a yummy mummy...

 A lot of help in the garden this week.

It's a busy, busy time.  First, we had a load of compost/mulch brought in.

Before plowing, the landscape fabric paths...now buried under multiple inches of dirt and plants with heavy, matted roots...had to be pulled up.  Tough, tough job.  

I'm so prone to migraines now that I don't dare do anything where I'm bending over with the blood rushing to my head, so poor Todd, still queasy from his tick bite meds, had to do the pulling...sometimes gagging from the nausea, but carrying on cheerfully.  He's a saint!!  💗

He also put up the cattle panels for my sweet peas...

...and laid the paths in the garden (more upside-down head work that I can no longer do).

I was able to power-wash the front porch (although Todd stained it)...

...and we're slowly getting the outdoor furniture and plants in place.  This half is mostly done and still working on the other side.

We aren't the only ones who've been active around here.  Every morning, I hear turkeys gobbling, and sometimes see them in the far fields...

The goz occasionally come back, even though we haven't gotten around to de-algae-ing our front pond yet.

Our chog has had babies!!

I hear the groundhog alarm whistle if I have to retrieve anything from the white barn, and I can watch them forage from my office window.  

They are very curious and sometimes I can see their little noses when I'm by their nest, poking and sniffing.

Hummingbirds are back!

I love the return of insects, too.  This teeny tiny spider (okay, an arachnid and not an insect, but still) on an opening peony, smaller than a pinkie nail (upper right side of bud)...

These guys are aphids who specifically attack dandelions, making them my very special garden friends, as I hate grubbing up dandelions over and over again.

Speaking of aphids, I originally thought the insect on this rose bud was a spider, with a mysterious hole in his abdomen.  When I looked closer, I saw antennae.

I did some research and discovered that this is a mummy aphid.  It was parasitized by an Aphidius wasp, who laid its egg via a sting about a week ago.  The larva hatched, ate, and grew.  The aphid swelled, then died as the now fully-formed wasp chewed an escape hole in its abdomen.  Pretty big drama going on right outside our front door!  

The kittens do a good job in watching for any other nature-related dramas near the house...sort of.

Have a great week!