Today August 22, 2004 at about 7:30 A.M., enjoying my daily cup of 8 O’clock Columbia coffee after grinding the beams and brewing them in an antique drip coffee maker, a vivid picture formed of ole Juan Valdez himself standing beside his jackass with a hundred pound sack of coffee beans tied to the jack’s back heading for the market.  I suppose too many TV ads for 8 O’clock coffee helped form this mental image as I sipped and savored the hot coffee while keeping the weather beaten swing moving ever so slowly back and forth to deprive an occasional mosquito of his morning meal!

The usual neighborhood birds were waking up to the cool overcast morning and there was a little competition going between a mocking bird, blue jay and wren to see which one could sing the loudest and fastest.  The blue jay had the edge but the mocking bird had much more tenacity and continued long after the blue jay left the immediate area.

The distant sounds of a migrating flock of geese flying south reaffirmed that the autumnal equinox is only weeks away. The tree leaves are taking on a dull look with the vibrant multi hues of green fading into colors of the rainbow with the photosynthesis process heading toward dormancy only to reappear again in the spring.  One cannot but be in awe toward our Creator who put all this into motion with a specific plan for everything on the face of the earth, below and above!  It is very easy at such times to reflect on our many blessings and gives thanks for the start of another day.  

       
The morning serenity encompasses the smell of a dew soaked freshly cut lawn, birds chattering, the rustle of the leaves in the overhead limbs of a large white oak tree and the falling debris as a gray squirrel feeds on the immature white oak acorns.

The cup of coffee didn’t last too long and a refill was in order. I decided to get the little digital camera and capture a few pixs of the wild flowers and flora in the yard.

This pix of “Black Eyed Susie” and another sure sign that fall of the year is right around the corner.




The dandelions below are plentiful this year and close their pedals early in the afternoon hours favoring bright sunlight instead.

This is a bloom off a cottonwood tree at the edge of our carport. You can see the stigma clearly on this bloom and the pistil, which has pollen or part of it that has fallen onto the reddish part of the bloom. Can you say “BEAUTIMOUS”. This pix nearly gives off the fragrance of the bloom!

The below  “fruit” of the dogwood tree is about ready for the squirrels and birds to help nature complete it’s cycle once again. Deer will also feed on the dogwood seeds but squirrels devour them until they are gone.  Blue jays and Mocking birds will transplant them through their digestive system without a degree in ecology!




A couple insects are enjoying this wild flower also. If anyone can give me the name of these wild flowers, please do so.

The little blue wildflower and others like it are growing in a small serpentine shaped drainage ditch adjacent to the side and rear lawn.  I have taken several pixs up close of it but can’t get the focus just right with the little digital camera.  The background is what is reflecting the infrared back to the camera and it is off set from the center of the lenses and that is my guess as to why the focus is slightly off with the little wild flower.  A solution will be to try and focus on the leaves (background) and hold that focus and then reposition on the little flower.  I will give that a try at my next attempt.  The blue flower is about the size of a quarter so not too much to reflect the infrared focus information back to the camera’s electronics!

There are plenty of wild flowers and flora around us; just look.

Later Bill aka Mickey.