End of the Month View August 2017

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 30, 2017

Several years ago I had a lot of Dianthus, but fewer and fewer of them came back each year. When I saw this 'Clavel Jolt Pink' at the Garden Center, I knew it would be perfect to get my Dianthus collection started again.

I bought four Snapdragon plants this year and enjoyed their wonderful blooms earlier in the Summer. The red one has surprised me by blooming again here at the end of August.

I have three colors of Althea, but this one is blooming more profusely than the others.

Phlox is a sweet-smelling perennial.

The Rudbeckias have been blooming all Summer.

And best of all, my Butterfly Milkweed is making seed pods!

Here it is in full bloom in June:

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, June 3, 2017

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Have a wonderful day!

To see other gardens at the end of August, visit End of the Month View: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Good Fences, August 31, 2017

Good Fences and Thankful Thursday

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 26, 2017

When slender metal posts are used for fencing, the fence corners are often reinforced with wooden posts and braces.

There was a small flock of birds (Sparrows?) on the fence. Perhaps the sheep, as they grazed, stirred up insects for them to eat.

For Thankful Thursday:
I am thankful for the Power of Prayer. Please remember to pray for those people along the Texas and Louisiana coasts (Gulf of Mexico) that have suffered the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.

Hope you have a great day!

For more fence photos, visit Good Fences Around The World: Click Here!

Let us know what you are thankful for, visit Thankful Thursday: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Hummingbirds, August 29-30, 2017

ABC Wednesday, Wild Bird Wednesday, and Wednesday Around The World
H is for Hummingbirds

Last week I showed you one of the largest birds here, the Great Blue Heron. Today my post is about our smallest bird, the Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Archilochus colubris. (Only the males have red throat feathers).

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 14, 2017

You can attract Hummingbirds during their Spring migration by planting early-blooming, tubular flowers ( example: Red Buckeye). You can entice them to spend the Summer with you by hanging Hummingbird feeders filled with sugar-water and planting more red or orange flowers.

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds, female (center), male (right)

Hummingbirds move amazingly fast, can fly in any direction (including straight up and backwards!), and are masters at hovering. Nectar from flowers and sugar-water from Hummingbird feeders are their primary food sources, but they also eat small insects,
(gnats, mosquitoes, etc.), catching them in flight

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 28, 2017

Do Hummingbirds hum? Well, yes. They communicate with each other by rapid, high-pitched chirping, but as they fly, their extremely fast wingbeats, over 50 per second, produce a distinctive humming sound.

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 20, 2017

Ruby-throated Hummingbirds come to us at the end of March, raise their babies here during the Summer months, and in September begin their long migration across the Gulf of Mexico to their Winter homes in Mexico and Central America. It is an amazing journey for a bird the size of your thumb!

Have a wonderful day!

For more on the letter H, visit ABC Wednesday: Click Here!

For more bird photos, visit Wild Bird Wednesday: Click Here!

For an interesting variety of photos, visit Wednesday Around The World: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Playground Mural, August 28, 2017

New Albany, Mississippi, USA, May 3, 2017

I found this mural painted on a concrete retaining wall at a small playground.

The artists: 'New Albany High School Class of 2009.'

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I hope you have a wonderful week!

For more mural photos, visit Monday Mural: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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The Barn Collective, August 27, 2017

McNairy County, Tennessee, USA, August 7, 2017

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Your bird for today is a...

Pickwick, Tennessee, USA, August 7, 2017

Mallard Duck (female)

Bottoms up!

Remember to pray for those along the Texas coast devastated by Hurricane Harvey.

Have a blessed day!

For more barn photos, visit Tom for The Barn Collective: Click Here!

For more bird photos, visit Anni at I'd Rather B Birdin': Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Cooling Off, August 26, 2017

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, August 23, 2017

In the Summer months I often see cows in ponds trying to keep cool. But last Wednesday was my first time to see one swishing its tail in a pond to throw water upon its back!

I hope you have a great week-end!

For more Saturday's Critters: Click Here!

For more Camera Critters: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Willy Nilly Friday, August 25, 2017

Willy Nilly Friday 5, Sky Watch Friday, and Floral Friday Photos

1. The Tupelo Farmers Market

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, August 22, 2017

What to do with an old truck? Plant flowers in it! This planting and mural is at the Tupelo Farmers Market.

The Farmers Market is the place to visit if you want local grown food. In addition to basic garden produce, you can buy cut flower bouquets, home-made bread, jam, jelly, and honey.
I bought purple-hull peas there on Tuesday.

2. Elvis

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, August 19, 2017

I found three more 'Tribute to Elvis' sculptures.

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, August 19, 2017

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Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, August 22, 2017

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3. Soybean Field (Sky Watch Friday)

Pickwick, Tennessee, USA, August 17, 2017

I think the proper term for this is a Center Pivot Irrigation System, but I just call it 'The Monster!'
Our weather continues to be very hot (95F, 35C) with occasional afternoon thunderstorms.
For more information on this type of crop irrigation: Wikipedia article.

4. Fish?

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 24, 2017

I was eating breakfast yesterday when I glanced up and saw a fish on my wall! I think it must be a reflection from one of my wind chimes hanging on the porch (but none of them are fish).

5. Rose of Sharon (Floral Friday Fotos)

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 23, 2017

Here in the United States, Rose of Sharon usually refers to Hibiscus syriacus (not a rose, but a large shrub). In other parts of the world, Rose of Sharon may refer to an entirely different plant.

Remember to say a prayer for those along the Texas coast in the path of Hurricane Harvey

Have a wonderful week-end!

For an interesting variety of photos, visit Willy Nilly Friday 5: Click Here!

For weather-related photos, visit Sky Watch Friday: Click Here!

For more flower photos, visit Floral Friday Fotos: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Good Fences, August 24, 2017

Good Fences and Thankful Thursday

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, August 8, 2017

I always enjoy driving by this farm, seeing the cows and horses in the pasture.

For Thankful Thursday

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 20, 2017

I am thankful that my Okra is blooming. I have been buying okra at the farmers markets, but soon, Good Lord willing, I will be picking my own!

I hope you have a beautiful day!

For more fence photos, visit Good Fences Around The World: Click Here!

Let us know what you are thankful for, visit Thankful Thursday: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Great Blue Heron, August 23, 2017

ABC Wednesday and Wild Bird Wednesday
G is for Great Blue Heron

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, July 2, 2017

Great Blue Herons, Ardea herodias, are long-legged wading birds whose range stretches from Canada south across the United States to the Central American countries. They may be seen anywhere there is sufficient water for fish, their primary food source.

Great Blue Herons are a bird photographer's easiest subject. They are large, and stand still for longer periods of time than most other birds. I found this one wading in a ditch near a small pond. It paused every few steps to peer into the water.

Pickwick, Tennessee, USA, July 10, 2017

And sometimes you can find Great Blue Herons perched in trees!

Have a wonderful day!

For more on the letter G, visit ABC Wednesday: Click Here!

For more bird photos, visit Wild Bird Wednesday: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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St. Andrew's Cross, August 23, 2017

Wildflower Wednesday is the fourth Wednesday of each month.

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 10, 2017

St. Andrew's Cross, Hypericum hypericoides, is a wildflower in the St. John's-Wort family. With four yellow petals forming a cross, it blooms from June to October in the southern and eastern parts of United States.

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Happy Wildflower Wednesday!

For more wildflower photos, visit Gail at Clay and Limestone: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Partridge Pea, August 21, 2017

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 10, 2017

Partridge Pea, Chamaecrista fasciculate, is a wildflower of the eastern United States. The bright flowers attract bees and butterflies, and the seeds are eaten by birds.

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Have a wonderful week!

For more macro photos, visit Macro Monday 2: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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The Barn Collective, August 20, 2017

The Barn Collective and I'd Rather B Birdin'

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, August 5, 2017

On the same day and only a few miles down the road from the barn, I found your bird for today

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 5, 2017

...a Turkey Vulture!
(Cathartes aura)

Have a blessed day!

For more barn photos, visit Tom for The Barn Collective: Click Here!

For more bird photos, visit Anni at I'd Rather B Birdin': Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Willy Nilly Friday, August 18, 2017

Willy Nilly Friday 5, Sky Watch Friday, Floral Friday Fotos,
(and on Saturday) Camera Critters, and Saturday's Critters

1. The Advanced Education Center (Sky Watch Friday)

Tupelo, Mississippi, USA, August 15, 2017

We have had a lot of rain this week, but I managed to get this photo between rainstorms. The Advanced Education Center is a shared facility between Itawamba Community College in Tupelo, the University of Mississippi in Oxford, and Mississippi University for Women (and Men, too!) in Columbus. The university students are able to get their degrees (in certain subjects) without the long commute to the main campuses.

2. Good Food: Blueberries!

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 11, 2017

I bought two small containers of blueberries at the market last week and made this Blueberry Tart. "And what happened to the extra blueberries?" you ask. Can you believe I ate them, standing right there in the kitchen, while the tart was in the oven!

3. Wildlife (Saturday's Critters and Camera Critters)

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, July 28, 2017

White-tailed Deer at the edge of our woods

4. Butterfly

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 16, 2017

Carolina Satyr, Hermeuptychia sosybius, is a small butterfly of the southeastern United States - wingspan 1 ½ inches (3.8 cm).

You don't have to be big and colorful to be beautiful!

5. Azalea (Floral Friday Fotos)

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 17, 2017

'Autumn Royalty' Azalea blooms in the Spring, and blooms again in late Summer/early Autumn.

Have a wonderful week-end!

For an interesting assortment of photos, visit Willy Nilly Friday 5: Click Here!

For weather-related photos, visit Sky Watch Friday: Click Here!

For more flower photos, visit Floral Friday Fotos: Click Here!

For more animal photos, on Saturday visit Camera Critters and Saturday's Critters

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Good Fences, August 17, 2017

Good Fences and Thankful Thursday

Lee County, Mississippi, USA, August 16, 2017

It is unusual to see a chain-link fence around a pasture here. They are more often used for smaller areas (for example: a dog pen).

For Thankful Thursday:

Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 16, 2017

I am thankful for butterflies in my garden!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

Have a wonderful day!

For more fence photos, visit Good Fences Around The World: Click Here!

Let us know what you are thankful for, visit Thankful Thursday: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Canada Geese, August 16, 2017

Wild Bird Wednesday

Pickwick, Tennessee, USA, August 7, 2017

Canada Geese, Branta canadensis, are migratory birds native to North America, but have been introduced to other parts of the world. In some places they have become semi-domesticated, living on lakes in city parks.

Have a wonderful day!

For more bird photos, visit Stewart for Wild Bird Wednesday: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day August 2017

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day, Our World Tuesday,
and ABC Wednesday - F is for Flowers

Northeast Mississippi, USA zone 7

Our Crape Myrtle trees are in full bloom.

When the blooms fade and fall to the ground, they create a pink carpet below the trees.

Rose of Sharon, Hibiscus syriacus, may be classified as a large shrub or small tree.

Turk's Cap, Malvaviscus arboreus, is a very hardy plant that grows in full sun on the south side of the house.

Growing in front of the Turk's Cap is 'Pow Wow Wild Berry' Purple Coneflower

Bush Morning Glory, Ipomoea leptophylla

I have Geraniums in hanging baskets on my porch.

I have had this Butterfly Bush, Buddleia, for several years. It might be 'Nanho Purple'

This dwarf Butterfly Bush is a recent purchase: 'Soda Pop White'

Female Cardinal, Prentiss County, Mississippi, USA, August 14, 2017

And if you want music to accompany your pretty blooms, you can attract songbirds by hanging bird feeders and setting up bird baths for them.

Happy Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day!

To see gardens around the world, visit Carol at May Dreams Gardens: Click Here!

For an interesting variety of photos, visit Our World Tuesday: Click Here!

For more on the letter F, visit ABC Wednesday: Click Here!

NOTE: Please do not use my photos without my permission.
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