a little night magic

This is a tough time of year for blogging, because not only is it incredibly busy in general, but it's so beautiful outside that I've taken a ton of photos...this week alone, I've edited and saved 132.  It's hard to narrow it down and choose favorites!

Some things aren't pretty, but they're interesting, like this centipede in the process of molting.

Some things aren't exciting or rare, but I find myself admiring them every single day...like our red maple.  In different light, the leaves range from pale yellow to bright red and I love them so much!

And some things ARE fleeting and worthy of mention.  It's PEONY SEASON (said in Oprah's deep announcement voice)!!!  I have big drippy bouquets all over the house.  PEONIES!!

Peony time means poppy time.  I got these seeds from the famous Sissinghurst Garden in England.

The perennial garden has positively sprung to life this week and I can't help posting more pictures!  

Everything you see here will be in bloom by July...lemon balm, coneflowers, obedient plant...but until then, I'm just enjoying the different leaf textures.  

Todd has been working in the yard...

...and I've been working too, lots of weeding...

...and working on my annual cutting garden.  It's been so cold this spring (down in the 40s this week!) that my seedlings just haven't done well.  I'd hoped for a better yield, but I'm getting maybe 40% germination.  I'm going to keep putting out greenhouses and hoping for the best!  

Claudia had to go to the vet this week for a sore paw, but she's feeling better now and is back on duty.

Not fast enough, though.  When I was weeding in the tomato garden, I kept finding these big grass balls buried a few inches below the soil surface.

Vole nests.  Their little holes are everywhere!  I found other little secret nests, too, like this sac spider nest.  Just a bit of mud, suspended from wire, completely hidden until I weeded.

And from another nest...I think this is a song thrush egg.  I found it in the driveway.  Isn't it pretty?

A little night magic...someone's been visiting our front porch under the cover of darkness.

A big raccoon is leaving tracks in the pollen (thankfully pollen season is over, so I can clean up this mess at last!).  I see possums, raccoons, and skunks on the trail cam, right in front of our porch, almost every night!

Of course, I'm still checking the ones that are down by the pond.  Look at the tiny buds on this sweet little buck!  Pretty cute!

(Date is wrong...this is from a couple of weeks ago)

So many other things, but I'll have to save it for next time!

Have a great week!  

Zest For Nest

Lots of singing by our front door, and a flurry of activity too:  a pair of house finches were attempting to build a nest in one of our hanging ferns!  This is not an ideal location, because we use the front door a lot and it's very disruptive to nesting birds.  I moved the fern before they'd had a chance to do more than make an indentation amid the fronds.  Here is the male, doing his part...

The female is more drab, but still has beautiful patterning on her feathers.

They aren't the only ones nesting.  I've noticed a pair of canadian geese hanging around...

It wasn't long before I spotted the female sitting on a gigantic nest, right across the pond from us.  GOSLINGS!!  I can't wait!

We have a lot of nature activity now.  Our wonderful towhees wake us up in the morning with their song.  

White-tailed deer feed in our yard daily.

Turtles sun themselves...

 

Fish leap...

...and I'm seeing more insects again!  Just 'garden variety,' like this carpenter ant pulling his lacewing prey to his nest.

A young millipede, recoiling from the sun.

A pillbug, doing what he does best.

A fat butterfly, gathering nectar.

A dragonfly with an amazing iridescent copper-colored abdomen.

We love seeing all the creatures busily going about their days!  Our creatures, meanwhile, are just enjoying the sun.

Everything is green and lovely, and we spend time by the pond...

...or working in the yard.

It's a great time to be in South Carolina!

Have a great week!

E-"vase"-ive Maneuvers

Last year, I carefully cultivated a huge patch of weeds.  The rest of the property had been so intentionally landscaped that I couldn't believe that the one really sunny area, edged in irises and bordered by shasta daisies and lantana, wouldn't be utilized.  I waited and watched while the 8' x 4' bed filled out with lovely green variegated seedlings.  They grew and grew, and by fall had become a hideously rangy, drooping mess.  There was no mistaking it:  these were weeds.   They returned with the first warm weather, filling in the tidy arc beyond the lawn.

They filled in so nicely and had such beautiful leaves that I had to ask myself:  were they REALLY weeds?

 

I just had to remind myself of their appearance last fall.  No doubt about it:  these were weeds.

It took me several days to weed the area, because the weeds, true to character, had a vast underground runner root system, which means that I will still need to plow it up and get every last bit or they'll sprout again.  I don't mind working there, though, because I like seeing all of the little scurrying things.

Little pillbugs, running for cover.

Little flying things, woken up from their naps.

 

Centipedes...

 

...and millipedes.

Even a little frog!

I love being outside in spring.  Last fall I planted six or seven peony bushes, and they're all coming up.

Sedum is starting to fill in the blank space around the rocks.

The air is filled with the buzzing of little wings. 

Bees love our flowers...

...and so do butterflies.

Our clematis vines are all starting to bloom.

I love their little clenched centers.

This .50 Goodwill vase is perfect for them.

 Of course, I have many...

...many...

...many...

...other vases in use.  I love the sheer variety of azaleas here, from tiny and pink...

...to sprawling and fuchsia.

It's nice to be outside amid the flowers, looking out over the water.

We've started eating our meals out on the sun porch again, just so we can catch the sun in the morning and listen to the tree frogs at night.  Bosewichte (our cat) heartily concurs with our decision.

Hope you have a great week!