Fall Scenes

I saw some nice colour on my walk today.  Always good to get a good shot of colour before the dark days of fall.

 Keep safe.

A Day Out

 

We had a lovely day out spending the afternoon visiting with family. We were about 2 1/2 hours drive west of home at a park on the St. Lawrence in the area known as the Thousand Islands.  The grandkids and their dad went for a one hour boat tour around some of the islands on the tour boat in the photo.

The sky and water were incredibly blue.  You can see the clouds reflected in the water. Click on photo for full screen.

The highlights of the clouds were so brilliant. Click on photo for full screen.

This little guy kept hanging around our picnic table hoping for a hand-out but we didn't have any food with us as this is yellow-jacket wasp season and none of us like being bothered by wasps.

A little miniature lighthouse to add to the nautical theme.

Lots of boats of various shapes and sizes at the marina.  We saw quite a few motor boats on the water but no sailboats. It was quite chilly down by the water but we even saw an intrepid man in t-shirt and shorts zooming around on his sea-doo.

The park had a nice playground for the children to amuse themselves in while the adults had a chat.

We may not see the grandkids until next spring if things continue the way they are with Covid so we were very thankful to get in a visit.

September Days

 

The nighttime temperatures are close to the freezing point and the trees and perennials are changing colour.

A colourful maple nestled in among the other trees.

Josephine Honore Japanese Anemone.

A funny angle of old Pepper who is now 23 years old. He earns his keep trimming the grass in the backyard. Silly old boy. I have owned him for 17 years now.

Jewelweed, Physostegia and Fungi

 

I was going to have the jewelweed photos at the top but I was having trouble rearranging the photos which for some reason went up in a backwards order.  Anyway, here are the fungi growing on some poplar logs.

We were without the internet for four days as our modem died. The thing I missed the most was the Weather Network and being able to check the radar map!  The news was same old, same old.

Some physostegia. They are a very pale pink which I find rather disappointing but the bees like them anyway.

They have taken over an area that used to have pale purple asters.  I guess that area is destined to be pale. I'm surprised the wild asters didn't put up more of a fight. There are a few plants left but a fraction compared with last year.

This area    also used to be full of asters and now it is primarily jewelweed and goldenrod. Never know what a year will bring.

The jewelweed (impatiens capensis) is quite pretty and the bees also like it.

Interesting shape - almost looks like it has a gill slit.

Lots of lovely spots and streaks. It is native to our area and pops up all over my gardens.. It is an annual and very easy to pull out. I don't really mind it. I have dealt with poison ivy, thistle, stinging nettles in my yard so pretty jewelweed is fine.

Phlox and Balloon Flower

I've always loved the scent of phlox so it is a real pleasure to have some good sized plants in the garden. This white one is David variety, an excellent one, that is resistant to mildew. Mildew is very dependent on the weather and if you get hot humid weather it will likely show up.  I have used a solution of baking soda and water, or diluted milk and they both work to some extent especially if you get on it right away.  This year with all the bright sunny days we've had there is no mildew.

I have been seeing a hawk moth regularly on this patch of phlox.

A new division taken this spring that will hopefully grow into a nice big patch.  I really like the dark eye ring with the lighter pink around it.

Purple balloon flower (platycodon) is a drought resistant plant. It is fairly tall and tends to lean to the light but the stems are stiff so a rock at the base helps to keep them upright.  Not a problem if they are in full sun..

You can see hear where it gets it's common name as the buds look like little balloons.

This little hydrangea is in a shady spot but it still blooms nicely.  The white flowers brighten up the shade.

 What have we here? Two squash bugs - a senior, and a junior. I can't remember having squash bugs before but this year one of the zucchini plants had quite a few. I happened to have a big bowl of soapy water and I threw it over the plant.  That seemed to knock them back for now. So now I am thinking that maybe next year I won't plant any cucurbits to break the cycle. I do like zucchini but I can buy some from a local farmer. I usually have the little cucumber beetles but they don't seem to bother the plants very much.

Some Watercolour exercises about 4" x 6"

Sand practice

Tree practice

Background practice 

I am very appreciative of all the Youtube teachers. In particular I'd like to mention the following sites:

Louise de Masi

Mind of Watercolour

Melanie Howard

In The Studio with Michelle Webber

They are all excellent instructors and sometimes have posts such as "10 common mistakes beginners make" which are always very helpful.

The right hand edge of the paintings is cut off but it is really only the white border.

Zinnias and Daylily

 Zinnias growing in pots.

Subtle pastel shades in a daylily.