Above and Below: The sunflowers are looking great. They don't mind the oppressive heat. . . as long as I give them a good sprinkling every evening. Most of the current batch have multiple heads. I don't know how I managed this. I don't pay much attention to what I'm planting. I dig a hole. . . throw in my special fertilizer and then a hand full of seeds from last year's flowers. . .
I had hoped for some lemon queens and some reds but most of these are some variation of Russian Giants only with a mutation that gives them many heads per stalk instead of the characteristic single head.
Below: The blogger in the mid-day sun in the middle of the flowers. These will only get 7-feet. The next batch might be some real giants as the days get longer. . . and hopefully some rains return.
Below: This family of Sandhill Cranes (Grus canadensis) has one surviving chick (colt). Click on the image for a larger view. The chick stays between the parents, most of the time. I see this family every evening as I leave the lake house. They live in the vicinity of where Lake Theresa meets Lake Louise. I took this shot with a very long lens from about 1/2 mile. The family that I'd been blogging about that nested behind the lake house -- again this year -- appear to have lost both colts.
I blogged photos of that family in mid-March with one tiny colt. When we returned from the West last week I could only find the two adults and no colts. Today the adults were standing atop the empty nest. I found it quite a sad sight. I snapped some photos and will blog them later on. Their nesting area has been repeatedly invaded and trampled by humans. I have done everything I can to encourage them to move on and nest elsewhere. . . but like so many species their birth spot is somehow imprinted on their psyche and they stubbornly return to that spot despite the inherent hazards.
Below: I now have hundreds of these shots of honey bees (Apis mellifera) on White Sweet Clover (Melilotus alba). I see them every evening. It is my subject of choice lately. . .trying to capture the bees in the best light.
Below: I've been walking later and later to avoid the heat. At dusk I see many of these Eastern Cottontail Rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus). These little rabbits are primarily nocturnal, resting in shallow depressions of dense grass during the day. They eat legumes, broad-leafed weeds, and grasses.
I finally got a shot of more than one of them tonight. I'll post it later on. I've not seen any babies but I do notice many more adults around than in past years. When we first moved to this area 16 years ago these rabbits were as plentiful as mosquitoes and snakes. Urbanization and predation by domesticated dogs has decimated this native species.
We have a few of these guys inside the gates of the house. I throw out the ends of my carrots, beans and squash every night for them to much on. They are also very fond of granola, raisins and cranberries. . . things they wouldn't normally find in this environment. . . but things that are on my vegetarian diet. . .and so found in plentiful supply around here.
Every time I see one inside the gates I think it is Eddie (below). Eddie is the pitiful, feral cat that we've been feeding for some time now. As you can see Eddie very much resembles the native rabbit right down to the bobbed white tail. He also moves much like the rabbits (quickly). . .and when threatened he freezes. . .often in the worst possible spot (like in the middle of the street). This is an odd evolutionary adaptation of these species. They freeze when startled or threatened. . . assuming the predator will not see them as they blend in so well with the natural environment.
Eddie is tame enough for adoption now if any one would like a cat. I'm sure he would make someone a great house cat. He'd be so grateful to be brought in from the heat, bugs, damp, . . .
To see more travel photos go to PHILLIP'S NATURAL WORLD II for some cool photos of Utah and North Dakota.
To see some photos where ambient light is played with go to PHILLIP'S NATURAL WORLD III.
No comments:
Post a Comment