My Daughter-In-Laws' Flower Garden

My Daughter-In-Law has some beautiful flowers in her garden, They live near Lake Erie and get a lot more snow then we do. This does not stop her from growing some beautiful flowers. She grows a red lily that is just outstanding.
Here are two more blooms of a different red lily.
She also has a great yellow lily.
This is a bloom from her cucumber plant. She is going to have an abundance of cukes this summer.

This is a statue she has in one section of the garden.
Here is a shot of a large stone water fountain with a wonderful flow. I really liked the way my camera captured the flow.
She has a lot of trees which result in shaded areas and a lot of great Hostas plants. It was a great place to capture beauty.

A Reduced Garden Area

My friend Tipper of Blind Pig & the Acorn (a down home country sight that is very enjoyable) showed her big garden of corn and beans so here is mine. My gardening has changed since the wife and I have been on our own. My garden was 30' x 50' when we had 6 at home. I grew everything from beans to watermelon back then. My wife use to can and freeze an awful lot for the winter months. The garden shrank as the children left the nest. The garden is now reduced to a 8' x 12' section of ground which I keep fenced to deter the groundhogs. As I said before, it only slows the groundhogs down a little, this year has been good so far. I guess we will see if it continues. We still do some freezing but we give our excess bounty to our kids and our friends. A small garden can be very productive if you keep after it.

This is the top half of the garden with tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. I mulch with grass clippings to try to keep the weeds down. I'm almost keeping up with the weeds. This is the bottom half with zucchini and cherry tomatoes. The grand kids love to eat the cherry tomatoes right of the vine when they ripen. Basically we only have four different things I grow but it does keep an old guy busy.
This is looking up the garden and you can see the zucchini are doing exceptional. The bigger tomatoes are doing well. My youngest grandson helped with the pictures. He enjoys using the camera.

The zucchini are producing, we had one grilled the other day and it was delicious. You can see FG shoes in the shot.
The cherry tomatoes are full size and should be ready within a week.
There are two types of peppers and they should also be ready next week. I love fried peppers and fried zucchini. I know it's not good for you but I also eat them grilled.
This is some good eating and grown organically with no chemicals this year. Rain has been really constant to keep everything going.

Camera Critters #15

Camera Critters by Misty Dawn, go here to see who's participating.

Birds Of The Florida Aquarium

I do wish it was easy to remember all the names of the birds I saw but Klaus of Virtua Galleries will help with the ones I miss. Living in Florida and getting to capture these great birds do help but he knows his stuff and is a great photographer.

The is a close-up of a Yellow Crowned Night Heron.
This is a Roseate Spoonbill.
This is a Snowy Egret.
This is a Ibis.
This is a Common Barn Owl.
This is a Black Crowned Night Heron.
I do hope you enjoyed them.

More From the Florida Aquarium.

I really enjoyed my time at the Florida Aquarium in Tampa, Florida and here are some more photos of what I saw.

There was a stingray tank and you could touch them, how cool is that. Here is a Gar and a Large Mouth Bass close together.
I loved this shot of the fish and thought I would share if with you. This was a big Snook a species I hope to catch someday.
I do hope you enjoyed the fish photos.

Sky Watch Friday 7-18

Sky Watch Friday has a new home and a life of it's own. Please check out the new sight and link in if you wish to participate.

The clouds were alive when they were lighted from behind.
A look through the willow tree.
A tower of power.
Reflections from the Fishcreek Stream.
Have fun at the new Sky Watch Sight.

When It Rains It Pours

Did you ever look at a dirty stream and say that is interesting. I was walking next to Fishcreek Stream when I saw this overhanging bush. I thought it made a good photo but wasn't sure latter. I tried for some bird photos but they would not co-operate, but guess what did. A Damsel Fly was sitting on a blade and a fly was right in front. If you click the photo I think you will see the fly.

There was a thistle which was in flower beside the stream with a bee getting nectar. The thistle are certainly spiky.
Here is a Japanese Beetle on a leaf showing its destructive power. Note the holes it has made.
I liked the color in this weed. It really stood out on the bank.
I got home and went to work in the garden and this dragonfly begged to be photographed. I obliged it and got several shots on my fish cleaning bench. It has interesting wings and with the white body. So, similar bugs but the shots are so different.