SueBee Arts

Ever since moving to Kansas in late 2021, I’ve been fascinated by the giant green tennis balls scattered beneath some fairly scraggly-looking trees. I’d never seen anything like them. Upon researching, I’ve learned the tree, per Wikipedia, “Maclura pomifera, commonly known as the Osage orange, is a small deciduous tree or large shrub, native to the south-central United States“. “American […]

The town where I live in Central Kansas is the annual venue for the Kansas State Fair. I’m lucky to live outside of the fairgrounds neighborhood and therefore am not impacted by the huge increase of traffic with visitors coming in from all over the state. I decided this past Tuesday on getting a fairly […]

I spent a lovely day in Wichita late last week and visited Botanica, of which I’m a proud member. The steadfast gardeners there have changed out many of the plantings with autumn in mind. One very interesting observation, though, was all the damage done to the giant lily pads by the hailstorm from the previous […]

What do you get when you fire the company who was mowing your backyard and then let nature take back over in some areas? The answer for me is ~50 new trees, enjoyment, a non-comparable sense of pride, an endless supply of work, the feeling of being overwhelmed by the sheer volume of growth, and […]

The question is redundant in my view… this plant is most definitely evil. It’s called a sandbur, but my name for it is the Velcro Weed. It sticks to everything, just like Velcro does. It can’t be killed, and the stickers (seed pods) hurt like a son-of-a-gun whether on the foot, finger, pants leg, shirt, […]

I found the variety of blooms on a single zinnia bush in my backyard garden just fascinating. These pictures were taken using my iPhone 12. Do you have a favorite? ~SueBee

I’ve been tickled pink, to use an old-time expression, with the giant poofballs growing in my backyard. The plant is actually yellow salsify, or tragopogon dubius, but I refer to them as poofballs. The past two years or so I’ve let nature reclaim my backyard, and have been thrilled with all the flowers, plants, grasses, […]

This is a poem I wrote on Thursday, the 27th, having been inspired by the activities in my backyard as I sat eating my breakfast and gazing out the window. ~SueBee (I apologize for the double spacing and lack of any sort of poetry formatting in the poem but WordPress doesn’t make it easy and […]

This is the final post of the road trip I made with my long-time friend, Aranka, through Missouri, into a bit of Oklahoma and back through southeast Kansas. We drove just under 1000 miles by the time we were back at my home in Hutchinson, Kansas. As this is the final post, there are more […]

Our road trip continued through Missouri, leaving beautiful Lake of the Ozarks for our next stop in Branson. We had very little idea what to expect in Branson, but heard it’s quite the entertainment place. Well, that’s exactly what it is. If you like shows, lots of people wandering about, and hubbub, it’s the place […]

This past week has been quite the change from the previous snow-filled, very cold one. I decided to take a walk at Botanica, the beautiful gardens in Wichita and enjoyed myself thoroughly. ~SueBee

A very delayed third post showcasing photos from the Kansas – Missouri – Oklahoma – Kansas Road Trip I tookwith my longtime friend, Aranka, in September and October. The pictures in this gallery were taken at Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. It’s a very pretty place with great hiking trails, woodlands, lots to see, plus […]

Continuing from my previous post (yes, several weeks hence), the pictures in this gallery feature the drive from Kansas City to Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. The town of Sedalia was fascinating so Aranka and I took a little break there for some coffee. It seems Scott Joplin has some history in that town. My […]

My long-time friend, Aranka, flew out from Nevada this past September 25th, and together we took a nearly 2-week long road trip. We first drove from the airport in Wichita, Kansas to Kansas City. The pictures in this post are from Kansas City, a really neat place I’d like to explore further one day. We […]

My high school friend, now living in Texas, sent me some seeds from her huge moonflower plant. It didn’t take too long before sprouts started shooting up, and then flowers blooming. All blooms had been snow white until this one, a very dainty lavender. ~SueBee

I was in Wichita recently, doing a little exploring on a day when few people were out and about. I’ve found Sundays are a good day for driving around aimlessly as people tend to be at home, leaving the streets empty for me. Most of the pictures in this gallery were taken just to the […]

I had a spontaneous walk through Botanica Gardens in Wichita, Kansas just the other day while in town for other reasons. Other than having completely soaked canvas shoes for my hour-long drive back home, I thoroughly enjoyed walking in the light rain. It’s generally so dry here in central Kansas that having rain is a […]

I’m so pleased with the two hibiscus bushes I planted last year, but I’m particularly fond of this white one. As you can see, if you look closely, a bumble bee is enjoying it, too. ~SueBee

The walk round my back yard this morning was a colorful one. Several of the flowers had popped up on their own, volunteer flowers as they’re called here. I’m ok with their volunteer work. Others are first blooms of bulbs or plants I put in and am happy to see survived the winter!~SueBee

With the snow and ice mostly melted, I decided to try a walk at Dillon Nature Center yesterday afternoon. I took my rubber yard boots along and changed into them before I set off. That was a smart decision because, while the cement path around the lake was fine, the path through the woods was […]