still life

 I'm delighted that I'm still getting vegetables from our parched garden.  These 'Black Beauty' tomatoes and "Straight Eight' cucumbers are so beautiful together that I have declared them off-limits for eating.  I set them out, one bowl at a time, to enjoy looking at, like a still life painting.   

Gourds and pumpkins are providing a nice festive autumn atmosphere on our front porch, along with goldenrod and 'wheat' from our field borders.

 I'm so impressed with the bounty from these few vines that I'm ordering all sorts of fancy ornamental gourds and pumpkins for next year...pale greens and oranges, tiny white pumpkins, and big warty monsters. 

While gathering in the garden this weekend, I saw a bit more still life...this tobacco hornworm caterpillar was absolutely frozen in place.  He's been parasitized by the braconid wasp, which is a wonderful thing.  Hornworm caterpillars are mighty destroyers of tomatoes.  A braconid wasp, wanting a live egg incubator, specifically seeks out hornworms.  The eggs hatch and the larvae chomp merrily on the caterpillar's innards...not enough to kill him, but he's definitely immobilized.  The larvae spin tiny white cocoons that hang from the caterpillar's back...

Adult braconid wasps emerge from the cocoons and seed out new caterpillars to infest. 

Caterpillar dies and is therefore unable to inflict any more damage in our tomato patch.  Double bonus...braconid wasps are pollinators!  Nature's pest control at its best.  

Life is supposed to slow down in the fall, but we've remained pretty busy.  While turkey vultures circle lazily overhead...

...I've been cleaning the debris from the front garden.  Flowers are prematurely browning up because of the drought, so I've been trying to keep on top of snipping, including taking down cleomes before they drop their seeds.

Somehow, back garden flowers are still doing very well...

...and I'm able to continue to gather bouquets, but only in autumn colors - orange, yellow, and white.

Snapdragons, basil, cosmos, zinnias, coneflowers, black-eyed susans, toadflax...all contribute their cheery colors to our seasonal bouquets.

Our overnight temperatures are supposed to dip into the '30s (!!!) this week, though, so I anticipate a rapid wilt.  I'm excited to collect these seeds!  The garden is big...

...but I'm already planning an expansion for next year.

The back fields have been bush-hogged for the fall, but Todd and I have both been out with the weed eater, tidying up fence lines and borders.  It's been rewarding, having these fields return to natural meadows.  They were absolutely weed-choked when we moved in, with thistles, burdock, cockle burrs, jimson weed, and more. Cockle burrs and jimson weed are annuals, meaning that they only live for one year, but re-seed easily.  Thistles and burdock are biennial, meaning a two-year life cycle.  We mowed last fall to stop re-seeding, and have mowed multiple times this year.  The weed patches continue to reduce, and are replaced by beautiful natural grasses and wheat.

The mown fields, too, make is easier to walk to the back pond.  I love to see the fall colors reflected in the water...

...and see signs of life in the mud around the water's edge.  Raccoons have left tell-tale tracks all over.

I continue to see deer bounding through the meadow from my office window.  I wonder who else visits here at night?  

Leaves are continuing to slowly change, with our somewhat cooler temperatures...

It's still plenty warm, though, for frisky pups.

Not quite warm enough for the cats, who are seeking out sunbeams...

...and fabric piles.

I'm hoping next week that it's cool enough for heated cat mats!  These two just can't wait.  :)

Have a great week!

(my) space invaders

Although some flowers seem to be prospering despite bone-dry conditions...

...we seem to be sliding inexorably toward fall.  More leaves are being tipped in color...

I'm seeing acorns again!

Fall berries are bright in the shadows.

The deer have stepped up their pre-winter caloric intake, making short work of my cantaloupe.

Although they've been eating the leaves from my massive pumpkin vines...

...they've been leaving the pumpkins alone.  Hooray!

I've been getting a nice ornamental gourd harvest, too!

Butterflies are seeming more frenetic than ever, trying to get the last bit of nutrition before laying eggs.

Reluctantly, I've mostly stopped picking flowers for bouquets.  They might not regenerate in time to set seed, and I want to collect as much seed as possible.  I'm drying flower heads all over my craft room.

A large "harvest" is not a given, because the goldfinches have redoubled their efforts, ripping even premature green seeds from dying flowers.

They are fearless!  Like in some gothic novel, they rise in clouds when disturbed, but wait patiently on nearby trees for the intruder to walk by.  They're back at their serious work in minutes.

I can't have them destroying my entire "crop," so I'm out with the organza bags, covering select flowers and hoping that the goldfinches will be satiated soon.  

I'm keeping an eye on another potential invader...my morning glories are starting to set up seed.

I have to keep a close watch and deadhead most, while allowing one section to ripen.  They're so beautiful that I want to be sure to have more for next year!

Abandoned spiderwebs...

...weedy seeds...

...and delightfully atmospheric fog...

...it's sure starting to feel like fall to me.  

Have a great week!

dew drop inn

 We've had especially heavy dew lately, which is easily seen on abandoned webs.

It's amazing...like silvery drops of mercury.

This time of year, I see spider webs everywhere...spun in between old hosta spikes...

...or tucked away in a sheltered place.

I'm glad we've got this dew to offer some moisture, because it is so hot and dry now.  I'm sure that it's been nearly 6 weeks with no rain, and there's no rain in the forecast.  It's gotten so bad that hearing rain on a T.V. show provokes a strong and wistful reaction.  Rain (I think I understand that scene in Tolkien's The Return of the King when Frodo tells Sam that he can't recall the taste of strawberries)! Our morning glories are wilted by mid-morning...

...but somehow, the rest of the garden seems to be thriving.  I almost never water, so I'm not quite sure how this is possible!

It's still a challenge to keep the goldfinches away from some of the flowers.

Claudia is doing her part...

...but so many flowers are being completely plucked bare.  A cloud of goldfinches rises from the garden if disturbed, every day.  They can have the sunflowers, but I've started covering my zinnias with small organza bags.  Hopefully there will be enough seeds for us both!

It's been a really rough summer, between Covid isolation (we're officially a hot spot), the news cycle (grim), and seeing so many people nakedly reveal their true hearts on Facebook (people suck).  I'm losing my battle to stay positive, so I'm taking a hiatus from Facebook and all other news for a while.  And I'm surrounding myself in rainbows, cheerful rainbows!

These gloves will be done soon.  This glove needs a thumb and a mate, and it will be ready to go!

I've been very slowly working on a rainbow quilt, while babying my shoulder.  One thousand, two hundred eighty tiny 2.5" half square triangles.  

To make them with the 8-at-a-time method, you have to iron your fabric...measure...cut...sew...cut...iron...and then meticulously trim to size.  It's been a very lengthy process, but I'm nearly finished.  Just a handful of squares to go!  Then I have to decide...do I want to do a jumbled-color design?

Do I want to go in "rainbow order"?

It's not only the color juxtaposition, but also the design itself.  Do I want to be orderly, like the above photo, or do I want an interesting positioning, like the pattern calls for?

The only way to be sure is to lay everything out, over and over again, and compare.  At least I have help!

He's been VERY helpful in general during the sewing process.

I don't think I could manage it without his vocal support!

Stay sane, and have a great week!