Macro Monday

Let's hope not, but this might be the last Rose of summer. This little Rose bush has given me several beautiful fragrant flowers.
Happy Macro Monday, and if you will click on over to http://lisaschaos.com to see lots more close ups.

Macro Monday, Rose Hips

I had some beautiful roses this summer thanks to my good friend Cindy. She gave me a rose bush 2 years ago, and this time I was treated to some wonderful rose hips. When I decide what to do with them, I'll do a post.
 Thanks to Lisa for this meme, and click on over to http://lisaschaos.com .com to see more closeups.
BTW, I found my first Monarch caterpillar on Saturday. Stay tuned for up-dates on it's way to a beautiful butterfly.

On our day trip to Ashtabula, Ohio we decided to check out the beach area too. We're always looking for beach glass, and since it was such a beautiful day we took a short walk.

Another shot of the lighthouse I posted 2 days ago. This is from another angle.

A cold front coming in.

There was lots of drift wood. Gary used to make driftwood lamps, and we used to collect lots from many of the beaches we walked.

I'm not quite sure what this is. It is full of holes, and really heavy. I couldn't kick it over.

OK, enough from that trip.

There are lots of Crocus blooming right now, and oh so many bees.

I bought 2 miniature roses. Can't wait for Spring!

The Pussy Willows are blooming too, BUT right now everything is under 2" of snow that we got last night. Tomorrow it will warm up, we hope!

Yesterday was a really busy day. We tackled a project we do once a year, and one we don't especially like to do. That is taking apart the 2 motors and blowers on the wood stove, cleaning and oiling them. It's a tedious job, and somebody has to do it. I have a cold, the first one I've had in over 2 years, I feel misrable, and I really didn't feel like working, but now it's done. We depend on these motors with their blowers to push the heat up from the cellar where we have the stove, and make sure we service them every year. This includes taking most of the wiring apart ( that's Gary's job ) , taking all the screws out, removing the motors from the blower housing, and air cleaning it all, and then oiling all the little places that need it. THEN it all has to be put back. It's about a 3-4 hour job for the 2 of us. In the meantime our daughter-in-law came over and cleaned out the stack for us. Now we're all ready for the snow that is on it's way for this week-end.
On my creek walk Thursday I came across some pretty neat lichen. And some ordinary looking moss.

These dried little things were cute.

Even some windswept grasses down by the water.

I discovered a very large rose bush that I hadn't seen before. This squiggly gaget was interesting, and get a load of those thorns!

Here are the rose hips from this bush, and there were lots of them. They are over an inch long. I will be looking for the flowers on this one next year.

Here is the kind of fungus I like to paint on. The underside of course, and it's the size of 1/2 a dinner plate.

Another smaller fungus, with those wild cucumbers in the background.

More moss.

These are kind of neat.

But I really like this one. Looks like a miniature forest.

I checked on my Lilacs and they have their buds for next spring.

I also spotted some ever bearing red Raspberries, that the ants were dining on. Must be the birds didn't get them all.

And last but not least some colored leaves on the Forsythia bush. For some reason they are hanging onto their leaves yet.

Have a wonderful week-end.