Flowers & 'Flies

This morning as I was turning to go back inside after taking this photo to show you how high the sun is when I finally make it into the kitchen in the morning (after 7 o'clock, can you imagine?)...

I spied this Tiger Swallowtail butterfly on the zinnias.  That early in the morning they're just hanging out letting the sunshine warm them up so they're fairly easy to take a picture of.  Naturally this one decided to flutter up, do a couple pirouettes, and then settle back down while I was getting him in my sights.  *sigh*  Life is so tough for an artist.  *presses back of hand to forehead*


 

See these little orange flowers?  These are butterfly weed.  They were some of the garden center's $1.49 coupon plants this spring so I plonked a few of them in by the blueberries and now I have more butterflies.




 

The purple coneflowers around the metal dragonfly sculpture are abloom too.  They also attract butterflies, as do the daisies and bee balm (which didn't show off as much as it did in previous years) so I'm happy to have them lure butterflies to my domain.









I'm not sure if these red begonias or red and yellow snapdragons attract butterflies or hummingbirds but I am compelled to take their pictures every time I walk past.  They must exude essence of Kodak or some other pheromone I am helpless to resist.








August 13--Joseph Karl Stieler, Katharina Botzaris.  Her hair fell in lustrous waves of dark brown touched with auburn as she bent over her work.  Ivory pale hands fluttered as she manipulated knitting needles and yarn.  Downstairs the house buzzed with preparations for the dinner party and an hour earlier she had been dressing with her maid's help.  The barest hint of makeup was applied, her hair was curled, and jewelry was chosen but now she waited.  To keep calm she knitted.  Everyone knitted for the soldiers.  There were knitting clubs and knitting drives, even children sat by their nursery fires making socks, hats, and scarves for the brave fighting men.

Tonight was the time to take entries to the County Fair so LB picked up HH and me so I could guide them through the mysteries of picking up the tags for our items and getting them ready for judging.  HH entered four things, I entered six, and LB entered a whopping fifteen.  Now we have to wait until Wednesday or maybe Thursday to find out if we've earned any ribbons.  Fingers crossed.  Once I got home I got busy with a pliers, level, and hammer and rehung some of the pictures in the living room to adjust for the furniture rearrangement.  It looks better.  It's hot and humid and I keep doing strenuous things outside, plus Durwood had a bad day (this weather does his breathing no favors even when he stays in air conditioning) so they called saying that he wanted me to come sit with him a while.  Poor man, I can't imagine not being able to catch my breath.  Send hugs.
--Barbara