hobble wobble

Recently, I've experienced a perfect storm for photography-quashing.  Our mild summer temperatures shot up, so we've got the normal excruciating heat + high humidity that keeps me inside the house as much as possible.  Additionally, I developed a soul-crushing case of plantar fasciitis that had me barely able to walk (thankfully, I'm hobbling around a bit better now after a week of ice and stretches).  If those combined things weren't enough, I was gamely out taking photos last week and suddenly...the black bar of death.

My camera shutter shattered.  It can be repaired, but it's probably best to just buy a new camera.  So, as I wade through recommendations and technical details, no new pictures.  I have to rely on the backlog from the past few weeks.  Thankfully, there's a lot.  

A common theme over the past month...so many butterflies!

Five!

So many rabbits.

Goldfinches everywhere.

The cutting garden is blazing with color!  I haven't gotten many photos of it, but...

Insects abound.

katydid

spiny-backed orb weaver (technically not an insect, but...)

bees are busy!

walnut sphinx moth

twice-stabbed stink bug

green stink bug nymph

Inside, cats are being cats. 

Still not allowed on the dining room table...

new toy

Todd is still working in the yard.

setting up tomato enclosure earlier this summer

burning weeds after a quick downpour

The summer is passing quickly!  We just celebrated our 16th anniversary...

2008!

...and our anniversary means that summer is on its way out.  I purposefully chose August for our wedding because August is my least favorite month and I wanted to have something to celebrate!  August in Indiana is always hot, humid, and dry.  But it's only three weeks until September! Now September...I love September.

I am impatiently waiting.

Have a great week!

getting my greens

An overabundance of beauty around here right now!

Just as the perennial garden is starting to flag a bit in the heat, the annual flower garden in the back is bursting to life.

Okay, so only the zinnias are really starting to bloom, but even the rows of green are lovely...and I bet this will be completely transformed within a couple of weeks.  I thought I'd hate the look of the landscape fabric, but it is SO nice not to have to weed much...and everything is amazingly tidy!  

My sunflowers are a bit more crowded than I expected, and ditto my tomatoes, but I'll do a better job of spacing them next year.

Lots to see in the garden even without blooms.  So many insects!  As always, constant milkweed beetles...

To-ga!  To-ga!  To-ga!

...unusual butterflies...

zebra swallowtail

...and plenty of the "ordinary" ones.

Pests, like this horse fly...

...and squash bugs, who somehow manage to occasionally hatch despite my diligence with squishing the eggs every few days.

The ladybug nymphs have done their job with the aphids, and now they're well on their way to adulthood.  I've found several in various stages of molt.  Remember this stage?

Here is the progression.  Do you see the crumbled spiny pile at its base?  That's the exoskeleton that you see above!

And escaping into adulthood...

(spider warning ahead!)

This Venusta Orchard Spider looks like its abdomen was decorated with gold and silver leaf...

...while this Thin-Lined Wolf Spider blends into the ground.  This mother is fiercely guarding her eggs.

I've found some really beautiful spider molts, too!

The action is not solely in the garden around here, either.  We see the wood duck babies every day in the front pond.  And they've got company.  Besides our Great Blue Heron, a Green Heron has been hunting here regularly!

Looking for a snack...

I think I've spotted something, and...

Attack!!!!

Grass carp were released into the pond this week to combat the algae problem.  Hopefully they'll clear up this mess by fall!  

We've ju-u-u-ust about gotten things around here in maintenance mode.  Time to relax a little!  The kittens are leading the charge.  They are great motivators!  😄

Have a great week!

molt jolt

It's easy to recognize the slow drift into autumn, even if you ignore the temperature cues.  Dahlias are really popping now!

Birds are rushing through their final brood of the season.

Carolina wren feeding fledglings

A praying mantis goes through 7 or so molts before maturity.  They're moving smoothly through the process now in order to mature and mate in time for a fall egg-laying!  I was really lucky to spot this leftover molt...a lot of times, the mantis or other insects will eat it.

Goldfinches are making their early fall appearance!  I grabbed a quick shot with my junky camera:

Even if I hadn't seen them, I've heard their incessant singing, and they definitely leave behind evidence.

Lots of butterflies...

Hummingbirds...

...and insects.  These are twice-stabbed stinkbugs, so named for the two red dots on their back (evidence of a double stabbing, apparently!).  

This plant hopper is patiently waiting for me to move along.

Sweat bees crowd for nectar.

This tachinid fly is most welcome.  It's parasitic and will lay its eggs on a host...mostly harmful caterpillars and beetles.

Check out this huge gathering of juvenile barn swallows on the telephone line in our barnyard!

I love it when my hydrangea blooms.

Beautiful sunrises...

...lazy kittens...

...and late season flowers...

There's a lot to love about these last days of summer.  Have a great week!