Beautiful pictures 💚. Dandelions are beautiful, a park in town I love to visit has softball sized ones and they’re amazing. Wildflowers and grasses make for more beautiful lawns, require less maintenance, and doesn’t harm the environment like non-native grass.
Thanks Amber! I'm glad you think they're beautiful, too! 👍 We spend an obscene amount of money to achieve a perfect lawn...when it's really not perfect! Too many chemicals...and if it's nothing but wildflowers, think of the non-stop bouquets!
I used to live next door to a very old man who had a waist-high hurricane fence around his property. It was a pretty quiet street, and his was the only lot with a fence all the way around. (He must have had a dog at one point.) Anyway... when he died his property sat untended for over a year; the dandelions filled that yard, front to back. One day, when the dandelions had reached their "fluff" stage, I was looking after my niece and nephews, and they begged to be allowed to blow on the fluffs. We grabbed a few through the fence, but the lure of the thousands of others was too much. After a bit of consideration I decided why not? So I lifted each one over the fence and for 15 minutes they went crazy, running through the yard, arms stretched, as the seedlings filled the air like a snow flurry. It was delightful. By the next year the property had been cleaned up, the yard mowed, and the property sold. But much to my amusement, all of the carefully manicured lawns on that street were now rife with dandelions... dandelions everywhere! It still makes me smile to think of it. Score one for mother nature!
Thanks for more of your lovely photos Susan. I love dandelions and I think people who dislike them are kind of dumb. They make a nice meal for the bunnies. How well I remember when we were kids picking them when they went to seed and blowing them all over the place.
I grew up having to pick the greens for salad. At the time I was not a fan. Now I love cleaning weeds in the yard by getting the root out instead of using a chemical. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. Your photos are great. Memories…
I have three Canons-one with a fantastic lens. And honestly, I still like my phone for a lot of things. I’ve seen other photos from a photo truly superior to what I’ve been able to get. Moment has made some nice phone lenses. All that said , I LUST for a Leica! Someday… when I have money…
I have a first generation Canon 5D, and a few lenses (my 24-70 f2,8L is my pride and joy), and a Canon G12 compact. They both take outstanding pictures, but as a semi-pro told me once, the best camera is the one you have with you, and I always have my iPhone with me. It does take darned good photos (14 pro)
I was amazed this year at how all (or nearly all) the dandelions turned from yellow to fluff overnight.
I have done my best to give up mowing but some of the grasses are now nearly 4 feet tall so I'm likely to take them down with the trimmer mower -- uses plastic whip thingies to sever the stalk from the root.
I have an Echo trimmer that I just love! My brother lets the outer areas of the yard grow tall to give the deer fawns some cover. He’s obsessed with wildlife and hunting. 🦌
Oh, does the deer agree with you shattering it's body with deadly force? Then I guess that is not cruel. Do you not think that animals have feelings? That the young of these animals are orphaned and starve? By the way; your "venison" is not "harvest. Harvesting is from growing crops. Your venison comes from a living and pain feeling. Also, fact: Venison often has larvae in the meat that you devour so horridly.
Alice, I'm not sure why you're trying to pick a fight here, especially since you have little idea of what you're talking about. Harvest is indeed the term used in hunting, we're well aware of the health of the animal, and fawns and does are carefully considered. So... if hunting offends you, I'm sorry.
I’m not trying to pick a fight. Hunting is destroying G-d’s creatures for selfish And violent purposes. Harvesting is a term made up by the killers to try and greenwash their horrid cruelty. How can anyone with a weapon or trap ensure that they are “only” killing the beautiful creatures that the hunters decided deserve to die? Of course they harm and cause much destruction and pain and agony to the animals that only want to live their lives. Who gives man the right to destroy lives?
I got a DR trimmer mower a few weeks back. So far it works great but I haven't really given it a workout which I plan to do this afternoon despite the 80+ temperature but I'm waiting for a call back from a case manager at the hospital where my wife is currently ensconced with "stroke-like symptoms" without a stroke.
Day-by-day improvement. She is why I have a nice milkweed crop that sprang up amid the grasses I finally got around to shortening today. The lack of mowing allowed the seedlings to get tall enough to recognize as milkweed so I could mow around them. Now if only the Monarchs will do their part and lay eggs on them later this Summer.
Peter, I can only imagine how cute your pup is. I just love dogs...it was so great to reconnect with the two at the farm! And your daughter is right... dandelions are loaded with all kinds of minerals and vitamins! Try to save your shoes, though!
I love dandelions, they are so strong and brave when the weather is still cold enough for us to be using our furnaces, they bloom and tease us about the coming spring and summer.
The photos are miraculous! I love the closeup of the seeds.
Dandelions. My customers go into panic mode over them. I agree with you about wildflowers. We're losing our pollinators to over use of chemicals. Summer is here.(90° in Cbus today) Stay cool.😎
I try to have a couple of flowering plants to attract the bees. They love buttercup and jasmine. Was a sweltering upper 80's with real feel of 107 over the weekend...and my a/c broke down for a day and a half. I reminisced about growing up without a/c. I survived then and now but must admit central air is a great thing.
Beautiful pics! We’ve stopped fighting the dandelions, because even if we got rid of all of them, they’d just blow in from our neighbors and be back next year. We’ve been slowly decreasing our “lawn”, planting all kinds of clover throughout (or where grass doesn’t like to grow), and it’s beautiful, soft, needs no maintenance, and spreads nicely! All kinds of wildflowers coming up. The bees love it!
Beautiful pictures 💚. Dandelions are beautiful, a park in town I love to visit has softball sized ones and they’re amazing. Wildflowers and grasses make for more beautiful lawns, require less maintenance, and doesn’t harm the environment like non-native grass.
Thanks Amber! I'm glad you think they're beautiful, too! 👍 We spend an obscene amount of money to achieve a perfect lawn...when it's really not perfect! Too many chemicals...and if it's nothing but wildflowers, think of the non-stop bouquets!
I used to live next door to a very old man who had a waist-high hurricane fence around his property. It was a pretty quiet street, and his was the only lot with a fence all the way around. (He must have had a dog at one point.) Anyway... when he died his property sat untended for over a year; the dandelions filled that yard, front to back. One day, when the dandelions had reached their "fluff" stage, I was looking after my niece and nephews, and they begged to be allowed to blow on the fluffs. We grabbed a few through the fence, but the lure of the thousands of others was too much. After a bit of consideration I decided why not? So I lifted each one over the fence and for 15 minutes they went crazy, running through the yard, arms stretched, as the seedlings filled the air like a snow flurry. It was delightful. By the next year the property had been cleaned up, the yard mowed, and the property sold. But much to my amusement, all of the carefully manicured lawns on that street were now rife with dandelions... dandelions everywhere! It still makes me smile to think of it. Score one for mother nature!
Awesome story Laurie! 😂😂 score indeed! I can see them running around now! Very fun!
I love how you see the world.
How kind of you Linda. I’m just curious… and very grateful to be around. 😬😂
These should be links to the milkweed patches.
https://scontent-iad3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/442418241_10228236432514318_8433305558424901679_n.jpg?stp=dst-jpg_s600x600&_nc_cat=106&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=5f2048&_nc_ohc=sCYWw2nJfcQQ7kNvgEzksju&_nc_ht=scontent-iad3-2.xx&oh=00_AYBDP_YR69fPHtZLxemiXv0GQOHV-R-8Lk5DREocrfnSsA&oe=66526842
https://www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=10228236432354314&set=pcb.10228236438274462&__cft__[0]=AZVMU81Jsnpk1-xnnwbvE6NUY9R7dStGEQrbUOkR_dEjt0z0a-7ZmASClz3wmv4kJBfzSfZkgRlGCwydqMO9ve37EInFo5PcOCdJ-7tSCmtzK901pflo0KZZALHykJVt0MUeOyuaQWK7qsBDPx0vLZGGWmITdjhq-0WRp4pAinpIgg&__tn__=*bH-R
That’s great… milkweed is a valuable plant!! It grows at the farm. It is like to plant more!
Thanks for more of your lovely photos Susan. I love dandelions and I think people who dislike them are kind of dumb. They make a nice meal for the bunnies. How well I remember when we were kids picking them when they went to seed and blowing them all over the place.
Thank you Charlotte! I remember picking a bunch of them for my mom when I was little! Flowers of any kind are wonderful!
I grew up having to pick the greens for salad. At the time I was not a fan. Now I love cleaning weeds in the yard by getting the root out instead of using a chemical. It gives me a sense of accomplishment. Your photos are great. Memories…
Hey thanks Monica ! Lots of memories for sure. And NO CHEMICALS!! 👍🏻👍🏻
Man you make those pollenated little dandelions look good Susan ❤️
Thanks Peter- such a fun hobby!!
It is Susan it takes one’s mind off all the noise that surrounds us these days doesn’t it.
Oh it does. So much negative and scary stuff going on. Getting lost in photography helps the soul!
What lovely images. What camera do you use?
I have a macro lens from Moment that I use on an iPhone 14 Pro. And thank you Geoff!
Here I was, thinking you had a killer Leica M8 or newer digital range finder with one of the magnificent pieces of optics that you can add...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leica_M8
(I have lusted over one of these for a long time, but it is a wee bit out of my price range)
I have three Canons-one with a fantastic lens. And honestly, I still like my phone for a lot of things. I’ve seen other photos from a photo truly superior to what I’ve been able to get. Moment has made some nice phone lenses. All that said , I LUST for a Leica! Someday… when I have money…
I also edit in Lightroom.
Same, I used to use Aperture until Apple flushed it. Shame, as it was a pretty solid offer
I can’t do photoshop-my brain doesn’t have enough bandwidth! 😂😂
I have a first generation Canon 5D, and a few lenses (my 24-70 f2,8L is my pride and joy), and a Canon G12 compact. They both take outstanding pictures, but as a semi-pro told me once, the best camera is the one you have with you, and I always have my iPhone with me. It does take darned good photos (14 pro)
Your pro was right. I have a professional shooter-director in my life who told me the same thing. He’s helped me a lot, giving me feedback.
(I just priced a M11-P body with a 35mm f2 lens, a cool $14K)
I’ll need to win the damned lottery!
I *could* afford it, but I just do not take that many pics to justify it. Want and need are not the same though!
I hear that!!
I was amazed this year at how all (or nearly all) the dandelions turned from yellow to fluff overnight.
I have done my best to give up mowing but some of the grasses are now nearly 4 feet tall so I'm likely to take them down with the trimmer mower -- uses plastic whip thingies to sever the stalk from the root.
I have an Echo trimmer that I just love! My brother lets the outer areas of the yard grow tall to give the deer fawns some cover. He’s obsessed with wildlife and hunting. 🦌
So sorry. Hunting is for losers and cruel people
Excuse me? We eat the venison we harvest. Nothing cruel about it.
You are NOT EXCUSED!
Oh, does the deer agree with you shattering it's body with deadly force? Then I guess that is not cruel. Do you not think that animals have feelings? That the young of these animals are orphaned and starve? By the way; your "venison" is not "harvest. Harvesting is from growing crops. Your venison comes from a living and pain feeling. Also, fact: Venison often has larvae in the meat that you devour so horridly.
Alice, I'm not sure why you're trying to pick a fight here, especially since you have little idea of what you're talking about. Harvest is indeed the term used in hunting, we're well aware of the health of the animal, and fawns and does are carefully considered. So... if hunting offends you, I'm sorry.
I’m not trying to pick a fight. Hunting is destroying G-d’s creatures for selfish And violent purposes. Harvesting is a term made up by the killers to try and greenwash their horrid cruelty. How can anyone with a weapon or trap ensure that they are “only” killing the beautiful creatures that the hunters decided deserve to die? Of course they harm and cause much destruction and pain and agony to the animals that only want to live their lives. Who gives man the right to destroy lives?
I got a DR trimmer mower a few weeks back. So far it works great but I haven't really given it a workout which I plan to do this afternoon despite the 80+ temperature but I'm waiting for a call back from a case manager at the hospital where my wife is currently ensconced with "stroke-like symptoms" without a stroke.
Oh my goodness! I hope she will be ok! Stay hydrated! 👍🏻
Day-by-day improvement. She is why I have a nice milkweed crop that sprang up amid the grasses I finally got around to shortening today. The lack of mowing allowed the seedlings to get tall enough to recognize as milkweed so I could mow around them. Now if only the Monarchs will do their part and lay eggs on them later this Summer.
Awesome! Let us know! 🦋🦋
That’s what the docs are thinking, too.
Your writing and photos remind me of “Dandelion Wine” by Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite summer reads.
Nice! I might have to add that book to my list! 😃
I believe you would love it, Susan. It’s pure magic.
We used eat dandelion greens in our salads when I was growing up
So did we at the farm. I haven’t in ages but as I researched for this I need to start. Loaded with everything good for you!!
I have an 8 month old Springer Spaniel who eats dandelions and everything else lmao 🤣 apparently my daughter tells me they’re good for them.
Peter, I can only imagine how cute your pup is. I just love dogs...it was so great to reconnect with the two at the farm! And your daughter is right... dandelions are loaded with all kinds of minerals and vitamins! Try to save your shoes, though!
It is too late for the shoes Susan lmao!
OOPS! 🤣
I love dandelions, they are so strong and brave when the weather is still cold enough for us to be using our furnaces, they bloom and tease us about the coming spring and summer.
The photos are miraculous! I love the closeup of the seeds.
They are. And I’ve always thought they were pretty-bees love them too! 😃
Susan Niemann: You are a miraculous macro-photographer.
Breathtaking images in miniature!
My goodness, thank you for sharing!
Thanks Armand! You made my day!
Ahhh these are beautiful photos.
❤️❤️ love you !!
Dandelions. My customers go into panic mode over them. I agree with you about wildflowers. We're losing our pollinators to over use of chemicals. Summer is here.(90° in Cbus today) Stay cool.😎
I try to have a couple of flowering plants to attract the bees. They love buttercup and jasmine. Was a sweltering upper 80's with real feel of 107 over the weekend...and my a/c broke down for a day and a half. I reminisced about growing up without a/c. I survived then and now but must admit central air is a great thing.
Ha! Yes I hear you! Air Conditioning is important🤣 buttercups are such a happy flower!!
Beautiful pics! We’ve stopped fighting the dandelions, because even if we got rid of all of them, they’d just blow in from our neighbors and be back next year. We’ve been slowly decreasing our “lawn”, planting all kinds of clover throughout (or where grass doesn’t like to grow), and it’s beautiful, soft, needs no maintenance, and spreads nicely! All kinds of wildflowers coming up. The bees love it!
Wonderful! It’s pretty too! Thanks Sally! ✌️❤️