An old photo

 I really need to get out and look for things to photograph...however it is so much fun to look back through the archives and see things I have completely forgotten.  I went in search of thistle blooms but got distracted by other things.

********************                                                                                                 It has been a nice day...warm and sunny...and windy of course.  I have actually sat outside and read some both yesterday and today.  That is one thing I miss in winter.  

I have just did almost nothing this day...pick up Lorelei from Driver's Ed, and ran to Walmart.  Due to timing, I had to wait till after I took her home.  I figures Walmart would be a lot busier, but it wasn't at all.  Still, I hurried...I seldom go anywhere that I do not hurry.

The last of the coneflowers

This will probably be the last coneflower shot you will see for a little while.  I love coneflowers when they are blooming, but oh what an ugly mess they can become.  But when they become that ugly mess, is when the goldfinches love them.  I have left them a good while, but today was that day of reckoning.

First I stood and looked and looked to make sure I seen no yellow jackets stirring around anywhere in the mess.  I didn't see a single yellow jacket...for something so little they can carry a powerful punch.  So Roger came out to see what I was doing...I gave him the job of manning the wheel barrow.  and I pulled up coneflowers and weeds and grass.  Remember I said it had become one heck of mess.  I don't know how many loads went to the compost pile, but we got it done.

I had sprayed round up earlier....I am not crazy about using it but my weedeater is so hard to start that I just quit battling it a few years ago.

I came in from all of that and did up dishes after I showered...I am done for the night.

Which leads to the fact that I can watch Jeopardy again!  We have Directv and have been without that channel for I don't know how long.  We have missed Jeopardy, even if it was reruns...and Songland...I was so afraid we were going to miss The Voice.  So I am a happy camper that way.

I hope you all have a nice weekend...Lorelei is here tonight, and possibly tomorrow night...one of my daughters is going to come sew tomorrow.  After a visit to the quilt shop!  So that is fun to look forward to.

A little bit of randomness...

1.  I cannot seem to get it together to finish anything...I did finish one hot pad but have had this second chicken hot pad ready to finish for days.

2.  To add to the one above, I have started a couple more...these look the same but the center of the leaf was put in two different ways.  One is a bit bigger than the other because of that.

I did use my rotary cutter and ruler to cut strips with straight edges but I did not measure to cut the width.  Just did it random.
3. Autumn is slowly approaching in our neck of the woods, just little spots here and there of brilliant color.  Too bad I don't have a single photo to prove it.  However, I did snap a photo or two of my wisteria's leaves.

4.  Most of you are probably tired of seeing this spider, but I find it fascinating...I am wondering what it will do when we start to have hard frosts.  (This was taken today...I also told Roger I bet it gets tired of me coming and looking at it.)

5. I don't think I have posted this pic...though I can't believe I haven't.

I have had a hard time coming up with 5 things tonight...how about you?  Do you have times when you cannot concentrate?

Linking to Willy Nilly Friday 5...

Pearl Crescent

Not the greatest picture, but I love the way the leaf has dried into the circular shape.
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A hot and sunny day...the girls (Lo and her mommy) spent the night last night, but headed home this afternoon.   She is all about going to school...when we were over early last week she told me she wants to be a teacher.  Wonder if she will stick with that dream?  I am sure part of it is she loves her teacher so much, and just thinks that would be the greatest thing to be.

Not much happening here...today.  Have a lot of stuff to get done though so not sure how much blogging I will be doing in the future.

Not much of a change..

Well, it is a change from my yard, but it is still a bug...a dragonfly. 
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It rained here most of the day....and was on the cool side almost.  For sure would not qualify as a warm day in any sense.  I told Roger it looked kind of wintry.  What is strange, and I am not complaining, but there is no thunder and lightning and wind with all the rain we have been having.

I really wish I could send some of this rain to those that need it...

Well, Lorelei is calling so got to run...we are going to roast some marshmellows!

Sunflowers--the flowers that just keep on giving.

First I would grow them for their beauty alone, though the ones here happen to be a volunteers.  I always count on them coming up under the feeders.

Then there are the bees....

Even the flies like them.

And not too long till the birds start on them.  I saw a goldfinch checking them out this morn, but I guess they were not mature enough because I haven't seen it since.  When they start, the tufted titmice and the nuthatches will join the feast.  Plus who knows what all else.  Oh, the cardinals will be dining for sure.
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Roger went to the doctor today...got diagnosed with asthmatic bronchitis.  He was given a steroid shot, plus other meds and we can both tell a difference. 

And Lorelei is eating up a storm, so we know she feels a lot better.  The first day or two she was here, she did not eat much of anything.  But yesterday and today, she has made up for lost ground.  I am so glad she eats good...she sometimes says she isn't hungry, but by the time we get it on the table and she sits down, she usually eats plenty. 

We can usually get her to try about anything.  One thing she does not like at all is tomatoes!  I have gotten her to try them a couple times, but have finally accepted that she doesn't like them. 

Well, I hear her calling...she is playing in the tub...so guess she either wants to talk or is ready to get out...

Flower power...

The residents of this coneflower would bump into each other and just turn and walk a different direction.

From the archives

I have been having the best time going through my photographs.

After all the cold weather, these really appeal to me.  I hope you enjoy them, too.

Are you anxiously awaiting the arrival of spring and warmer weather?

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I am still working on Lorelei's dress.  I had planned to finish it today but instead we ran some errands, and went to Terre Haute.  I did not work on it till later in the evening.  I am thinking it is going to be too big for her.  So kind of disappointed that way.  Maybe I will be wrong.

I have not did any more de-cluttering to speak of.  Oh, have thrown/donated an item here and there.  I would like to get started back at that.  I think I will feel a lot more like doing that when the weather gets better, or spring arrives. 

Through the windshield

Another shot from the archives.  But we did have a thunderstorm earlier...it didn't last long.  The wind was really strong, and the weatherman said there was an unconfirmed tornado in the county next to us.  There was a confirmed one in Effingham, IL which it at least two hours from us. 

Just thought I would do a quick post...been busy today but not accomplished a lot when all is said and done.  We had to do some Walmart shopping, came home and put the things away.  I had sheets I had left in the dryer, so got them over in the dryer soon as we got home.

Had chicken I had to package to freeze, and dishes to do up.

And when the sheets were dry, put them back on the bed.  To put sheets on this particular bed feels like I am wrestling an elephant.  I have never hated to put sheets on any bed...but I do hate this one.  One thing I want to know.  Does anyone else just take the sheets off the bed, wash them, and then put them right back on the bed?  I do that almost all the time now.

My mom did not do that...but I guess with so many beds, she just wanted the beds to get made.  So, I always stripped the sheets off, and put the clean ones on right away.

With all the cold and snow we have had, I have sure been thankful for the washer and dryer.  Every time I do a load of clothes, I think of mom and all the laundry she did with just a wringer washer, and no dryer. And she always washed something with a washboard first, then threw them in the wringer.  I don't even know if anyone uses a washboard now....or if you can buy one. 

Grasshoppers and childhood....

Does anyone else think of childhood when they see grasshoppers? I swear, I don't think there is a time when I see them that I don't think of childhood. First of all, my own childhood. I just remember everywhere I went, the grasshoppers were always jumping every which way in front of and beside me. To walk through a hayfield or tall grass was something else! They were just everywhere, and lots of them...all sizes. I am not sure, but I think we shot them with BB guns also...or maybe it was my brother and my nephew that shot at them....but if they did, then I am sure I was involved in it too but the memory is so vague I just cannot be positive.

And I remember the cats catching them and eating them.

Then I think of my own girls...I don't know of any other kids that did the things we let them do. Like I can remember them catching this one grasshopper and putting him in a quart jar and poking holes in the lid. And they would gather grass for it....I cannot remember how long they kept him, but he doubled in size! And I am pretty sure they set him free before the summer was over.

They also had the Monarch chrysalis and witnessed the butterfly emerge....

When they were young, up around 8 and 10, and along about that age, for two or three summers we kept one of those little wading pools in the back yard. You know, the hard plastic kind like this. You might ask what kids that age would want with one of those pools...well, we brought home tadpoles, Pumpkinseed bluegills, crawdads, and waterboatmen....I guess you would say it was an aquarium of sorts. We watched the bluegills grow, watched tadpoles change to frogs, we even had a crawdad that had a bunch of babies....I think that is the one and only time I witnessed that....and I think they brought the waterboatman home just because they could....that is all I remember them having, but I might be forgetting something.

But all these memories are jogged every time I see grasshoppers.

B=Busy, Beautiful blooms, Bumblebee, ladyBug...

I was just going to post the photo below, but realized I just couldn't post one without the other...it makes for a good title with both.
Last night I could not go to sleep...I tried to go to bed around 2:30 a.m. but all I did was toss and turn, so I got up and read a while, which usually will relax me enough to fall asleep easily. Not last night. I finally put in a PBS Inspector Morse Mystery and that did the trick...I watched about 30 or 40 minutes and was having a hard time holding my eyes open...so turned it off....realized it was the beginning of daylight, but I went on to bed anyway.

So my day has had a late start...I hung a load of clothes out about an hour ago, but it is so hot they will be dry in no time. The only reason they won't be dry in an hour or so is the humidity. It is horribly humid today. Our thermometer says it is 88º...feels hotter than that.

While waiting on the load of clothes, I sewed on some quilt blocks....I know I haven't quilted my Chantelle Tulips yet, but I felt the need to start a baby quilt so the next time someone close has a baby, I will have one prepared. I am trying to make it start to finish from fabrics I have on hand...so far that part is going well. It is just something simple...also not going to make it quite as big as I used to make all baby quilts.

So, it is back to the sewing machine for me...I think. I am so tempted to take a nap, but would feel guilty if I did. Roger is working in his shop....not sure what the cats are doing. I haven't heard from Sarah, but will contact her later...we have plans to see her and Jeremy tomorrow.

Wish me luck in the sewing department....

Paused

Roger spotted the hummingbird moth yesterday. I think that is the first time I have ever seen one not in flight.
And I barely captured these butterflies....they barely paused. Most of the time their wings continued to quiver even when they lit on the flowers.
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They bring back memories of childhood....my nephew, Glen, used to spend the summer with us. And mom had a butterfly bush out at one end/side of the house. We spent lots of happy hours catching butterflies...we sometimes held them captive in a canning jar I think, but eventually let them go.

My nephew would catch bumblebees by easing up to one on a flower with a jar in one hand and a lid in the other. At times he would catch two or three in the same jar. I didn't have the nerve to catch one, let alone two or three. Sometimes when he had a couple in a jar, they would fight with each other. It didn't take a lot to entertain us back then.

Back then there would be all kinds of butterflies...every day of the week it seemed. Monarchs, Tiger swallowtails, Zebra swallowtails, and several little skipper types. I cannot remember all and probably would not know the name if I could remember what they looked like. I just know we sure enjoyed them back then and I think I enjoy seeing them just as much now, only I try to capture them in a different way.

From the road...

I have been trying for weeks to get a good picture of a grasshopper...including yesterday morn. We were out in the country and grasshoppers were everywhere. That is until I would try to get close to one, and it was as if they would disappear from the face of the earth. So I would focus on something else, and soon I would notice the hoppers being around again. Still no luck.

After one such stop, I got in the Rav and got buckled in only to notice this fellow on the windshield. I took a picture or two, and we continued on. He stayed with us. For several miles in fact. I finally thought to get this close-up before I buckled in on one of the stops. I think he flew away before we stopped again.

As for the top two photos, we pulled up to a stop sign and Roger says look; at the base of the stop sign someone had planted these hollyhocks. Even though it was the middle of the day, they made for some fair shots.

From Insect Alley....

These images should enlarge when clicked...still have a few problems with that intermittently. I have been having some issues with noise in my photos and been trying to solve that mystery. Although most were taken at high ISOs which would cause it, I have a few that were taken at the lowest ISO. Anyway, due to messing with that I have not visited and commented on any blogs, but will get back to that shortly. I have decided to try to sit back and see how the next few shooting sessions pan out. I really think if there was something wrong with my camera/equipment that I would not have got the good photos that I did today.

I went on a mission this morn to take more photos and came home after taken 107 in about 2 hours. I ended up heading to one of my two favorite places to skywatch; I almost did not make it to those places...the road pictured could have been name Butterfly Boulevard just as easily as Insect Alley...or even Bee Street. I chose Insect Alley to cover them all. Today was one of the best shooting days I have ever had for butterflies...I did see a Buckeye that I could not get to capture. However, I did get lots of monarchs and another that I do not know the name of...as well as this one little one I will show you sometime in the next week that I have never seen before.

I do plan to do Sky Watch so it will probably be Saturday when I start back with the butterflies. I hope you enjoy this little preview.

FYI: I have to tell this on myself: I know how to spell mystery...have known how since childhood. But I did spell check and in that first paragraph I had spelled it mistery! What is more I had to click on it because I could not think how to spell it. I am tired...I need to go get a snack and sit down and watch some mindless television.

Beauties....

Have you ever heard the term 'get on your glad rags'--meaning get dressed up. Any time I see gladiolas I cannot help but wonder if the term glad rags came from them. They are just so beautiful.
And who would have ever thought a locust could turn into something so beautiful...well maybe they don't. But I love the color of this cicada. I was quite surprised to see it and quickly snapped a few shots. His green color is awesome.

Click photos to enlarge