More Wild Life...Flowers and Otherwise

The flowers are going wild (no pun intended). The pretty 3-Spot Lily appeared today.

It's a delicate bloom with 3 spots, hence it's very creative name.  

I love the touch of lavender on the flower. But we also have some   

Saxifrage blooming. This plant is tall--maybe 55 inches tall and the top is covered with small yellow blossoms. Any other place it would be called a weed, but I think it's wonderful.  

Tiny lavender harebells are blooming. If you listen carefully you might hear them ring?  

And there are the white bells too.

Remember the yellow salsify...well this is the "puffball" the salisfy will become. It's about 3 inches across and it's ready to spread more seeds for next year. 

 But the big treat this morning were   

The twin fawns wandering around the front yard. I've been looking for these fellows all summer as I knew there had to be fawns around...but they have been illusive. Today I got a quick look at the pair, spots and all. I know the picture is blurry, but it's the best I could do before they disappeared into the understory. 

 

Also wandering around the yard this morning was a yearling stag. His antlers are about 2 inches long, but they are growing quickly...as they were only a inch long 2 days ago.   

He won't me let too close to him, so I took this picture from the screened porch. He's a healthy boy and if he's smart, he'll stay in my backyard away from the hunters in the fall.

 

Four Days Old

The 3 little robins are four days old and they are starting to look like something that might resemble a bird. They

Have a distinctive line down their backs which they did not have yesterday. And, Mama Robin must be getting used to me, as she did not scold me when I took their picture today. 

 

Last Night

The fireworks in Idaho Falls were wonderful. What a way to celebrate the birth of the United States!

 

I Think There Are 3

Here's the daily progress on my baby birds...day 3 and I think there are 3 little birds in the nest. Yet again, Mama Robin was not happy when I took the picture this morning, but I did get a quick glimpse into the nest. 

I think I see 3 little forms in the nest. Look at that beak? It looks like it's demanding food NOW!

 

Happy 240th Birthday America

It's Independence Day! 240 years ago our forefathers acted on an idea and ratified the Declaration of Independence.  

Thank you brave founders for creating one of the best countries on earth. Long may this flag wave in FREEDOM.  

Day 2

Mama Robin is very protective of her nest. Today when I went to take a picture she scolded me longer and louder than before. The third egg is missing...but I cannot tell if the third egg hatched. What do you think? Maybe tomorrow I can get a better look.

 

New Life

Mama Robin has built a nest in the Alberta Spruce next to the back porch. It's not a good place for a nest as we use the porch all the time...and everytime we leave the house, she flies out of her nest. On the other hand, the nest is low to the ground and I can see what is inside of it. Yesterday it had 3 eggs. Today

It has two tiny robins and an egg. The third egg arrived about a week after the first two, so I don't know it's fate, but we might have a third baby robin soon.

 

Flowers in the Garden

More flowers are showing up each day...but the one I don't want to see has appeared. That's the aster. Local legend says

When the asters appear, summer will end in 6 weeks. I've found that's not exactly true...it usually means 8 weeks. I've been analyzing their growth patterns for close to 20 years. Will summer end around the first of September? I hope I'm wrong as summer in the Rockies is heavenly.

One of the beauties of the wild garden is the Black-eyed Susan. I don't know why she is called Black-eyed when the "eye" appears red to me, but that's the way it goes. She's a big bloom, about 3 inches across, quite shaggy and I think she's a wonderful addition.      

Here you can see 3 phases of the flower...just getting ready to bloom, in full bloom and just a little "over" the top. I like the last phase the best.

The Wyoming State Flower is the Indian Paintbrush. For several years, the flower was just called the "Paintbrush" or the "Wyoming Paintbrush" but as I was looking up official state emblems yesterday, I noticed that the name was changed back to "Indian Paintbrush." I wonder why?

Another new flower is Arnica. Sometimes it's called a daisy. Both names work. They usually bloom in July and this one is right on schedule.

Last week I published a picture of a coneflower and i said it would get teeny tiny yellow florets soon...well here they are. The florets will slowly work their way up the cone, one row at a time. It will never be completely filled will yellow florets. You have to wonder what type of insect this flower attracks? 

Primordial Ooze

Do you know what this is?

To me it looks like something that crawled out of the primordial ooze. It’s prehistoric almost. It’s a bud, by the way, and it’s going to turn into something beautiful.

It’s an Oriental Poppy, and while it is related to the Opium Poppy, it is not a narcotic. 

Never judge a book by it’s cover.

Travel Bear Now....

Meet Silky...he’s a travel bear. If I go somewhere, he goes with me. Yesterday he became an adjunct sheriff!

See his brand new badge! 

PS...did I tell you that he likes to collect jewelry from places he’s been. Since he’s been to about 90 countries, his collection is bigger than he is!

Wild Garden

I love my wildflower garden even tho it’s not an easy garden to love. The flowers bloom at their own will and when they die, the garden looks sad. Given that, it’s a lovely thing to behold. Right now the salsify are in bloom.

The coneflowers are growing faster than you can believe. All through June they shot up 6 feet and now there are little blossoms/buds atop all that greenery.

That bud will form tiny yellow florets which will bloom for a day, then wither away. A huge plant for such a small bloom.

This is a sticky geranium and it is related to the house plant. It will bloom about 3 more weeks, then I will not see it again till next June.

Queen Anne’s Lace is related to a carrot. It is usually found in shadier areas of the garden and it will bloom most of the summer.

Lupine is the mainstay of a wildflower garden. It will bloom till the end of the summer, then the blooms turn to pods that look like miniature pea pods. Peas and lupines are in the same family.

Then there is this fellow...I have no idea what it is, but it’s going to be big. It’s kind of pretty, but in a normal garden it would be considered a weed!

Error 403

I'm getting an error 403 on my blog...and after checking the web, it seems to be a problem "out there" ... A problem without a solution. This is a test.

This published...but when I tried to publish another entry that had a picture...I got Error 403 again. This is really strange. I published 2 pages today with pictures and they "went" thru just fine...then when I tried to publish the third entry with pictures, I got the Error 403. PLEASE...does anyone know what is going on? One of the websites I looked at implied that pictures might be the problem...however my pictures are original pictures from my equipment. I'm really puzzled.

Forest Stump

When you live in a forest it's easy to find downed trees. Then comes the dilemma of what to do with the trees. Many years ago, we discovered the timber can be used for planter boxes, paving "stones" as well as mulch and firewood.

Four trees fell down over the winter so we cut them into "rounds" about 4-5 inches thick and we used them as paving "stones" for walkways. I call these walkways "Forest Stump." Here's our latest stump way.

Believe it or not, these "stump ways" last about 15 years. Right now this one needs to be settle a bit, then I'll put the finishing touches on it. I know I could use regular pavers, but somehow I like how this fits in with the forest.

 

Shades of Green

I finally finished another blanket for Project Linus. It's different shades of green in my favorite ripple pattern.

I sewed the official Project Linus label on it and it's ready to go to a ten year old who likes green. This is the 15th blanket of the year in case you are counting.

A Vagrant

I'm not a bird watcher per se, but I can identify a few birds. The other day as we were leaving the Tetons via a back road, I saw a white tailed ptarmigan walking on the road.

This bird does not belong here. It's way off course. This time of year, the bird might be found in Alberta, but not in Wyoming. How did it get here? Are there others? Is this bird one of the signs of climate change? According to my bird watcher friends, when a bird is out of area, it's called a "vagrant."

Tis The Season

It's summertime in the Rockies and that means the robins are building nests. In a good year, a mama robin can have as many as five clutches of babies. That's a lot of birds. It also means that our home is plagued by nesting or wannabe nesting birds. Read that as lots of droppings. I mean, there's a whole forest that the birds can use...why do they have to choose my house as their favorite nesting ground?

This wonderful little nest is in a tree, where all robins SHOULD nest. Does anyone know how to tell a robin where she should nest? If you do, please let me know!

Flip-Flops

No that's not a political comment. It's about my latest crochet project. My sister asked if I would make her two pairs of  baby flip flops. Well, if two pairs are good, then four pairs are better. I've made 8 of these little shoes in the past 3 evenings.

They are perfect for babies who are not able to walk. Please don't put them on a baby who can walk, as the poor child might slip slide and fall down. I don't want to be responsible for any type of injury.

These little "shoes" are about four inches long they are really fun go make.

A Few Days Camping

I just returned from a camping trip to the Grand Tetons and Yellowstone. I went with two folks who had never been before, which is always a treat. I loved seeing their reactions and insights to two of the prettiest places on earth. 

Of course we saw the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone. That's "Lower Falls."

We also saw Upper Falls

These are off the beaten path because they are not located at one of the several "villages" in Yellowstone. 

We managed to see a lot of animals. Of course there are bison and this time of year there are baby bison which are cuter than you can imagine. 

We only saw one bear, a grizzly, but from a distance. 

That black dot in the middle of the picture is the bear. We saw it swim across the river, shake itself off, then walk across the meadow. We were standing on a bluff and we were in no danger. At one time, many years ago, bear sightings were relatively common in Yellowstone, but that was then and this is now. Bears are rare and most are in the "out back" of the park far from the visitors.

We were lucky enough to see a fox, a critter I had never seen in the Park before. That was one of the  few times when I needed the long zoom lens on a fancy camera. We did see lots of elk and deer too.

We rode in one of the refurbished White Touring Cars. Notice it has a Yellowstone license plate and a Montana license plate? That's because Yellowstone was a park before Wyoming was a state, so a few cars in the Park sport that rare plate. I don't think there's another place in the US that has it's own license plate devoid of a state recognition. These cars were common in Yellowstone from the 30s to the 50s but fell out of favor, so the Park officials sold them. Then 10 years ago, someone decided that the cars should be brought back. Eight were found in a storage shed in Alaska. The cars were purchased and given a 1/4 million dollar makeover a piece. If you go to Yellowstone, take a ride in one of these vintage cars.

Of course we saw the smokes and pots and bubblers and geysers. Old Faithful is still spouting away every 90 minutes or so. Funny thing...we did not get any good pictures of Old Faithful doing her thing.

We had a grand time.

One More Plate

Florida must have over a hundred specialty license plates and yesterday I saw one I had not seen before. 

The Golf Plate. I would have thought that St. Andrews in Scotland was the Golf Capital of the World, but I guess Florida does not know that.

New Mormon Temple

A Mormon Temple is being built in our little valley. 

I don't know when it is going to be completed. The Angel Moroni is atop the steeple but more work is needed. I'll take pictures throughout the summer.

Red Hot Rods

As you know, I have a bit of a love affair with cars. I like them fast or slow, zoomy or not...it does not really matter as long as they are interesting to me.. Yesterday I saw two cars, both in the category of "Hot Rod."

Sleek and shiny red...

With an undulating design...sculpture in metal that moves

The other was red too...but it was a customized little "rod" that looked like it was going to blow out fire if you got in it's way.

The first was a Corvette...

The second was a ???? Who knows what? It had an old Budweiser ice chest in the bed of the plywood truck, oversized tires and stacks no less. Both are interesting, zoomy and caught my attention. 

Blanket #14

I finally finished the 14th blanket of the year, but the 9th for Project Linus. I started this blanket before we went on our long cruise and I forgot about it. Funny thing about a crochet project...it can sit around for days, months or even years before it gets picked up again. This one sat for almost 2 months. In between I crocheted 5 baby blankets, went on a cruise, moved to our summer home...the beat goes on.

Then I saw it in my "to do" pile of yarn and blankets, and I finished it. It is a heavy blanket made from a type of yarn called "Homespun." Homespun is very difficult to crochet, which is yet another reason why it took me longer than usual to complete it. 

It's a tweedy blanket made from a variety of neutral colors. It's a "Granny Ripple" pattern which is perfect for Homespun yarn. It will keep a child very warm on a cool winter night.