When the word sunflower is mentioned, I picture a field of sunny, smiling yellow sunflower heads lined up in row after row. But before those yellow heads appear, a creepier looking object emerges first, like a man eating plant from those early sci-fi movies which still often re-run on late Saturday nights.
Creepy Sunflower
There will be many people heading to the lakes and campgrounds for the last big end of summer vacation for the Labor Day holiday. And since the lakes will be crowded, I guess I will have to have my campfire by my little pond instead.
Heading to the Lake
The Black-eyed Susans are enjoying a sunny, late summer day.
Sunny Susans
These young swallows where hanging on tight to the branch while yesterday’s winds were tossing them like a carnival ride. The field yesterday was filled with swallows so they might be gathering to head south before winter but before they go, they better eat a lot more of my mosquitoes!
Juvenile Swallows on a Ride
Old silos sometimes take on a green look when vines inch their way up and cover them but in this case the vines are climbing on both ends of the barn with wild cucumber vines climbing by the round hay bales.
Surrounded by Green
While pretty weeds or wildflowers can spice up a scene, so can late summer flowers planted in a yard. The garden zinnia stems back to a native plant found in Mexico and a species sample was collected by Spanish botanists in 1789 and now there are many different cultivars of the zinnia flower. And it is hard to say which is older, this zinnia cultivar or the old milk and pump house, but they are both pretty.
Zinnias and Milkhouse
When mowing by the pond, I normally scare some critter or bird as I near the banks. You can see the frogs jumping into the water, the Red-winged Blackbird flies out of the nest made in the cattails or even ducks or Green Heron takes flight. This week I was disturbing the dragonflies, which were busy in mating activities all around the pond. I believe these little dragonflies are called Autumn Meadowhawk, but I know wildflowers better than insects so they could be some other species.
Busy Dragonflies
It is a nice surprise to see flowers on the edge of the lawn which blew in from somewhere rather than just extra weeds. The pink color of the Phlox brightens up an otherwise dull looking area.
Wayward Flower
Nature can provide many magnificent events in one day; from a meteorite display high in the night sky, to a bright sunny day with puffy clouds on the blue sky and end the day with a colorful sunset on the western horizon.
August Sunset
According to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, today is the end of the Dog Days of Summer, which runs from July 3 to August 11. The ancient Romans named “Caniculares dies,” or days of the dogs, the 20 days before the conjunction of the dog star (Sirius in the Canis Major constellation) with the sun, to 20 days after. With the exception of our sun, Sirius is the brightest star visible from Earth so the Romans believed when Sirius rose and set with the sun, it added to the heat to produce the hottest days of the year. But since the summer heat is a direct results of the earth’s tilt, the ancients were barking up the wrong tree blaming the ‘Dog Star’ for boosting the summer heat.
Dog Days of Summer
