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Gifts from the Meadow

Thursday, September 8, 2011

And overhead the great clouds sail...
as I struggle to make images showing them and the landscape, too (a tall order and a terrible thing to ask of a camera)

 but I got my best-yet photo of a dogbane beetle in the meadow this summer. All with the trusty Canon G-11.



 I love this photo of a fritillary and the whole meadow stretching out behind it.

 The meadow, full of unconscious bouquets of rudbeckia and butterfly weed.


 and the best summer gift of all, a yellow butterfly weed, quite rare, coming up along the driveway!


 It was the most bewitching shade of rich golden yellow.

 and in a spot where Bill won't accidentally mow it. Hurray! It bloomed twice this summer, delighting me for weeks.

I smile down at it every morning when I go running.

 One day I happened on a Peck's skipper deeply engrossed in a Laurentia blossom. I thought perhaps a crab spider had hold of it, and went to help it. No. The butterfly was just trying to reach that delicious nectar at the very bottom of the corolla tube.



It hurriedly backed out and looked at me as if to ask me what I thought I was doing.
 It was quite an elderly, worn skipper and apparently set in its ways. It had its proboscis extended all the way, and was partway down the throat of the flower. Very sweet. I left it alone to probe other flowers.

 I set up a fun little shade garden under some birches, up out of reach of the durn rabbits. Rabbits love begonias and impatiens as well as gerania. It would take a rabbit about two minutes to reduce this glorious Rex begonia to sticks.


Hope you've enjoyed this little walk around my summer garden. Too soon it will be gone, and we'll have to content ourselves with flaming fall foliage!












10 comments:

I've never seen an ice plant, so pretty and portulaca is so sweet with fat blossoms. Your lavender hedge is gorgeous, tall and full. We never have good luck with lavender,I wonder what type this is? I love the fuchia magellanica and such a gorgeous color is the satin blue rose of sharon.

Now your post today was also a treat and I love the orangy butterfly weed and then to have that rare bright yellow butterfly weed spring up and surprise you-hurrah! Such enjoyment you derive in your gardens and wild flowers and so do we, when you take your valuable time and show us.

Bunnies?!
What is Chet going to do about this???


Word verification -- duckshti---
really.

I love this post of your garden. What a beautiful spot you live in. I have an apology to make to Chet Baker--I referred to him as a boxer in some comment on FB--I knew better but that was the first "B" that came to mind and oh well, ... Boston Terrier you are, Chet Baker. A lovely one at that!

Oh, Tulip Poplar envy ... I can see baby TP's in the background.
Such a great tree.
So rare here.

Hm-mm! Prairie Dogs , gophers and ground squirrels don't like wormwood ( artemesia ) . I wonder if it works on rabbits. Perhaps you could plant a little here and there.
Gorgeous Butterfly weed !

Beautiful blog! I think I can learn a lot from you. I am going to follow you. Look forward to reading more.
Mary Ellen
http://rabbitslippers.blogspot.com/
http://lovegoesonbereavementsupportblog.blogspot.com/

lovely shots

dan

Am curious about the interesting structure in the last photo. Is it a gardening shed? An observation tower?

thank you for sharing your world

Time spent outside seems to make the rest of the world fade away. No distractions, but nature and beauty. My first visit to the Mile High City sent me on a journey with clouds. They always appeared to be just out of reach. Love your pics.

Visit & Follow @ http://speedoflife-times.blogspot.com/

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