Yard Piddling » 2007» January

Archive for January, 2007

Saturday Photo Hunt - Jan 20, Wild

Tuesday, January 30th, 2007

Feed Me: Hungry and ready to eat the world

Posted in PhotoHunt, Photography | 4 Comments »

Hardly ever see this.

Monday, January 29th, 2007

An aircraft contrail that stretches from horizon to horizon. Atmospheric conditions must have been just right because they usually dissipate much quicker. I first saw it on the way in to the campus and it changed very little by the time I took the photo. Either that or the atmospheric blanket around the earth actually has a zipper.

Want to know more about contrails? Take a look at NASA’s contrail education site, specifically their FAQ.

Posted in Yards | 2 Comments »

Cute but not funny.

Sunday, January 28th, 2007

On the way home from staying with Mom last night I daydreamed a cartoon strip entitled "Elmo, the alligator that likes frogs". He likes them as friends and sometimes can not help liking them for lunch. (Where in the world did that idea come from? No idea! Ah, maybe from the fact that Jeanne use to publish a frog cartoon in the local paper, or maybe from the dash).

Cartoon 1
Elmo’s best friend: Hello Elmo. Have you seen that hoppy of mine?
Elmo: No, not since lunch.

Cartoon 2
Two frogs on their backs on a lily pad with their hands behind their heads looking up at the clouds (these frogs have cartoon hands).
Frog 1: Isn’t it a wonderful day?
Frog 2: Yes but I have had a feeling of doom since lunch.
And then we notice a pair of alligator eyes sticking up out of the water overlooking the pad.

Ok, Ok, it entertained me while I drove. I’m sure you figured out by now that cute refers to the socks, not the cartoons. The cartoons? That’s the “not funny” part.

Here’s another picture of frog socks.

Posted in Family & Friends, Fun | No Comments »

The life of a magnolia seed pod.

Thursday, January 18th, 2007




I didn’t plan this sequence, it just happened. I think I will capture the process next year but with a little more method. The life shown here was actually played by 3 actors, one played the young pod, one the middle aged pod, and the third portrayed the final resting. Here’s a much better treatment of the magnolia seed pod. And here

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The Glorious and Unforgotten.

Friday, January 5th, 2007

Do reds, and their cousins, totally dominate the yard this time of year?

Well not entirely, white helps.

And of course the colors of us all, eventually, returning to the earth.

Yes, I am going to paint those windows, a different color.

The yard is really bleak, understandable after all the cold weather we have had. However, here and there, onesies and twosies, protected and exposed, a bloom can be fond. I love having plants that bloom at different times. I must have more.

I especially like the gerber daisies. They have bloomed most of the year and are still at it, despite the cold. And they don’t hide but stand there facing the weather as if saying “Bring it on”.

These folk think that camellias are the perfect winter garden flower.
Check out lensmate’s winter flowers.