Day By Day: 2025

Vacationing at Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks

Entrance Sign

In August we take a week's driving vacation, and most of the time it is visiting a state we have never been to, or a national park. We visited Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks many years ago, and loved them so much we decided to go back for a visit.

Bison Herd

We have seen more wildlife at Yellowstone than at any other national park we have visited. Herds of bison and elk can be seen in many of the open meadow areas of the park. You can also see black and grizzly bears, moose, pronghorn, wolves, big horn sheep and mule deer.

Old Faithful Geyser

There are many geysers in the park, but the most famous is Old Faithful, called that because it has a fairly regular daily eruption schedule. The eruption can last for 5 minutes and can expel 8,400 gallons of boiling water and reach a height of 180 feet.

Terraces

At Mammoth Hot Springs area of the park you can see terraces of different colors that form from the 50 underground hot springs that seep through the surface carrying carbonic acid and dissolved limestone that when it is exposed to air is deposited as travertine.

Mud Volcano

This is a photo of a boiling mud pot called mud volcano because in1873 it violently erupted 30 feet high and wide covering trees with mud. It has been much tamer since, just bubbling and boiling. Sulfuric acid is formed from the hydrogen sulfide deep in the earth here and dissolves the surface soils around it. The sulfur makes this a mud pot rather than a hot spring, and gives off that infamous aroma.

Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River

The present appearance of the canyon dates from about 10,000 years ago at the end of the last glaciation. It is 20 miles long, and up to 1,200 feet deep. There are falls. The upper falls are 109 feet, and the lower falls are 308 feet.

Entrance sign

We also visited Grand Teton national park which is right next to Yellowstone national park.

Teton Range

Ten million years ago the Teton Range rose abruptly from massive earthquakes along the Teton fault. Erosion from glaciers sculpted the landscape.

Teton Glacier

In this photo the white spot in the center is what remains of Teton glacier. The Teton peak in this photo tops out at 13,775 feet. Many of the mountain range peaks are over 12,000 feet.

Jenny Lake

Jenny Lake is as clear and beautiful as it was when we visited many years ago. It is one of the most visited spots in the park.

Teton Range

The mountains seem as dramatic and stark to me as they were years ago. Grand Teton park has much of the same wildlife as Yellowstone park (bison, moose, elk). Yellowstone is much much larger and has all the exciting geysers, boiling lakes and mud pots, while Grand Teton has such beauty in the stark mountains, sagebrush flats and valley meadows. The big difference I noticed this visit is that it is much more crowded at both parks, and with repairs delayed because of budget cuts, parts of the park are in disrepair.

Remembering 9/11

Plane Hitting the Second Tower

So Many memories come seeping into my consciousness on this 24th anniversary of the bombing of the twin towers in New York City. As many people do, I remember exactly where I was on the morning of September11, 2001. I had just arrived with two other women for a garden club board meeting at a member's house. As we walked in, the TV was on and others already there asked if we'd heard what had happened. The first plane had struck the world trade center building. We all sat down to watch the news, riveted to the TV. We forgot about the meeting. We watched in horror as the second plane struck. Many members, including myself immediately got on cell phones to contact loved ones. My son was on a plane to New York City that morning.

Pentagon Burning After Being Struck by a Plane

Then the Pentagon building was struck. At that time I lived in Virginia, 13 miles from the Pentagon. Three people who lived in my neighborhood who worked at the Pentagon died that morning.

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial

As time passed, my garden club, in its own way, helped members heal and bring some closure to the emotions and shock of that day. We had as speakers at one of our meetings, the architects that had been chosen to build the 9/11 memorial at the Pentagon. The architects discussed the design, explained why paper bark maple trees were chosen to be planted throughout the memorial, and told us about the grasses, black-eyed susans, echinacea, and sage that would be planted around the perimeter. They talked about how each victim would be memorialized by a stainless steel bench over a shallow basin of circulating water.

Pentagon 9/11 Memorial Lighted at Night

At another meeting, my garden club had as a speaker a women whose husband had died in the Pentagon on 9/11. She explained how getting up every morning and going out to her garden to sit and then to work had saved her sanity and helped her process grief. That garden saved her life, she said.

Our gardens bestow satisfaction, joy, exercise, good food, and beauty. But, as I and other fellow gardeners know, they also bring peace.

Is It Summer?

Heliopsis

It took a month for this heliopsis to fully bloom. A month ago it had one flower and stayed that way for four weeks until the end of a fairly normal July when it burst into bloom. But now three weeks into August, we have had one of the coldest August months in decades. Some days we did not get out of temps in the 60's. And the majority of days it was cloudy and rainy. I feel like we have been cheated out of summer.

Coreopsis

There were four coreopsis plants in this area, but only one survived and finally bloomed the end of July. Many of the plants in the yard have struggled because of the cold, rainy weather.

Giant Burdock

The giant burdock that mysteriously appeared this year in the yard finally bloomed the end of July.

Japanese Anemone

The one plant that has done well is this Japanese anemone. The bees love it, and the deer have not bothered it this year. But overall, all the summer gardens seem anemic this year.

Beach Time at Kiawah Island, South Carolina

Entry Road to Kiawah Island, SC

Every year, for the past 30 years, we have spent a week at the beach at Kiawah Island. Back then, much of the island was wild with a small population living there and a few places to rent. You had to get groceries on your way in. Now there is a grocery, a drugstore,a doctor, a few restaurants and shops selling clothing, beach gear, ice cream all in one place as you enter the island. Although some of the island is still wild, it's now a golf destination and famous people stay here.

Main Road Kiawah Island

The island is covered with natural vegetation and constant gardening care keeps it beautiful.

Deer on the Dunes

All sorts of wildlife inhabit the island including alligators in many of the small ponds and inlets. All the dunes were left in their natural state covered with vegetation. There are several wooden boardwalks that you can take over the dunes to the beach.

The Beach at Kiawah Island

The beach is wide and 10 miles long, and uncrowded. You can't get on the island unless you live there or are renting a vacation home. There is a front gate with guards and you have to show your pass.

The Dunes

This phot is looking at the dunes from the beach. There are several turtle nesting areas along the edge of the dunes. They are discreetly marked telling you to stay away. One time at sunset, I was on the beach when the moon rose and the turtle eggs hatched. Tiny little turtles were running as fast as they could to the water. There were several other people on the beach, and we stood guard and shewed the birds away that were trying to get the baby turtles.

Angel Oak

This is a famous oak on the island that is 400 years old. Its branches extend for yards and yards beyond the main trunk. It is said that it can live to be 900 years old. Our family had a wonderful time there as we do every year.

The Heat is On Maybe

Heliopsis

The first three weeks of June brought constant cool, cloudy weather and rain. I don't ever remember it being this cool through the first three weeks of June in this area. Now we are suddenly thrust into the high 90's because of the heat dome that is covering much of the country. Yesterday we got up to 101, with lower humidity than normal for this area. Almost feels like Phoenix. We had three days without rain, and now today the rain is back. We are certainly out of the drought we have been in for the first part of the year.

Monarda

There are three monarda or bee balm plants in one of the gardens, but only one bloom so far. I started this new post yesterday, and the weather has changed drastically. Today clouds, drizzle and rain with temps in the 60's! I wish the weather would settle and stay warm and sunny.

Wild Strawberry

There are several wild strawberry plants that have been growing in the large back garden for a few weeks now.

Russian sage

Several Russian sage bushes in a grouping in the back yard are just starting to bloom.

Iris

I found one lone iris blooming in the back yard after all the others have already bloomed.

Pansies

These pansies I planted in one of my deck pots last year. It sat through the cold and snows of winter, and the pansies slowly came back this spring. I have left these pansies to see how long they would last. Since it has been so cool and rainy in May and June they are still hanging on. Even through the three 90 to 101 days we just had. Overall, I think the gardens look somewhat anemic this year possibly because of the unusually cool, wet May and June we have had.

Summer is Coming

Astilbe

This last week has been unusually cold and rainy, like most of May. It was still in the 40's at night three times this week with the heat still coming on yesterday, June 2, at night. I don't ever remember it being this cold this late. But the weather forecast promises summer is coming tomorrow with temps in the high 80's. We are getting wildfire haze from Canada that is going to block some of the sunshine. The astilbe under the trees in the side yard have just bloomed.

Salvia

I have three salvia plants that bloomed right on time in mid May.

Red Hot Poker

There are three of these plants in the garden, but only one has bloomed last week. I don't see any bloom stalks on the other two.

Greater Burdock

This was a surprise! I found it under the trees in the backyard about a week ago. I have not been in the backyard for a couple of weeks because of the constant rain. I've never seen it in the yard, and the seeds must have been dropped by animals.

Wax Leaf Privet

There are several wax leaf privet bushes that line the back of the house, and they are full of white flowers.

Miniature Roses

In an area where the deer never roam, I have planted miniature roses that I got from the grocery store. I got them to have some flowers in the kitchen in the early spring, and planted them last year when they finished blooming. There is a yellow rose plant next to this one that is just about ready to bloom.

Cool, Cloudy and Rainy

Clematis Samaritan Jo

For the last three weeks we have had mostly clouds, rain and cool weather. There were a few days of sun and 70 and 80 degree temperatures, but we have been mostly stuck in the 50 to 60 degree range and have had one or two nights in the 40's. My clematis vine brightens up a semi shade corner of the house.

Cotoneaster

Despite the cool weather, most of the May flowering plants bloomed on time like the cotoneaster bushes in the front yard.

Peony

There are several peony bushes (which the deer won't touch) in the yard in different colors, red, pink, and this yellow one that's my favorite.

Catmint

The catmint that lines the front walk bloomed right on time. The azaleas in the neighborhood are done flowering, and the iris in the yard have come and gone before I got a good photo of them.

Spirea

The spirea bushes in the yard just started blooming.

Blueberry

The berries on the two old blueberry bushes in the yard are finally turning blue. We've noticed a real drop in the squirrel population in our yard since this winter. We used to have lots of squirrels chasing each other all over the yard, climbing the trees, and walking on the deck railing. This year we have only seen one squirrel in the yard.

Flirting With Freezing

Magnolia Flower

The first two and a half weeks of April were cold and rainy. We had a freeze which killed the blossoms on our three magnolia trees. This is the third year in a row that the magnolia blossoms were killed before a lot of them even opened. Although we've had some nice days in the 70's and 80's this week, it is still going down in the 40's at night.