Mosaic Monday #97: Gone to Seed

I am feeling a little under the weather.  Maybe it's a side effect from the second part of the shingles vaccine that I took yesterday.  Or perhaps it's a type of seasonal affective disorder, brought on by the ongoing smoky environment and the shortening days.  As I thought about writing a blog post this week, it took some effort to screw up the energy to do it.  I decided I would take an easy route, and stroll the back forty for some inspiration.  Do you suppose it is just a coincidence that most of the pictures are plants that have gone to seed? Gone to seed: showing signs of advanced wear and tear and neglect.  (Merriam Webster)

Despite ongoing spraying, thistles are abundant in our lower prairie.  A plant can produce up to 6,000 seeds that can persist in the soil for over 9 years.  As the saying goes, it's a marathon, not a sprint.  I have taken to cutting off the heads to at least halt the seed production.

The Labor Day wind storm brought down a couple of our aged aspen trees, with collateral damage on the younger aspens nearby.  A close look at the stump shows that it was becoming hollow; sawdust would suggest that termites were hard at work.  In the end, it was no contest for the 40+ mile an hour winds that day.  I used to put my trail cam near here, since the deer have worn a path through this grove of aspens.  They will have to adjust their route!  For now, they have been continuing to frequent the area to eat the aspen leaves that are suddenly within reach.

Shorter days and lower night-time temperatures are wielding Nature's paintbrush, revealing yellows, oranges and reds that have been hidden by abundant chlorophyll.

Not everything in my world of Nature is rolling up the carpets for the winter.  I can't tell you how many of these ant hills we have around our property, but I can tell you that they are still very active, as you can see in the video below.  I could spend hours watching this activity and trying to make some sense of it.  How tall does the hill need to be for it to be done?  Are any of the sticks food?  If not, who is focusing on the food part of the equation?  

I have written before about the beaver family that occupies the lake at the bottom of our property.  When the beavers moved in, they applied their superior engineering skills and very effectively dammed the creek and raised the water level.  While this is a boon for the wetland ecosystem around the lake, it had the undesirable consequence of dramatically reducing water flow to several of our neighbors, some of whom rely on the water for their cattle.  The battle of the brains began, man versus rodent.  How to restore some water flow without impacting the beaver, and in a way that the beavers would ignore?  Initially, every solution the team created was thwarted by the beaver; ditches were filled in overnight, pipes with holes were plugged with mud, strategically placed boards were removed and added to the dam.  It was equal parts funny and frustrating.  At this point, it seems the latest man-made engineering feat has worked, but only time will tell.  On my last visit to the dam, I observed that the beaver has begun constructing a secondary dam, 15 feet below the original dam.  It has not stopped the water flowing into the creek, but I am not sure the critters are done yet!  Watch this space!

If you look hard enough, you can also find some plants with blooms. 

I try to ignore for the moment that the daisies and knapweed are considered invasive here.  If I get too focused on them, this walk would turn into a weed-pulling exercise rather than the diversion it is meant to be!

Update: it has been a couple of days since I started this post, and I am glad to report that, physically, I am back to myself.  I do think it was the vaccine; no regrets about taking it, but it just reminds me that I do not make a good patient!  Mentally, I am still working on my attitude.  The forecasted rain for last night and today has not materialized; the skies are gray and the smoke lingers.  Logically, I know I should count my blessings and find myself a rich woman.  Thinking that music often helps bring me around, I went looking for "autumn" songs, and came across "September" by Earth, Wind and Fire.  I hope this post finds you well, but if you need a little pick-me-up, maybe this will lift your spirits and send your toes tapping!

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.

The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain time). 

Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog. 

Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back. 

As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by. 

Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully. 

Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter

Mosaic Monday #43: Becoming Noble

Sky behind our house

"Spend your days thinking about things that are good and true and beautiful and noble, and you will become good and true and beautiful and noble."  Matthew Kelly

Sounds easy, doesn't it?  But anyone that has been in a conflict with someone, or is grappling with a significant personal problem, knows that your mind obsesses over it.  You replay conversations, wondering anew what the other person was thinking when they said such and such.  You might get angry or sad or frustrated all over again.  When I am in the grip of one of these spirals, it takes an almost physical force of will to re-direct my thinking.

First black-eyed susan to bloom

So it is that I find myself today writing this post.  It is my attempt to get my train of thought on a different track.  By looking back through photos from August, I hope to ponder subjects that are good and true and beautiful and noble.  Maybe just a little of it will rub off on me.

In my August 18 post, I wrote about the neighbor girls who won several events at the fair with their goats.   The mama goat was still producing milk in the days leading up to the fair, and we were the lucky beneficiaries of several gallons of it.  And not only that, we had the chance to try our hand at milking – much harder than it looks!  So Head Chef set out to make goat cheese.  This is just one of the batches that he made – so tasty on a cracker or with crudité.

While at the fair, Dear Neighbor Friend and I took a spin around all the display buildings.  I didn’t take many pictures – too busy chatting!

Knock on wood, the fire season in northwest Montana has been mild, but we had a few smoky days earlier in the month.  It coincided with very hot weather, so Spousal Unit and I headed to the lake.  Which lake, you may ask.  That was the fun part – we headed west on Highway 2 with no particular lake in mind.  Something big enough to make fishing worthwhile, but small enough that we wouldn’t be inundated with power boats and jet skis.  Enter Little McGregor Lake, only 20 minutes down the road. 

Kayaking, fishing, sunbathing, a picnic - summer at its best

A pair of eagles and a fledgling were very active at the lake, as were the loons.  It is hard to see in this video, but a couple of the eagles are flying low over the lake, and you can hear the loons calling.  I wondered if the eagles were trying to snatch one of the loon babies.

Each year, Whitefish hosts Huckleberry Days, a shameless excuse to enjoy all things huckleberry while also wandering the booths in Depot Park.  Paintings, ceramics, jewelry, metal art, photography, clothing – something for everyone.  We came home with just a couple of items – it required disciplined restraint!

Sweet Onion Mustard with Horseradish

Ceramic Salt and Pepper Shakers - we needed a set for

my end of our long dining room table!

This month has featured weeds on my dining room table.  Yes, you read that correctly – weeds.  Knapweed and yellow toadflax are considered invasive plants in this part of Montana – this means they are harmful to native flora and fauna.  So, cutting the flowers and using them in arrangements is part of my efforts to reduce these plants on our property.  (Eliminating knapweed is actually required by law.)

The longer I live here, the more I learn about the plants of the Rocky Mountains.  When this “daisy” started to bloom in our “prairie”, I was pleased.  Since then, I discovered that daisies which are members of the aster family are the only native daisies in Montana.  Unfortunately, my volunteers do not qualify, so I am pulling these up as I find them.  On the other hand, I was monitoring a dozen of the plants below – once they bloomed, I was able to identify it as a Rocky Mountain Bee Plant – a good guy – they can stay!

Dear Neighbor Friend gave me some fresh zucchini, and I was inspired to make some muffins.  My mistake?  I didn’t take them out of the pan soon enough.  Then, because of the super-sized muffin tops, it was impossible to get down into the cup for a clean separation from the pan, at least impossible without destroying the muffin top!  Oh well, they weren’t pretty but they still tasted wonderful, especially with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Maggie has been making the most of the sun spot in the kitchen.  A few times I have had to check that she is still breathing – she often looks like she has melted into a puddle, she is so relaxed.

Not even the dragonfly that inhabited the kitchen for several days could get her attention.  In the end, the dragonfly died, and was well-preserved in the heat on the sill of one of the upper kitchen windows.  Spousal Unit was able to brush it down without damaging it.  Isn’t it amazing?  One of my sisters-in-law recently posted this on FaceBook: “Legend has it that dragonflies were given an extra set of wings so that angels could ride on their backs.  When you see this winged beauty, it’s an exquisite reminder that an angel from heaven is visiting you.”

Outside, there are all manner of winged creatures.  

Upper row: Female Common Yellowthroat (left and middle); right: Male Common Yellowthroat

Middle left: A flycatcher?  Center: Wood Nymph

Lower row: Need help with identification

With the exception of the butterflies, the pictures in the above collage were taken with my trail cam.  I chose this location in an attempt to capture the beaver, who clearly had been working over this shrub.  Below are the best pictures from the month.

The upper pictures were taken with my phone and were the reason for placing the camera here - the beaver has a trail

through the grass for his tree branches.  Lower pictures are from the trail cam - 1.30 am and 11 pm a week apart.

Sometimes, the trail cam gives you a surprise that just makes you say "Awww."  Come on, say it with me - "Awww."

I have since moved the trail camera, and this is the first capture on the disk.

What is he running from?  I suppose it could be Wily E. Coyote.  Except this was four days later.  Oh well.

Our weather has been getting a little cooler, especially in the evening, prompting us to spend a few heavenly hours by the firepit.  We saw a bat flitting about, and tried our hand at calling a barred owl using a recorded call on our phone (no luck).  In the dim light of early evening, I look back at the house, and I can almost call the grass and wildflowers our prairie.

As we retreated to the house, I took one last photo.  I know my moon shots are terrible – I have seen many from my fellow bloggers and I am always amazed.  But it was an appropriate metaphor for this post – life is not perfect, but if even 95% of it is going right, that is enough.    

P.S.  In case I have worried you, my marriage is as strong as ever, and I am not sick.  Details of the problem that gave rise to this post are not worth the keypad pecks it would take to explain them.

Mosaic Monday

Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.

Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us. 

You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!

Click here to enter