Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge: Summer Scenes
Backyard Daylilies!
More of a summer river
Kayaking in the summer
Kids swimming in the river
Water plants along the river
SUMMER SCENES, SUMMER NOT – Marilyn Armstrong
wildflowers
CEE’S FOTD – WILDFLOWERS ALONG THE RIVER – Marilyn Armstrong
Wildflowers along the river as August ends
If we hadn’t been afraid of getting bitten by mosquitoes carrying lethal enchephalitis, it would have been a perfect day to take pictures of the flowers on the river. Everything was in full bloom. Pink, white, red, golden … I don’t know the names of anything, but I love the way the wildflowers line the river banks as if some talented gardener arranged it all.
THE WILDFLOWER GARDEN AT RIVER BEND – Garry Armstrong
Wildflower Garden at River Bend – 08/05/19
River Bend is all about “wild.” So, not surprisingly, the gardens are entirely made up of wildflowers. I took a few pictures of them. The gardens are peaceful and the bees are always busy within.
The wildflower garden at River Bend
SUMMERTIME AND THE FLOWERS ARE EVERYWHERE – Marilyn Armstrong
FOTD – July 11, 2019 – Wild Flowers
I need to start off by saying I’m not feeling well. Either I’ve got one of those nasty summertime stomach bugs or … something. So I took some pretty pictures today, but I couldn’t dig up the energy to actually process any of them. So if I’m not around much tomorrow, please forgive me. I’m just not functioning on all cylinders.
Big bee at Roaring Dam
LITTLE WHITE ASTERS – Marilyn Armstrong
Little White Asters – FOTD – July 6, 2019
Amidst the myriad tall green and orange Daylilies, the asters continue to grow. Taller than they usually stand, they have spread out all around the garden.
It’s a nice touch, those delicate little white flowers in the breaks between the tall daylilies, some of which have reached at least my height and a few are taller.
Tomorrow, it will rain, but Sunday I can get back to the garden and see what is growing!
Asters growing amidst the daylilies
More asters
DAY ONE – THE JULY BLUES! – Marilyn Armstrong
It’s day One of July Blues!
It has finally arrived and it’s going to be a blue, blue summer. Today, it’s the bright blue of the wild spiderwort in my garden.
Spiderwort is a strange plant and its blue color has a strong violet and pink undertone. So often, I take a picture of “blue spiderwort,” but when I post it on my computer, it’s bright violet-pink. No amount of color correction will fix it, either.
They come out blue if I take the picture in shade. Or — mostly shade. It’s something about the spectrum of sunshine that changes its color.
Spiderwort in its proper shade of deep blue.
WILDFLOWERS IN OUR GARDEN – Marilyn Armstrong
More Wildflowers in the Garden – FOTD – 06/28/19
Queen Anne’s Lace
Spiderwort
Solomon’s Seal
Queen Anne’s Lace again
Spiderwort
WILD ASTERS IN MY GARDEN – Marilyn Armstrong
Wild Asters – FOTD – June 25, 2019
The garden is full of buds but not full of blossoms.
The only thing in bloom are a few wildflowers. They seem to have popped up from nowhere, at least they are blooming, which is more than I can say for any of the flowers.
If the rest of the week is not entirely rainy, we will have flowers and a lot of them at that. Meanwhile, here are the little wild asters. I have always been very fond of them.
Dainty, sweet little flowers.
Wild Asters
More wild asters
LAST SUMMER’S GARDENS – Marilyn Armstrong
A Photo a Week Challenge: Flower
The daylilies aren’t blooming yet, though I think they will be before the week is finished. Perhaps this is a good time to remember the gardens of 2018 which were a month late because of the cold spring. I think we’re doing the cold spring again with the addition of pouring rain, lightning, and wind.
Good thing the climate isn’t changing!
Bright lilies
When the flowers are blooming
Columbine
Wild garden
Columbine along driveway
Daylilies
COLUMBINE – Marilyn Armstrong
FOTD – June 20, 2019 – Columbine
While they were so busy blooming, I took pictures. I think the next time I look — tomorrow if it isn’t pouring rain — I will see the beginning of the blooming of the daylilies.
I think if there had been a bit more sunshine, they would be blooming already. I don’t know if the roses will bloom this year. We cut them all the way down and it may take them a season to grow back.
I’m sure they will grow back. They are much too stubborn to die.
Columbine along the picket fence
Closeup Columbine
A SUNNY SUNDAY BY THE RIVER – Marilyn Armstrong
On a sunny weekend along the Blackstone River in North Smithfield, Rhode Island, we took out our cameras and took pictures.
Garry posted some of his photographs a couple of days ago. I decided to see if I could make mine look a bit different. I’m playing with the impressionist filters, trying to get a painted feeling, yet still retain as much of the photograph’s details as I can. It’s an interesting balance and I don’t know if I’ve quite gotten what I’m looking for yet, but I’m working on it.
Red kayak by the Blackstone
Red kayak waiting by the boat slip …
Readying the kayak for a trip upriver
Putting the red kayak into the river
Off he goes
Have a lovely paddle
And a meadow full of buttercups
RIVER FLOWERS – Marilyn Armstrong
Wildflowers by the Rivers-FOTD – 06/10/19
After Owen chopped down the meadow behind our house, we decided to go out and take a few hundred pictures. I really don’t think we can take any fewer.
It was a lovely day. Warm, but not too warm, with just enough breeze to smell the freshly cut grass … or whatever it is we grow back there. I’m pretty sure there’s some grass involved, but there are a lot of other things in there too. Flowers and weeds and crabgrass and dandelions at the least and who knows what else. Probably some random flowers blown there from our garden — or someone else’s.
Buttercups
Yellow flowers in the river
River reeds
A field of buttercups
We saw a pair of Mallards on the river, too, though we didn’t get much of a shot. We both tried, but we didn’t have time to more than aim the camera and hope for the best.
The Mumford Dam – 1910
No children playing in the water today, but a father and his young son — he couldn’t have been more than five — were fishing and a couple about our age were kayaking. And there were people there to just hang out and watch the water run by — and of course, us. Cameras at the ready.
And more buttercups
I’ve never seen so many buttercups. There were also tall yellow flowers growing in the river in Uxbridge, reeds by the river … and I had to include one picture of the dam just because it was so lovely.
COLORFUL WITH MEMORIES OF LAST SUMMER – Marilyn Armstrong
A Photo a Week Challenge: Colorful
Sunday (aka the day after tomorrow) will bring, in order, snow, sleet, freezing rain, and finally, rain. I know we had some crocus, but it’s buried under 18 inches of snow.
These are eighteen inches of frozen hard snow. Nothing fluffy or fun about it. I’m hoping the rain ultimately washes most of it away.
Photo Garry Armstrong
Photo Garry Armstrong
So, as you can imagine, colorful is later this year or memories of last year. I cannot bring forth the colors to come, so I shall revisit the flowers from days of yore.
July 2018
July 2018- Photo: Garry Armstrong
Daylilies and roses
WILDFLOWERS AND SOME AUTUMN LEAVES – Marilyn Armstrong
FOTD – November 4, 2018
Photos: Garry & Marilyn Armstrong
We had a serious wind and rain storm last night and this morning. Big limbs all over the driveway. Watching the oaks wave in the wind … which is actually kind of eerie.
Those oaks are big (tall!) trees. When they fall, they take down a lot of stuff with them. Watching them move with the wind is a bit scary.
Wild asters and a big bee
But so far, so good. We just lost a lot of branches which Garry tossed into the woods. The driveway was effectively blocked.
Women by the river – Photo: Garry Armstrong
Photo: Garry Armstrong
In the course of events, most of the trees are bare. Tomorrow is supposed to be nice, but Monday and thereafter? Who knows? More wind, more rain, and the rivers are beginning to crest. It was bound to happen.
The last branch
And Garry’s best shot of October, introducing THE SQUIRREL!
Photo: Garry Armstrong – Gray squirrel by the Blackstone
WILDFLOWERS OF THE DAY – ASTERS ALONG THE RIVER – Marilyn Armstrong
Flower of the Day – October 8, 2018
I always try to take pictures of the wildflowers down by the river and ponds. This time of year, mostly it seems to be Goldenrod and Asters. The asters come in a lot of colors. The ones at home are those tiny, dainty white ones with the yellow center, but the ones by the river are pink and purple and sometimes white … and occasionally bunches of them all different colors.
More asters
Meanwhile, my roses are still blooming but the rhododendrons have about tripled in size. Maybe it was because I cut back the roses? Did that give the rhododendrons room to grow?
Purple Asters
I played around with the colors and textures of the flowers. Sometimes, I can’t help it. I get artsy.
WILDFLOWER OF THE DAY: YELLOW ASTERS – Marilyn Armstrong
Flower of the Day – October 4, 2018
I saw them along the driveway and I thought they were my miniature Korean lilacs. Close up, they turned out to be a huge growth of tiny asters.
Each bunch of asters looked like a lilac — if you don’t see very well, that is.
Asters
More asters
