sunday stills ~ black and white

 

8.29.21
(to see intentional dark nuances, view enlarged)

see more of sunday stills world in black & white 

about that arena and more

Our arena build is finally progressing again, YAY!! My last post was at the end of June. Not much happened in July. The electricians were here daily for a week plus in August, and the guy we hired to put up the tin was here all day last Saturday. Both of them have to come back and finish. Here is the progress to date:

Brad's bench to date


he wants to add a couple steps on the side
so it is easier for all ages to get on/off it


builders hung the door & completed their work


electricians mounted a ceiling fan in the horse shelter
The horse love it, especially Nemo.

Thank you Arline for all the helpful ideas!
We never would have thought of putting a fan in otherwise.

A flood light was mounted on the outside of the barn, that faces the shed.
Much safer when it gets really dark. Especially in the Winter.


the electrician's colorful rolling wire cart
(hay/storage side of the barn)
 

two arena fans were mounted
(they really move air)


electricians hanging lights (far left)

LED lights make the arena really bright

two of our grandkids playing hard
the arena is already useful

Saturday most of the remaining tin went up on the walls
I still can't get over what a huge difference that made!

Brad (& Tank) at far end working on trim.
 Remi exploring, and me dreaming of riding...

arena to date (17 sec)
8.22.21

There is still a fair amount of work that remains, before the top layer of fines can be added. The electricians need to come back to finish, now that the tin is up. The wall and window tin needs to be completed, and service doors need to be hung. There are other interior finishing things Brad & I need to do and decide on. In the meantime, Brad is working on some exterior projects, like grading around the building and forming the side service door approach (for a concrete pad).

Leo wondering what is going on with his arena

Seems like the to do list never ends, but we are slowly getting closer to riding in our arena!

sunday stills ~ abstract

 

8.19.21 (iphone)

She lost herself in the trees

among the ever-changing leaves.

She wept beneath the wild sky

as stars told stories of ancient times.

The flowers grew towards her light,

the river called her name at night.

She could not live an ordinary life

with the mysteries of the universe hidden in her eyes.

~ Christy Ann Martine

taken 7.25.21


see more abstract photos ~ sunday stills

wings that caught my eye

Butterflies are amazing!! End of post. Ha, not even close. 

I have been watching for flutterby's throughout the summer. Earlier in the season, they flew fast and high. Monarchs and Swallowtails in particular were close to impossible to photograph. Bring on the challenge!

In July, butterflies seem to be everywhere on our property. Eventually, they began to land more often and fly lower. Numbers have dwindled in August, but they are still around. Here are some wings that caught my eye, not all butterflies: 

closed wing monarch

open wing monarch

pink (tiger?) moth

very small orange butterfly 
(each set of wings was the size of a thumbnail)

"oh look, a puddle"

Red Spotted Purple, puddling along


a first (for me) really interesting find

American Ermine Moth (aka white dalmatian moth)


looks like a heart on the fuzzy head


layered wings & striped legs

a smaller pink moth, the size of a fingernail

such interesting tribal type markings, and those legs! 

this guy kept looking at me
while I was checking out his circle patterns


camera photo of the above friendly guy

fast moving smaller winged wonder
(barely got a phone pic)


orange winged wonder, opposite coloring of above
(kinda blurry)


white moth spotted in June

a flash of white caught my eye at the bottom of our property
(the best of my terrible long range pigeon shots)

prehistoric flyers
almost guaranteed to (re) appear after hay is cut


my beloved hummers love sitting on our deck wires
and keep a vigilant eye on their window feeder



Yellow Swallowtail in July

orange fritillary

a (smaller) Monarch spotted yesterday

The butterflies and moths are winding down for the summer. I truly enjoy watching their carefree ways! The Monarchs are really fond of an area at the bottom of our property. I talked Brad into leaving some of the thistles up for them. Consequently, I have a lot of photos of butterflies on thistles. Catching butterflies in flight is much harder. I almost got a clean inflight shot. Almost.

Brad had a great idea, and it sparked a future project. Easy to guess, a butterfly/wildflower garden. This will be my second one. As my younger daughters Girl Scout Troop Leader, we researched and put a butterfly garden in the Village Park many moons ago. Ours will be significantly larger. It will be a good learning process in a manageable scale, for our Prairie Area. Which may or may not ever become a restored native prairie with trails, the way I hoped. At least we can continue riding around the future butterfly garden! Will post about it when it is in action. It has to cool off first!!