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.
...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!
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