The Fourth of July in the United States is a holiday commemorating the adoption of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. For most it means picnics, barbecues and fireworks.
It is a nice day here for those types of activities but the only thing I wish was that the mosquitoes would declare their independence and stay the heck away from me!
Celebrating the 4th
It was finally clear at sunset last night and low humidity, but those conditions don’t create very colorful sunsets as when there is moisture in the air or clouds to reflect the sun light like the other night when the rain was letting up.
Sunset Below the Clouds
The yellow lilies looked a little soggy from yesterday’s rain and I got wet taking the picture since it seemed to rain most of the day.
Wet Lily
When the sun finally breaks out and shines down on the rolling hills of southwestern Wisconsin, the rural landscape emerges with crop land, barns and livestock on a summer day under the white clouds above.
Rural Wisconsin
It is raining again and I’m not sure even the frogs like all the rain as they have to build their burrow entrances higher so they don’t drown and then I clip the tops off when I mow the lawn.
I did decide if I enter a frog jumping contest, that I would enter a toad instead. The little toad doesn’t make the long leaps which a frog can do, but I figured I would win the contest if I played the sound a lawn mower at the starting line since the toads quickly bounce away from the mower but the frogs jump right towards the mower. And so my little toad would win the frog jumping contest!
Wet Frog
Last Sunday, a local rural church celebrated 125 years, and while a congregation may continue, their building may not; sometimes due to fire, storm damage or age. The ‘Old Red Brick Church’, as known by the locals, is old and it is feeling its 109 years. The congregation have deemed the building unsafe and unusable and the cost to repair is beyond the means of the members so they voted to ‘deconstruct’ the local landmark.
Old Red Too Old
The Orange Hawkweeds might like all the rain since they are blooming where I haven’t been able to mow the lawn. But the plant isn’t supposed to be on my lawn as it is an evasive species and it is becoming a problem in many areas. And while the rain is helping it survived from mowing, the blossoms close up in shade so they aren’t helping the insects during all the cloudy days.
Invasive Orange
The rainy days have prevented me from getting many sunset pictures this summer, since if the sun manages to peek out, it is for a brief moment only.
Glimpse of the Sun
With more rain predicted the next few days, which will most likely set the record for the wettest June on record, I think a larger rock will be needed to keep the post from floating out of the ground.
Rock Too Small
A hillside of lupines are very pretty but they also change poor soils into a higher quality by fixing nitrogen and fertilizing barren lands. And there is a lot more to their pretty looks as they also have been used for food for over 6000 years, although never reaching the same status of a legume as soybeans or dry peas. Among the nearly 600 species of lupines, some varieties have the ‘sweet gene’ and are used more for food which have great dietary values and benefits.
More than Just Pretty Looks
