rainy days and kitten haze

My dahlias have had a rough time.  Despite improper storage of tubers, root bound seedlings, and a month of almost no rain...they're starting to pop.

So far "the singles" are blooming - a bright Orangesicle, this lush pink...but no doubles yet.  

The whole behind-house garden where they're planted is popping.

The drought really affected the hydrangeas too, causing them to lose half of their leaves.  The bush looks naked, but the flowers are still pretty.

Other things are showing up now, too.  Some reseeded themselves from last year, and some came from my winter sowing containers, but it's nice to start seeing some color.

June was so crippled with drought that everything is much shorter and less robust than it should be, but at least I have plenty for my bouquets.

Flowers bring the bugs!  A praying mantis watched me weed this week.

Milkweed bugs are still makin' babies...

...and here they are!  These milkweed bug nymphs are busily sucking nutrients from the milkweed seed pods.  I can tell which pods have been affected...they're blackened.  But there are plenty to go around.

Bees are everywhere!

Busily sucking water from the fence with a fly buddy!

This four-toothed mason wasp is waiting out the storm.

Despite being enthusiastic stingers, they're good to have around.  They frequently take over carpenter bee nests, laying eggs in their chambers and bringing back a nice store of paralyzed caterpillars for their young.  They seem to prefer caterpillars that are damaging to gardens, so it's a win win!

It's been a wonderful cool week of rain.  Claudia stays dry on the front porch...

...while the kittens "help out" inside.

begging for turkey

tracking debris all over the couch and then sprawling out to claim two cushions

taking advantage of Calliope's temporary absence by keeping her cat bed warm

Calliope (now that she has food, water, and litter box upstairs) seems to have mellowed a bit toward the kittens.  They continue to be deferential to her, despite the fact that they probably both outweigh her now.  I added a cat bed to my sewing table (making THREE for Calliope) and she loves to sleep there during the day.  Best of all, the kittens haven't noticed it yet.

This cool weather makes me feel so eager for fall.  Crisp mornings, jeans and flannels, pumpkin everything (and my pumpkins are growing spectacularly!)...

Just six more weeks!!

fancy jump and beetle, plump

In the heat of the summer, the blister beetles come out.  They're a bit rotund (for a beetle, anyway), with a lovely matte grey body.  One can easily picture a monocle on their cartoon version, right?

margined blister beetle

If bothered, they secrete a chemical called cantharidin, which causes skin to blister on contact (hence the name).  "Spanish fly" is made from the secretions of European blister beetles!  Like the Japanese beetles that infested my garden for a week and then disappeared, these guys aren't around for long.  They are a bit of a pest in the garden, but I enjoy them quite a bit!

Our heavy dews lately are evident on this brown damselfly.

Look at that crazy wing spread!

Damselflies are similar in many ways to dragonflies, including some pretty creative nicknames (bogdancers, devil's darning needles).  Some damselflies lay their eggs underwater, and the nymphs breath through gills in their abdomens.  Fascinating creatures!

I disturbed this green frog while working in the garden last week. They are nearly identical in appearance at this stage to bullfrogs, so the identification is a little shaky.

Days have been hot and dry but high humidity (rain, finally, yesterday).  Mornings are delightfully foggy.

Deer are beginning to feast on our fallen apples, and any garden leftovers too.

I still see Warren every...single...day.  Warren must have a warren, because Claudia finally brought us a little gift this week.

Our fields are teeming with rabbits, but I suppose that every single catch helps!

Inside, kittens are wild.  Kittens are crazy.  Kittens are insane.  Between relentlessly scratching the furniture, knocking over plants, jumping on tables and counters, using Calliope's small upstairs litter box instead of one of the three provided downstairs (upstairs warm and full of fabric/yarn that could easily retain scent), stealing and dragging my nicknacks all over the house, playing in the toilet, scratching up our windowsills, carpets, and rugs...sometimes I am thoroughly done with kittens by their 9 p.m. bedtime.  Then I stop, breathe, and resolve to just lay down more sticky tape the next day.  They're so sweet at naptime...

So darling...and I was even inspired to take in Cat Video Fest 2022 this weekend!

Still, those kittens...I'm exhausted at bedtime but recharged/excited to see them in the morning.  They're growing quickly and I keep telling myself...just a few more months before they start to settle into adulthood!   I love their friskiness but I have to admit to a certain longing for peace and quiet.

Maybe next week!

warren peace (?)

When we were experiencing drought-like conditions, I tried to fend off rabbits with Liquid Fence.  It seemed to help in some places.  But then we had two (much-needed) days of rain, and when I checked my sunflower patch, every single sunflower seedling had been eaten down to the ground.  Over 200 sunflowers, over 20 varieties, all gone.  Rabbits.  

Every time I look outside...rabbits.

I've joked to Todd that we don't have a whole pack of snarling, ravenous rabbits...just one demented one named Warren who's eating my entire garden down, all by himself.  The irony is that I like rabbits, although my wallpaper...

...and rabbit artwork...

...seems to mock me now.  Well, what's done is done.  I will have to mow down four garden rows that now only contain weeds and wait until next year to try sunflowers again.

In other words, we do have a bounty of flowers right now.

one tiny sunflower in the front garden, seed dropped by a bird!

Lisianthus, the slow-growing flower that looks like a rose/carnation hybrid, is popping like crazy.  It's a bit too fussy, though.  I won't grow these again.

Two of my favorites...a kitten in the window and a big bouquet of flowers on the porch!

Pumpkins are popping.  I have 53 vines...15 varieties!

I made some 4th of July tartlets to celebrate the holiday...finally nailing the homemade graham cracker!

We also took in a Fleetwood Mac cover band this week.

Rabbits aside, it's shaping up to be a nice July.

Have a great week!