Photo-a-Day Week 28

Boy, where does the time go? Seems like I just did a post on last week's photos and here we are again! After looking at this week's photos, I realized I did more black and white images than usual. Let's look at each photo and see if I can share a little detail on each.

Day 188-

Along the driveway, I have a couple of pieces of rusted front porch railing. I love the rust and have been trying to get a native wisteria to grow up the railing like a trellis. A couple years ago, I installed irrigation pipe and heads on this side of the driveway. I had installed irrigation on the other side years before and decided that if the wisteria was going to grow, it also needed water. Hoping next year to have blooms on the Wisteria frutescens 'Amethyst Falls'. 

Rust and Vine

Day 189-

Liebling is the champion of the rings! She likes chasing and catching these rubber rings. This photo may look like I am holding the ring high above her, to get her attention, but it is sailing through the air. She is focused! 

Queen of the Rings

Day 190- 

As I was looking at the garden up by the road, I noticed there was a Cicada exoskeleton on the Russian sage. Russian sage, Perovskia atriplicifolia, has been reclassified as Salvia yangii. I get frustrated when botanical names get changed. The Cicada is the annual one, opposed to the 13-year cycle brood that emerged earlier this year. At night, when I take the dogs out, it sounds like a jungle with all the insects singing their songs. Add in the frogs and toads singing, it can be quite loud! 

Cicada Time

Day 191- 

We drove to a political event this past week and took the backroads to get there. I noticed this rusted-out pickup truck and tractor on our way there. There was construction a little further down the road, and I wondered if we were going to take a different route home. I was glad when my husband took the same route home. I told him I wanted to get a picture for my photo of the day. The nice thing about driving backroads, you can drive slowly or even stop to take my photos. 

Hay bales and rust 

Day 192-

Wild morning glories, Ipomoea lacunosa, were blooming, and the white blooms really stood out in the shade of the trees along the road. In the photo with color, the white didn't "pop" so I tried some filters and decided the black and white was the best option. To get closer to the blooms for a photo, I had to watch out for a lot of poison ivy! 

Black and White

Day 193-

My Monarda fistulosa, Wild bergamot, is blooming and the bees are loving it! There have been some Skipper butterflies on it as well, but they fly off quickly when I approach with my cellphone camera. The bumblebees ignore me, so they are the stars of the photo. 

Bumbles and Monarda

Day 194-

When we first moved here, we planted a red crepe myrtle along the driveway. As it has grown, so have the pines around them. The crepe myrtle is quite tall, looks like it is leaning because it is reaching for a small amount of sunlight. This crepe myrtle, Lagerstroemia indica, is most likely 'Dynamite'. In addition to the lovely flowers, crepe myrtle has the most amazing exfoliated bark. 

Exfoliating bark

I thank you for stopping by again this week. This coming week, I will try not to do so many black and white photos. 

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

Photo-a-Day Week 18

Welcome to Week 18 of our Photo a Day challenge.  I think the photos have been varied and I look forward to sharing a little more detail about each photo. 

Day 118- 

I am not sure how many of you are habitual about when laundry is done. I am habitual. Is it because of the nursery rhyme from my childhood? "This is the way we wash our clothes, wash our clothes, wash our clothes, this is the way we wash our clothes on a Monday morning..."  Other chores fall to be done whenever. Laundry seems to be cemented in my routine to be done on Monday.

Monday

Day 119-

Monday is also my night to play bridge with the ladies in my neighborhood. We aren't cutthroat about our games, it is mostly for fun. When I moved here there was a woman who liked to play bridge but only a couple others knew how to play. She made up instruction sheets and taught about a dozen of us how to play. After she moved, we "seasoned" players taught other newbies. Our bridge gathering has grown over the years, some nights we have four tables (with four players at each table). There are still times when we get a hand that we aren't sure how to bid. With so many other players, there is always someone at another table you can go to and ask for help. We call that "Phone a Friend". Like I said, it is fun.

Shuffle

Day 120-

We drove to Greenville this past week for a doctor's appointment. The route we take is mostly rural roads. I have looked at this house, or log cabin, always wanting a photo. This week, I was in luck; we were on the lookout for it on our way home, and I was able to take a photo.

A Fine Abode

Day 121-

Another weekly habit is going to the carwash to get the truck washed and vacuumed. The colors and the suds make for interesting images.

Working at the Carwash

Day 122-

While out on the deck, I noticed this tiny Assassin bug on the glass of the sliding door. He was so small it was difficult to get the cell camera to focus on it. 

Assassin baby

Day 123- 

I have various Peonies in my yard, some blooming earlier than others. I love their fragrance and the blossoms full of petals. It was quite fortuitous that I got this picture when I did. The next day, we had a hailstorm that knocked many of these beauties over. 

Peony Time

Day 124-

This is the above-mentioned hailstorm coming to us. There was a lot of thunder and lightening and the wind was quite gusty. I should have gone in sooner, but I was pruning some shrubs and needed to clean up the branches before I went in. Since I was outside I wasn't aware that this storm was carrying the potential of hail. 

As The Storm Comes In

This is my deck! We had hail falling for five minutes! Thankfully damage was minimal.

So this ends our weekly roundup on photos, with a couple extras tossed into the mix.

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

Winter Walk-off 2013

For the last couple years Les has hosted a Winter Walk-off, where you have to get out of your garden and take your camera with you.   The rules are pretty simple, you have to travel on your own two feet and share what interests you along your walk.  After you post, you are to give Les a link to your post so he can share it.
My walks are always accompanied by Newton and Skyler....my four-legged buddies.  Last year I had Monroe as well but she has since passed away.  Hers was a good long life, she made it to 18.  You can see last year's post here, and the year before's post here.
On with our walk--- Newton is the black dog and Skyler is the Aussie, he hears the wind which can sound like a car coming.

For those who are new here, we live in the country, sort of.  The development isn't built out yet, which we love.  It feels like we have it to ourselves.    Our walk today is out the driveway and to the right.

Looking back toward my house.... there is one house that is a second home, so most of the time we are by ourselves in this direction.   Their house is at the turn, you can sort of see their driveway marker.  

My walks are constant observation of nature, no gardens or plantings can be seen for most of the walk.   At one point in the walk you can look through the woods to the lake.  There is a cove that we are looking across.   A few years ago you could see the next neighbor's house across the cove through the trees, but now there is too much growth.  Do you see the bird?  Bird watching is always part of my walks.

 
Ok, how about if I zoom in a bit?  Still kind of hard to see, it is a Red-tailed Hawk.

I noticed a strange growth on some of the stalks of some Goldenrod blooms.  I had to search for these to get a good photo again....some stretches of the road seem to run together.    Have you ever seen anything like this before?  My first thought was some kind of gall where the insect has entered the plant material and the plant builds up some growth around it as a defensive mechanism.  I had to pick one and bring it back home to see what I could find out.

I snapped it off and took it home to further investigate.  

I decided to cut it in half and see what I could find.

It is some kind of larvae, anyone know what it might be?  I am stumped. 

Back to the walk, lots of grasses and spent flower heads, sparkling in the sun.  

This time of year I really enjoy the pines that grow close to the road as they put off a wonderfully fresh scent of pine.  I think it is really refreshing and clean smelling.  This one especially is fragrant, maybe it is close to the road, whatever the reason, I look forward to walking past it.  

Along the edge of the road are lots of small Winged Elm, Ulmus alata.  You can read more about them here, one of my tree posts.  They are so sculptural.   Like all the corky appendages along the small trunk?

As we end our walk I am able to capture a good picture of Mr. Eastern Bluebird.  I have a lot of bird activity along the walks, love having the chance to get a good picture of one.

Be sure to head over to Les' blog and see other Winter Walk-off posts.  Spring is just around the corner!!!



©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Window Views and Ants

It is fall and the colors are outstanding.  I love the views from our dining room window.  We live in an Oak-Hickory forest and in the fall the view just sparkles.   This is the view of the lot next door to us.  This summer I saw a deer walking down through the woods, heading to the lake for a drink.  The bird activity is just wonderful.  (Except for Great Backyard Bird Count day when they all hide)  

The late afternoon sunlight shines through the forest, love the angle of the sun this time of year.   On the windowsill you see a pair of binoculars....they are well used!!

Gardening is usually nicer in the fall here in South Carolina because the weather is better.  Unfortunately for me, I found a nest of fire ants.  We planted a new bed at the front gate of our housing area.  Moving a little bit of mulch the next day to cover a bare spot of soil, I picked up a handful of ants.  Note to self --wear your gloves and look before you pick up anything!!!

We made a trip to the doctor and I have meds to take care of getting my hand back to normal.  Will have to wait a few more days to get back into my garden, don't want the blistered bites to pop and get worse.  

The tree post from last week will be up probably tomorrow.  Benedryl makes my head a little fuzzy so I haven't finished writing it.   Be sure to check previous tree posts as fall pictures are added.  

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

Don't You Just Love It When.....

You take the camera outside to get a picture of the newly planted currently blooming daylily....and you see--

a pretty green dragonfly,  

who stayed around for a photo shoot.   I don't know the name of this pretty one, hoping Randy sees it and gives me the name.  Randy to the rescue-- This gal is an Eastern Pondhawk.  Apparently the males are blue. 

Thanks Randy!!!

On around to the daylily... this is the first one to open.  It is Hemerocallis 'Stephanie Returns', one of the newly planted daylilies I bought bare-rooted from Park Seed in June.   The other bare-rooted daylilies also have plump buds ready to open...stay tuned for more daylily shots.

Around the corner of the house is my Janet rose, continuing to bloom through most of the summer.  Love how it just glows.   But wait, what is that at the top of the bud??

Let's go around to the other side of the bloom.... a spider.  Must be good eating there as this spider was on this bloom since early morning. Another Randy ID-- Green Lynx spider.  

The Castor Bean plant, Ricinus communis  is blooming.   I love this tropical looking plant, hoping it deters those moles and voles from chomping  the roots of my plants. 

 Note: These plants (all parts) are highly poisonous, keep away from children and pets.  

I do like how the unfurling leaves look, almost like starfish.

And now, a little pet interaction.  Our daughter and son in law are here with their kitty, Kallie.  She stays downstairs and our dogs stay upstairs.  If you remember my house (from previous posts) the whole lake side of the house is big sliding glass doors, both upstairs on the main level as well as the lower level.

Kallie has enjoyed watching the birds and lizards out on the patio...today Newton and she were eyeball to eyeball.  

He likes cats, we used to have Miss Jax, a striped tabby.  Miss Jax was the resident cat when Newton came to live with us.  She passed away in '03.  Skyler, the Australian Shepherd WAS supposed to be a replacement kitty.  Skyler has never seen a kitty....so don't want the dogs and the cat to meet.  No point to scare the kitty.  

In the meanwhile, Newton keeps wanting to go out back and look in the window downstairs.  

He has a possible new friend......and is reluctant to leave and go back in UPSTAIRS.

For those who commented on the Chili Con Carne posting, I have added a link for both the chili and the cornbread.....for anyone who wants to make this yummy dinner.

©Copyright 2012 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.

The Family Bed---I Mean Garden Bed

Ever since we started planning our new house and new garden, I wanted to plant a family garden.  I already had a family name plant-- Ledebouria cooperi.  Our last name is Ledebuhr, very close to Ledebouria.  I bought it years ago and brought it with me to our new home.   I was worried it wouldn't come up this spring but my fears were dashed when all of a sudden there it was!  Hooray---

Now we wait for it to bloom. 

After reading some of the blogs I decided on a David Austin order for my namesake plant--  David Austin Rose 'Janet'.  It came bare-rooted and dormant but quickly started to sprout. 

'Janet' is a light pink mixed with copper color, with a strong Tea Rose fragrance.  I can't wait! 

My husband's plant is due to be delivered in October....Paeonia 'Charlie's White'.   This was a tough one to find in stock.  Will post about its arrival this fall. 

Our daughters, Rachel's and Rebecca's plants have been planted close by 'Janet'.  Clematis 'Rebecca' is a repeat bloomer.  First blooming in May-June time frame and then later it will bloom again in August.  It is Pruning Group 2...prune lightly in early spring just above new leaves.  Remove dead or broken branches.    It is a gorgeous red bloom.

Rachel's plant is a peony, another tough to find plant....but I finally was able to buy one and it is now in the ground.  Paeonia officinalis 'Rachel' is another red bloom--a big, double crimson slightly fragrant bloom.  I will have to wait until next year for it to bloom....this one is still pretty immature.  This season will be root and foliage production.  

I found a few other Rachels and Rebeccas, might add them as the years go by....The Rebecca Dahlia is really pretty and Rachel Dianthus is a sweet little fragrant bloom. 

We will be having a wedding next summer, welcoming Alex to the family as Rachel's husband-- and will need to find a proper Alex plant.  There is an Alexander Fleming peony...a possibility.  Anyone have suggestions?   I have been looking around to see if I can find a good Alex to add to the family garden. 

If you are thinking of doing a family garden there is a nice website that can get you started on some of the plants with 'people' names.  The downside of the website is that it is an English site and not all the plant material is available in the States.  Royal Horticultural Society.
Have fun with it!! 

A little follow up on the cicadas... the ones in my neck of the woods are the 13 year cycle species -- in the northern part of the United States there are the 17 year cycle species.  There was a question about the size of these ugly bugs-

And an interesting photo-- one of the cicadas emerging from its exoskeleton. 

©Copyright 2011 Janet. All rights reserved. Content created by Janet for The Queen of Seaford. words and photos by Janet,The Queen of Seaford.