Nekkid Ladies!

Yep, that's right.  We say "nekkid" down here, just like it sounds. And we have them here in Kentucky. A lot of them!
But, this is the Bible belt and I need for you to get your minds out of the gutter.
THIS is a nekkid lady:

The reason they call them a nekkid lady (and spelling it that way here ensures that I'm not violating some kind of internet porn law :) is that they grow the leaves up in the spring, then it just dies back.  In August or September, they grow up again, just a stalk, with a lovely flower on the end of it.  I saw these last summer and thought "what in the heck is that?" and tried to stop and get a photo but the traffic on the narrow roads didn't allow me to pull off and get a shot of them and I couldn't find any in town.  I forgot about it until a friend mentioned them a couple of days ago.  Oh, is that what they are?
Here is some more information on them:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lycoris_squamigera
I had thought at first that these were some kind of thing bought at a craft fair, just a pretty thing to stick out in your garden.  A stick with a flower on it!  :)

I promise to be better about working on the blog, I still have so many subjects to cover and more all the time present themselves to me.  This is such a fascinating place and we are still in love with it and charmed by everyone who lives here!  I did have a rather rotten cold and kidding season occurred and the last of the babies are just getting ready to go in the next couple of weeks, I hope.  The weather has been just awesome and we have huge rose bushes now that are just loaded, in spite of the three frosts we have had.