I am always amazed at the types of flying visitors that visit my yard and the flowers that I plant. I think I am most amazed at how many house flies seem to like flowers…at least I think they are house flies. I looked up flies and was amazed and the number of types of this little pest. I think that is why this one visitor is there…waiting on a fly to land so he gets a meal…
But the flies seem persistent with their blue-green color. When I was a kid we had a name for these but being online, we don’t want to use that kind of language, but I think you get my drift.
But we also have many types of bees that come visit, bumble bees, honey bees, and some type of tiny bee. This sunflower has a small bumble bee and one of the tiny type bees. This little guy’s legs are covered with pollen crystals.
Then we have the flying creatures that always bring about a smile…
Goldfinches are loving my sunflowers this year and then the Mourning Doves are always stopping by the feeder. Having a pair that visit you regularly is a sign of Love Peace and Hope. I am always up for those feelings.
Other visitors are around as well…
The nature that is close by in our yards should be enjoyed and not forgotten about for their presence is what makes our gardens flourish.
And as always, I remind you to be kind. Let it flourish from you as well and see the vast difference it can make.
I have always loved interesting shaped windows or architecture around windows. Monday Windows gives us the opportunity to share the beauty we see with windows.
Older architecture has always fascinated me. When I went to San Francisco earlier this year I loved the windows I saw.
Then closer to home we have some more interesting architecture and non-square windows.
And last but not least, we have many beautiful church windows. This is just a sampling.
Just as our eyes are the windows to what is deep inside of us, windows on a building have the same correlation. From the outside, you can guess the beauty from within but when inside, and God’s light is shining through them, the true beauty is seen in any building.
And remember that inner light can reflect our kindness from within – whether it be a person or a building. So, remember to always be kind.
The wonderful benefit of spring and summer is flowers. While to some, the allergies kick in, to others, they make us smile.
Sunflowers and coreopsis are some of my favorite happy flowers.
From the sunflower’s first start of opening with thin tiny petals…
…to opening its face wide to soak in the sun, and sharing its beauty with all of us. Now we just wait for the seeds to start to form and feed the birds.
The coreopsis if another happy flower with many varieties of color – even in the same plant.
Some have more orange and some have more yellow coloring on their petals. But regardless of their color, they are quite striking with their showmanship.
Even the ones who have no orange at all. This one has a friend helping himself to its nectar.
These happy flowers really show off their flowers within the flower. The center areas are even called disc flowerets. So, enjoy your flowers and the smiles they are sharing with you and always be kind. Kindness has the power to make all things better.
Cee’s fun challenge, Flower of the Day, is always a great way to share the beauty we see all around the blogging world.
Today, I share various colors of Calibrachoa which look like miniature petunias. They are prolific bloomers and seem to tolerate the side of my house that get sun all day. They even do better than the petunias.
These come in solid and two tomes but most of their centers seem to be yellow.
And they usually always have friends drop by for a taste of their nectar.
I am partial to the two-toned purple. While even the solid purple is beautiful, the two-toned seems to have a little more pop.
The pink this year seems to be the most hardy as this plant is full of blooms.
The pink two-tone have points in their petals making them more graceful.
However the yellow seems to be the happiest. Yellow is such a happy color and this pot is surrounded by sunflowers making it even happier.
As I look back at these flowers, I see that color is not the only difference. They also have different petal shapes from round, to pointed, to indented. It shows the beauty of all things created, even man. We are all different but all beautiful as God does not make junk or mistakes. There is always a divine nature in what he does. So embrace your beauty and reflect the kindness from within.
This past week I drove from Iowa to Atlanta, Ga. to see my brother who is very ill. His yard is an oasis of greenery and flowers. The roses are in the first section of his yard but later I will post a yard tour with Sadie, their dog, as she reminded me of its beauty.
Roses always share their beauty and love for life. May we always remember to share in that beauty and be kind. I saw this Pooh poster on facebook and thought it needed sharing. Even though we may not see the results…
I am currently on “vacation” where the intent is really to check on family. My first stop was my youngest and his family. We went to the zoo and while it was great, the entrance was covered in zinnias. They were really beautiful.
I love how Zinnias are actually clusters of tiny flowers surrounded by larger petals.
They seem to smile at you letting you enjoy their beauty.
All living things want to feel the kindness of life that is around them, even flowers. Share their smile with others and watch them smile back. A smile speaks volumes and is an easy way to be kind.
If you had been following my two prior posts about my adventure on the river, this will be the final one as I share the amazement of Lock & Dam #16 on the Mississippi River.
I did not realize until this adventure how many dams there are on this river and actually how many rivers across the world share this same lock and dam technology. This part of the trip was my real reason for going. I love seeing how things work, so I will share some of things I thought interesting and maybe it will be interesting to you as well.
As we head downriver, the new I-74 bridge is the first structure we see. The official name for the bridge is the Iowa-Illinois Memorial Bridge. It replaced the old metal structured bridge which is currently being taken down.
At night, there are colored light that really show the beauty of this bridge. Depending on the season or holiday, the colors will change. Before getting to the bridge, there is this pile of boulders right in the middle. There evidently is enough soil on this small rock island to grow vegetation and usually it is surrounded by pelicans but today they are further down river.
Notice the numbers on the post with the orange caution signs…these are mile markers. The entire river is numbered and posted periodically. While there is no mileage map of the river, it is on a GPS of the river for the boat captains who use this river to know where they are at any given location. Our guide told us the number of products that in a year average up and down this river and I was amazed. Without the help of our rivers, a good portion of the products we use would be less getting to us.
As we got under the new I-74 bridge, you could see the old one as it is being dismantled and taken down. This twin bridge was originally a single bridge but as the area grew, it needed to be larger.
The first span opened in1935 as a toll bridge. In 1959, an identical twin span was added to satisfy increased traffic. The twin spans were upgraded to carry interstate traffic in the mid-1970s. Built for a daily crossing of 48,000 vehicles, the daily average at its closing was 80,000, making it by far the most traveled bridge in the Quad Cities.
From the bridges, we headed to Lock and Dam #16. Upon entering, we tied off to the side and waited for the gates to close.
The lock system uses gravity to lower the water. Underneath the lock chamber are deep tunnels and when the gates are locked, the weight of the water above the tunnels pushes the water through the tunnels which lowers the boat.
You can see how far the waterline fell for us to be able to exit the lock chamber. Because the lock is so close to the Arsenal bridge, when the river is running high, which it is now, the bridge has to open for boats to be able to pass under it.
This section of the bridge is operated by a trolley car engine that allows it to rotate 90 degrees allowing water traffic to pass by the bridge.
Because this section of the water flow is controlled and relatively calm, the downward river side is a haven for pelicans and other water birds.
Once we were out of the lock, we could see the roller dam. From what our guide told us, this is the largest roller dam in the US. He also told us that the knowledge they learned when making this particular lock and dam was used when they made the much larger Panama lock and dam system.
The water coming through the roller dam was a lot more turbulent than the water from the lock. The purpose of the roller dam is to break up and control ice flows during the winter.
As we traveled further down river we could see the Centennial Bridge but we turned before we got there and headed back to the dock.
Before returning to the dock, we went through the original lock from the late 1800s which is no longer in use but was still interesting the way the water flows through it.
As we returned back through the lock we had a supervisor of sorts watching us to make sure we behaved…a blue heron. A really beautiful bird. He evidently is a regular guard.
All in all this was an interesting and fun excursion. I hope you enjoyed my photos and maybe learned something different. Below are some additional photos I took while on the river. Hope you enjoy them.
In closing I remind you of the beauty and power of kindness. The kinder we are, the hope is, the kinder the world will be. Lets at least do out part in always being kind.
I have not posted on Weekend Sky in a while because the skies have been relatively calm…not this weekend. Two warm fronts back to back causing all kinds of issues mostly due to the unseasonably warm temperatures. We don’t usually see 90s until mid-June but this weekend was hot and humid and a show stopper of dark swirling clouds. Saturday was not really that volatile. But as the sun began to set, the colors were amazing.
Sunday was a different story. An evil-looking sky swirled around as the storm started building, resulting in hail, high winds, and a tornado south of us.
After the storm settled to a low roar, the sky seem to split with dark clouds below, dark clouds above, and the sun trying its best to appear. It was quite ominous looking and the clouds looked like hot air being belched from the sun.
On the other side of the river, Youth Group at the church was just letting out and Kenzie snapped this picture. A double rainbow – a double promise from God that He is still in control.
So even though storms can be scary, God is still guiding us and keeping us safe as long as we use a little common sense to stay out of the storms path.
The remainder of the week promises to be somewhat calm so we will work in the garden and yard to watch the beauty of nature grow.
This morning we woke to a dreary sky and bitter-cold minus 1 temperature. I am fully aware it is February but man it was cold. It stayed dreary most of the day with off-and-on clouds but late in the day the sky cleared and warmed all the up to 15 degrees. A proverbial heat wave.
But the evening sky is amazing. I do not have the best photography equipment, so you can’t really appreciate its full beauty but I promise it was an amazing hot pink purple – if that is such a color. Nature has a way of creating color that, as hard as we try to replicate, we usually fall a little short.
But I wanted to share what I saw so that you could at least smile at the possibility of its beauty.
Always remember the beauty we see in nature as gifts from God. They are given to us to remind us how much He loves nature and wants you to enjoy it as much as He does…for He loves you that much.
Have a safe and blessed weekend and remember always – Be kind, for someone is probably hurting more than you are.
There seems to be a peacefulness to fall when the leaves begin to turn. Another year of plant life now getting ready for sleep. I am enclosing the beginnings of the beautiful color I am seeing and hope you enjoy.
This tree was centered in a daycare playground. At first they were upset I was taking pictures but then they saw I only wanted the tree and the sky. the children were cute but not for this. So from there to the post office where the front and the back were full of color.
Then we head for home on a photo journey.
Since we opened with red, we will close with a huge red tree.
Fall is a good lesson taught by the trees to let go and let God. As they drop their beauty for a season of rest, we too should show how lovely it can be to let bygones be gone.
As as always, remember when we are kind, it helps others to be kind. It creates a wonderful effect proving that kindness can be contagious.
For the Love of 