Kaseys Korner

touch of fall

in the midst of summer ~ a floral creation I couldn't wait to assemble, inspired by a new (to me) website called Twigery:

 

I knew just the place to harvest the cattails too:

fields and fields of them surround the perimeter of a lake very near our home. 

A beautiful evening, with beautiful (coveted) light, in an exquisitely serene spot at the base of the Rocky Mountains:

It doesn't get much better than this...

Dusk descended softly after we harvested our cattails.  I turned the camera in the direction of our house and captured what I could.  

Least you think I live in the country (like the photo above eludes), one quarter turn to the left, reality hits:

If I didn't work from home, I wouldn't be opposed to working here (once construction is complete).  You can't beat the surroundings even tho it's sad the area has to be developed at all. 

Besides the cattails, there's an abundance of milkweed too:

 

I was happy to see so much but couldn't find one caterpillar or chewed leaf? 

All too soon, it was time to leave ~ a final parting photo before heading home:

On this night, in the midst of this spectacular scenery, I couldn't think of any where else I'd rather be. 

Be sure to remind me of that sentence come winter!

project modifications

After a week of chasing starlings, I'd almost decided the flicker box (as much as I wanted to help them out) HAD to come down.  The responsibility of managing the box for them (until they actually claimed it and set up house) was wearing me out and becoming a time-consuming job.  As luck would have it, about this time, I visited my local Wild Birds Unlimited store.  During conversation with the sales person, I learned about a new improved version of flicker nest boxes that are supposed to be "starling-proof."  Sign me up ~ I'm all over that!!!!

Thanks to friends with power tools and willing spirits, I now have my own new box:

This box has an angled front (not sure if you can discern that from this photo or not) so that the sides are higher than the entrance hole.  Plexiglass is screwed onto the sides (or slid into grooves) just over the hole portion of the box to prevent Kestrels and starlings (who have to fly straight to the hole) from using the box.  Flickers are able to land on the bottom part of the box and climb up (under the plexiglass) and into the hole.  Ingenious, don't you think???  I can't wait to see if it works and what my resident flickers think.  Here's another view, from a slightly different angle, that perhaps shows the design better:

If you would like to erect such a box in your own yard but don't have the tools (or handy friends) here's a link where you can purchase one:

http://www.bestnest.com/bestnest/RTProduct.asp?SKU=COV-10072

I bet the flickers would thank you.  I've been reading a lot about how their numbers are dwindling because of nest site competition with European Starlings.  The Starlings wait until the Flickers excavate a nest site then usually take over the cavity.  Anything we can do to help out is a good thing. I'm also VERY excited NOT to have to chase off the starlings every five minutes like a crazy woman!  I'm sure my neighbors will be happy too since they were probably wondering what had come over me.  ;-)

Another project footnote, triangles were cut for the corners of the raised bed and now the finials fit perfectly!  Yay.  

 

No more fretting about the finial bases overhanging the bed edges (not that it was a big problem but details matter to people like myself with perfectionist tendencies!!)  It's a happy Saturday here!  Oh, and it didn't snow either so everything is good in my little world right now.  Hope it is in yours too? 

a frosty first

Those of you who know me, know all too well how much of a fair weather gardener I am.  I'm certainly not one who ventures out on a frosty morning to take photos ~ I just admire yours (from the warmth of my living room).  Something completely inexplicable came over me this morning tho while I was hauling the trash to the curb.  Some crazy impulse to grab my camera and give this heretofor unexplored venue a try.  Everything frosted that I turned my camera on was either brown or inanimate but I have to concede, there IS a beauty to be found in icy crystals.  You'll never know how hard that was for me to admit.  My favorite frosted photo from this AM was this one:

Freeze-dried roses covered in spiky hoar frost.  Okay, got to admit, that's pretty.  What about this little grouping of dangling rose leaves:

They're not bad either.  I'm getting in the groove now.  Let's take a peek at a rose hip stem:

Wow, a frosted star on a stem.  Glorious.  It feels foreign for me to even think that.  But okay, I'm warming to my early morning adventure.  (I can say that now because I'm back indoors & thawing).  Here's the last shot I snapped before heading back inside:

 

The vintage iron fence that was once surrounded by poppies, iris and later hollyhocks stood rather forlornly in it's icy cloak.  I was tempted (just for a second) to touch those crystallized fleur-des-lis until I snapped to.  Enough already.  It was fun (for the teeny bit of time I spent outside) but I don't know that it was so enjoyable I'd be anxious for a repeat.  At least I have some pictures to prove I tried it.  :-)

Magnolia 'Jane' & a snail

I need your help this morning.  I've been looking at my Magnolia 'Jane' thru the kitchen window the last few dreary days, and thinking to myself, "it doesn't look good."   Look at this photo taken today and notice how bare the branches are:

You may remember that I purchased this magnolia last year and never got around to planting it.  It overwintered in the nursery pot until I finally put it in the ground this spring.  At first, everything seemed fine.  It even put out a few beautiful pink blossoms.  Sometime over the summer tho, a change occurred (I don't remember when exactly) and she started looking a bit stressed and lost most of her leaves.  (Even tho I complained about a lack of heat, I think it was a great summer for planting shrubs and trees ~ there was certainly abundant moisture which isn't always the case). When I inspected 'Jane' up close this morning, I was surprised to find new growth/buds (??) along all her branches:

I guess I'm never satisfied because although I should be thrilled to find out she's not dead, I am now worrying whether this is a good thing late in the season as it is???  Anyone out there that grows 'Jane' know the answer?  If we get a killing frost anytime soon, I hope it doesn't permanently set her back.  Until I found out about 'Jane' I never dreamed I could grow a magnolia in this climate/zone.  Now that I've discovered her, I definitely don't want to lose her. 

On a different subject entirely, look what was crawling across my driveway this morning (as I was leaving to take my daughter to school):

A snail!  Woo hoo.  He was headed in the direction of my little pond.  I've never seen a snail in my yard before so I don't know where he came from but I'm thinking my tiny water habitat drew him in???  I helped him along by moving him nearer to his destination and out of harms way.  We'll see if he sticks around now.

Bur Oak Acorns

Yes, I know I'm a little "out of season" here but I feel like shouting ~ I've found an old acorn cap.  So yes, Virginia Gail, there is are a Santa Claus acorns on my Bur Oak afterall.  Maybe I should back up.  Last fall, Gail showed some beautiful acorns she had collected from the Bur Oak in her garden.  They were gorgeous, giant, furry specimens and it perplexed me even more as to why I haven't had any on mine.  It was planted about 12 years ago and my only theory was it had to be a certain size/age to produce them??  Anyway, yesterday, during another one of our (frequent this year) severe storms, which produced wind gusts up to 80 mph, look what blew down:

 

It's an old acorn cap!  That means there must have been at least a few acorns last year that I wasn't aware of.  Maybe this year will be the year for the first real crop??  Here's what they look like on the tree so far:

 

Something seems different about them but I don't know what??  I'm hoping it's a difference that means they will develop into full blown acorns.  In previous years, they get about this big, then turn brown and dry up:

Certainly these are not the beautiful acorns I know they have the potential to be.  All of the sudden, I'm excited for fall.  I am crossing my fingers/toes and everything in-between that my Oak tree will bear fruit this year. 

PS  I know this isn't as exciting for most of you as it is for me.  I hope you'll humor me for posting about it ~ I've been waiting a long time for this to happen! 

hot new hangout

Look who I found enjoying the overspray by the pond:

 

You can't imagine how happy it made me to see him there.  It's exactly what I envisioned the pond doing ~ drawing wildlife to my yard.  He tucked himself between the pond and the terraced garden wall, which was a great spot considering the record heat we experienced yesterday (90 degrees).  You can get a better perspective of his position from this angle:

Do you think he'll attract a lady friend so I can have tadpoles in the pond someday??  I sure hope so!  On another note, in the back garden, under the aspen tree canopy, Primula Vialli is blooming!  I've waited a long time to have this wonderful perennial in my garden:

 

This is one primula I have no problem starting from seed.  I have more tiny seedlings growing right now to add to this clump.  I love the contrasting red flower buds with the pink/purple flowers:

It's one of those plants that is rare in that it isn't seen often and I wonder why???  It's pretty hardy ~ to zone 4 ~ more easy care than other primulas and a lot more attractive than those grocery store varieties.  Don't you think so too??

February thaw

Check out the interesting landscape shot I snapped yesterday while walking my dog:

The weather couldn't make up it's mind.  Cloudy one minute, sunny the next but definitely snowing over the Rocky Mountains.  See that line of clouds concealing their jagged peaks?  What was interesting is how those contrasts were reflected in the lake.  Around the edges, the water is open, but the middle is covered in ice yet.  The blue sky & cloud bank were reflected back in that open water, stopping where the ice begins and making for a very interesting picture.  Don't you think??

the wonder of it all

Many of you may remember how I took the advice of Benjamin (from the Deep Middle blog) and scattered the asclepias seeds along my semi rural county road.  Knowing me as you do now, you would also guess that I'd never do such a thing without taking photos first!  Nature has a way of making you marvel at its intricacies if you even hesitate to think about them.  Seed pods are no exception.  From gorgeous flowers:

 

to fresh green, newly developed seed pods:

 

Culminating with ripened pods, waiting for the wind to finish the disbursement.   I love how carefully the seeds are all stacked (when the pods first crack):

 

It only takes a little puff of wind to disturb the preciseness of how they're layered within the pod:

 

another gust and it's all over:

they are off, on their own:

hopefully landing where they can germinate and repeat the cycle.  Oh, the wonder of it all.  Amazing, isn't it?   

a fine fall day

Combine record setting high temperatures (78 degrees!!!) with cloudless blue skies (no wind either) and you have yourself the post title.  Exactly the kind of day we were privy to yesterday.  It was fabulous.  Perfect weather such as this, makes it nearly impossible to stay inside and get work done.  I finally gave in to temptation, grabbed my camera and went outside to bask in the sunshine.  Being a girl that is practically hopeless at sitting still, I was soon looking around the garden for anything that would catch my eye.  It wasn't long before I caught sight of one lone bee (or fly??) giving the Delosperma a vigorous work over:

I don't recall the Delosperma being that "popular" during the height of summer but now that it's the only plant left blooming, its value can't be quantified.  I snapped one more photo before leaving the bee in peace:

 

The next thing I noticed was the interesting way the sunlight was streaming thru/across the foliage of the Hens & Chicks:

This image (with the stiff, ramrod straight spikes) brought to mind a vision of soldiers standing at attention.  Maybe I'd had too much sun?  But don't you love how you can see all the little hairs outlining each leaf?  Lucky for you, my daughters school bus came around the corner and my aimless meandering came to an abrupt halt.  ;-)  We have one more spectacular day in store then tomorrow the bottom falls out.  We'll enjoy it while we can.

in the space of about 6 weeks

the viburnums that line the north walkway have changed their appearance to reflect three out of our four seasons.  In September, they still looked summerish:

 

By the middle of October, they were ablaze in their fiery fall foliage:

 

This morning however, quite a different story.  After two days of relentless 40 mph winds, the foliage has all been stripped and they are looking decidedly winterish:

 

Bleck.  My least favorite look/season.  Tell me I under appreciate it and you'll be generous.  I think fall has come and gone in my area.  Autumn rarely gets its full share of three months anyway as winter crowds the seasons on both sides of it.  No recourse but to move with it.  At least we're that much closer to spring, right?!!