July 11

Lillies in a vertical row

One of the most peaceful pleasures of home ownership is my flower garden. It’s not very much, but I keep adding to it year after year.  The day lilies in the back are something I hope I live here long enough to see spread in to an entire area behind my house.

I know I like lilies because back home in the hills and valleys along the Des Moines River in Iowa, lilies were a staple. They not only provide a summer-long green along the foundation of a home, they provide a long span of  flowering.  What I remember most about them is how they attracted humming birds.  I’ve never seen one in North Dakota, but have seen them in Lead, SD.

So, here the attraction isn’t the wildlife that flock to the lilies, but their beauty of themselves.  Their strong but delicate and “pretty” look are attractive to me. The  plants withstand the northern elements and climate.  They are hardy and they are delicate.

As a photographer, I like the fade from color to white that the flowers show.  Their long stamens expanding past the attractive  petals of the flower  make them ripe subjects for me to photograph.

May 7

Just when tulips think it’s safe to come out, they get hit with a reminder than winter doesn’t let go easily in North Dakota.

What started as rain last night turned in to snow by morning.  Wet, heavy snow.  Farmers have been working, motorcycles have been riding the highways, and now it’s back to snow shoveling.  I thought the Good Friday snow storm would have been the end of winter, but I was wrong.

The snow plows are even back at it.  I caught this one as it was turning in to Wilton at the truck stop/convenience store.  That familiar rumble of plows on the highway had been echoing through the wet countryside most of the morning, and I just happened to catch this one as it pulled in to town.

On the other end of town, the Dakota Missouri Valley and Western Railroad is back at it. Apparently the spring melt that had caused the fatal train derailment back in March was just a temporary setback and trains are rolling again through Wilton and north.  The surprise find for me is this cut the railroad makes through a small rise in elevation of the ground on the south end of Wilton.  I guess I hadn’t paid much attention to it until this day.  One of these days, I’m going to find some good ways to shoot this train coming through a low-level pass in to Wilton.