Have your children teach you well

 This is a photo from Sept.  As you can see the view is from on the Model T on our Can-Am meet in September.  I am still processing these photos for upload to my account at Megashot, where I will link the Can-Am participants when finished the album.  Still have lots of photos to process.

 This is the 'foxy' frame that I learned how to take from any one I saw on the net, and so, make it my own frame to add to photos that I could process through Paintshop Pro.  There is also a way to create your own frames for PSP.  Tutorials are available on the internet.  Choose any one you like.  This matter of frames came up in a discussion on a photo on Megashot.  I could make the frame on that photo my own, if I had the time.  It is not a very exciting frame, so I did not play with it.

Here is a Scaboisia flower, from June.  I am currently working on the June album of the Gardening page on my old web page.  I have 4 more pages to code and then I can upload the album to the page.  Slowly getting the Gardening page finished... but getting more and more behind in the Travel page.  

 With regard to the Travel page... This is a photo of the Parrot  in the Nazca lines in Peru.  We flew over these ancient displays when on our trip to Ecuador and Peru a few years ago.  I was looking over some of the photos and discovered that I had this Parrot depiction photographed, after all.  I have the Hands and the also the Whale.  I was so pleased to find that I had these three.  I thought I only had the Hands previously.

 The Whale from our fly over the Nazca lines.   Apparently, these ancient lines and graphics are now in danger of being destroyed by feral pigs.   Any wind would be equally destructive.  I am so glad I had the opportunity to get the photos I have.  They will eventually be appearing on my old web page on the Travel page.

I received this cute .jpeg in email recently.  It is about how I feel, too.  With all the changes and constant updates, I get just a little bit disgusted with my desktop PC and its updates and logins, etc.  My Ipad does not seem to give me this bother, but I cannot accesses things I may want to, on the Ipad, either... like ABE books... at least, I have not found their AP yet.   And on and on it goes...

YOUR CHILDREN SHOULD TEACH YOU WELL...

Can I borrow your 12 year old grand child to help me out with my computer?

More Internet Crime - Swatting

Yesterday morning I saw a humming bird at the monarda flowers, on my deck.  The main reason for all the flowers on my deck this year is because I read an article about  creating a hummingbird/butterfly container of flowers.  The project has gone very well and the flowers are looking pretty good.  The small cherry tomatoe plant has bunches of little green tomatoes, also.  The basil was not a big success.  I probably got the wrong kind, as mine has tiny leaves.  I don't think the ones I am growing would make more than a couple of tablespoons of pesto.  The only butterfly I have seen on the deck plants, so far, is a white one.  I did see a swallowtail in the back garden, where the fennel grows, and a mating pair of morning cloaks in the front garden, on the plum tree. 
I spent the morning playing with my camera and reading in the manual.  I discovered how to use the macro setting.  I was using it with my 28 - 135 lens.  I must try this with the 50mm and the extra macro lens extension.  I like how the scaboisia turned out.  When I downloaded the photos I could see the RAW beside the large jpegs.  The RAW are so much better.  It is very obvious when you see the thumbnails side by side. 

In the afternoon, I was out in the garden for about 4 hours.  I have clipped back most of the daisies, pulled weeds, and did more clipping back of plants that have finished blooming.  I tried to set up the sprinkler for the early morning run, so I could just turn it on, but I could not get it position right, so I did most the the front garden watering by hand.  There is still more weeding and watering to do, of course. 

Today, I walked back from the mall, which is about a mile and a half.  Was a pleasant walk.  In looking at the plants for sale at the Country Grocer, I see that I need to go to a few garden centers for a good look around.  I don't really have room for anything, though.  I really should make my vegetable garden into a cutting garden, as my vegetables are just non doing well.  Since I am going to be away for weeks at a time in the summer for the next few years, I don't think a vegetable garden will work for me.  I am enjoying a boquet of ladies mantle, white roses, achillea, and a malva type flower in pink (it is reseeding all over the garden and really puts on a nice show). So, perhaps the cutting garden could have gladiola, and other tall flowers that bloom in the Fall, when I am most probably going to be at home. 

The internet is becoming a rather perilous place, with no apparent control or attempts at controlling the nastiness.  Here is an example of something called swatting.  I don't see how the people who are doing these crimes can possibly think this is amusing.  It is too bad that the Internet has to resemble the wild west when we are suppose to be intelligent, thinking human species. 

June in the garden

The pots on the deck are something new this year.  I was inspired to plant a butterfly and humming bird planter and the pots just seemed to keep growing from there.  I have 4 larger pots and 2 smaller ones of a matching set I had purchased some years ago.  I have 2 taller black pots and the cedar box.  There is a tomatoe and basil in one, the butterfly perennials and annuals in one, the tulips, comsos, delphinium in another, the hollyhock with a whitle perennial, scaboisia, one of the smaller ones holds a willow from the VIRAGS plant sale, a black pot with another willow, a black pot with a Japanese quince, and the cedar box with a few annuals.

Two of the rhodos by the deck that are looking good this year.

This is a close up of a drop on the water lily leaf in the deck water tub.. a closely cropped drop.

This snail lives under the deck.  I usually find them to be darker green and living on the moss garden.  There are not very many of them, so I don't mind seeing them in the shade garden.
Yesterday I watered and fed the house plants and deck plants.  I needed to change 2 of the grow tubes on the light garden.  My African violets are all in bloom, and there are now 2 moth orchids blooming.
We have had overcast but warm weather for the last couple of days.  I was hoping it would rain, but it looks like I will need to water.
I have managed to get a few critiques done on Megashot and have been slowly catching up on the meet and greet for new members.  We seem to have some very active newer members which is great to see.    Version 2 is in the works and promises to be faster, sleeker, and even better than the present one; which, in my opinion is very very good.  Its a huge portal with many features as well as photo upload and storage. 

More plants from the June garden

A close up of the scaboisia (pin cushion flower). These are excellent perennials in the gardens, back and front. With a little attention to dead heading, they have a contiuous bloom all summer and into the Fall. I must reward them with a mulch of compost.
This siberian iris was the most prolific bloomer this year. Hopefully, after the attention they got to cleaning them up this year, they will produce a better show next year. They look nice now as a taller stand of thin leaves.
A white siberian Iris. I have a few of these Iris growing behind the cement David in the front garden. The leaves are very thin, almost grass like. So, of course, this patch of iris became infested with a noxious grass. I spent quite a lot of time removing that grass while trying not to mistake irises for the grass. I will have to keep an eye on it, so that grass does not get away on me again. I like how these irises look next to the david, with the black bamboo behind them, and the hedge behind the bamboo. It makes a nice taspestry of greens with fine leaves that move in the wind.
The few strawberries have long since been eaten. Next year, I should see more fruit, as these particular plants are only in their second year.
This tall golden achillea (yarrow) is newly planted to the garden at the back, last year. It is a bit floppy but has long lasting blossoms. It has lower yellow blooming plants around it. Hopefully, they will fill in their allotted spaces and this will be a bright, cherry spot in this back garden bed with the stepping stones running through it.