Not Impressed

Advanced age has now limited how much time that we can be outside working in our gardens.  Native animals have always explored our ground but with our absence now really feel that this ground is theirs.  The doe dropped her twin fawns close to the stone wall directly in front of the house.  Her instructions to them were stay where you are.  We did not disturb them since their muscles needed time to firm up to the point where they could walk without injuring themselves.  This morning as I was walking toward the shed Mom and one of the twins held their ground as I drew near.  There were no hoof stabs into the ground or snorts directed my way.  Comfortable with my advancing presence, they joined the other twin and simply walked down the driveway.  More than one fox is commonly seen here.  Perhaps their level of comfort is overstated by this deposit of the remains of a wild blueberry meal placed directly outside of our front door.

This huge fearsome spider has found a place to lay her eggs in our gardens for many years.  Our wire fences provide an airy anchorage where generous meals, like the one just beneath her, are common.  Many years ago, I was describing this frightening insect in the faculty room at school.  The science teacher was interested in adding a mounted specimen to his collection.  He made a home visit with his killing jar in his hand.  He sized up his intended victim for some time.  A stealthy approach was underway when the spider suddenly dropped to the ground with lightning speed.  The teacher was mostly airborne as he quickly exited the garden.  Fast and ferocious is a powerful combination.

We placed a large planting of this purple  Monarda directly behind our bench in the shade garden down by the road.  Humming bird moths are fond of feeding on this plant and they are not troubled by our nearby presence.  That large yellow and black colored mass in the upper left of the picture is actively feeding.  Their wings are mostly transparent while those two black stabilizers clearly stand out.  Once again we have an insect that has no reaction to our presence.

 

Our homestead is located adjacent to a  bend in the Unadilla River.  For anything that flies, the direct path downstream is straight over our home.  Migrating Monarch butterflies fly right over us every Fall.  We have encouraged the growth of Milkweed, the only food source for these caterpillars, in many places on our land.  This plant is growing where the planting bed meets the stone path.  Its roots are well below most garden plants so both coexist here.  The migration is weeks away so this new butterfly will be able to lay eggs that will produce new butterflies for that trek.  We find it wonderful to be part of helping this endangered treasure to stay alive.

Four Out Of Sixty-Seven Garden Pictures

The star of this picture is clearly the perfect Black Swallowtail Butterfly sipping nectar from the Purple Coneflower.  That would be a native butterfly on a native plant, but the Gloriosa Daisies and the slightly perforated leaf of a Mexican Sunflower are my favorites too!

Another favorite of mine, the Grey-headed cone flower, is a native too, but it is not native to New York.  It seems to have no shortage of pollinators just the same.  I love the way these lovely yellow flowers float above the stone wall on slender stems.  I wonder about the name since the buds look green to me and the tiny flowers are clearly dark brown.  This photo shows how the flowers begin at the bottom and finish at the very tip. Like most composite flowers these look gorgeous for a long time.

You might think that a plant named Arnica Montana would be native to Montana, but no, it comes from Europe.  Amy planted this one from seed.  I checked to make sure and the leaves definitely match the desired plant.  We actually have two of them. At first I thought we had nothing but weeds here but the Arnica is coming on strong and will win in the end especially if it gets a little help.

This wood betony plant is hardly ready for a photo op. It's flowers are nice, but the leaves are obscured by the cage and weeds.  It is the Clearwing Hummingbird Moth that makes this picture special for me.  If you have never seen one of these unique creatures You have missed something amazing!

Ed's daylilies have been so outstanding.  The brilliant  red to orange to yellow color of this one makes it pop against the green background.  Why even the ant is in focus.  I always think of my  Father when I take 67 pictures in one afternoon.  He would have loved  digital photography!  Many of today's pictures  have been already hit the trash.  Others have been saved perhaps to be used later.  These four I had to share! 

Bloom When You Can

It's hot and it's dry.  Long established plants droop in the bright sunshine.  Some are turning brown or have disappeared altogether.  However, if you look you can see beautiful flowers in the garden. My Echinacea coneflowers look great and still attract butterflies.

Minus a few barely noticeable insect holes these Gloriosa Daisy flowers look perfect in the sunshine!

Ed and I planted these Bee Balm plants directly behind the woodland garden bench specifically so we could sit there quietly and observe Clearwing moths.  Where Ed is in the background, the Clearwing Hummingbird Moth, Hemaris thysbe is in the foreground

Now this is exactly what we were hoping to see.  Look how you can see the pink flower through the wings of the moth.  We have red Bee Balm too, but the hummingbirds do not allow the moths to share the red.  Yes, the garden is dry and the weeds are flourishing but there is still so much wonder to behold if you look for it!  

A Garden Visit; Photos By Amy Plus One

"No time to say hello goodbye I'm late..." An update will follow!
                                                       Moon flowers and Liatris

 Bee balm and hummingbird moth with clear wings

Bee balm with clear wing hummingbird moth

                                                      Snapdragons and seaholly

                                                             Egyptian walking onions

                                             Water on daylily leaves taken by accident

Can You Call This Working In The Garden?

Everything in the garden is growing so fast.  I chose to weed a new strawberry bed before the weeds ruined the plastic netting we use to protect the strawberries from birds.  I sit on a little cart when I work on weeding and that puts the beautiful  bee balm right at my eye level.  The butterflies and hummingbird moths  were way to busy sipping nectar from the flowers to notice me. I counted 6 hummingbird moths that I could see at once.  Never have I gotten such a close look at these fascinating creatures.  One came so close I got a great look at his fuzzy tan and brown body.  His wings moved  too fast for my eye to see them as he hovered over one tubular blossom after another. When he left he flew right by my left ear so I could hear the faint buzzing noise of his wings.  Several checkers and a couple of white butterflies were hanging around as well.

Since my weeding was finished when this tiger swallowtail showed up, I took a break and went for the camera.  I find butterfly photography challenging, but the bee balm helps to keep them focused on feeding.

I got a nice picture of this Tiger Swallowtail butterfly.  The strawberries are weeded and safe under the netting.  So is this working in the garden or having incredible fun in the sun?

Please note that coyote visited the smoke bush this morning.

Still Wonderful When Wet

So far every day in June we have had rain.  Most days have been partly cloudy.  I know partly sunny is a more positive way to say that, but as a description of the weather it would not be anywhere near the truth.  Even here where our beds are as well drained as they come, anything you want to do in the garden is a muddy affair.  So far today actually is  partly sunny.  Imagine my delight when I saw this clearwing humming bird moth, Hemaris thysbe and  the flower spider, on Ed's 'Silver Edge' Siberian iris.  After getting soaked to the skin yesterday by a surprise shower, I had left the camera in the house.  I was so sure they would be gone by the time I got back outside, but it seemed worth the effort to try.  When I got back I had time to take just one picture before the hummingbird moth darted off.   I still remember when I saw my very first humming bird moth. I was fascinated.   Seeing one still fills me with delight.  Actually getting a good picture of one is priceless!

Amy's old friend , the flower spider  is not camera shy.  I think it looks bigger than it was  just four days ago.  Apparently the 'Silver Edge' iris is home for now.   The spider barely moved.  I would expect to find this spider right here as long as the flowers last.   It is very welcome in the garden.  With all this moisture,  bugs are everywhere.  I say stick around, eat all you can, have a family.  We can use the help!