Category: Photo Friday

Photo Friday: the world according to my little dog

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Here on the Farmlet there are a few words and phrases that are never said out loud unless we really mean it.

In order of importance to the Little Dog they are:

  1. “Ball”  (ALWAYS spelled when we are talking to each other.)
  2. “Kong” (Same as above)
  3. “Who want’s breakfast/dinner?”  (abbreviated, when we are wondering if the other has already fed them their “B” or “D”)
  4. “Is daddy home yet?”
  5. “Clean-up on isle nine!”  (This one is handy whenever you have spilled something on the kitchen floor, or when it is time to go to bed and they are frolicking and barking with total abandon in the dark …  and yes, we do reward for an appropriate response at bedtime!)

This morning However . . .

Not even the number one word could get a rise out of the Little Dog!

 

 

When the north wind blows,

and a chill is in the air,

sometimes all that is needed

is a soft bed…

and a warm nose.

~*~

Stay warm, and enjoy your weekend my friends!

~*~

Photo Friday: a changeling of a day

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Yesterday I got up and didn’t have to dress like a polar bear.  I liked that, but it got better!  Due to my increased comfort I felt brave enough to just throw on some jeans, clogs and a sweatshirt to try to take some pictures in the fog.  I had wanted to try this since I read about it in Kerry Mark Leibowitz’ blog entitled Lightscapes Nature Photography.  The particular post I mention can be found HERE  <— (click)  but don’t pass up his other work it is breathtaking!

I will try not to be too wordy today, it will be hard, but I will try.  But first a word about picture quality.  If you want a really stunning view of the more artistic photos here, then please click them to sharpen them up!  😉

Ground fog in the country

I liked the stark beauty of these twisted branches against the muted background.


I wanted to share more of these with you, but this turned out to be the best of the bunch.  So, I will share some others that I took while out on my early morning excursion.

Farming

Farmers, being early risers, need a bit of light to keep things running smoothly.

We call these the Walkingsticks, but they’re properly called irrigation and they are huge.

Each section is roughly 10 to 12 feet in length.  This particular string was nine lengths long.  The rest of it is on the other side of the rise in this picture.  Notice the light in the upper right?

Each of the “walkingsticks” is attached to an underground water source.  As it runs, sorry I don’t understand the mechanics involved,  anyway, as it runs it slowly travels on the wheels and in a circuit around the well pipe to keep the crops irrigated.

This new to our area watering system was begun last year.  Trenches were dug, pipelines laid , and submersed pumping stations set up to keep the crops irrigated.  We are fortunate here to have massive underground water reserves to keep things growing even when it doesn’t rain… It’s all that limestone and underground rivers and caves!

A severe drought was the case in this post <— (click)  of August 2010,  and as it will happen, they’ve installed all the costly irrigation and now we have had plenty of rain.  However, better prepared than to do without!

It has in fact rained so much that the soil is saturated to the point that the water collects in puddles now and will not drain away.  Do you see the Alligator in this puddle?  😉

It takes very big equipment to prep all the fields and ready them for planting.  Big tractors, and other farm equipment leave big tracks in the soil.  You may have an opinion about Big Agribusiness and the practices they follow, but I will not get into that topic here.  Suffice it to say that you know my mind on gardening practice here on the Farmlet.

The lake scene above came from this set of mighty tractor ruts!

This compacted area will be like concrete when it dries in summer.  Note to self, when running out the door, take a moment to put on proper hikers, and not your nice expensive clogs!!!

Later that same day…

The sun came out and warmed the air to 76 degrees, everyone enjoyed  the break from the cold and gloom of wintertime.  This rise in temperature caused the sap to rise in the maple trees, which dripped down the trunks from the holes the woodpeckers had made.  It was a sticky mess but apparently, not everyone felt the same as I did.

Do you see her?

How about now?

She is sipping the maple sugar through a straw  her *proboscis.

~*~*~*~

!!!

The leftovers from last years harvest.

~*~

*NOTE:  I know that technically proboscis is correct, but it certainly lacks that alliterative quality of the word straw.  Does it not?

Photo Friday: if you feed them, they will come

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I waited a long time and had begun to think that the birds were just not going to visit my bird feeder this year.  Then one day last week Bob and I went out to get into the truck. I heard hundreds of birds and looking up into the giant oak tree over our driveway, I saw some of them there…

“Oh look Bob!”  I said with excitement, “They’ve come back!

To which he replied: “@#%$&^# BIRDS!”

Not understanding his response I put down the camera and…

 

Then I saw what had raised his ire!

Oh dear.

~*~

Photo Friday: over the river and through the woods

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Once upon a Monday I drove 68 miles (one way) to meet a woman who sells very inexpensive plants from her home.  I told Bob about going and he quickly quipped:  “With the price of gas being almost $4.00 a gallon just how much money are you saving here?”

Well, I had to admit that it was probably next to nothing in savings, but hey,  it afforded me the opportunity to get out with my camera and see some more of Alabama, as well as the chance to talk to someone besides kitties, dogs, and chickens!

On my way I stopped and took a few photos of:

A  derelict old building…

Lead Paint over Stucco

A covered foot bridge…

A Cowboy Church…

The church’s concept is intriguing don’t you think?

Note the hay bale bench on the left, and the corral on the side!

and the Dam Cafe which “…serves damn fine BBQ too!”  Or so I’ve been told… 😉

NOTE:  Having been highly recommended by the lovely Plant Lady, I wanted to stop in on the way out and get some for that night’s dinner,  but they were closed!

Then I followed a very curvy road through an oak forest to arrive  here!

(I wish this image was sharper, but you get the effect at any rate.)

The Plant Lady told me that they had found an old house that was being torn down, so they acquired these doors and retrofit them to make an entry to their screen porch!  I, of course, love her color choice!  Don’t you?

Now when I left that morning I had imagined that I would get my plants and be off, but as it happens, the lovely lady who lives here was a chicken lover like myself,

This is the biggest rooster I have ever seen!  He must have been over two feet tall!  Well, OK I’m embellishing a bit, but he really was very big!

and an artist as well as gardener of native plants!

This garden is a mix of native and other plantings, but it is done with a very natural effect!  It was very peaceful here.

And so it was that we ended up spending the afternoon together talking about the things that were important to us.   Her plants, native gardening, her children, and the state of the school system were among the many topics discussed.

During this time we walked across the road to see one of many inlets along the Tennessee River.

On our return I saw a shy Red Fox in the tree studded meadow behind her home.  How I wished I could have gotten close enough to get a better shot!  Having never seen one in the wild before I found myself holding my breath, as if in so doing he might linger for my camera’s lens, but he did not!  Instead he ran off into the deeper grass and disappeared from view altogether.  I must admit that I was only a little bit disappointed at not getting a better photograph, because after all…  the very fact that I got to see him was a gift.

All too soon it was time to go home and I had over an hours drive ahead of me.  It is a funny thing, but driving back the way you came, the miles seem fly by and you arrive home in no time at all!

So what did I get from the lovely plant lady?  Red bud trees, Joseph’s coat ground cover, Lamb’s Ears, Monarda (aka: red bee balm) variegated Solomon’s Seal, Wild Phlox, and May Apples!  All the native plants went out under the Fringe Tree at the head of the drive, and the trees (also native) are to be planted along the edge of our parking area giving us a gorgeous view in spring, and a bit of shade in summer…

Perhaps more importantly I made a new friend, and that is priceless!

~*~

Notes:  These photos of my visit were taken on April 24 of 2011,  three days prior to the horrible tornado outbreak in our region.  Hence, my delay in posting this lovely visit.  Sorry it took me so long.

Also, out of respect for the plant lady’s wishes, I’ve restricted my photos to the environment about her home.  Just in case you wondered.  Oh yes, and the lovely lady and her family were all OK!!!  🙂