While I am still having trouble admitting that summer is over, I can say that yesterday was a sublime autumn day, and I took my camera with me when I walked the dogs. Sophie rolled in something rank, so both dogs got baths upon our return to the house! Someone explain to me why these two dogs love swimming and readily jump in any body of water, but look at me like I'm Hannibal Lecter when I put them in the bathtub and lather 'em up!
Bumblebee on wild aster.
A honeybee and a ladybug share space on one of my sedums.
Working hard collecting nectar!
The farm. The soybeans are all keeled over and drying out. I think they'll be harvested in mid-October.
Milkweed. The pods are ready to burst now.
And I think these are the coolest things...
And I think these are the coolest things...
Prickly cucumber! You can't eat them but they'd be great weapons in an impromptu prickly cucumber fight.
I forget what these are called but they self-seed in our garden every year.
You know it's fall when the sumac turns red!
I believe this is an "Autumn Beauty" sunflower, and as you can see, the bumblebee and others are very much enjoying it.
A ripening sunflower head. I let the birds eat all my sunflower seeds!
Meanwhile, the chickens were enjoying the great outdoors as well...
Meanwhile, the chickens were enjoying the great outdoors as well...
They love to hang out in the sumac and pine trees just next to the barn, with occasional forays into the cornfield next door (but unlike my corn-addicted dogs, they can't reach the cobs!)
This one is very proud of herself. That's some sort of animal burrow she is standing on, dug into the roots of a dead tree. The ancestor of the modern chicken is the jungle fowl (which we saw on our trip to Sri Lanka -- there's a jungle fowl pic halfway down this page on the right), so it's not surprising the girls enjoy these jungle-y areas.
Meanwhile back inside, Naomi and Alex impatiently demand food. They looked VERY cute but this picture doesn't do their cuteness justice...
Naomi is just over year old now and remains a tiny, six-pound cat. She weighs half of what Alex does. And they are still in love.
“Yes, I'm a cat and yes, this is a dog bed but NO, I did NOT do that to the dog toy!!!”
We NOW call this toy "Ampu-pet." I got it cheap at Value Village, and it has suffered a horrendous fate at the fangs of Sophie and Tristan. I'm surprised they have not yet gnawed off the other limbs.
We NOW call this toy "Ampu-pet." I got it cheap at Value Village, and it has suffered a horrendous fate at the fangs of Sophie and Tristan. I'm surprised they have not yet gnawed off the other limbs.
Beautiful pictures! We are having a rainy day in GA and fall is a few more weeks away. The white trumpet flower is called Datura or Jimson weed and is an hallucinogenic (I believe it is the seeds but not sure). It jumps around here,too, and we let it....I love when it opens at night!
ReplyDeleteMB
Jimson weed, that's it!! Last year they had an article in our local paper about a bunch of teens who went to hospital after overdosing on the seeds. Hmmm, I guess that's something I can do if I get bored on a Saturday night. Otoh, I'd better keep the chickens away from them!!
ReplyDeleteI hear it has been VERY wet in Georgia, MB; too wet, in fact. Hope you get some sunshine soon!
What delightful photos Knatolee. The plant is almost certainly a Datura but ah but M had already identifit it. I thought for a second that teh prickly cucumber was a thorn apple "fruit" of a datura.
ReplyDeleteNot just hallucinogenic but downright deadly. That doesn't stop us growing them from time to time though!
Natalie,
ReplyDeleteYou take the BEST photos!
I love them!
I love your stories - they make me laugh... especially remembering what you did to Flat Sam!!
hahahahahaha
Hugs!!
So, so sweet! Beautiful, as usual.
ReplyDeleteUh . .. I have my own Jimson weed (otherwise known as datura stramonium) tale. And it ain't pretty.
Keep the chickie chicks away from that mayhem.
Ugh.
Jams, we like to live dangerously, eh?
ReplyDeleteMiss Tracey, thank you so much! And Flat Sam was oh-so-special!
Chef Nick, what do I have to do to get the Jimson weed story out of you?
You must be multilingual. Bees, ladybugs, chicken, cats, et al pose for you. Even the flowers....Nice land. Lucky lady. Also hard worker. All of this require much care. Wishing you all the best.
ReplyDeleteLove the photo of the farm. Doens't even hint that all the work it takes to keep it that way!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the flora info. Especially the Datura!!(Watch out for the chickens, they may start dancing to Led Zepplin again)
Claudia, thank you! :) I have always loved animals. We're having fun on the farm. It helps that I work at home and have no commute.
ReplyDeleteElisabeth, I am going to have to keep a CLOSE EYE on those chickens. I can completely imagine them tripping out on datura. After all, they think caulking is fun to peck at.
Those are really great shots. I enjoyed them.
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