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Early mornings and late afternoons feature long shadows. Looking at pictures I took yesterday, I was struck by how dark the shadows are.
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Despite lingering mist and cloud, it was a very bright day which I suppose is what makes shadows appear that much darker.
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Vegetation being at its most dense seems to deepen the contrast.
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By early afternoon, the clouds were darkening, providing a startling backdrop to the sunlit trees.
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Also the shorter of my sunflowers, those that survived assault by beetles.
As you can see, some other pest is snacking on them, but with less determination!
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Sunflowers, it appears, are very hardy.
Bent in half, they simply carry on growing.
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The recently flattened sunflowers quickly cheered up after their rescue.
This morning, sadly they were on the ground again, the stakes simply not sturdy enough for their weight.
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Foolishly, I wrestled to get them back up again, no doubt straining a muscle or two in the process and the fix will not last.
However, they will probably grow just as well once they are settled at ground level.
Perhaps we’ll still get some seeds for the birds or other creatures.
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The deer Uni eating apples. I had to abandon this yesterday because of connectivity issues.
In fact, I was expecting this to be…
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…this…
You’ve seen my groundhog buddy feeding with me before, but here you’ll see the twin pop out briefly. It is still not convinced I can be trusted!
The muncher ended up almost sitting in my lap and appears not in the least bothered by me although a couple of times she retreats when startled by something else.
Notice how rotund she is becoming!
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Once the carrots have been devoured, or if one of the siblings isn’t permitted to share, they come up to the porch and clamber from a chair onto the table where we put nuts and suet for the birds.
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Yesterday however, the table had got moved.
One of the smaller groundhogs was trying in vain to climb up. My going out would frighten it, but just as I was about to anyway, since they always come back, the groundhog jumped from the chair, landing perhaps not gracefully, but quite comfortably on the table.
It then enjoyed a well-earned snack.
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For the rest of the day we had periodic showers and as I wrote some emails I turned a light on.
Basically, I had written the day off and was about to pick up my book for the evening.
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But I became aware of a glow….
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It would be dark in a few minutes and I’d thought it was too late in the day for this sort of thing!
Never give up too soon!
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Thank you, Carolyn, for your lovely day, shared with us! I love your buddy and her siblings, and her tummy is beautiful! The shadows, the sky, and the sunset are all excellent photography! Of course, I don’t speak from a technical point of view, but how much pleasure they give me. Technically my knowledge is almost zero but I can press the button on the camera. Regards to the brave sunflowers!
Joanna
Great to watch the videos, and the rainbow at the end signed things off perfectly.
Best wishes, Pete.
What magnificent photos Carolyn and the videos are captivating. It would be so easy to spend the whole day just communing with nature!
Beautiful photos of your sunflowers! I’m so happy they keep growing. It was lovely to see how quickly Uni ate that apple – Uni most likely knows the saying “an apple a day keeps the doctor away”. I love your groundhog video though – it’s like watching a movie! And is it just me who tried to get the fly away from the groundhog’s face? Stunning photos of the last light of day … indeed, never give up hope on any day!
I enjoy watching videos. Can you really get that close? I adore the sky and sunflowers. The pictures are really beautiful.
Yes, they do. It was quite unexpected but sucj a thrill!