Monday, September 30, 2013

Macro Monday - Monarch Butterfly

The Monarch is probably one of the most widespread and recognized butterflies in North America.  They migrate between Canada and Mexico.  Interestingly this is the first one I have seen this year.  They will appear regularly for awhile as they migrate through on their way south.

more Macro Monday

Friday, September 27, 2013

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Ruby Tuesday - Red Cannas

The gardens at Philbrook are an endless source of beauty.

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Monday, September 23, 2013

Macro Monday - Varigated Frittilary

Varigated Frittilary feeding on a yellow cosmos.  One of my finds at the Philbrook garden last week.

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Saturday, September 21, 2013

Weekend Black & White - Philbrook Garden

Upper level of terrace above gardens and water feature behind Philbrook mansion..

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Friday, September 20, 2013

Skywatch Friday - Thunderhead

It brought us rain.

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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Thursday Challenge - Wet

The gardens behind Philbrook Art Museum are beautiful at any time of year.  I spent a relaxing afternoon today with my camera.

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Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Wednesday Doors - Garden Conservatory


The Tulsa  Garden Center is located just south of Woodward Park near 21st Street and South Peoria Avenue.  Behind the mansion is a lovely victorian conservatory containing tropical exotics and beautiful orchids.  It is worth a visit.

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Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Ruby Tuesday - Tuberous Begonia

I was in Southwoods nursery last weekend and took a few photos.  Tuberous begonias come in an amazing variety of colors.  I am always seduced by their beauty but bring them home only to watch them curl up and die.  They are a bit too fussy for my garden.

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Monday, September 16, 2013

Macro Monday - Pipevine Swallowtail


Here is another Pipevine Swallowtail. They are the most numerous butterfly in my garden just now and therefore are the most often photographed.  Like many butterflies the pattern of the upper surface of the wings is different than the underside.

From above the upper wings are black and the lower wings are black with an iridescent blue or blue-green sheen and a border of white dots.  The degree of iridescence depends on the angle of the light falling on the surface.

The underside is dark with 7 orange dots along the border of the lower wings.  A better view of the underside can be seen in my Macro Monday for last week.  Although numerous, the pipevine swallowtail is a challenge to photograph because they just won't hold still.  They flit from flower to flower and when they stop to feed on nectar they continue to flutter their wings.

When I was a kid in high school many of my friends lived on farms or ranches in the area.  Many of these kids were in the 4H club and had interesting projects.  I would like to have tried to raise a lamb or calf to show at the fair but had no place to keep it in town.  So my interest gravitated to an entomology project and I began to collect insects.  Over the 3 years of participating I constructed paraphernalia to catch and mount the many varieties of insects and display them in glass topped cases.  The end result was entered in the fair to compete for prizes.  After all these years I find myself stalking butterflies again, this time with a camera instead of a net.  I can tell you that it is easier to catch a butterfly with a net than it is to get close enough to snap its picture.

more Macro Monday

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Black & White Weekend - Linnaeus Teaching Garden

Carl Linnaeus (1707 - 1778) is considered to be the father on modern botany. The Tulsa Garden Center has dedicated a teaching garden to him. It is a treasury of clever ideas for those of us who love to putter in our home gardens.

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Friday, September 13, 2013

Skywatch Friday - Sky over Lake Taneycomo

From our weekend in Branson Missouri last May.

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Thursday, September 12, 2013

Thursday Challenge - Blue

When in Santa Fe a few years ago we admired this urn inlaid with turquoise.  Beautiful but a bit too pricey. All I could afford was a photo.

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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Wednesday Doors - St Thomas Church


The New Life Family Church is located at 2101 N. Peoria in what was originally an Episcopal church.

The congregation of St Thomas Episcopal was created in 1926 to serve the African-Americans living in north Tulsa.  By 1931 they had constructed this rustic church in the gothic style.  It became the church home of many of Tulsa's prominent black families.  In 1952 another Episcopal church formed a few miles further north.  St Mark's was understood to serve the white community on the far north side. The two churches operated independently until the late 1960s when both congregations were suffering from declining finances and attendance.  Diocesan Bishop Chilton Powell suggested that if the two congregations did not merge then neither would likely survive.  In 1968 the two became St Aidens and located in what was St Marks.  After some initial adjustments St Aidens is still alive and well and has developed a number of programs that serve the community.  For a more complete history of this congregation look HERE.

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Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Ruby Tuesday - Nissan Sentra

The new cars have such a thick coat of clear coating over the color coat that they look "wet".  Very pretty.

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Monday, September 9, 2013

Macro Monday - Pipevine Swallowtail


Butterflies seem to love my big zinnias.  That's why I plant them.

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Saturday, September 7, 2013

Black & White Weekend - Cherokee School, Turley




Turley is a small community on the north edge of Tulsa.  It has one school, a combined elementary and Junior High School that was built in 1920 with art deco elements, and functioned as a kind of community center.  Because of declining enrollment the school was closed last year and the students transferred to Greeley Elementary in nearby Tulsa.  It left a hole in the community.


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Friday, September 6, 2013

Skywatch Friday - Exit to Riverside

Two streets north and I'm home.

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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Thursday Challenge - Wood

What better way to conserve the wood from a dying tree than to sculpt it into a pair of wild horses.  The chain saw sculptor is Richard Quick of Spavinaw, Oklahoma.

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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Wordless Wednesday - This Charming Couple

- are 2 of the nicest people in the world.  Sue's brother Alan and his wife Virginia.  We love 'em.

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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Ruby Tuesday - Red Lantana

Lantana comes in a variety of colors from pale yellow to pink to orange to bright red.  Many have blooms that are mixtures of these colors.  They stand up well to summer heat and seem irresistible to a wide variety of butterflies and other winged creatures.  I have them in a number of places and they are doing great in all locations.  Planted in spring they bloom all summer and grow to a surprising size bu late fall when frost knocks them down.  It is a standard in my garden.

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Monday, September 2, 2013

Macro Monday - Look Me in the Eye


This little guy is not afraid of anything, least of all an old guy with a camera.  There are a gazillion different Skippers and to be honest I don't recognize this fellow.  I do know that he's partial to zinnias