We had a few more flowering plants in the yard this summer, and I have been delighted with getting to watch all the pretty little pollinators do their thing.
If things go as they should, sunflowers always grow very tall, but a couple of ours took off this summer and got taller than the fence!
I have always loved pine cones. What is it about them? The cool sculptural shape? The potential? The fact that as a small child they felt a bit like a small magical treasure to search for and gather? Maybe in the words of Marge Simpson, "I just think they're neat!"
I am no master gardner, but I did get a few seeds plopped into buckets of soil this year. I think that the fact that the radish has flowered means it is past its prime for harvesting, but the wee little hovering wasps seem to like the flowers, so a success in my book. Yay pollinators!
I love the details of the shape and texture in this shot of lichen on a pine tree. (Is it lichen? I think it's lichen. But I am hardly an expert.)
A quick search through google images makes me think it is perhaps Xanthoria parietina which is, indeed a lichen. It's often found around livestock, and since we often have to share our area national forest trails with cows, it seems to fit the bill. I should really start learning what some of the wildflowers around here are, especially these friendly purple ones. They make me smile.
I am. I am most definitely counting. I love the outdoors and mountains and camping, (things that I associate with summer,) but between the heat (which both myself and Elder Child struggle with) and occasional wildfire smoke drifting in, I am more than ready for cooler weather!
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Julie's Tip Jar:
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