Small worlds

(Peering into the wildflower meadow.)

Yesterday was hot and sticky with the occasional storm moving through as the cold front advanced on us.  It wasn’t a total washout.  In between getting caught up with the blog, the blogosphere, and homecaring chores, I went out to see what was happening around the pond.

If you look carefully, there is a whole ‘nother world out there inhabited by small creatures.

(Honeybee and thistle.)

I spent a little time down by the pond, playing around with trying to capture some of the dragonflies as they hovered above the water.  It was not a great success.  Next time I’ll take a chair with me as squatting is not a stable position for me, resulting in blurry pictures.  The dragonfly pictured above was perched on the blade of grass.

The sunset captured me again.  Just prior to that I went out to see what I could do with some of the manual settings on the camera.  It’s about time I learn how they work.  I was aiming for the star effect that is sometimes possible with the right light and settings.  It was too bright but I did get a star-like effect on the reflection of the sun in the pond.  It almost looks like the sun fell into the water.

It was another colorful and changeable sunset, going from golden to red.  And we all know what they say about red at night.

Today is lovely now that the clouds are beginning to part.  It’s cooler and much drier than it has been.  Good gardening weather.  M was out in the garden yesterday evening and he said the weeds are thriving.  We get a good crop of weeds every year.  I’ve been wanting to keep the garden all-organic but there are occasions when I think about using a weed-killer to do the weeding for me.  I wouldn’t get as much exercise and fresh air that way, though, so I guess I’ll stick to hand-weeding for now.  Hopefully some of the other measures I took (using a fabric barrier between the rows of asparagus, for instance) will help.