Summer of the Sunflower

This is the summer of the sunflower. They are livening up roadsides and fields everywhere you turn. They even grown in the cracks of sidewalks! One evening I was sitting on the deck and after the sun went behind Laramie Peak, I noticed the sunflowers in the yard were dancing. The wind was still so upon closer observation, I saw a yellow finch just going to town on sunflower seeds. Happy Monday everyone!

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Summer Days

Wow! What a wet and stormy spring it was and a dry summer it has become!

Powerful rain and hail storms plagued us for weeks.

The river flooded up into the road in the meadows. The cottonwoods sure loved the drink. It finally went down by mid summer but we still had a good amount of mist and fog and overcast days at the start of our summer.

This golden eagle was onto something special because he didn’t move as I got closer and closer to take his portrait. Something must have floated down the river that he was intent on getting.

Ol’ Gray wasn’t impressed with the bugs that all this moisture brought with it but as you can see by the looks of his belly, he enjoys the abundance of grass.

This bull isn’t very impressed. Period.

But the sun has finally come out and we’ve warmed right up with hot and dry temperatures.

But along with the hot and dry temperatures, the horrific fires that are burning in the Pacific Northwest have blown smoke and haze into our state. There have been a couple of days that the smoke was so thick that staying inside was a must. We continue to have haze from it every other day or so. I pray for all of those in harms way out there.

Summer evenings are just about the best around here. The sunsets are incredible and for the second summer in a row, we had a hatch of dragonflies hover in the shade of our home. They are everywhere! The cows are in the hills on summer pasture so the Sand Hill cranes and other wildlife are loving the meadows all to themselves.

That’s about it. I’ve had a lot of wonderful portrait clients come out (and more on the calendar for fall portraits) and have traveled a bit on assignment. Life has dealt us some lemons with the spring and early summer storms. Our roof and my car were totaled out by ping-pong size hail. Ugh. But this too shall pass.

Oh, and did I mention…

…this little furry boo came into my life around Easter. She’s pretty wild but keeps the mice population in check. She isn’t an indoor kitty. She’s been through a couple of lives already and she’s barely 5 months old. But more on her later. If she sticks around…

Have a great weekend, friends! *Hugs*

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