Sunflowers are Cool!

Sunflowers are so much fun. They come in so many varieties it is almost impossible to get bored with them. Of course, I enjoy the classic yellow ones, but some of the sunburst and red varities are very striking. The red sunburst sunflower you see in this picture is nine feet tall! There is another next to it that is almost ten feet; amazing! And if you enjoy bird watching, the gold finches can be found pecking away at the sunflowers all fall.

If you click on these pictures, I've exported this file in 1920 x 1080 so you can set it as your wallpaper. Enjoy!

Super Bumpy Squash

We ended up with a lot of unique squash hybrids this year; all created by nature, not purposely. One of my favorites is this super lumpy, bumpy, colorful squash. It is quite large, about 12" in diameter and the longer it sits, the more bumpy it gets.

There are only 3 on the vine (that I have found thus far) and each one has a vastly different color arrangement. One is almost all green, another is mostly yellow, and another is the green / orange combo you see in this picture. Enjoy!

Refinished Remington 870

Here are a few pictures of a Remington 870 that I refinished for a friend. 80% of the finish on the forend was worn off and the butt stock was slathered with a very thick layer of poly. I striped it, lightly sanded where necessary, applied multiple coats of Tru-oil, and lightly compounded the finish to a high-gloss. Results below.

Box Elder Beetles

You may have seen these little buggers out and about, but like me, you may not know what they are. I did some research and found out that these are box elder beetles. Ironically (or not so), there are quite a few box elder trees in my back yard. The beetles don't seem to eat anything other than the box elders (I would not mind if they eat them to the ground), but you may notice them congregating in various locations. These were on a slate beside my corn garden. This photo is of adolescents. Adults have a mostly black top-side and I believe this coloring will appear as the wings grow in. This photo was taken in the middle of June, 2009

Female Rose Breasted Grosbeak

I saw a small flock (are they referenced as flocks?) of rose breasted grosbeaks grazing on an old railroad bed out behind my house. I have seen a pair in my garden every now and then, but never a flock. I estimated there was between 5 and 7 pairs. Usually, the grosbeaks are very skittish and difficult to picture. All of the other grosbeaks flew away, but this female stayed close and still for over a minute; enough time to adjust the lens through the thick underbrush, whack a couple of mosquitoes off my neck, and snap these pictures. Enjoy!