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We were there at the beginning of the dry season. However, someone must have mis-read the calendar. We had some rain most days and quite a bit of rain on one day. And with the never-ending summer weather, plant life thrives. Any building or car that had been left alone for a while appeared to have stuff growing on, around and through it. I was impressed by the shear numbers of flowers that we saw – most of which I could not identify. There was lots of bougainvillea, many varieties of hibiscus, jasmine, morning glory, bromeliads and much more. Also much to my surprise, there were quite a few cacti species! And no, I don’t know what they are. If you know the names of any of these plants, do let me know. We were surprised by the honey bees! They were pollinating many flowers. We never saw any evidence of bee hives so maybe they were introduced and have gone feral along with the horses, dogs, cats, mongoose, etc.

Last week, before the temperatures rose to the nineties, the garden was vibrant and full of color. This week, it seems tired and droopy, no matter how often we water. Fortunately I made some images last week and captured it at its prettiest, so far, this year. It was full of pollinators – mostly Ken’s honeybees.

This time of year flowers are few and far between. Some low-lying dryer parts of the state may have some buttercups and grass widows but here on my hill they remain snow-covered or encased in mud. Blooming house plants do bring some color inside, sometimes unexpectedly. According to The Amaryllis Bulb Company, these plants can bloom from December through June. I had always considered them to be Christmas flowers and wondered why I could not get them to re-bloom during the holiday season. This particular plant also bloomed last summer when it stayed outside on the deck. When fall came, I put it in the coolest room in the house and quit watering it. After it lost all of its leaves about a month ago, I began to water it again. It sent up a flower stalk right away and has been blooming this week. The flowers are stunning and they seem to be calling out to be pollinated. Maybe I should go see if Ken’s bees are awake and if they are interested. Or not. This plant was my mother’s. She had received it as a gift. I have been caring for it for nearly seven years now. Hard to believe she’s been gone that long.

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That’s a lot of photos for one flower. Some many images in that one growing plant.

Recently when I was complaining about the dreariness of the weather, a friend pointed out the lush colors of the season enhanced by the light and the moisture. She compared them to colors from the days of Fuji film – my favorite when I was shooting film – and she was right. During this season I can always see something to photograph and it’s challenging to get me to stop. Here are a few images from around our place.

Peony leaves

 

Sweet pea

 

Kohlrabi leaf

 

Dried sunflower still standing

 

Sunflower leaf

 

Bearded iris leaf

 

Maple leaves

 

Siberian iris leaves

 

Asters

 

The deer have eaten most of the aster flowers

 

Echinacea (cone flower) dried on the stem

 

Echinacea still blooming

 

More red leaves

 

Johnny jump up

 

Bearded iris pod

 

 

Life’s adventures are conspiring to keep me from going hiking, paddling or having other fun times away from home. What to do? Yesterday I went outside for some errand or another and I noticed that the rising fog was leaving tiny droplets on all the flowers and foliage. I rushed upstairs to get my macro lens to capture a few images before the moment dried up and went away. Flowers still blooming include sweet peas, nasturtiams, parsley, coneflower (well barely still holding on to some color), asters and some sunflowers. Temperatures tonight are forecast into the twenties and tomorrow night, the LOW twenties. Maybe even the teens. Good thing I got a few more images of summer before it all goes away.

Perennial aster, one thing the deer don’t seem to eat at all

 

 

Coneflower or echinacea, something that deer seldom even taste

 

Leeks, inside the garden fence

 

Nasturtiam, also inside the fence

 

Parsley umbel growing in a planter on the deck

 

Oh yeah, these sunflowers are inside the fence. deer love them.

 

Sweet peas. I like sweet peas. These grow on the garden fence. Fortunately, they grow tall and the deer only get some of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yup, I really like sweet peas.

 

 

 

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