Friday 24 June 2022

[Dave]

Since I find myself awake at this early hour, I might as well make myself useful by starting the Daily.

A closeup of one of the succulents in the front yard...

   

Wishing you all a good day.

[Dreamin]

Good morning!  Dave, that little sedum is going to burst into bloom soon! What a nice composition...love the little blushing buds!
Well, it's only 6:24 am here, so Dave got up REALLY early, since he's 3 hours earlier than where I live!! It's only 60° F this morning and foggy. Good time to go out and check the garden and maybe water some...It rained yesterday, but barely wet the ground.....We have 4 zucchini plants and no squash bugs yet so we are over run with it already. I cooked up 4 yesterday, and 6 on the countertop waiting to happen. This always happens, and then the squash vine borers hatch and we are done. I have never been successful getting rid of them or preventing damage.   Here is a photo to cheer you from my archives......my yard has nothing in bloom right now except the zucchini and the cukes and tomatoes. 

   

[Don]

Good morning Dave (thanks for starting the daily), Natalie and any who follow.

Barely 0800 and already 80F - another hot one. I've been wanting to take a spin on the motorcycle but it isn't much fun when it is really hot. Like riding in an oven.

Since the theme so far has been flowers, I pulled this one out of the archives, from somewhere out west. BTW, for my camera club presentation last Tuesday there were only 4 people. Not hardly worth the time and effort spent to prepare it. It is a small group anyway and there were reasons more didn't show up, but I doubt that I will make any presentations in the future - at least not until we get more members. The coordinator actually decided that we won't meet again until September, skipping July and August. I have concerns that this chapter may not survive. Unfortunate because the next closest chapter to me is about an hour and a half away.

Hope all have a good day and great weekend.

[damar]

Thanks for the great start this morning, Dave!
What a beautiful composition! You can see the energy in the little buds...really nice!

Hi Natalie!
I'm not good with flower types; yours looks like a lily. Beautiful color and balance of focus and bokeh.
Does zucchini freeze well? (like for soups etc?) I have never grown it.
Theres info online on dealing with squash vine borers. It's a bit of an effort though.
Plant early, till well in the fall and don't plant in the same spot 2 seasons in a row.

I have one tomato plant (san marzano) that was weak from the get-go, but the first to produce.
They little tomatoes on that plant seemed to have stopped growing and I doubt will ripen. The plant just seems to want to tip over.

Hi Don!
Your sunburst flower is so pretty! The yellow-red patterns are interesting!
Yeah, it's hot out there on the road, especially in full gear.
We try to get out early and be back home between 11 AM and noon.

Camera Club: Maybe in August members should try and bring a friend or spouse.

I don't have a flower photo this morning, but these were some of my Roma tomatoes and jalepenos
from back in 2011

   

[Dave]

Thanks all for the kind response to my photo.

Natalie, I didn't know what the plant in my photo is - thanks for identifying it. Very nice photo. I like how the strong yellow green of the leaf leads the eye to the flower. Well conceived and executed.

That's a beauty, Don. I used to know what the species name is, but all I remember now is that it's commonly called a Blanket Flower. Love those colors. (We used to have some of the exact same colors as in your photo - don't know why we stopped growing them.)

damar, I'm sorry your tomato harvest is disappointing. San Marzano - aren't those used often in tomato sauces, as are the Roma's in your photo? Speaking of your photo - it's worthy of a magazine cover.

[Rich]

Greetings all!
Seems as if the central and east are in the grips of a heat wave....again!

Dave, I like the composition and your depth of focus is amazing! Your up way to early! An hour before sunrise is the best time to see the planets aligned in the southeast sky. I will be expecting a photo soon! Way to early for me to get up.

Natalie, a beautiful flower, Patty says lily and I will go with that! Good composition and focus!

Don, stunning flower. Could be called a ketchup and mustard like Dave's rose shots.
Our CC has been gone for years. It was a small one too, about 6 enthused members and a few others.

Patty, I agree with Dave, magazine quality! Did you make salsa back then?


Here is a novel idea for an old bike. Plant it, water it and maybe you will grow a new one! It does make for an interesting flower bed though!
This was taken about 1/2 block from the college. That neighborhood was called "the rich district" many years ago. Many nice homes around there. Now they are just normal homes. We do have one home west of town a couple of miles for sale at 2.2 Million. There has been an offer. Yikes!

[Quint]

Good morning all,
A quick stop to see what was happening with the daily photo folks. I just got a text that the lap pool at the YMCA is closed until 10:30 a.m. so another coffee is in hand.
What a neat and varied bunch of summer pics.
Weather wise, we really turned the corner here from a cool wet spring to a sudden summer. My plants are responding well and the tomatoes and peppers are really loving it. Little fruit is growing rapidly with many blossoms on the plants. 
Dave, the San Marzano is a Roma type tomato that grows taller and gives lager fruit over a longer time. Next year I'll try a sauce type tomato. Perhaps a Polish Opalka.

[damar]

Hi Rich! Blue must be the color of the week!
(the bicycle in your summertime photo).
I see a lot of "garden bicycles" these days. Sometimes they just lean them up against a tree in the front yard for nostalgia.
I have 2 vintage 10 speeds from the 1970s but I could never plant them outside in the elements.
One is parked nicely in our guest bedroom though!
(who else can park their favorite "car" in a spare bedroom?)
hahaha

Hi Quint!
You sound optimistic about your garden this year!
That looks like a little tomato in a jesters hat!
Excellent sharp detail in your photo.

I don't plant many salad tomatoes. Mostly roma/plums
because they are less pulpy and watery.
If I process them, I like to bake them until the skins split and then rinse with cool water.
It renders a richer juice if some of the moisture is baked out and the flavor concentrated.

Roma/plums make nice roasting appetizers
(cut in half lengthwise, drizzle with olive oil, oregano and a dash of favorite cheese.)

This is our new and recent Eastern Porchlight Bird (LOL a Eastern Phoebe)
They love building their nest on top of our porch chadelier.

She saw me outside and was waiting to get back to her nest.
   

[Rich]

Steve,
Sharp focus! I didn't remember the vine being so hairy.

Patty, I had a couple of favorite cars. They wouldn't fit in my spare bedroom!
Good one of the Phoebe. Blends right in to your brick work.

[Quint]

Rich, stems and shoots are loaded with them. They are potential roots. In contact with soil they will grow.