Charlie tackles Toto

Charlie and Toto are such active little puppies!  Charlie is the affectionate one of the two pups.  His image is the first one below.  They are not an easy photo subject as they are constantly on the move!  When it gets really hot as it has been they will find shade to play in, as you can see by the last image when they are both chewing on a stick underneath our car.

 

They are so entertaining when they get to playing with each other like this tackle image below where Charlie jumps on top of Toto.

Cattle, a rolling donkey, a spoiled horse, and a smiling lizard

Meet the Hereford calves, cows, and bull that are among the wildflowers at the Smith Ranch.  Also included for your viewing pleasure is an image of our donkey Ozark rolling in the dirt.  Donkeys will roll in the dirt and get up and shake their head and ears and not their body.  The reason for this is the dirt provides insulation against the heat and cold.

Below Ace is leaning over the fence to get his daily treat.

The lizard below is quite content on his elevated rock home!  Even looks like he is smiling in the image!

Pretty prairie wildflowers!

Purple coneflowers are very abundant on the Smith Ranch and are one of the first wildflowers to bloom in the Spring.

This is the first time this leadplant has bloomed on the ranch since we've been here.  The orange and purple blossoms were so pretty!  It is so named because of the grey, lead-colored leaves. The Lakota Indians used the leaves to make tea to drink.

We've have an abundance of black-eyed susans along our long driveway this year and the below image were some near our mailbox.  We are using this image on the front cover of our business cards that we just ordered.

Another abundant flower this year is this bractless brookweed.  They bloomed in white and in yellow petals like this one below.

This hoary vervain wildflower with its pretty lavender petals has been a faithful plant to bloom every year.

The common milkweed which grows along the gravel road attracts the Monarch butterfly though I haven't yet been able to capture them together during my photo excursions!

This mint-leaf beebalm that grows in a certain area in our pasture is a welcome addition to flower gardens. The pink blooms attract bees and other native pollinators.

These showy yellow Missouri evening primroses are so pretty against a greenery background!

The two images below of musk thistles are also newly bloomed wildflowers since we've been here seven years.

These prairie wild roses are common alongside the gravel road and they are definitely like a rose as their stems are thorny!

Hope you enjoyed these pretty wildflowers that grow on the prairies of our beautiful state of Kansas!

Lizards, common nighthawk, and lesser yellowlegs

The dry, hot weather has been a nice habitat around here for lizards.  You can be sure if it is hot and sunny outside, there will be a lizard sunning on a rock or on a log home that my husband made for the lizards as shown below.

This Texas horned lizard was a surprise find when outside photographing some flowers. 

This common nighthawk let me get fairly close to him before he flew away.  These birds like to set on the gravel road at night and fly away at the last minute.

Here's a bird that I've never seen before called a lesser yellowlegs.  

A doe and a cute little fawn!

My husband hollered at me to come look at this cute baby deer but I had to grab the camera even though he didn't think I'd have time! :)  I've never seen a live baby deer this small. It is just so cute in these images that were taken quite a distance away.  I wonder if the doe knew it was being photographed! My favorite image is the last one of the doe jumping over the fence with the fawn on the lookout!

A Canada goose and a deer

A Canada goose and a deer stopped by for a visit within a few minutes of each other.  The goose let me get within about 50 feet before it would walk away from me.  After returning back into the house, laying down the camera, and stepping outside for a moment, I noticed a deer leaving after getting a drink down at the pond.  I was able to quickly grab the camera and get a few shots as he darted across the pasture.  Though I was far away from these two visitors, the images below look a lot closer since I used a 400mm lens.  I love the bokeh (out of focus background) that I get from using that lens!

Laughing horse had a baby!

I kid you not... I don't recall ever seeing a real live baby horse!  Don't know if its a boy or girl but you can imagine how excited I was to see him arrive along with our neighbor's horses!  All the baby horse ever did while I was trying to get its picture is suck and nap.  Imagine that!  Just like a baby!!!  Well, I am soooo glad I trudged through the mud and elements to capture these images of my "famous" laughing horse and its baby!  Enjoy!