October Garden Walk, Photos by Amy

Blue skies and sunshine made this a delightful day to spend  time in the garden. Ed spent most of the day outside.  Amy spent some  time weeding one of the stone patios. It's one of the hardest weeding assignments in the garden and one I have difficulty  doing. It was  sweet of her to tackle it. After that hard work,  I gave her the camera to have some fun. She captured the Black swallowtail caterpillars eating the dill as fast as they can. It was just over a week ago that they looked so different. Here's how they looked on October 13.

The second one isn't quite as big, but he looks like a familiar Black swallowtail caterpillar too. I love the gray of the lavender in the background here.

Never before have there been so many Large Milkweed Bugs, Onocopeltus fasciatus in the garden. Before this year I have never seen more than a few adults. Their bright orange and black coloring would catch any one's eye. These all look like adults.

Here is a single adult and small immature bugs. I have read that adults overwinter. I can't help but wonder how many of these will be around in the spring. It's a lucky thing we have plenty of milkweed here for everybody!

This terrific picture shows immature bugs inside the milkweed pod. Much of the milkweed fluff  has had its seeds consumed. I guess those will never get to dance on the wind without the cargo they are made to carry. These orange and black bugs have been chowing down on the seeds. I first noticed these amazing garden inhabitants on October 5 when I wrote a post for Beautiful Wildlife Gardens. 

Looking very much like a couple of flowers in the grass, these mushrooms are striking in their beauty. Not bad for a fungus.

Today was a gorgeous October day to be outside in the garden made perfect because we enjoyed it together.