Dewy SUNday

After a long week of torrential rains and flooding, Sunday dawned true to its name.  Not too far from us, the small village of Zumbro Falls suffered major damage from the flood; 60 of 93 homes were destroyed or irredemiably damaged by the flood waters of the Zumbro River.  Our house is less than a mile from the Zumbro River, but fortunately for us, we live downstream from a major flood control project that was built a couple of decades ago to protect the city of Rochester from flooding.

When I saw the sunshine this morning, I grabbed my camera to see what photo opportunities the mellow dawn light provided.  The plants, flowers, and even the insects were sparkling with dew.  The morning sun shining through the dew on this rain-battered hollyhock lent it a delicate beauty.

We planted these hydrangea bushes just a couple of weeks ago.  The flowers are fresh and ready for what the day brings; they almost look like spring.

 

A couple of weeks ago I posted pictures of these milkweed bug larvae right after they had hatched.  They are beginning to gain some adult characteritics now. The dew-covered bugs look like little jewels.

 

I love how the dew drops catch and magnify the sunlight on these columbine leaves.

Each of the multitude of petals in the chrysanthemums is outlined in dew drops.  They look sugar-frosted, don't they?

The squirrels will have plenty on hand to eat this winter.  Look at all the black walnuts on the ground, a bumper crop for sure.

And more still to fall from the tree.  Too bad the black walnuts have such a harsh taste, not nearly as mild as their English cousins.  Many people do eat them, but the work of getting the husk off and then the shell cracked is not worth it to me for a nut that leaves something to be desired in taste anyway.  I say let the squirrels have them!  Maybe it will keep them away from the bird feeders.  Not likely! ;-)

Right now, the maple tree is the bright spot of autumn color in our yard.  Most of the trees in the woods behind the house are still green; except for the walnuts and hickories - their leaves seem to turn brown and fall off early.

As you can see from the photo above, our place suffered no lasting ill-effects from the rain.  In a bizzare cosmic coincidence, in almost the same timeframe, Tropical Storm Matthew made land fall right on top of our place in Belize.  Again, our place didn't seem to have sustained any damage, although at least one bridge was washed out.  We are indeed fortunate.