Begonia

I received this pretty coral pink begonia a few years ago from my mother-in-law. It spends summers on our patio and in "over-winters" in our chilly dining room during the winter.  This year, it took almost all summer to finally re-bloom and now it is quite spectacular!   (Thanks, Dolly!)

Sphinx Moth

After talking to a few people, it's apparently been an especially prolific year for the Sphinx Moth. They're also known as the Hummingbird Moth because of their similar size and mannerisms, and usually come out at dusk and feed on the bright flowers around our patio. This one was flitting around the flowers beds at work right outside my window!

Clematis Bloom

I've been playing around with "Instagram" features recently and liked how this one turned out.  It's a clematis flower bloom from our patio.  The vine is doing quite nicely this year. Happy Summer!

Skywatch Friday: Dining at Seven Seas

Every Friday night during the summer, there is a traditional midwestern fish fry dinner at a local restaurant called "Seven Seas." Located on Nagawicka Lake in Waukesha County, the dining patio has a lovely view of the sunset over the lake. They also have a large pier where boaters can dock their crafts while they eat, so casual attire like board shorts, deck shoes, and sundresses are all acceptable.

See all SkyWatch Friday entries here.

* * * * *
If you arrived here via the "SkyWatch" link - thank you!  Feel free to peruse all my other photo posts by visiting the Pewaukee Daily Photo's home page. 

Hot Stuff

Summer is officially just around the corner here in Wisconsin, but with today's temps predicted to reach into the 90's, I think we're already there. At least this potted ranunculus bloom seems to love all this hot weather.

Macro Geranium

I finally got a new camera. Much better than my old Canon Powershot A710 - but small enough so that I can still carry it in my pocket or crossbody bag during my walks and hikes. It's a Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZS7 and I love it! Above is a sample from the first set of photos I took with it. It's a close-up/macro night shot of a single geranium flower taken during a light rain. Especially like the fact I could get such nice detail without any elaborate settings.

Mum's the Word

Fall is right around the corner and the mums on our patio are doing just great this year. This is a deep brick red pincushion mum with tiny yellow centers.

Coral Bells

I know this blog is technically supposed to depict "Pewaukee" - but after working full-time all day, and then having to walk the dog, I haven't had much to time to just drive around and "snap" the scenery as much as I'd like. The long Midwest winter makes us especially happy to see signs of blooming life & so that's mainly what I find during my long walks on the back roads, in the parks, and around the yard.

These coral bells are perennials with long pink and red stems of flowers that attract butterflies and hummingbirds. (The cat likes to park under a nearby shrub and watch...at nearly 15, she's just too lazy and unmotivated to make an attack.) I took these shots in the evening, hence the flash illumination.

Harriet & Humbert

Can you see her? Being so tiny, blending in is probably a good thing. That and being quick! We've named this little female hummingbird Harriet. She sat perched on top of the Linden tree surveying her surroundings for a very long time. At least we think she's a female because she is not as bright as Humbert, the male, seen below at the feeder.

They are not shy, either. If we are sitting on the patio & the feeder is nearly empty, they will buzz around, chirp loudly and complain. Just like kids... so maybe we're really not empty-nesters after all.

Clematis

Maybe it's been the long cool spring, but it's been a great year for certain flowering perennials around our patio. The clematis vine took a long time to come around, but it's loaded with flowers. This photo is just one example of the pretty purple and white blooms.