Tuesday, February 07, 2012

Another Flicker sighting


I saw the flicker again!
This time it looks like he/she is wondering where the tree went -
we lost the tree in a bad windstorm in December.
Here's a great shot of its wings. I wish I remembered if the bird was taking off or landing.


Saturday, October 22, 2011

Fall Flicker ?

From my kitchen window, I've been enjoying the color of the Virginia creeper.
Then I heard some rustling, and saw a bird eating the berries....
I'm guessing it's a flicker of some type. But I don't know a lot about birds!

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Iris Week wrap up - 'Dear Dorothy' blooms

"Dear Dorothy" was a bonus iris from Blue J Iris.

I've ordered irises from them more than once, and always been pleased.

It's one of those 'too many colors' for my taste, but not bad, for a freebie.

Anytime an iris has brown, tan or copper listed as colors, I am a bit wary.
I have some yellow/brown irises that I love some days and hate on others (don't tell them).
Blue J describes Dear Dorothy as a bi-color with yellow-orange selfs (upper petals) and light powder purple (or almost brown!) falls with yellow orange edges and hafts
This closeup shows the light purple falls and yellow beard. Nice. Almost rainbow-colored in the range of colors. And, of course, 'free' is always nice.

Friday, June 17, 2011

Iris Week - Mystery Theatre, featuring 'Copper Lustre'


One of my new irises is "Copper Lustre."
It is a Dykes medal winner (1938),
with delicate coppery-pink standards and darker falls with veining and a yellow-orange beard.
Here is what Copper Lustre is supposed to look like.


Then we come to what I have in my garden, bought with the understanding that this is supposed to be a copper /pink combo:
You can see we are talking about something that is definitely NOT copper-y. Wine? yes. Purple-red? yes. but copper? no. So now I wonder what this lovely iris is called? Maybe I should just save some time and rename it myself.
Any suggestions?



Thursday, June 16, 2011

Iris Week- lovin' the blues

Irises make me happy, so lovin' the blues is more accurate than singing the blues today.
This is a closeup of Chico Maid, a tall bearded iris.
You can see the beautiful blue beard with a bit of bronze.
Chico maid again. It is such a beautiful color and the blue beard just adds to the thrill for me.

unnamed pale blue

This iris is a lovely deep, periwinkle blue that's blooming in several spots in the yard today.



Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Iris Week - Yellow beauty, big and small

Looks like Mama iris and babies, doesn't it?
The tall yellow ones are named "New Moon," and are a rich lemony color.
The 'babies' are a smaller variety, and I don't have the name for them. My yellow bed is getting crowded, I'll have to do some thinning when my iris get done blooming.