David's Images of the Day Photoblog
Arriving in Dover, England on the MV Explorer. Image taken with a Leica X2 camera (ISO 100, 24 mm, f/4.5, 1/125 sec).
I spent much of the day preparing a section on the west side of the house for a patch of “Lily of the Valleys” and some other wildflowers. The section is under a tree, and grass doesn’t do very well. There were “Lily of the Valleys” here before, but they were destroyed when the roof was redone a couple years ago. So I rototilled the section, added lime and fertilizer, then drilled ninety 2 inch holes and planted the newly arrived “Lily of the Valley” pips. I hope they make it to bloom next spring. In the past, the deer left them alone. One of the pips had a shoot with flower buds. I took that one inside under the LED grow lights to see if the flower buds would open.
Walkabout with a Leica T camera and 18-56 mm zoom lens. Rhododendron flowers, wildflower daisies flowers, and poppies buds about to open. My most hated weed — the “Mile-a-Minute” vine. The vine is not native, and was probably brought in by the deer. It gets its name from how fast it grows. In the last few years it has killed and destroyed many of my trees. I am trying to find wildflowers that grow faster and will keep the vine from further expansion. Also, some insect appears to be nibbling on the leaves of the vine — just not fast enough.
Individual images in the slideshow can be viewed here.
Rhododendron blooms after a rainstorm. Composite of 17 stacked images taken with a Fuji X-T1 camera and 60 mm f/2.4 macro lens. Images processed using Capture One Pro 7 and Helicon Focus.
The rain returned. I wasn’t able to do any work on the garden today. Yesterday I planted another fifty orange day lilies among my daffodils. I often see them along the roads here in the summer, so hope that the deer don’t like them. I don’t expect to see any flowers this year, but hope to next summer. We will see. The “mile a minute” vine is a real pain. It is invasive and overgrows everything, like kudzu in the south. I think the deer brought it here. Talking about deer, this doe was just outside my laundry room door.
Individual images from the slideshow can be viewed here.