Noticing

I have been familiar with orange Jewelweed (touch me not) all of my life.  I have spent my time gleefully popping the seeds.  But I never knew until I read a couple of blogs a while ago, that there were yellow jewelweeds.  I found myself wishing that I could see some, but doubting that I would because, they don't seem to exist around here.

Today, I went with another volunteer to a farm very near the track, to photograph some lovely horses for the Trainer's Listings.  As we pulled into the driveway, we saw great stands of this:

Yup, yellow Jewelweed, the very flower I didn't think that I would ever see.  Isn't it funny that, so soon after I became aware that they existed, I found some?  I wonder why?  Just luck?  Or had I actually seen them before, and just not paid any attention to them, not even noticing that they were there?  I would guess that it is the latter.  I wonder how many things we don't see, every day when we pass them by?  I wonder what we are missing?

New Visitors to the Feeder

There's not much going on today, and I'm tied to the house, to the phone and the computer, trying to get some horses matched with new owners.  So, I thought you might like to see a couple of new visitors that have shown up at the bird feeder.

This little skunk came around a few nights ago, and has been showing up ever since.  I think it must be one of this year's crop.  He's a cute little bugger.  It's certainly not the big, beautiful, almost all white skunk that has been coming to the feeder for a couple of years.  That one always show up when it's too dark to get a picture.

And, the grackles are mobbing, another sign of approaching Fall.  They're beautiful birds, but, they sure can clean out the feeding area quickly.

I like this picture of them taking flight when something startled them.  It's blurry, but it always amazes me how in sync they are.

From now, until the first part of December, you may notice that my postings become more erratic, and that I'm not commenting on blogs as much.  This is the busy season at the track.  There are lots of trainers who need to place horses, and not enough homes for all of them.  So, I spend a lot of my time hustling.

If any of you want a nice TB, now is the time to consider it.  Shipping isn't a problem, and may not be as expensive as you think.  Just throwing that out there as a half serious, half joke thing. ;-D  John, you're exempt anyways, shipping to Great Britain is definitely out of the range of possibility.

Fur People - A Moment in Time

As most of you know, I share my house with four cats.  Wonderful critters, and all different.  Last night, I decided to take pictures of what they all were doing, at that precise moment.

Gina, the Queena the House, was resting on her pillow, looking regal, as always.

Leon was bathing.  He does this often.  Heaven forbid that he should not look his most handsome at all times, for his ladies.

Rachael was looking out the window at whatever critters were underneath the bird feeder at the time.  All of my cats are indoor cats.  Of all of them, I think Rachael, who was a stray when I got her from the rescue, misses the outdoors the most.  She spends the most time looking outside, at least.

And Becky?  Well, I'm not quite sure what this is.  Doing her turkey carcass imitation,  perhaps?

Sigh, anyone else have most of their furniture covered with towels, blankets and throws, because, at least, you can wash them when the critters get them dirty?

Out of My Rear Window 9/5/10

The heat has finally broken.  Yesterday it never made it above 65 degrees F, and today we'll be lucky if it hits 70 degrees F.  I LOVE it!  At the track, yesterday, the young horses were so frisky and alert.  It was actually fun to be there, and we didn't feel like we were going to collapse before we were through.

Fall is in the air.  You can't see it so much from the rear window, but, from the window in the front, you can see that the leaves on the Linden tree are starting to turn, and fall.

I'll Plant This Again

I'm kind of disappointed in the annuals that I planted this year.  They either didn't do well, like the alyssum, got blowsy and overgrown like the petunias, or got leggy and ragged like the snapdragons.

But, I'll plant lantana again.  I can't get a really good picture of them, for some reason.  They wash out, and don't show the eye popping color combinations.  But, they grow well, flower constantly, attract butterflies, and don't attract bugs that eat leaves.

I like perennials better.  But, this particular spot is where I put my garbage container in the winter (it goes in the garage in the good weather or else the raccoons get into it.)  I need an annual to go there, and I think that I have, finally, found it.

Renewal

The last time I walked the Big Meadow, it had just been mowed.  Everything was dry and dusty looking.  I walked it again, yesterday, and found that, even this late in the season, the Meadow was renewing itself.  Oh, it still looks like a late summer meadow, with brown being the predominant color.  Even my favorite spot on the trail is subdued.

But, if you look closely, the grasses are coming back, showing green against the old growth.

Plants that were blooming when the meadow was cut, have sent up new flowers.

Everlasting Pea

Hoary Alyssum

Cow Vetch

Garden Phlox

Bladder Campion

Butter and Eggs

I had been a little down when I started my walk.  The renewal of the Meadow lifted my spirits.  Somehow, it gave me hope that things would, and could, get better.

But, renewal was not the only theme in the Meadow.  Fruition was also evident.

The apples are reddening. 

The Choke Cherries are ripening.

And, at the edge of the Meadow, I noticed a tree that I had not noticed before.  I have never seen a Black Walnut tree before.  And, it took until it was bearing fruit for me to recognize it.  I had always thought that this was just another Locust tree.  It wasn't until I saw those green balls in the tree that I recognized it for what it was.

So, once again, the Meadow worked its magic on me.  It reminded me that, no matter how old and tired we may feel, we are never too far from renewal, if we open ourselves to the wonders of life.  And, that, even as our seasons are winding down, we still have contributions to make.

Crab Apple

Last Spring, which seems like just a few days ago, I posted a picture of my crab apple tree in bloom.  I complained that it was the only time of the year that I liked the tree because it lost its leaves and became very ugly by the middle of the Summer.

As all good things do, the tree has gone on this year to prove me a liar.  Here it is, September, and it still has its leaves, and, a bountiful crop of crab apples, to boot.  We had an unusually wet summer, and I think that may have had something to do with it.  All I can say is that the deer are going to have good eating, once those things begin to fall.