he is attached to a boat anchor by a long light cable.

He can lay in the sunlight or chose to be on the bench in the porch. That is his outdoor furry pad. He dragged his blanket out on the porch so I tossed it on the bench.

This area is his preferred way of spending the warm months.

The east side is waiting patiently for the zinnias and 4 o'clock seeds to be dropped into the soil.

The west side where the pallet garden was last year, will get a mix of all sorts of seeds. We'll see what happens there. I had to wait until after the mini split is installed to do any more work.

I have a couple of other spots that I'm going to put wildflowers and other seeds in. This year, I will have to be patient for the annuals to color the area. I'm good with that.

Sunflowers, cosmos, and even [fingers crossed] some morning glories.

In the mule paddock near the house, I'm going to experiment with some sweet corn and squash. When the plants are done, I'll take down the single hot wire and let the critters clean 'the garden'. I don't know if it will work out well, but I am willing to try.

I've transplanted bee balm into three different places. I hope all the spots bring in the birds and hummingbird moths.

For giggles, I even planted sunflowers in one of the old cattle feeders. That should be interesting to say the least.

I only have to grab a couple of tomato plants to put in my rather unusual 'found' planters. More about them at another time.

Seed On!

And enjoy...

Busy

Friday....

Charlie and I started out early enough to 'beat' the crowds at Wildcat Mountain State Park. I wanted to hike the cross country ski/hike trail on the ridge top and check out the lookouts.

I wasn't exactly clear on how the trail integrated with the equine trails, but I thought it would be great to get out on all of the lookouts. I was disappointed in most of the lookouts however. 

To be clear, they put up the barricades to keep folks from climbing out on the pinnacles of rock and falling to their deaths. However, they have let the scrub brush grow up which obscures any views. Oh darn.

Um, I didn't take any photos of the log barricades. Oh well. Charlie and I stopped for lunch and snacks at Billings Creek lookout.

It was getting warm and I could hear the noon whistle from Ontario. Charlie was tired and hot. He isn't built for hard fast hikes and after a bit he just sat in the trail and refused to move.

He also has a crooked leg and foot.

So a while back I had ordered a Kurgo backpack which is designed to carry a pet. I normally put a DSLR softie camera saver in the back when Charlie isn't along. It carries cameras well with plenty of room for lunch, hats, mittens, an extra jacket, hand warmers, and sleeves for water bottles. It is behind me in the above photo. It also has a rubber bottom so you can set it down in damp/wet or muddy areas. 

He did quite well in the backpack and rested up. He prefers me to wear the pack like a front baby carrier. On second thought, I think I'd prefer that sort of pack for him as he ages. But for now, this works. Little mini Dachshunds[he is also half Pekingese].... are not known for loving long hikes even though Charlie has always been a champ. 

He will trot along happily for about 4 miles before needing a lift or a rest.

We headed back to the car. I missed going to the Johnnycake Outlook, but that would have added two miles. Charlie wasn't up for that.

Friday night we stood on the porch and watched the deer come in to the mules' pasture.

Generally, my red mules will run the deer off. But last night it was quite the peaceful scene.

Saturday...

Charlie recovered nicely. We did a pre dawn walk through the freshly harvested corn field and watched the sun rise

Then it was on to the rock formation and picking up rocks, and pulling up Buckthorn trees.

Spending time out there was a way to enjoy the unusually wonderful weather.

I brought along some things to photograph and make Fall/Thanksgiving cards.

Charlie was almost a willing model.....I had a pocket full of treats...

And then another one for good measure...

I quite like this one for a Thanksgiving choice. Real leaves, fake leaves, and mini pumpkins at my new favorite place.

The Rocks.

Years ago when my boys were teens, they went here often and called it 'The Fort'.

Charlie loves it here. He can stand or sit on this rock out crop and watch over the the forest. Perfect for a little dog!

Sunday may just be a day off from pulling Buckthorn and brushing the pasture. It is and endless job and a good way for me to keep out of trouble. 

On nice days I cannot sit in our tiny cottage and listen to endless hours of TV crime shows.