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...

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...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!