Bright Blue Globes

Bright Blue - Self-Portrait

A visit to the local garden center this weekend provided me with a two hour photo shoot. I pretty much emptied my wallet to do some replacement purchasing for foundation plantings for my home – six bushes and a European Filbert Tree that I was told was native to Wisconsin. (Go figure!) It looks like a giant corkscrew.  So, as a result of my contribution to their economy, I felt it only right and proper that I get some photo subjects out of the deal.

The colors were wonderful wherever I looked. And after I became completely color blinded by at least a thousand kinds of flowers, I went over to the flower pots. I wasn’t disappointed there, either.

Even got a self-portrait in this photo, but you have to look carefully – or blow the photo to poster size. 🙂

Only Two Ways

Double Dahlia II

There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle.
~ Albert Einstein

A Cow Named James

A Cow Named James

HeyJules posted a weathervane on her blog The Way I See It a few days ago and her photo reminded me of this weather vane which flies high atop one of the barns at the University of Wisconsin’s agricultural complex in downtown Madison. (Except her photo was of a horse vane, and quite a lot smaller.)

I’m not really sure why the name James is on the vane – perhaps it really is the name of the cow, or more likely the name of a farm family.

Addition to the post: I decided I had better check to see if I could find out why this cow was named James. And I did find out. Seems there was a company called the James Co. out of Fort Atkinson, WI that made large weather vanes in a variety of animal shapes around the 1900s. I found quite a few examples through antique dealers’ sites: several rooster vanes – these all seem to have been used for target practice and have bullet holes in them – and another cow vane. One dealer recently sold a James weather vane for $1300, so evidently they are collector’s items.

If you want to learn some pretty awesome information about weather vanes in general, including why 18th Century vanes required a king’s permission, and what a 9th Century papal decree decreed about vanes, this short article on these silhouettes in the sky will tell all.

A Bluebell Walk in the Woods

Ephemeral Wildflowers by Woodland Path

This path is lined with masses of Virginia Bluebells, and provides a spectacular show when in full bloom. This is especially true in the Midwest where the plant seems happiest, even though it bears the name of Virginia.

It grows in moist and nutrient rich hardwood forests, not only in Wisconsin, but in the northern and eastern quarter of the United States and in southern Ontario.

Virginia Bluebells in Wisconsin

Virginia Bluebells are fairly large, tall plants that bear clusters of showy, trumpet flower clusters. The flower buds begin tinted a delicate pale pink and then deepen to a medium blue when in full flower. They aren’t as ephemeral as the earlier woodland wildflowers, and stay in bloom several weeks. The entire plant does disappear from the forest floor, though, by mid summer.

This species of bluebell was used medicinally by Native American cultures, usually made into a strong tea for the treatment of consumption and whooping cough, and was also used as a general tonic.

Trillium, The Giant Woodland Beauty

Large-flowered Trillium

The Grandiflora or Large-leaved Trillium is my favorite Spring woodland wildflower. Not common, but it is easy to spy when you come across a plant. Each specimen can grow up to 18 inches high and each flower is about 3 inches wide.

Grandiflora White Trillium

This is definitely one wildflower that should never be picked or transplanted in the wild. If the leaves are disturbed, the plant often dies, as this is the plant’s food source. In many states, it is illegal to disturb flowers in the Trillium family. The plant can be grown by seed, but it takes approximately 5 to 7 years to bloom.