Showing posts with label cat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cat. Show all posts

Sunday, October 19, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 42

Week 42, a few more plant photos than in previous weeks. I did have a choice of several photos on one day, Day 290. Remember to be thinking about which one of the 365 photos is your favorite as the year draws to a close. 


Day 286-

Millie came out to the living room area to watch as Charlie adjusted the front door. It wasn't closing properly, and there was a lot of opening and closing of said door. All the animals were interested in what was happening.

Watching from a safe spot

Day 287-

We had a nice, clear, warm/pleasant day, so Charlie decided to stain the deck. He had cleaned it over the previous days. Not a fun job, but needed to be done to protect the wood on the deck. 

Staining the Deck


Day 288-

Some of my dogwood trees are starting to show their fall color. This one is also showing the fruit from last year's blooms and the tiny minarets of next year's blooms. Dogwoods, Cornus florida, bloom in the early spring with tiny yellow flowers. The white bracts that surround the flowers are often mistaken for the petals of the flowers. 


Last spring and next spring


Day 289-

When I take the dogs outside to play in the morning, many times there is a lone Mourning Dove just sitting very still in the grass. I wasn't sure if it would fly away when I tried to get a photo, but this dove stayed put for a quick photo. Getting a photo of a bird with a cell phone isn't easy, the zoom isn't very long-reaching. 


Mourning Dove


Day 290-

Walking through the backyard I was tickled to see one of the Cyclamen was blooming. I have several Cyclamen neapolitanum planted in the wooden area of the garden. I see the leaves but often miss the blooms. 

Cyclamen


Day 291-

I am lucky to have a pair of Persimmon trees in our yard. They produce some fruit, though not a lot. 
Persimmons, Diospyros virginiana, need two trees, male and female, to bear fruit. The male and female trees in my front yard almost look like a double trunked single tree. The pollinators love the blooms.


Persimmon

Day 292-

Our trees are starting to show their fall colors, and the morning light hitting the leaves makes them shine. The yellow leaves in the photo are one of the many hickories we have in our yard. The sky in the background was dark with rain clouds. We could use the rain, though we were only graced with a small amount. I checked the gauge, 4/100" of rain. First reports were an anticipation of 2/10", and it was an over exaggeration. I will be sharing the side yard foliage over the next few weeks. The lot to the left sold and the new owners are moving ahead with plans to build. The lot line is pretty close to the garden edge, so the look will be changing for sure.  


Fall colors with dark skies


The day I found the Cyclamen blooming, I got a few other photos. It was a tough choice between the one chosen and the ones below. Please enjoy Rudbeckia laciniata, a small fern in the crevice of a rock, Calico aster- Symphyotrichum lateriflorum, and a tiny toad. I think the toad is a Fowler's Toad, but not sure.





Would you have chosen differently? 
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I hope you are thinking about your favorite one! See you next week.

©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.

Sunday, September 14, 2025

Photo-a-Day Week 37

Welcome back to another weekly roundup of photos. Some garnered more attention on Facebook than others.

Day  251- 

While playing with the dogs in the front yard, I looked to the back and saw an odd shape in the tree. Usually it is a bird, Mourning Dove or Red-bellied Woodpecker or Brown Thrasher. Turned out it was a squirrel! They don't normally sit up that high. 


Squirrel in Silhouette 

Also observed that morning was a pair of Bald Eagles soaring high in the sky. I only had my cellphone with me, so the photo isn't great. My choice for the photo of the day was the squirrel, while it also wasn't a great photo, it was a nice silhouette. 





Day 252-

Since we have had Millie, our kitty, we have made sure to keep the door to the room to the toilet closed. As a small kitten she would love to play with the roll of toilet paper, unrolling it all the way to the cardboard tube. So, as a rule, we keep the door closed. I guess one of us left it open. Millie unrolled a nearly full roll of toilet paper. When she does that we say that she is having a party.  This was a photo that got a lot of laughs. 


When the Door is Left Open

Day 253-


While getting ready to water the containers with the hose, I re-encountered the Carolina Praying Mantis. The long, tall shadow made on the wall was impressive. Thought that it would make a good photo choice. Hope you agree.

I'm Still Here

Day 254-

It is Ironweed season. The variety I have growing in my yard is quite tall, perhaps Vernonia noveboracensis. This one grows 6-8 feet tall. I have found there is a nice, more garden-friendly-sized variety called Iron Butterfly. I may try to move these tall giants to a better space. It is a gorgeous shade of purple, and pollinators love it. 

Ironweed

Day 255-

When we first moved here, I planted a variety of Panicum virgatum, a native grass. There are several varieties of Panicum virgatum. I have/had three different ones- Shenandoah, Heavy Metal, and Dallas Blues. This one pictured is either Heavy Metal or Dallas Blues. I can't remember which of these two I planted in which location. Shenandoah is smaller and has green blades that turn red in the fall. The two I can't remember specifics of location, are taller, and have bluer foliage. I will have to try and determine if this one is Dallas Blues or Heavy Metal. The morning light illuminated the seedheads so nicely.

Panicum

The rejected photo was the original photo, in color. I thought the black and white image showed the brightness of the seedheads better. Which do you like better?



Day 256-

This day's image is of something that sits on my dresser. It is the telegram that my dad sent to my mom's parents, my grandparents, telling of my birth! My dad was in the Army, and he and my mom were stationed overseas, telephone calls were unheard of at that time. A telegram was sent to announce my birth. It is faded and tough to read, but I love having it.

Telegram!

Day 257-

This beauty is a native plant growing in my side yard. I have others in various spots in the yard, this one is the largest. Deer love it, so many remain small. Its botanical name is Euonymus americanus, with many common names. Our favorite is Hearts A' Bustin' because of a song by Billie Joe Shaver. Another name is Strawberry Bush. You can see why it has these names. These drupes really pop against the green foliage. 

Hearts A' Bustin'


This brings us to the end of another week. Thanks for stopping by. 


©Copyright 2025 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet, The Queen of Seaford.