Blue-Eyed Darner

Rhionaeschna multicolor

Click on photos to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

During my morning walks along the marsh I've recently been enjoying the Blue-Eyed Darner Dragonflies hanging around the Tule Reeds near the boardwalk.

This morning I brought along the tele-converter lens for my camera and got a few decent shots of one.

These are probably as good as I'm going to get from distances of about 8 to 20 feet with my little 8 mega-pixel digital camera

Canon S5IS with Canon TC-DC58B tele-converter lens, manual mode, f /3.5, ISO 80, 1/800th second.

Our Little "Slice O' Heaven"...

Yesterday In The Garden

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

A Good Part Of The Fun Is In...

~Sharing The Magic Of A Garden~

Click on the above letter to enlarge for reading...

Thank you Fran!

Finding your letter in our mailbox this morning put a smile on my face and reminded me, once again, how important it is to be part of your community by sharing what you love with friends and neighbors. Our garden exists today because of friends inspiring us with their love of native plants and we simply passed that love along to you.

It is a joy and a pleasure to know you have found inspiration in our humble efforts.

We were not part of the 2008 Xeriscape Garden Tour because we have several unfinished projects that need our attention this year but we hope to be back on the tour for 2009.

Much Love, Jim & Peg

Today's

flower of the day

Malacothamnus fremontii

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 jim otterstrom

Fremont's Bush Mallow blooms today at Earth Home Garden.

A Peggy Picture...

Indian Blanket Flower

Click on photo to enlarge - © 2008 peggy otterstrom

Peggy caught this image of an Indian Blanket Flower (Gaillardia pulchella) yesterday evening as the sun was lowering in the sky over Earth Home Garden. Indian Blanket Flower (also known as Firewheel) is a hardy drought-tolerant perennial wildflower native to the Plains States. It's also the State Flower of Oklahoma.

Ours come from a wildflower seed mixture I planted over 20 years ago about where the giant rock birdbath is now. We've enjoyed their reliable profusion of summer color scattered throughout the garden ever since.