Nature's Beauty

Yes, my blog is a bit late and I want to get back on my Monday blogging schedule. So I'm going to show you some great pictures from the ranch and post without a painting - something I've never done! I had a bunch of interruptions today and my schedule is so not what I wanted it to be. This will help me get back on track.

The new baby ducks and chicks are so cute. We ordered 6 assorted crested ducks. It will be fun to see what these look like soon. They grow so fast. Our early summer crew is enjoying Lake Jean. The main duck in this photo below has a personality already! This one is always flapping, bouncing up and down, cocking it's head.

The top knots on these 2 little guys below are different, one leans much more towards yellow, the other towards white. They tend to hang together.

Ok, I'm going to get gushy, but this is just too cute - Alright, I know it's gushy and mushy.

We had some much needed rain this past week. Wednesday brought 3 3/4 inches and 2/10ths more fell this weekend. Yes, we are happy to measure rain in 10ths of an inch!

The trees aren't up to par this year due to the drought and heat. This wild persimmon's leaves aren't looking very healthy. I'm hoping the rain will perk it up. The fruit of the wild persimmon is normally about the size of a quarter. It feeds a lot of animals and birds. This year many of the trees simply didn't put out fruit, none at all. The fruit on this tree is the size of a blueberry. The wildlife has lacked a lot of it's normal food this year.

And here are our happy ducks at Lake Jean! This is from our early summer batch. They're quite at home at the lake.

I snapped these 2 photos below just a few days before the rain came. With all of our summer heat and drought, these are blooming beautifully. They are both in the Nightshade family. The yellow is Buffalo Bur. This patch is so full of flowers, very thick and healthy and very prickly.

I am amazed at the intensity of the purple on this flower. Normally it's a lighter color. This is Silver Leaf Nightshade. It's about 2 feet tall and should be in bloom through October.

I'm pretty sure this is a Vermillion flycatcher. I couldn't get a closer shot than this. That little head was soooo intensely colored! Gorgeous.

Look how much the fawns have grown:

So, the nature show is over for today. Next post I'll be back to normal, have a painting for you and will try to get my helpers back too. Until then, you can find me on Twitter and Facebook. Be sure to click here to sign up for my (usually) monthly newsletter!

You'll find my small watercolors and smallest oils in my Etsy store . You can purchase my oil paintings and studies on my website .

Jean