SUMMER SPLENDORS

[NorthernWinos]

Spring is turning into summer right before our eyes....If you don't take the time to stroll the paths everyday you may miss some of the beauty....

The Iris' are finally beginning to open and show their beauty...

Other little flowers are coming into bloom....

The red</font> Daylilies I just purchased are blooming.....pink...not as expected, but nice non the less....

The wild native orchids are stealing my heart....

Some the size of a dime...

Others the size of an egg....

And grabbing a rainbow is what takes your breath away....
[For Ramona]

Life is Good!!!

 

[Joanie]

WOW!! Spectacular sights, beautiful photos, NW! !

 

[Wade E]

Looks awesome as usual NW!

 

[Waldo]

Yep !!! LIFE IS GOOD........

 

[smurfe]

Absolutely beautiful! On the other end of the U.S. There is no spring to summer transition. It goes from really warm to really hot!


The Crawfish peak at nice and big

The Swamp scums over

And even on a beautiful day at the ballpark, it gets so warm that at 10:00 am it is at 92 degrees they close the roof and turn on the AC to get it to a nice 72 degrees for the afternoon game allowing my Cardinals to whoop the Astros 2 out of 3 games!

 

[rgecaprock]

Beautiful, Thanks for the rainbow. And Yummmmm, Smurfe, were you in Houston at Minute Maid? I like they cypress trees and the moss. I used to scare Lain and tell herthat the cypress knees were Knee Goblins and they would grab her by the knees when she walks by them.


Great Pictures......Ramona

 

[NorthernWinos]

Smurfe....Do you go out and catch [snag or score] those crawfish yourself in a swamp, ocean..etc?????? They look delicious...Are they like Lobster or Shrimp????

The swamp has a beauty of it's own. I am sure there are all kinds of exotic birds and animals...not to mention the plants....

Are you in a boat or on a bridge/land when you take those photos....Looks real exotic and warm...I remember driving through areas like that when I left Mexico into Texas and drove to Florida...seems there was miles of wetlands closer to Florida.

We need some heat up here to go along with the rains....the corn and soybeans are real slow growing.

Enjoy the bounties that are offered in your area....I am sure you also have a real interesting Farmers Market that us Northerners would love to see photos of....Hint...Hint!!!

 

[smurfe]

Oh yeah, I absolutely love the farmer's markets. We have a few really n ice ones around here. Ramona, yeah we were in Houston this last weekend for a ballgame. Came over Thursday night and stayed till Sunday morning. caught a game and tried a few of the finer downtown restaurants. Went to the original Ninfa's. Kids got to see their grandmother. It was a nice weekend. I could live over there.

 

[NorthernWinos]

Seems we have been getting a little rain everyday now....Thankfully the strong storms have been missing us...

Some people never grow up.....Got-Cha!!!!

Life is Good!!!!

 

[rgecaprock]

Wow!!! On the open plains you really get a view of the rainbows. Just so beautiful. Looks like Jim has his hand out hoping some gold will fall out of the pot into his hand. And I hope it does.


Ramona

 

[smurfe]

Smurfe....Do you go out and catch [snag or score] those crawfish yourself in a swamp, ocean..etc?????? They look delicious...Are they like Lobster or Shrimp????

The swamp has a beauty of it's own. I am sure there are all kinds of exotic birds and animals...not to mention the plants....

Are you in a boat or on a bridge/land when you take those photos....Looks real exotic and warm...I remember driving through areas like that when I left Mexico into Texas and drove to Florida...seems there was miles of wetlands closer to Florida.

We need some heat up here to go along with the rains....the corn and soybeans are real slow growing.

Enjoy the bounties that are offered in your area....I am sure you also have a real interesting Farmers Market that us Northerners would love to see photos of....Hint...Hint!!!

No, I just go down to one of the local seafood stores and pick them up. They are normally sacked in 35-40 pound sacks. I do have a few traps but don't have the time to dedicate to them. They taste well, like crawfish. You will hear where they resemble lobster but I don't see that at all.


I was on a dock taking the pics. A buddy and I and his young son went fishing a week or so a go. That spot is actually right along a major highway and is the headwaters for the Blind River. The biggest gator I ever saw was right at the dock I was standing on to take those pics. It was in the 15 foot range. I was sitting on the dock with my feet dangling in the water. I looked down and there he was.That was within the first few days of moving to Louisiana. I can't remember if I had to change my drawers or not.

 

[rgecaprock]

NW,
I was trying to send you a private message but I couldn't upload the pictures.


My other rosebush, the purple princess, started growing a tall stalk out of the main bush and then a clump of flowers on top of the stalk. It has a few normal blooms throughout the bush but I was curious if you had seen this. I don't think that it should be growing like this. Should I cut it back even with the rest of the bush?

What do you think? Thanks, Ramona

 

[NorthernWinos]

Ramona.....I couldn't find that rose on helpmefindroses....but found Lavender Princes....a Floribunda...
http://www.helpmefind.com/rose/pl.php?n=3762

I occasionally have an odd sprout like that come out of a shrub rose...Let it bloom, then trim it back to match the rest of the plant....

But...who knows...maybe all the new growth sill get that tall.

Many of my roses die to the ground each winter. I have some tall roses that start out with one vigorous sprout, then by the end of summer all the new growth is tall. Maybe your plant was trimmed when you bought it for a more pleasing pot size. Watch the next sprouts from the base.

Up here we have to stop trimming and cutting blossoms in August for the plants to toughen up for the winter....I imagine you will have roses all winter, or at least foliage.

Looks like a beauty.

 

[NorthernWinos]

The Iris' are the Queens of show right now....

Saw some bee hives down the road....there sure are a lot of them over here working over the flowers....Nice to see after their absence last year.

But...the best things in life are still free...Wild Yellow Lady Slippers....

 

[NorthernWinos]

One of the bright spots this summer is sharing it with my new neighbors...The Alaskan sisters are spending most of the summer here, their first summer away from their remote Native Village.....

Here there is soil compared to tundra and marsh....I planted a few flowers at their homes across the road and together we all planted a fairly large veggie garden at one house...They shared their first radish yesterday....

They come over everyday to visit or pick flowers...so refreshing to see young people with NO hangups about anything and see how they enjoy the new experiences that unfold daily...and share with us their Native cultures and experiences they grew up with....Things most of us have never heard of.

Next month they are going back to Alaska to see their parents and their men [our neighbors/brothers] who are working up there...I am going to miss them and their bright cheerful outlook on life.....but soon they will return and cheer the neighborhood..

The best things in life are our family, friends and chosen family....

Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[grapeman]

The story of the brothers and sisters continues to be great. It's great to see the little guy continue to grow great. Thanks for sharing it NW. My Grandmother and her older sister had also married two brothers. The men were from Ireland around the turn of the century at 1900.

 

[NorthernWinos]

The girls dad is Irish/Norwegian ...hence the red hair and porcelain white skin.... The guys are Norwegian/German....so they are proud to announce the first blue eyed-red headed Yupik Native...[well 1/4 Native]

Really sweet families....the girls are melting in our 80 degree days...wait till July....Guess they'll be glad to get back up North and beat the heat....Good Plan!

Edited by: Northern Winos

 

[NorthernWinos]

The heat is on....and...it's starting to get dry around here....predicting some much needed showers this week.

Finally picked enough strawberries to make a Strawberry Glaze Pie tonight...might be enough through the next weeks to freeze some for the wine effort. The Raspberries are just buzzing with bees...will be a healthy crop of those if things go right....We are thinking we prefer Raspberry Wine to Strawberry Wine.

The sweet smells of summer are almost over powering right now.....
The hardy Rugosa Roses are putting out their first flush of spicy fragrant blooms...

The Peonies are most intoxicating right now....almost sickeningly sweet...
They have only just begun to bloom...seems everything is late this year.

The Korean Lilacs are putting on their short sweet show....attracting all sorts of insects...including the moths...

The foolish Killdeer's have once again laid their eggs in the middle of the yard....chances of these hatching and surviving our dogs is not likely.....Jim has been spraying the fields and said the fields are full of these active charading birds.....frolicking and doing their wounded dances to attract you away from their nests....

The males build the nests....Guess that explains that.

 

[Joanie]

At least those eggs you can see, NW! Several years ago there was a killdeer nest in my very gravely barnyard. I was standing directly over the nest and could not see it! Talk about camouflage! It's amazing how they hide in plain sight! I love that they hatch and run!

 

[NorthernWinos]

Usually they are in my gravel paths too....was real surprised to see these in the grass....They really do camo good in gravel.

Jim is out injecting Anhydrous Ammonia between the corn rows now...Know many little eggs will be crushed today....

We have been watching a coyote everyday out in the fields...I am sure the Killdeers are keeping him busy...but all too soon the eggs might hatch and the little guys will be prey.....So goes Natures Way.