Heavenly Blue Morning Glory

Every gardening year I learn things. This year I learned not to be afraid of morning glories. (Wait!! Maybe I better see what next year brings in the way of seedlings.). I had 3 kinds of morning glories this year, Moon vines, which I already  wrote about (they are still blooming and flowers seem to be getting larger), Picotee morning glories, purple flower with a thin white line on the edge of the funnel, and this wonderful Heavenly Blue morning glory. I had forgotten I planted it until it bloomed. It was twisted among the moon vines and had not bloomed til a few days ago. I see there are other flowers to come and I am anxiously waiting. Once, years ago, my sister-in-law planted some Heavenly Blues near a guy  wire for a electric pole and they climbed all the way to the top of the pole. It was a good choice and I made a good choice too, in planting mine to climb on the porch railing where I could see and enjoy them at close range.

Birds at Ding Darling Preserve

 
 
 
 

The top picture is a great white heron in breeding plumage. He was so beautiful as he eased along slowly lifting his feet up high as he walked through the grass. He was looking at something tasty, maybe a frog. the one in the bottom picture is also a heron. I am a sucker for herons as you can see. The identifying characteristics here are the yellow bill and black legs and feet.
The morning glories in the second picture made such a nice sight on the rocks that were stabilizing the bank on the roadside. They would not have been better if they had been intentionally planted there.
The third picture of the wading bird with the downward curved bill is a white ibis. It has a reddish orange bill and the same color feet. It walks slowly through the shallows probing the mud with it's bill.
During the summer we saw flamingos at Ding Darling, but none this time that I remember. They were at a distance so it can be hard to tell. No alligators though.:(