The Cormorant, the Dragonfly, and the Bee

Tuesday, August 24, 2021

Carol's Garden and Akela

During a recent visit to my sister-in-law Carol's house, I snapped some photos of her amazing garden, and of her Seppala Husky dog as well. The garden is the result of an intensive project begun during Covid to revamp the front yard from mostly grass to mostly gardens. The gardens are filled with intense color blooms which make it a joy to observe and walk through. Below are some of my favorite photos taken during the visit.

Her garden contains magnificent dahlias.

Delightful Dahlia

... and some other purple blooms, much loved by several insects.

Small Yellow Flyers

Bee on Task

While not as colorful as many of the plants, this blue spruce tree has plenty of camera appeal as well.

Bristling Blue Spruce

Here we take a brief intermission and introduce you to Akela, a Seppala Husky (also called a Seppala Siberian Sleddog). Check out the movie "Togo" (2019) to learn about Seppala Huskies. They're an intelligent and amazing sled dog, now considered a different breed from other Siberian Huskies.

Seppala Smile

Akela is one of, if not *the*, most alert dog I've ever met. He is always paying attention.

Eye on the Prize

Now back to more garden photos of a much smaller animal: a praying mantis.

Natural Pest Control

Special Garden Visitor

New Dahlia

Dancing Joyous Petals 1

Dancing Joyous Petals 2

Outreach

Bee Bliss

I enjoyed the textures displayed in the large petals of this hibiscus.

Sails Up

Once again, back to the glorious dahlias.

Basking Petals

Dahlia Derriere

Thursday, July 8, 2021

Delicate Balance

It so happens today is the 20th anniversary of my marriage.

According to theknot.com, "The traditional 20th wedding anniversary gift is china, which is a beautiful representation of the delicate balance you've mastered in your relationship after 20 years together."

Here I present some images of delicate balance in the garden.

Bees atop the butterflyweed:

Bee Above

Bee Afloat

Bee Aloft

This next creature is only a few millimeters across. It is the infamous Asian lady beetle, which, sadly, is considered a pest. It is very similar looking to a ladybug, which is a beneficial insect.

Small Traveler

Shasta daisies stand proudly in the late afternoon glow.

Daisy in the Light 1

Daisy in the Light 2

A bright black-eyed Susan:

Golden Eye

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Restful Res

We are so fortunate to live near the "res." I find that the local reservoir provides welcome peace and tranquility when I walk there. Here are some cell phone photos I recently took during one such outing.

Walking can be quite meditative in a location like this. It just takes an awareness of the present to notice;)

Water Dimples

Rock Islands

Res at Rest

Echinacea Encore

Not to be outdone by the red echinacea, the nearby pink echinacea plant was getting jealous and decided to show off, and so I had to take a few more echinacea pictures. Up close:)

Echinacea 10

Echinacea 11

Friday, June 18, 2021

Eye-popping Echinacea

As promised in my earlier "Spring Collection" blog post, here I present several echinacea photos (plus one bird). This red echinacea variety is new to our garden this year.

These have bloomed out with striking red (and white) color. I had a hard time deciding which views to share, so I decided to share many.

Echinacea 1

Echinacea 2

While photographing the echinacea, this robin decided to visit. Since I had my macro lens rather than my telephoto lens on my camera, I couldn't get a close-up shot in-camera, because the robin wasn't particularly close to me. However, I managed to capture this from about 20 feet away, then cropped and enhanced with LightRoom's recently introduced AI-based "super resolution". The jury is still out about whether or not robin's care about echinacea, but I think not. It was the nearby cherry tree that held interest.

Visiting Robin

Echinacea 3

Echinacea 4

This is a different bloom than shown in the previous photo; note the thinner petals.

Echinacea 5

Echinacea 6

Echinacea 7

Echinacea 8

Echinacea 9

Solomon's Seal Selection

Below is a selection of Solomon's seal photos I recently took.

According to gardeningknowhow.com Solomon's seal gets its name from the scars that form where leaves have dropped. Apparently they look like the sixth seal of King Solomon. Who knew!?

For me, it's all about those graceful arches and the unique hanging blossoms.

And the leaves.

Okay, ... the whole plant:)

Here you go:

Solomon's Seal 1

Solomon's Seal 2

Solomon's Seal 3

Solomon's Seal 4

Solomon's Seal 5

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Vibrant Color in the Garden

I've got more spring blossom photos to share below. Some of these are roses, which don't bloom just in spring. According to the internet, the spring rose bloom is the first of the season and also the most spectacular. No argument here.

Enjoy!

Here's one of our returning favorites: a Joseph's Coat rose. Reminds me of an Orange Julius;)