Moon rising on a hot July night

The trees were spinning in the wind as a storm approached. 09/24/23

Night path

At the lake we built a very modern bathroom, but it's set back in the trees a bit, so a special boardwalk was needed to make sure that anyone could find it in the dark. Of course, the lights help too. 09/23/23

Growing wild on the beach

I think it's called a Sea Pea or a Beach Pea. 09/22/23

The calmness of cows

I've always enjoyed being around cows and their calm curiosity. They look a little scruffy with their winter coats coming in but generally the cattle up north have a pretty good life (other than the bugs) ..... lots of room to roam. I am getting my computer back today... exciting...!! 09/21/23

Guess who's hiding in the Dahlias

Yes, we still have a surplus of frogs. The days are getting cooler so now they turn up in some very strange places, and of course, refuse to move. 09/19/23

A little flower on the beach

I have no idea what kind of flower this is, it was growing wild on the beach. Any ideas as to it's ID? 09/18/23

Our rather large lap dog

Baxter is remarkably good at cuddling, Shelby is affectionate in a much more refined way. Sometimes I think she feels a bit displaced .... as she does here .... but, she is always offered first choice for the cuddle spot. She chose to sit where she is, and look a little miffed. Baxter's 'haircut' is quite obvious in this shot.... we had to shave his entire lower half because of his skin issues. He ended up with a really strange looking 'mullet' - luckily he had no idea how funny he looked :) 09/17/23

When the waiting is over ...

It's always hard to be left behind, and unfortunately, Baxter always gets left behind when 'Dad' goes fishing. He's just too big and clumsy for our little boat, so he waits on the beach, as patiently as possible - and that's hard for him! 09/16/23

Catbird in the bath!

Eventually, the Grey Catbird had his time in the tub. 09/15/23

Surprise! The bath is occupied!

The Catbird got a bit of a shock to discover the Cedar Waxwing energetically defending his bathtime. You might have to look carefully to see angry Waxwing hunkered down in the tub. So..... I'm back, sort of. Using an old computer that I finally got up and running, while I wait for the Apple store to find the parts I need for repairs. I managed to access a few of my older photos from the summer.... Hope you are doing well and I haven't missed too much! 09/14/24

Rain on the way 01/09/23

Our Oriole family

Amazingly, the female Oriole joined the party shortly after Dad finished his bath - I promise I did not photoshop anything in this shot, lol. The youngster on the frog is the same one that was in yesterday’s post, he/she just looks much different in the side view, without the puffy feathers showing. Such a beautiful family, I was so lucky to be able to share this special time. Sadly… they are ALL gone now! This little series was taken on July 17, and today there’s no one left except the Canada Geese and the Whooping Cranes, as they move down from the north. Autumn is in the wind. 08/31/23

The bath becomes a family affair for the Baltimore Orioles

While Dad is enjoying his bath, one of his youngsters shows up. Although the juvenile never did jump in the water, he spent quite some time hoping around the edge of the bath - watching and learning. This event was such fun to watch, and I took tons of photos… and then, another family member flew in! 08/30/23

Baltimore Oriole

The male arrives at the fountain …. more of his family arrives tomorrow :) 08/29/23

Uh Oh.... Grackle in the tub!

My turn in the bath… anyone have a problem with that? Grackles give way to no one, not even the Robins. Even the frog looks a little worried. 08/27/23

Trouble at the bird bath

Baby Robins must vacate for the Cedar Waxwings…. clearly there is a pecking order in the bird world, especially when it comes to bath time. And the biggest doesn't always go to the front of the line. 08/25/23

Baby Purple Martin

On August 6th, we noticed this little fledgling sitting on the fountain, obviously fresh from the nest. He was just sitting quietly, looking this way and that, presumably trying to work out exactly what just happened to his cozy, comfy life. After about an hour, we heard very loud chirping, coming from the bushes beside the fountain. The little guy woke up (he’d fallen asleep) and started chirping back to his parents' calls …. eventually he flopped, hopped and fluttered his way off the fountain, onto the grass, into the bushes and the last we saw of him, he was making his way up along the branches, into the bush, following his parents guidance, chirping all the way. I went back later in the day and all was quiet, so I’m sure that he made it to a safe spot where his parents could continue to feed him . By now, (in less than a month!) he will be well on his way to Brazil, flying miles and miles every day. Truly another one of Nature's miracles. 08/24/23

Corn Poppy …. so very delicate.

08/24/23

Pretty Poppy

Our poppies are putting on a beautiful show this year! 08/23/23

Bell Peppers

This is the first year we’ve grown bell peppers. They are tasty, but still small. Hopefully the season will be long enough for them to grow quite a bit bigger. 08/22/23

It's that time of year!

Our garden is just beginning to produce…. and it’s all so fresh and delicious! We wait a whole year for this, and it is SO worth it. Everything is just beginning to ripen - so far we have (as you can see) celery, tomatoes, potatoes, cucumber (our one & only so far) and a little green bell pepper is hiding behind the cuc. We ate most of them for supper last night, lol. 08/21/23

Shelby, waiting to leave the statues.

We made our annual stop at this very strange display of concrete statues, created by a lone farmer many years ago. It’s a creepy place, to say the least, and both Shelby and I are usually quite happy to leave. I’ve posted photos & info in the past about this place, here’s a link if you would like a reminder… https://www.jmcqueenphoto.com/Daily-Photos/Daily-Photos-2021/i-fLj9ggN/A 08/20/23

Prairie Cemetery

While we were wandering the country backroads, we found this very small cemetery, literally ‘in the middle of nowhere’. So many stories here .... and I’m sure some of them were the original pioneers settling in this Northern Interlake. Tough, hardy folks - I truly don’t know how they managed in this harsh and unforgiving land. 08/19/23

Reminders of days long gone

08/18/23