2018 Unpublished Photos

Tags

american robin, blue jay, cosmos, great egret, mallard, montezuma national wildlife refuge, northern cardinal, photography, postaday

In 2018, some of my photos did not appear on this blog, normally because I didn’t want to have too many in any post. Now at year end, looking at them, some actually deserve to be shown, and here they are.

Northern Cardinal in January 2018.

Mallard mother and ducklings, May 2018.

Great Egret at Montezuma NWR, September 2018.

American Robin, November 2018.

Blue Jay, November 2018.

Cosmos brought inside, October 2018.

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Summer into Fall Flowers

Tags

chrysalis, clematis, cosmos, monarch, photography, postaday

It has been warm lately, even though it is now fall according to the calendar. Cosmos flowers are still doing very well, especially some white ones.

White Cosmos.

White Cosmos.

Green Sweat Bee on Cosmos flower.

Even the Clematis plants were doing well with the help of abundant rain this past week.

Clematis.

Clematis.

I checked up on the Monarch butterfly chrysalis. It has turned to a darker green. In two or three more days a butterfly will emerge?

Monarch chrysalis.

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

cosmos, photography, postaday, wordless wednesday

Cosmos.

Milkweed and Cosmos

Tags

asclepias incarnata, asclepias tuberosa, cosmos, milkweed, photography, postaday

This year I tried to grow from seeds orange milkweed, also called butterfly weed (Asclepias Tuberosa). So far only two plants grew and they are displaying bright orange flowers.

Butterfly Weed (Asclepias Tuberosa).

These plants are not as tall as the pink or swamp milkweed planted three years ago and, in the summer, visited daily by Monarch butterflies.

Swamp Milkeed (Asclepias Incarnata).

I also planted Cosmos flowers from seeds. They are starting to bloom and here are some pictures of them.

Cosmos.

White Cosmos.

White Cosmos a day later.

Cosmos.

Flowers After the Rain

Tags

black-eyed susan, cosmos, photography, postaday, zinnia

After several dry weeks, rain has been falling over the past few days in our area, reviving grass and pushing flowers for more blooms. The latter, despite the fact we are already in autumn, still managed to put on dazzling colors and forms.

Black-eyed Susan.

Cosmos.

Zinnia.

Cosmos.

Zinnias.

Cosmos.

One More Cosmos Post

Tags

cosmos, photography, postaday

This morning I went back to the organic farm near home to take more photos of Cosmos flowers. The weather is getting definitely cooler, and frost will soon kill every plant, so this may be the last Cosmos for this year. Dew was still hanging on to the flowers, but that only added to their beauty.

Heirloom Cosmos. Like lace.

Heirloom Cosmos.

Heirloom Cosmos.

Heirloom Cosmos.

Meanwhile, back home our Cosmos flowers had a burst of blooming, sending up about a dozen flowers.

Homegrown Cosmos.

Homegrown Cosmos.

Heirloom Cosmos

Tags

cosmos, heirloom, photography, postaday, z food farm

Near our house, there is an organic farm, Z Food Farm, that grows heirloom vegetables and flowers. I pass by it on my way to work every morning, but it was always too dark so I didn’t notice their flower beds until today. They had many flowers, and I may come back for more. Today, the heirloom Cosmos were stunning, and I took a lot of pictures of them.

Cosmos at Z Food Farm.

Cosmos at Z Food Farm.

Cosmos at Z Food Farm.

Cosmos at Z Food Farm.

Cosmos at Z Food Farm.

Cosmos at Z Food Farm.

End of Summer Flowers

Tags

Agapostemon, cosmos, green bee, sedum, sedum autumn joy

At the end of the summer about the only annual flowers that remain are the ever reliable Cosmos, while fall flowers are getting ready to put on their own show.

Green Bee visiting Cosmos.

Close-up of Green Bee (Agapostemon).

Cosmos.

Sedum “Autumn Joy” just starting to bloom.

Those Deer!

Tags

cosmos, milkweed, photography, postaday

Last week, in Prairie Sun Redux I posted a photo of three Rudbeckia Prairie Sun which had bloomed after their predecessors had been eaten by deer. Well, those deer also ate them and there is no bud left to bloom for the rest of the year. Sigh.

Only milkweed and Cosmos flowers remain. Here are a few shots of them at the height of the season.

Bee and butterfly on milkweed.

Cosmos

Cosmos

Wordless Wednesday

Tags

cosmos, crape myrtle, marsh mallow, photography, postaday, Rudbeckia Prairie Sun

Cosmos

Crape Myrtle

Rudbeckia Prairie Sun

Marsh Mallow

Midsummer Flowers

Tags

cosmos, photography, postaday

The deer did not eat our Cosmos flowers, which keep putting on a bravura performance in the intense summer heat. Here are some shots I took early this morning.

Cosmos.

Cosmos.

Cosmos.

Cosmos.

Cosmos.

Cosmos.

Summer Flowers

Tags

asclepias incaranata, butterfly weed, cosmos, daylily, nasturtium, photography, postaday

It rained again last evening. Early today I went out and found our summer flowers in full bloom, still in the shade or gently caressed by rays from a sunrise that was not yet too hot. It was a feast for the eyes, and for my macro lens.

Asclepias Incarnata (Butterfly Weed).

Daylily.

Cosmos.

Nasturtium.

Cosmos.

Cosmos with landing insect helicopter.

Cosmos.

First Cosmos

Tags

cosmos, photography, postaday

For the past several years, I’ve been planting Cosmos flower seeds among our perennials to add some colors. The heat and the rain of the past few weeks have been perfect for them and they are starting to show up. Here’s the first one of the season.

Cosmos

Birds, Flowers, etc.

Tags

blue jay, common grackle, cosmos, moth, photography, postaday, red-bellied woodpecker, rose-breasted grosbeak, Sa Pa

Like others on WordPress, I have been going through photos taken in 2016 to see whether some of them could be displayed here. Several are shown below, and others will probably follow in the last three days of this year. As you can tell, there is no rhyme or reason to the order of these images.

Cosmos.

Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Blue Jay trying to scare away other birds.

Sa Pa hill in the clouds.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Goldfinch.

Moth on Black-eyed Susan.

Common Grackle.

Flowers, Rain, and a Dove

Tags

cosmos, desert rose, mourning dove, photography, postaday

I took the following two photos last year, forgot about them, and only today got the time to review and process them.

First a Mourning Dove seemed interested in the flowers of a Desert Rose kept in a planter.

Mourning Dove.

The same flowers after a rainy night.

Desert Rose after rain.

This last shot of a Cosmos is from this morning, when temperatures were still below 90 F(32 C).

Cosmos in morning sun.

Wordless Wednesday: Three Flowers

Tags

cosmos, daffodil, hosta, photography, postaday

Cosmos.

Hosta flower.

Daffodil from May.

Cleome and Cosmos

Tags

cleome, cosmos, photography, postaday

Cleome and Cosmos require virtually no care and yet grow well around the house. This morning, before the heat became too oppressive, and while there was a light haze, I took the following photos of both kinds of flowers.

Cleome or spider plant flower.

Two Cosmos sisters.

Cosmos, with Marigolds in background.

Milkweed Flowers and Others

Tags

asclepias, cone flower, cosmos, echinacea, milkeed, photography, postaday

This year I planted milkweed (Asclepias) to try to help and attract butterflies, especially Monarchs, a species that is in decline in North America over the past several years. The milkweed flowers have started to bloom.

Asclepias or Milkweed

Let’s see whether the Monarchs will come! In the meantime, other summer flowers are very noticeable also, and butterflies, but not Monarchs, do fly around the yard.

Cosmos

Cosmos

Cone flower (Echinacea) and green bee.

Midsummer Photos

Tags

cone flower, cosmos, echinacea, photography, postaday

It is midsummer, and the following photos are typical of those that can be captured at this time of the year. I took them around our house.

Cone Flower (Echinacea)

Cone Flower (Echinacea)

Cosmos

Three Flowers and a Butterfly

Tags

cabbage butterfly, coreopsis, cosmos, photography, postaday, rose

This week has so far been very rainy, inflicting a heavy burden on the daisies and causing their stems to break, sending most of the flowers to the ground. Other flowers survived intact and even seemed to thrive on the rain.

Rose “Heritage”

Coreopsis “Moonbeam”

Cosmos

Finally a picture of a butterfly. It is the Cabbage Butterfly, a very common one and the first to appear each year.

Cabbage Butterfly: it is a male because it has a single black dot on its wing.