back attack

 Some exciting discoveries lately!  Some RED LEAVES.  

 

And RED BERRIES.  That's right...a few things are showing signs of the season!

spicebush

A snake shed its skin on our walking path...

...and one made its way through our yard.

Some mealybugs...sap-suckers...were found on our front hydrangea.  They were easy enough to wipe off.

A turkey vulture swooped down while I was driving and clawed the top of my car!  

He was fine -  I saw him hanging around when I drove back through the woods a few hours later.  I'm sure it was the same one...he glared and drew a talon across his throat in a very unmistakable way!  I think I disturbed his hunting.  ;)

Weather has finally turned reliably sunny, but hot.

Early morning walks are still okay - muggy, but not unbearable like some summers.

Pepita is still grumpily slipping her harness.

Some other signs of a waning season...acorns!!

And my favorite...caterpillars!  I love them so much and I look forward to "caterpillar season" every year.  So far this season, the old standbys are present and accounted for.  

fall webworms

sycamore tussock moth caterpillar

butternut woollyworms

And a really, really exciting discovery...a black-waved flannel moth caterpillar!!!

They are fairly rare in Indiana and the most venomous caterpillar in the United States.  Their sting has been compared to breaking a bone or the feeling of a hot coal being pressed against your skin.  I was very careful with him!

I mostly bring my cell phone on walks.  It's lightweight and the photos are "good enough," although it's frequently hard to focus on smaller things (like caterpillars).  But even at home with my good camera, I've struggled a bit.  My "newish" camera is so different from my last camera and requires so much more input.  I'll think that I'm getting great shots and everything looks fine on the small screen, but once I upload the photos, they're muddy.  I was hoping to get some really great shots of another venomous caterpillar, the saddleback, recently.  Not quite as crisp as I was hoping.

Those spines are both venom-tipped and hollow, so more venom can be pumped out if necessary.

Though not as painful as the black-waved flannel moth caterpillar, you'd still want to steer clear of this guy!

More quality time with the cats...

a rare lap visit from the Barnacle

...and Pepita this week.

groaning dramatically over a dropped toy

staring through the cat opening on the mud room door so she could keep a close eye on my clothes-sorting project in the garage.  She's not allowed through that opening and she knows it, but she still wants me to know that she's policing me, who is probably allowed in the garage, and the cats, who probably aren't

begging for attention 

I even finished another puzzle!

"Cats of Mykonos"

Somehow the garden is still producing flowers with zero attention from me.

I've been constrained this month with a back issue, which I let go for three weeks before seeing a doctor.  I've now had a ton of tests and x-rays.  It's not gallstones, kidney stones, or a fractured vertebrae (doctor's guess).  Just a deep ache in the very center of my back which leaves me unable to stay sitting down for more than about 20 minutes.  Thankfully, I can lay down without trouble and can walk/move around without more than a little pain and stiffness.  Next is probably an MRI and physical therapy - it could be a very, very deep and sore/twisted muscle, or maybe a herniated disc.  I've struggled with a tight back for years and I guess my daily yoga just isn't cutting it any more!  We'll see what happens.  Until then, I will just keep plugging along.  More than ever, I'm thankful to work from home, where I can take regular breaks to lay down on a heated pad...with the usual company.

Summer's not over yet...even "the old lady" (Claudia) is getting out for some fresh air from time to time!

There's still a lot more to explore before cold weather hits.  Hopefully my back will cooperate and I'll be out and about a bit more soon!

into everyone's life a little rain must fall

 We've had a few sunny days...

...but while it seems like most of the country is in a drought/heat wave, it's been chilly and rainy here for a couple of weeks.  REALLY chilly.  REALLY rainy.

Nice misty mornings on the days where it hasn't been too wet to walk.

neighborhood horses

Flooding everywhere!

Everything is very, very green.

American giant millipede

I finally bestirred myself and got my hot annual seeds potted up.

I think I managed 28 containers before I ran out of soil and energy.  It's been so cold that I've worried the seeds might rot, but we do have some green shoots and it looks like the worst of the rain is over now.  

We had a brief, glorious flare of peonies before the rain turned them to mush...

...and even Claudia got in on the warmer-day action and explored outside for about an hour before asking to go back into the barn!

Our indoor cats have taken advantage of the rare sunbeams, too.

Pepita has been going stir-crazy and is loving any sunny minute outside!

There are rabbits out and about every morning and I have to be careful with Pepita, and guard that she doesn't get worked up and try to chase.

And any place that you have rabbits, deer, foxes, coyotes, possums, raccoons, and my new favorite - a ton of skunks!! -

...you're going to have these guys.

This is a male lone star tick that I pulled off my stomach this week.  Normally I am *so* careful to check myself over daily, but the one day I had a migraine, skipped my shower and stayed in bed...he got me.  Todd had a black-legged tick bite recently and had to take antibiotics, since they carry Lyme Disease.  I pulled another tick from his leg yesterday.  It's rough - Pepita runs in the field every day and although we check her all over every single time she's been outside, it's just hard to see the ticks.  She's so dark, and the ticks range in size from poppy to sesame seed.  So small.  They sometimes hitch a ride inside and drop off.  We are incredibly diligent about checking the bed, the couch, and our bodies, but sometimes...we miss 'em.  It's one of the down sides of having a dog...although there are plenty of positives.  :)

Hopefully the worst of the yearly surge in ticks is behind us now!  Ready to head out and enjoy some sunshine.  Happy Monday!

caterpillar thriller

The weather is delightful this week and I've been outside quite a bit.  Lots of activity that I would've missed if we would have had "normal" (miserably hot) late August weather!

Check out this pine tree spur-throated grasshopper.

Isn't he a beauty?

More butternut woolly sawfly caterpillars!  I love them so much. 

 This tussock moth caterpillar was suspended from a branch and just spinning in the air.

Eastern tent caterpillars were busy in this tree, protected by webbing.

Look at this beautiful guy!  It's a redbud leaffolder caterpillar, and those lines of webbing are protection against predators.

I've seen A LOT of caterpillar frass (feces) around.  It's everywhere, if you know what to look for!

We're getting a late harvest for our tomatoes this year...

...and it might have something to do with this guy.

It's a tomato hornworm caterpillar...

...and they are major munchers.

tomato hornworm damage

I found several which were parasitized.

A small wasp lays eggs within the caterpillar.  The larvae hatch, chew an entrance hole, and spin those little cocoons that you see.  These caterpillars are already dead...they just don't know it yet.  They'll die around the time that the new wasps emerge from the cocoons and seek new victims.  I left these parasitized caterpillars alone.  More wasps = fewer tomato-killing hornworms! 

My pumpkins, however, are a wash.  I thought they'd be relatively safe from squash bug, because I planted this group in a totally different location from last year.  I noticed a lot of the vines dying, but I figured it was from lack of water (I'm a "sink or swim"- type gardener lately).  

Nope.

They are everywhere.  I guess I'll be visiting a pumpkin patch this year!  

Pepita has started puppy school!  She is, by far, the tiniest pup there.  Other classmates include a 150 lb mastiff and a great dane mix!  She is learning there, but learning a lot at home too.  

She has learned to climb up on the couch cushions to peer over the half wall between the kitchen and the living room.   Important investigative skills!  

She's learned to dig holes.

"Digging?  What digging?"

Despite having the world's stubbiest legs, she's a good runner.

Meanwhile, our anti-runner has learned that he has to go to extreme measures to distract us from Pepita.  He spends a good deal of time in the kitchen, on his back, begging for belly rubs.

He's becoming a champion napper, too.

If you haven't seen Barnabas as much, well, he's staying out of the way a little bit more now.  Still getting used to Pepita.  And Claudia is nearly back to normal, although when we tried to put her outside today for a little while, she begged to go back into the barn.  I'm going to keep putting her out for a few hours a day, though.  It's perfect weather for lazing!

Have a great week!