What’s new?

(Gladiola and sunlight in the dining room.)

I was finally able to get out and about yesterday to see what’s happening around the pond and property.  I took short breaks outside during the Great Bean Processing Project, but didn’t have a chance to do much more than admire some of the flowers near the house.  One of those is pictured above, having been brought inside with a handful of other flowers by M.  I don’t know how he manages to slip past me when he picks flowers.  One minute the table will be empty and the next a bouquet of flowers turns up to surprise me.

(Sunbeam and butterfly wings.)

While out on one my quick trips to catch a breath of fresh air and some vitamin D, I met up with this swallowtail butterfly who was patient enough to let me snap a photo or two.  I like the way a shaft of sunlight hit the top of its wings.  (Click on the photos to see the larger versions.)

(Two purple coneflowers in the wildflower meadow.)

July has been a relatively dry month with just enough rain to keep things blooming.  We’ve helped out a little with the hose and sprinkler when needed, mostly up in the garden area as everything else seems to bounce back well enough from short periods of drought.

As is frequently the case when it comes to my vegetable garden, the weeds are showing off their beautiful and colorful blossoms.  I think it is their way of trying to survive, knowing full well that if they are pretty enough, I will have a hard time yanking them out of the ground.  Fortunately for me and for some of the weeds, they are growing in a spot I’m not using this year.  They can go ahead and bloom ’til their heart’s content.

(The inner rays of a purple coneflower.)

(A baby purple coneflower.)

The Queen Anne’s Lace is doing well in and out of the garden.  I love it out of the garden.  I don’t care much for it IN the garden.  It’s a difficult plant to pull with its long, carrot-like root.

(Trying to touch the sky.)

The Queen Anne’s Lace pictured above has grown very tall.  It is taller than I am which allowed me to photograph it from underneath without the usual squatting, kneeling, or lying on the ground.  I shot towards the sun to catch the light.  I played around with the Orton Effect in Photoshop.

The daylilies are still blooming in a variety of colors.  A pink tiger lily showed up in the front garden:

It’s a little blurry from the wind.  Breezy Acres has been living up to its name lately, making it challenging to take flower and macro shots.  I was wearing a white tank top when I went out to take this photo.  I sat down near the tiger lilies to make their acquaintance.  The breeze kept the flowers nodding and swaying so I waited patiently for things to settle down.  What I didn’t realize until I came back inside is that the wind and the flowers had conspired to pollinate me.  I had saffron colored streaks all over the right side of my shirt.  Hopefully it will come out in the wash.  If not, I’ll start a new fashion trend and call my line of clothing Pollinated or Touched by a Flower.