A Hike To Remember

We love holidays that attach to a weekend for some extra time out on the hiking trail.  With the 4th of July, we were out on Thursday and we also hit the trail today.  Between the 2 hikes we have accumulated 13 miles.  But even better than the mileage on the Fitbit are all the beautiful plants, bugs, and animals we see and photograph.  Here's a few photos from today for you to enjoy.

This is a Sego Lily, which is the state flower of Utah.  They only appear in certain places in Utah.

This bee is enjoying a hearty food supply.  LOTS of bees today!

This moose is a welcome site on the trail.  Luckily no muffins in our backpack.

 After a week of traveling, it was rewarding to be in the mountains for exercise and all nature has to offer.  (Just a 20 minute drive from my home, too.  How lucky am I?)

And Another Season of Blooms Emerge

I have been traveling for the last 2 weeks. This offered a great opportunity to experience late Spring and early summer on the east and west coast.  It is pretty special to enjoy lilacs blooming twice.

Snow in the mountains but bright purple in the valley.

 

 

 

 

 

Today we hiked in the mountains to see all types of spring flowers in bloom.  These violets were striking but easy to miss if you were not paying attention.

In addition to violets, we saw Icelandic Lilies, Arrowheads, and Delphiniums.  The excess amounts of snow and spring rain is producing a beautiful harvest of flowers.  I invite you to find a path in the woods and enjoy these natural gifts.

The Bee Returns in 2019

Greetings!!!

I can't believe it has been so long since I posted a photo or left a post.  Wow, what I have been doing to keep me away from this opportunity to write and share my view of world?  Even if I did not continue to post, I did garden, travel, and enjoy some images of the world around me.  This summer I will return with at least one post per week.

Let's start with a look at Spring that brings new life.

Garden Update

It is turning into a productive season.  I have enjoyed cucumbers, tomatoes, lettuce, peppers and herbs for my efforts.  Right now, I have one pumpkin that seems to grow larger everyday and two watermelons.  It is fun to watch these plants grow and produce.

Cherry tomatoes

Tomatoes and cucumbers fresh from the garden

Sugar Baby Watermelon

The watermelon needs about 20 more days before it will be ripe.  It takes patience but I am determined to eat this one.

Bee's Eye View

If you were a bee flying over my garden this summer, this is what you would see besides vegetables.  I have some pots filled with petunias and coleus as well as beautiful blooms on the rose bushes.  Maybe worth a stop.

The Garden

I was very hesitant to plant my flowers and vegetables too early this year.  My instincts were right.  We had a hard frost the third week in May.  The leaves on my grape vine were hit and destroyed.  Luckily plants are pretty resilient and the grape vine is filled with leaves and developing grape clusters.  My plants are looking very good.  Here are a few snaps of my garden.

Pumpkins for the fall

Cherry and grape tomatoes

Potatoes

These are just a few vegetables that I planted this year.  I will share my flowers as well as more vegetables and herbs in a future post.  My family has always had a garden and my mom processed 1000 jars of food for the winter.  Late July and August was filled with canning.  My family also planted acres of potatoes to sell in the fall.  As a toddler, I remember being in the fields for harvest.  I am sure I was more trouble than help.  Now I plant a potato to bring good fortunate to my small garden.

Bees are Buzzing

Saturday found us in the mountains enjoying the last of the snow, wildflowers, and various shades of green.  A late afternoon-early evening walk produced a different view of an area we traverse regularly in the morning.  Every yellow flower we approached had a buzz to it.  Yes, it was time to make some wildflower honey.  Below are some photos of those making this productive sound.

Pollen is visible.

This photo offers lots of detail - not actual size of bee.

 The large patches of these yellow flowers, continuously hummed while we stopped for a snack and water.  Each bee moved strategically from one flower to the next in search of food.  Their productivity went beyond the conventional stop at a grocery store.

I think the yellow flower is Dyer's Wood which is a weed found in the mountains of this area.

Me and the bees hope you have a productive week!