saddle up!

 More beautiful caterpillars!  I'm in love!

stinging rose caterpillar

saddleback caterpillar

Both of these guys are "no touch 'ems."  These little spines are full of venom that will break off in your skin if you make contact...especially the saddleback caterpillar.  The pain has been described as "electrical" and can last for hours.  Rash, headache, and nausea are common side effects, and some people going into anaphylactic shock and/or hemorrhage. To be safe...just leave them alone!  

I also found this Orgyia definita...

...more brown-hooded owlet caterpillars...

And look at this guy!  It's the caterpillar for the spicebush swallowtail butterfly.  It's an incredibly common butterfly but I've never seen the caterpillar before!

I love caterpillar hunting in the fall.  

Some other fall insects...I'm afraid my pumpkin crop has been pretty much ruined by squash bugs.

Todd cleaned them off and I've been able to salvage a few for the porch!

The mantises are out and about.  I was cutting down the perennial garden and noticed a pile of butterfly wings, all different sorts.

It could be the work of birds, who tend to have favorite perches...but this gal is the likely culprit.

This time of year they're big, hungry, and likely pregnant.

It's extraordinarily difficult to cut down plant stalks that loom 4' above my head, knowing that a ginormous mantis might be clinging to one, but so far I've been lucky.

Cicadas are still singing...

a lucky catch!  Linne's cicada

...and the deer are out in force, eating as much as they can before winter.  This buck has been hanging around our barnyard.

When I got a little closer to him, I could see why.  Do you see how swollen his left hoof/ankle is?  It's hoof rot...again.  It's not very common, but the bacteria is definitely around here somewhere.  This is the second deer affected - that we've seen - this year. 

We haven't had too many changing leaves yet, but definitely some interesting discoloration.  A sign of the advancing season?

There's SOME color, of course!

Inside, the cats are soaking up every bit of late-summer sun...

And our formerly sweet, quiet Pepita, who is approaching sexual maturity and is coursing through with hormones, has become quite a rambunctious little girl!

No, she doesn't want to take naps.  No, she doesn't want to play with the same old toys two days in a row.  No, she doesn't want to be in her playpen.  No, she doesn't want to respect the cats' space...most of the time.

At least this is a temporary phase...and we can finally say that she's pretty much potty trained!  She's only had a handful of accidents in the three months we've had her, and she's learned to give me "the stare" when she's ready to go out.

She stares, I query, and then she gives an excited shake.  There, we have communicated!  

Just a few more months until she settles down.  :)  Until then, she's running off that energy!

Have a great week!  

old roses and kitten reposes

 It's already September!  Even though there are plenty of signs, it's hard to believe.  

MORE turkeys.  They really ramp up their foraging in the fall.

Late-season roses already have a tinge of brown.

American lotus are blooming.  I'm not sentimental about romantic flowers...actually, I think it's kind of a generic cop-out as gift from a partner...but I do have a sentimental attachment to the American lotus.  They always are blooming on our late-summer anniversary.

More leaves changing too!

Todd has been helping me to tear down the early-blooming beds to get them ready for winter.

Not too much still blooming in the garden by the house, but we're leaving a lot of the dried plant stalks.  They're providing plenty of seeds for the birds!

The back garden is still "growing" crazy. 

The morning dew is so heavy that it weighs down the sunflower heads...another sign of fall.

Belatedly, Todd and I realized that there are actually ripe tomatoes in our caged-in tomato triangle, and we've been braving the jungle to rescue a few.

Note to self:  if you put chicken wire around tomato cages, you CANNOT reach through to pick tomatoes.  Next year will be better!

Ditto on the corn.  Oh well...despite the crows, I think we're going to get some good ears...plenty for decorating and then using next year for seed!

Grasshoppers are always most active in late summer.

Hot, dry temperatures, like the ones we've had for the past couple of weeks, means optimum conditions for grasshopper egg-laying.  I'm seeing more praying mantis oothecas too, even though I haven't seen many mantises.

Of course, this time of year cicadas are singing their hearts out!

I love the change of seasons and since fall is my favorite, I'm really eager for what comes next!  I'm ready to be done with the heat and humidity of summer.

Frances, however, doesn't agree.

Have a great week!

klaus in the house

 It's PEONY season!

At once romantic, exuberant, dainty, bold, and shy...peonies are a study in contradiction.

The scent is intoxicating and they are so gorgeous, but their shabby chic blooms only last for a couple of weeks.  Sigh!

It's strange.  All of my perennials are tall...

...but my annuals, even the ones that have been in the ground for 6+ weeks, are so short.

It's definitely discouraging.  I have to remind myself that last year, I was so discouraged by the cutting garden at this same time period that I stopped going to it...for weeks.  I didn't even photograph it until AUGUST, and even then, the plants weren't at their full height.  The garden explodes here in August and September.  

 At least I've got things blooming there.  Ranuculus and anemones are still going strong...

The mystery snap dragons, sweet william, and Virginia stock...

And new faces, at last!  These biennial canterbury bells are starting to bloom...

...and...at long last...a few sweet peas.

They are so short, just like nearly everything else in the garden.  Three inch tall zinnias are budding up!  I'm pinching, pinching, pinching and hoping for the best...and making a lot of really short bouquets.

Meanwhile, we've ventured out for a few walks.  Borga approves!

We love making new friends.  :)

It's amazing to see the 17-year cicadas.  They tunnel out of the ground, leaving a peppering of holes...

After molting, their shells are left clinging.

They're quiet on cool mornings, but the hum begins as the temperature increases.  It's actually pretty pleasant.  We hear turkeys gobbling out in the woods every single day now...they're having quite a feast!

At home, Klaus is a voracious eater, a generous lover, and a champion sleeper.

In the many hours in between eating, snuggling, and sleeping, he is an absolute whirlwind of energy.  He rips through his toys, surfs the household carpets, and sails through the air as he leaps from forbidden perch to forbidden perch.  Tabitha is extremely unhappy with his roughhousing, and we're trying hard to keep him entertained and to wear him down between naps.  This is no grown cat, but an OVERGROWN kitten!  

Hopefully he'll settle down sooner rather than later.

Have a great week!