Cat and Mouse Games

Even with temperatures still in the 90s, there are definite signs of fall. I've seen a few leaves with deep, rich autumn colors.

My Autumn Sedum burst into bloom, right on time.

Orb weaver spiderwebs are appearing everywhere.

There are some benefits from this unusually long and hot summer. My tomatoes keep producing, and producing, and producing!

I had a "National Geographic" moment recently when I caught this caterpillar preparing to pupate. He carefully attached himself to a fence board with a sticky, silky substance. Within 2 hours, he'd gone from this...

...to this!

Caterpillars shed their skin, or molt, once they are securely attached in their chosen location.

Underneath is the hard shell that will protect them from the elements while they mature.

I decided to hatch one for myself! I put some leaves in a clean jar and covered the opening with plastic wrap, perforated in several areas to allow air flow.

After about a week, the chrysalis turned black, and I worried that the butterfly had died. However, just a few hours later, he emerged...

...leaving behind a dry, empty shell.

It was another buckeye, once of the most common (and beautiful!) butterflies around here. After he'd rested and gathered strength, he was ready for his (her?) maiden flight.

It was truly remarkable to watch this process from beginning to end.

Speaking of butterflies, I saw a strange sight in the garden earlier this week...piles of butterfly wings scattered around the base of a marigold patch.

It wasn't long before I discovered the culprit...a large female mantis, who'd taken refuge amid the tall stalks. It was an ideal location, really...protected on all sides, and with a virtual buffet of bees, butterflies, and moths to feed from.

I spent a lot of time watching her. Mantises are perfectly suited, anatomically speaking, for the task at hand...killing. They have baggy folds beneath their arms, which allow remarkable mobility. They can flash out at lightning speed to capture prey. Excess skin on their long necks...

...allow the twisting motion needed to consume prey efficiently.

Their grasping forearms can hold a bee in place easily. Lacking "fingers," they utilize their ridges and spikes. This bee didn't have a chance.

They really are remarkably efficient, peeling off legs and wings and devouring everything else.

I was really pleased to see this assassin bug in a neighboring marigold patch. They're such interesting creatures.

This Cabbage Looper moth (Trichoplusia ni) rests comfortably on a split tomato.

The Cabbage Looper caterpillar is a nice green color with white stripes. They don't crawl like most caterpillars but move with the scooting, jerky movements of the inchworm.

They are terrible for gardens, but I don't have a lot of vegetables for them to damage. Besides, the moths, close up, are awfully pretty.

This small field mouse found a new friend (ahem) in Clarence.

Not sensing the danger, he burrowed beneath Clarence, whose impassive, half-lidded expression didn't change. Out of the frying pan, into the fire!

I sat silently, and the mouse eventually felt safe enough to venture out. However, he didn't get far.

Still casual, Clarence scooped him up and headed for a more comfortable location, where he could feed at leisure.

He was a little too casual, lazily batting the mouse until, warmed by the sun, he fell asleep. The mouse crept away and hid in a small deposit nearby, briefly, until he felt well enough to make his escape.

All's well that ends well!

I finished a knitting project this week that I really wanted to complete before fall...Hawthorne.

I'm pleased with it. I used Rowan Felted Tweed, which complemented the pattern perfectly.

Now I really can't wait for cooler weather to come!

Because of the heat, I haven't done much baking lately...just some french bread loaves.

They turned out perfectly. There's nothing like a warm slice of bread with a little butter and honey!

Another brief blog hiatus for me...we'll be out of town until the first week of October. Goodbye, blazing sun, and hello, ocean breezes!

Quick disclaimer: In case any criminals are reading...yes, there will be someone in the house while we're gone! :)

We're headed west, for a leisurely road trip down the Oregon and California coasts. This is a trip I've made many times, but I never get tired of it. Plus, we'll get a preview of our new home! Stay tuned for details...and lots of pictures!

Playing Possum

We have a lot to do in preparation for our move. One project I'd been putting off was clearing out all the plastic gardening flats and empty pots and pails that I stored by the back door. A happy catch-all for general debris, it had become a bit unsightly and ragged, and might be off-putting to a potential buyer. Using oversize kitchen tongs (the perfect tool for avoiding hand-to-claw contact with rogue mantises), I lifted flat after flat into a large bag for future recycling. Upon lifting the final flat, I discovered this little guy. Proving that one man's trash is another's treasure, he'd made a comfortable nest amid my castoffs.

He didn't seem surprised by my intrusion. He gave me a woeful look that reminded me of the sorrowful droop of a hound. Oh, you found me. Sigh...

He waddled into a piece of plastic pipe and waited patiently for me to leave.

Wild animals nesting within 2 feet of a back door are not desirable for home buyers. I gently shook the plastic pipe to see if I could rouse him, but he just pushed further into the corner and quivered pathetically.

I did some quick research. Opossums (Didelphimorphia) are solitary creatures who scavenge for insects, fruit, and carrion. They are gentle, quiet creatures who either "play possum" (feign death) to avoid danger, or hiss. They don't attack people, and they really do a good service as the resident marsupial garbage men. Possums don't carry rabies...their internal body temperature is too low to support the virus. I decided not to call Animal Control.

I left home alone for a few hours, and he waddled away.

This morning, I found a bit of scat by a large brush pile out back, where I thought he'd relocate to from the back steps. Round scat is typical of herbivores, so it did not belong to my possum friend...

According to the Internet, it was from a rabbit...or an elk (!).

Also trying to avoid detection around the house: more chrysalides! This one belongs to the common buckeye:

As seen here:

I found many more. This chrysalis is attached to the concrete foundation of our house.

Another buckeye chrysalis on the back fence:

And, another mystery chrysalis on the concrete foundation in the back of the house:

Once the butterfly is free of the chrysalis, it will rest nearby and "harden" its wings in preparation for flight.

Hoping for adequate camouflage is this Chinese Mantis. She's a female who's been very active in the yard this season.

I've found several ootheca, or egg cases, attached to walls and fences. Each case contains around 200 mantids, which will hatch out in the spring after several weeks of warm weather.

Here's one from last year, hatched open.

A male mantis (much smaller than the female) has taken refuge in one of my zinnia patches. He hung quietly from a blossom until an unlucky bee landed too close. He was snatched up in a second.

Mantises will eat any insect, even bees!

Are you still there?

I noticed a scattering of strange debris on a sunflower leaf.

Closer inspection showed it to be an incredible gathering of leaf hoppers!

They come in an amazing variety of shapes and colors. These are strangely rhino-like.

As I watched, I realized that they were being herded and groomed by a group of ants! Further research proved this to be the case. Leafhoppers and ants enjoy a symbiotic relationship. The leafhoppers secrete a sugary substance called honeydew, which is very sweet. Meat ants adore this, and therefore guard and groom the leafhoppers in exchange for it. Here an ant begins the grooming process:

...while another ant checks for secretions.

I've been knitting feverishly this weekend to combat the stress that comes with our current uncertain situation. The socks that began here:

...were quickly completed by last night. The pattern is "I Heart Toe Up Socks" by Wendy Johnson...my first pair of toe up socks!

I don't like the fiddly nature of the toe, but I enjoy the rest of the sock, and its curious construction means skipping other steps inherent in cuff down socks, like picking up and knitting stitches around to create the gusset. With toe up socks, it's done with a series of increases. I was pleased with the result, but quickly discovered that I'd knit the cuffs too tight. They wouldn't even fit over my heel. Unfortunately, the cast off must be frogged and re-knit, using a different method. I've chosen Jeny's Suprisingly Stretchy Bind-Off, which creates a hinge at the sock ribbing. I will put it off for a bit, though. I'm a project knitter, which means that while I greatly enjoy the process of knitting an item, I feel "done" once it's completed and am already mentally on my next project. Having to go back to a finished project for tweaking is unpleasant for me.

Recently I discovered a new delight: Greek yogurt. I love the thick texture and the wonderfully tangy tart flavor. It's perfect paired with honey. However, I was less thrilled with the price: almost $2.50 for a single-serving carton! I decided to find a way to make it myself.

Happily, making Greek yogurt is incredibly easy. You just need regular yogurt, cheesecloth, and a strainer. I bought a large container of Stoneyfield Farms organic French Vanilla yogurt. After carefully placing 4 layers of cheesecloth in my strainer, I emptied the yogurt inside and slid a plastic dish beneath to catch the whey.

The whey began to drip down almost immediately. I covered it with a piece of cellophane and let it sit in the refrigerator from 8 - 12 hours...

...discarded the whey, and spooned the thick, delicious yogurt into a new container for storage. I spoon it out a bit at a time, with a generous portion of honey on top...it's my new favorite dessert!

I get 4 - 5 servings out of this $4 container of yogurt, which translates to around .80 per serving, instead of $2.50. Success!

Try it...I know you'll like it.

Have a great week!