This has been the second-hottest summer of my life. (Only 1980 was hotter, and I was 30 years younger and better able to tolerate heat then.) Consequently, I haven’t been out taking pictures as much as I would have liked. I did manage a trip to Botanica this morning while it was still merely unpleasant. Here are a few of the pictures.

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Another panorama, this time from near the altar. If you look carefully, you’ll see an instance of bilocation.

One groups of plants I particularly like are those that grow like weeds, but aren’t, such as the sunflowers I planted this spring, which are now taller than I am.

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Just how good are the pictures that my new little camera takes? This morning, I put an extension tube on my D80 and took a few pictures of the dahlberg daisies that I photographed Thursday with the L22.

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Already tired of the summer heat? Here’s a picture I found in my old toy camera this morning. According to the file information, it was taken Christmas day last December.

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My new toy camera arrived today. It cost about half as much as the little Canon I got about five years ago and is more than twice as capable. The images are 4,000 by 3,000 pixels, which is larger than those my DSLR takes. The picture above is cropped but otherwise unaltered; click on it to see it at actual size. The image quality is remarkable for the price. The flowers are dahlberg daisies; each daisy is about 3/4″ across.

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The music is Danny Gatton’s “Cruisin’ Deuces.”

I finally finished going through all the pictures from Costume-Con 28.

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Spotted at Costume-Con 28:

Update: I’ve uploaded the first batch of pictures here.

*****

Don’t waste your money and time on Hollywood drivel. Watch The Secret of Kells instead.

Echinocereus triglochidiatus

Waiting for me when I got home from work today.

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I visited Botanica again this afternoon and took a lot of pictures, which I’ll upload to my gallery later. On the way home I spotted a couple of other noteworthy floral displays: a Chinese empress tree, above, and a wisteria.

I spent the weekend in Atchison. Here are a few of the pictures I snapped.

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… so if I want to post a picture of a Lenten Rose, I’d better do it today.

This is a good year for flowering trees such as magnolias:

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Horticulturally, this year is running about three weeks slower than last year. Plants that were in full bloom a year ago are just coming into bud now. Nevertheless, I did find some color yesterday on my first visit to Botanica this year.

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