Friday, 27 July 2018
I found this giant yellowing leaf in the sidewalk planting by that house a few blocks away whose people turned the lot next door (after a tear-down) into a garden (nice extra greenspace for the rest of us…). I forget what the plant is. Leaf is maybe a yard across….
This is what I think of as a small hibiscus bloom. Some are salad-plate sized, but this one is only about three inches across. Retro.
Thursday, 26 July 2018
I’m such a sucker for new vocabulary words. I like those adopted from another language. And I sometimes have a soft spot for technical/specific vocabularies. Today I came across this term for a particular leaf vein pattern: campylodromous. Of course, when I did some research, it turns out there are a whole suite of vein pattern classification-names that I don’t remember seeing before. Not that useful, but descriptive terms, yeah…soft spot. [Details: see Wkeepee here.]
Saturday, 21 July 2018
I tried new-Cam on an errand trip. And discovered with this outdoor shot that…um, the screen is black when viewed through my polarized sunglasses. Oops. Gonna take a while to get used to that (head tilt or push glasses down nose)…. Not sure why the decision was made to use a screen with this problem–it’s been a known problem for, what?, almost a decade.
Nice snap of interior decoration, however.
Via my iPhone, here’s a crepe myrtle bloom (not the one in the first photo) closer-up.
Friday, 20 July 2018
I took Six, the new camera, out for to make a few snaps and discovered just two remaining, lingering gardenia blossoms—one of the type I think of as simple…
…and one of the fancy variety.
So, both these shots are with the new-Cam…. I find the color balance ever-so-slightly more saturated. Neither of these shots shows off the fancy lens…to tantalize you three hardy visitors to these…shores?
Monday, 16 July 2018
I braved the afternoon heat for a few minutes of weeding while watching for the FedEx truck. Beneath the weeds I found…a volunteer basil plant! Yay!
On another note, the guy who’s perennially on our not-our-favorite-neighbor list put himself at the top of it again this year when I noticed him training their new pooch (one of those mushed-face pant-pant varieties) to use our yard and not his.
Wednesday, 11 July 2018
I laid low today, hoping to throw off this crud (no fever cold) I’ve been fighting off for days. I would have been happier feeling better and rambling in the woods finding wildflowers like this bunchberry (Cornus canadensis, an important forage plant for herbivores in some ecosystems) I spotted the other day. Here’s hoping the cough-sniff-arrgh lifts tomorrow; I’m done with it.
Saturday, 7 July 2018
Finally: cool enough today to tackle outdoor chores toward the strenuous end of the difficulty scale. By mid-afternoon, however, pretty toasty in the sun.
My main morning project was planting the giant potentilla we got yesterday from the neighborhood landscaping place. I would have gotten a smaller pot if they had it, but on the other hand, when planted, this one was pretty darned fulfilling. You can see from the shadow, I was out early. This was at 8:14am.
The Botanist always said dig a $5 hole for a 50¢ plant. I got maybe half-way to that ratio. Inflation?
It was a deep hole, and I did Dad’s trick of setting the sod aside, and when the hole was finished, lining the bottom with it, grass side down. Makes a sponge-like reservoir. Dry as it is, that’s a good plan, although the roots aren’t really down there yet. In fact, the soil was so dry that I watered the area around the hole as well as the fresh soil I dumped in the hole around the root ball.
Landscapers and botanists usually call this plant potentilla, but it’s commonly called cinquefoil, with cinque meaning five, and foil referring to leaf/leaves.
Tuesday, 3 July 2018
Shopping in a store you don’t normally visit, in a different area than you usually shop, increases the potential for finding items new to you. I’m heh-heh stumped about this. The words are clear; the meaning is easy to guess, but the utility of the product, even 100% real and natural, escapes me.
These labels, on the other hand, are extremely clear. The Logo-Guru approved. Interesting: all are the same proof, but the prices range from $31.99—vodka and rum—to $51.99—bourbon, with gin and clear whiskey in the $30s. So many mysteries in the world….
Quick plant report: this is one of the most drought-and-heat stressed specimens of lupine I’ve seen so far this season on the farm. Too early for this deep a dry spell.
Monday, 2 July 2018
Got the macro out. Of course, a flower. And of course the flower had an insect. Package deal!
My second time at the Droney flight controls, this time longer than a minute. And here’s my first Droney photo.
Beware: the future may bring more Drone-photos!
Sunday, 1 July 2018
I give thee the common name grey dumpling puffball (approximately golfball-sized).