Going To Seed

The wildflowers of summer are coming to an end. The transformation is different for each one. The process of creating and spreading seeds for the cycle of life is an amazing work of art. Plants produce fluff, or parachutes, or pods, or shells, or berries to protect those precious seeds of life.

The forest is still lush and green. The leaves have not put on their autumn garb, but the aspens sound crisper than they did earlier in the summer.

The saxifrage was yellow, now it's ready to spread tiny bits 

of fluff all over the wild garden.

The tall prairie grasses bow their heads laden with shells filled with seeds.

The paintbrush blooms get longer as the summer progresses. Soon they will go to seed, but they are not ready yet. Did you know it's illegal to pick paintbrush flowers in WY? I just found that out. It's a protected state flower.

The snowberries are started to appear. The deer love to snack on the berries..

And I must not forget the lovely salsify with the biggest ball of parachutes readying for the winter.

Rainbow Ripple

I started 2 "scrap" blankets awhile ago...the first one with 61 granny squares has yet to be completed. This is the easier of the two blankets to make. It's one of my favorite patterns -- a ripple stitch -- and each section has a different color. Guess what, I still have more leftover yarn.

Lawn Ornaments--Part 2

I found some more lawn ornaments that needed to documented

Flossy Flamingo wearing shades speeding along on her bike

Basic Bear--but he lost his welcome sign

A well trained metal pooch

Garden gnome with friends

Cowboy Joe==stick 'em up

Giant sunflowers

Metal Moose munching on geraniums

But this colorful critter takes the prize!

Gray Day--Pretty Place

Mt. Moran on a warm gray late summer day. 

Yellow Leaves

A few days ago, the other DrC wrote about the summer slipping away. Today was the first sign that that is indeed happening.

Who knows how much yellow will fill the forest by Labor Day? I'll guess we'll have to wait and see.

Given that summer is fading into fall, there are still puddles for the Canada Geese.

Yesterday we went for a drive in the Valley, and there were more than 100 geese in the pasture. They were "talking" to each other and having a grand time waddling thru the puddles.

The Twins

The twins are growing up. Their spots are lighter and I think their ears are bigger.

They hang out with their mom, but she lets them roam a bit more than she did earlier in the summer

This little one is playing "hide and seek" with me...but it's not working

They are miniature versions of their mom...about 3 feet tall and cute as all get out.

Lawn Ornaments

Every morning I walk a couple of miles at our RV park. For the last 2 months I've had the pleasure of walking with my brother, but alas he had to leave for home, so I'm on my own. That means I'm seeing different things, and what struck me today were all the strange lawn or yard ornaments  in the park.

The miner and his burro

A weird bird

Froggy going to market

Scotty

And lastly, this cute bespectacled bird. 

Life goes quickly, enjoy the little things.

Leftovers

As you know, I love to crochet, but I don't have a lot of good solutions for dealing with extra yarn. I have several large garbage size plastic bags filled with oddments that I hate to throw away. My solution is to make blankets with leftover yarn. I choose from two possible patterns: a rainbow ripple or a granny square. This time I chose to create 65 granny squares where no two are the same.

The easy part is crocheting the squares, what I'm doing now is "hard part one" which is blocking the squares so they are all the same size. This is a slow process as I can only do a few at a time.

When they are all blocked, I have one more row of "color" to put on the squares, (that's an easy job) then I'll sew them together (that's hard job two). A "normal" blanket takes me about 4-5 days to finish. This blanket will take about 4-5 months. When it is finished, it will be a color blast ... 

...similar to the one I made a couple of years ago. If you would like the new "masterpiece" let me know and I'll give it to you.  

Big Boy Collage

Just because I can...

State House

Since we were in Cheyenne, we decided to visit the State Capitol. A four year renovation of the building was completed in mid-July, so the "new" old state house is shiny and pretty.

The Renaissance Revival building was started in 1888, 2 years before Wyoming became a state.

The State Seal of Wyoming where Equal Rights is front and center. Jackson, WY was the first city in the US to have a woman serve as an elected official in every city office.

Beneath the dome is a stained glass window. You might notice 4 niches in the picture. When the capital was finished in 1890, there was not enough money left to place statues in them. When it was renovated, 4 statues were included in the budget. The new statues are called "The Four Sisters: Truth, Courage, Hope and Justice."

There are 2 identical grand staircases leading to the second floor where the House and Senate meet. The staircases had to be completely redone...so they found Amish carvers to re-create the original mahogany woodwork. If you look carefully you will see that one finial is different, because only God can be perfect. We looked for the finial, and could not find it.

The ceiling of the Senate chamber. Many years ago, the ceiling had been lowered and replaced with asbestos tiles. The architects were surprised to see the old stained glass windows had survived. The House chamber has a similar stained glass ceiling, as does the old Judiciary chamber.

The Senate and House chambers are similar, but the House is larger. 

We enjoyed our brief tour of the WY State House. 

Sidney to Cheyenne

Today we chased Big Boy from Sidney to Cheyenne. What a treat. We stopped 4 times to see it up close and personal. To feel the world shake. To hear the whistle deep in our bones. What an amazing huge train.

The train made it's last stop in Cheyenne, where it will be until December, when it makes a trip to California. In Cheyenne we visited the newly renovated state capital building. 

A good day!

4014--aka Big Boy

We arrived in Sidney, Nebraska before Big Boy came into town. We found a great place to park and we waited a little bit when folks started saying "I see the light" or "I hear the whistle." Then I saw the light and heard the whistle and Big Boy was steaming up the tracks into town. What a treat.

A Quest

We are on a quest to see a train ... and this train, the 533, is just a teaser. We are looking for the 4014, aka Big Boy, which is the largest steam engine ever made. Big Boy is coming home to Cheyenne, WY on August 8. Tonight Big Boy will be in Sidney, NE where we will be. Then we will follow the train to Cheyenne. Watch for pictures of a HUGE steam engine.

It's Called "Ungardening"

For almost 20 years I've been nurturing my "wild" landscape. This morning I read an article that calls it Ungardening. Who knew? I'm a trendsetter!

So, when people ask me if I've decided to let my garden go, I can tell them that I have an "ungarden" that is a haven for deer, birds, butterflies and other wonderful creatures. 

The Boys

As I look out from the back porch I see four young bucks. They hang out by my home every morning and I enjoy looking at these good looking bachelors.

It's hard to get their pictures as they are skittish. 

I tell them to stay in my yard during the hunting season so they will be safe. 

I hope they listen to me.