weather most fowl

 Rain...at last.

It's been insanely hot this past week, with temperatures reaching 100 degrees.  I've been seeing this meme a lot lately and Devil's Front Porch sounds about right.  Or maybe we're in Second Summer?  

When it rains in the summer here, we tend to get torrential downpours.  Unfortunately, it absolutely flattens my flowers.  You can see some slumping in this picture, taken earlier in the summer.

I took this photo a few days ago...

...and all the tall plants (amaranth, apple of peru) are twisted and bent in half. Two of my dahlias were ripped off at the roots. Zinnias, cosmos, celosia...anything that's over 2' fall...bent over.  Next year, I have to run rope the length of the rows, both sides, to help prevent flop. 

Lots of interesting faces in the garden.  So...many...katydids!

Colorful leafhoppers...

Too cool for school spittle bugs...

...and quite a few spiders.  Many people don't like looking at them, so be sure to...

...scroll...

...past...

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...photos...

...if they creep you out! 

Okay, are we ready?

I was really excited to see this beautiful female garden spider (argiope aurantia) this week.

And just a few beds away, a loosely-related garden spider (argiope trifasciata) was nestled amongst the scabiosa.  Males are much, much smaller than females, so this one was easily identified!

I've seen several crab spiders in the garden...they're my favorite!

Like the venusta orchard spider, this beautiful long-jawed orb weaver looks like he's been decorated with gold flake!  

We've also seen the chogs out in the barnyard...the older parents who've maintained their home under our back barn are still there, but not outside very often.

The "babies," now grown, have gone further afield.  We see one especially chunky one by the front garden quite a bit.  I think he's got a nest down by the stream that bisects our property.  As long as he doesn't burrow under our porch!

After our insane rain storm, a flock of turkeys inspected our back yard for insects.  Two parents and...nine(?)...babies!  Well, like the groundhogs and our wood ducks, they aren't babies any more.  They're nearly full grown.

see the babies standing on the fence post?

Our county is doing a turkey brood count and I've been able to document several sightings this month.

Todd and I are still taking short hikes before breakfast almost daily.  So much to see in the forest!

This beech tree is covered in beech blight aphids, aka the "boogie-woogie" aphids, so named because they appear to be dancing on the branches.  We saw quite a few of these in South Carolina!

A lone luna moth wing, nearly bleached of color...

Interesting fungus, like this Chicken of the Woods...

...and so many wildflowers, even this late in the season.

goat's rue

The days are busy as we slowly fade into fall.  I'm looking forward to resting up once things slow down.  The kittens are leading the way.

Have a great week!

berry'd treasure

It's hard to believe that we're only a week away from September. Summer has been so nice this year that it hasn't yet worn out its welcome.  There are signs, though, that it is marching past regardless.

Changing leaves...

...and berries.

Ripening apples...

...and late-season sunflowers.

I've started doing garden clean-up, pulling out dead annuals and opportunistic weeds...with a little help from my garden pal, of course!

Of course, Todd is another great helper. ☺

The days have been so cool lately that we were able to take a longer hike one morning. So many spiderwebs...another sign of fall.  They were gorgeous in the early light!

Despite being mercilessly harassed by deer flies, it was such a nice morning. And despite the late date, there's still a lot going on in the garden.

All the celosia is filling in and I love it!

pink spiky plant is celosia, too!

Everything just looks great.

We've got a roasting hot week coming up, with temperatures into the 100s.  Here's hoping that we - and the garden! - make it through relatively unscathed.  Cooler temperatures on the horizon...I hope.  Have a great week!  

do the dew

 The back flower garden is finally coming into its own.

I weed the holes at the base of the plants occasionally, but mostly I just stand back and let it sprawl!

I make big bouquets once a week for the house and the porch.  Cheerful color everywhere.

Lots of company in the garden.  The usual birds...

ruby-throated hummingbird, female

goldfinch, male

both!

wood ducks...momma has left, just the little ones remain!

And so many butterflies, of course. Just too many to list...there's a constantly-fluttering cloud over the garden rows.  At least twenty-five...thirty?...forty...at any given time!  They even share.

one...two...three.

I've found so many interesting insects lately.  The banded tussock moth caterpillar...

...and the parent moth!

A mating pair of eremnophila aureonatata wasps.

The eggs are laid in the ground, and the female includes a paralyzed caterpillar so that the newly-hatched larvae have a nice snack right away!  

Sweat bees sting...

augochlora

...but they're great pollinators.  And despite the tiger bee flies, we still have plenty of carpenter bees!

still shaking the morning dew from his eyes!

Check out that pollen pack!

We're getting pretty regular rain in between our hot, humid August days...and the dew is really heavy lately.

dew-covered leaf hopper

...so pretty.  We're both loving the natural beauty here!  So much color this time of year.

our daily morning hike path

celosia leaves in the garden

fallen sunflower petals

Looking forward to more discoveries in the last two weeks of August.  Have a great week!