My sister and I visited Incarnation Catholic Church today to see where our parents were married in 1964 and where our grandma was a parishioner for over four decades. As children, we had attended mass, but only remember the church as being dark. All of the photographs from our parents' wedding are in black and white.
So, we were delighted to see the church with all its colorful stained glass windows plus a quinceanera that was in progress.
It wasn't until I looked closely at this image that I saw that the center of the flower is in the shape of a heart. Just what I needed to see today.
One of my favorite parts of the Minnesota State Fair in the Ag-Hort Building is the floral kaleidoscopes. Each year, the flowers and arrangements change. As you spin the flower pot and look through the kaleidoscope, the images change.
The monarch migration continues. Every day when I look outside at the backyard, there are at least a dozen monarchs I can count. Some may be making their way through our yard and stopping for nourishment along the way. Others may be staying for a while, not sure when their next opportunity to "fuel up" is possible.
I wish that more people would plant a monarch waystation with a diversity of plants for them to feed upon as they make their long journey south to Mexico.
The monarchs are migrating now and are spending a lot of time on the blazing stars - one of the many native plants we have at the farm. This is the first year that I have noticed so many monarchs in the fall. What also is interesting is that after they eat during the afternoon and early evening, the monarchs are roosting in the trees near the gardens. I have never seen this before. What a joy!!
I was happy to see the swamp milkweed blooming this year. I had put some dormant plants out in the west pasture last year in the spots where there were depressions in the soil left by the horses' hooves. Surprisingly, the plants came up this year and are doing well. The monarchs (and the bees!) are loving the milkweed.
It was also nice to see that there are monarch caterpillars on the common milkweed. Pretty soon, there will be a chrysalis and a new butterfly!
The purple native wildflowers are blooming prolifically! The Ironweed in the west pasture is attracting the Swallowtail butterflies while the Prairie Onions in the gardens are providing meals for the bees.
This columbine is a native plant and is both in our gardens and under the pine trees on the east side of the farm. They also can be seen in ditches unless the city does an early mowing and cuts them down. It's unfortunate when they do this. Not only are these plants cut, but native milkweed - which monarchs depend on - are also destroyed.
A couple years ago, I planted a honeysuckle for the hummingbirds. This year, the flowers are prolific. I'm hoping that the hummingbirds find the honeysuckle and use it as one of their food sources. Bees and bumblebees also visit the honeysuckle.
The Prairie Smoke has moved to the stage where its plumes look like smoke. This is one of my favorite native plants. They are doing exceptionally well this year.
The Eastern Bluestar - a native perennial - is blooming. I love its delicate flowers and subtle blue coloring.
On the third day in London, I went to Kew Botanical Gardens while my family did other activities that were more of interest to them.
The diversity of plants was something I knew would be something fascinating. I had no idea, however, that there would be plants from all over the world that could survive in the climate in England. I also especially enjoyed the water lilies, cacti, and endangered plants.
When we booked the tickets to come to London, we did not know that it was during the time of the Queen's Platinum Jubilee. We were able to see rehearsals for the parade that will happen later in the week.
We also went to St. James' Park and saw beautiful flowers and waterfowl. To close out the day, we saw the road of Tower Bridge be lifted to let boats pass.
Olivia graduated from high school today. It is hard to believe that our homeschooling journey has come to a close. What a joy and privilege it has been to be her teacher and mentor!
The groundhog made its appearance today in the east pasture. This is not an animal we commonly see, so it was exciting to see it.
The butterflies, hummingbirds, sphinx moths, and bees love wild monarda. It is very fragrant and colorful, and adds so much to the garden.
