those that devour coneflower

The bee balm is starting to fade, and it's a shame because it draws so...many...insects.  One of my favorites is the hummingbird moth.

Like hummingbirds, they can hover, and they are fast...up to 35 mph!

I love seeing them in the bee balm.

Of course, there's still plenty of bees there...

Butterflies, like this pipevine swallowtail...

Really, the only other flower that comes close is the coneflower.  Now, I planted a few coneflowers when we moved here, but they have spread...

...and spread.

I think our huge population of goldfinches helped to spread the seeds.  Before they really got going, I counted over one hundred plants!

Butterflies love 'em.

Great Spangled Fritillary

Eastern Swallowtail

Of course, we have lots of other personalities...

Damselfly

Ladybug

Japanese beetles

red milkweed beetle

so many bees!

I've also been delighted to find lacewing eggs around the garden, suspended by a stiff stalk.  The eggs are tiny, like a little poppy seed.

After a bit of searching, sure enough...I found the lacewing.

Lacewings are great to have around because they eat aphids...something we have in abundance here.  I'd been fretting about our milkweed in the back, covered with sugarcane aphids.  I didn't want to rinse the leaves with soap and water, for fear of destroying any monarch eggs.  However, nature balanced it out.

This is a ladybug nymph:

In the few weeks before he pupates, he will eat hundreds and hundreds of aphids.  They are voracious!  They're all over my milkweed, and the aphid population is looking decidedly thin.

snacking on an aphid

What a relief!  Now to keep an eye out for those monarchs!

So much to do in these mid-summer days, but still seeking out those quiet, peaceful moments when I can find them.

Have a great week!

fancy jump and beetle, plump

In the heat of the summer, the blister beetles come out.  They're a bit rotund (for a beetle, anyway), with a lovely matte grey body.  One can easily picture a monocle on their cartoon version, right?

margined blister beetle

If bothered, they secrete a chemical called cantharidin, which causes skin to blister on contact (hence the name).  "Spanish fly" is made from the secretions of European blister beetles!  Like the Japanese beetles that infested my garden for a week and then disappeared, these guys aren't around for long.  They are a bit of a pest in the garden, but I enjoy them quite a bit!

Our heavy dews lately are evident on this brown damselfly.

Look at that crazy wing spread!

Damselflies are similar in many ways to dragonflies, including some pretty creative nicknames (bogdancers, devil's darning needles).  Some damselflies lay their eggs underwater, and the nymphs breath through gills in their abdomens.  Fascinating creatures!

I disturbed this green frog while working in the garden last week. They are nearly identical in appearance at this stage to bullfrogs, so the identification is a little shaky.

Days have been hot and dry but high humidity (rain, finally, yesterday).  Mornings are delightfully foggy.

Deer are beginning to feast on our fallen apples, and any garden leftovers too.

I still see Warren every...single...day.  Warren must have a warren, because Claudia finally brought us a little gift this week.

Our fields are teeming with rabbits, but I suppose that every single catch helps!

Inside, kittens are wild.  Kittens are crazy.  Kittens are insane.  Between relentlessly scratching the furniture, knocking over plants, jumping on tables and counters, using Calliope's small upstairs litter box instead of one of the three provided downstairs (upstairs warm and full of fabric/yarn that could easily retain scent), stealing and dragging my nicknacks all over the house, playing in the toilet, scratching up our windowsills, carpets, and rugs...sometimes I am thoroughly done with kittens by their 9 p.m. bedtime.  Then I stop, breathe, and resolve to just lay down more sticky tape the next day.  They're so sweet at naptime...

So darling...and I was even inspired to take in Cat Video Fest 2022 this weekend!

Still, those kittens...I'm exhausted at bedtime but recharged/excited to see them in the morning.  They're growing quickly and I keep telling myself...just a few more months before they start to settle into adulthood!   I love their friskiness but I have to admit to a certain longing for peace and quiet.

Maybe next week!

you've got to mole with it, baby

 Some of my ranuculus have gorgeous blooms.

They're a lovely little lot spot of color in the garden...

...and a favorite in bouquets, paired with silvery artemisia.

Unfortunately, they're being assaulted from all sides.  As soon I had finished laboriously weeding, digging, and depositing seedlings in the side garden, I started to see this:

Moles.  Moles, drawn by the disturbed earth, decimated the area, raising big tunnels beneath the prepared earth, eating the delicate plant roots.  I don't want to poison them, so I'm stuck.  And attacks from above:

Deer don't eat coneflowers.  This was done by RABBITS...and we've got a lot of them here.  As tempting as it is to just throw up my hands and forget the whole thing, I've decided to just seed the space with sunflowers.  I'll use Liquid Fence (and Claudia) to try to keep the rabbits away, just until the seedlings are tall enough to to evade their grasp.  

Thankfully, I have many flowers that deer and rabbits aren't interested in...

golden loosestrife

yarrow

clematis

roses

phlox

foxgloves

If I don't have as many flowers this year, at least I'm fairly certain to have a nice amount of insects.  Gnat swarms are starting to form as individuals look for mates.  They're a swirling tornado of dots from a distance...

...but if you look closer, you can see the little bodies that make up the clusters.

These crane flies have already found their partners!

Syrphid flies are everywhere.  They are bee mimics...

...but don't sting.  They are true flies.  Aren't they beautiful?

A tiny praying mantis, less than two inches long, hunts for a meal amid the feathery leaves of the yarrow...

...and both dragonflies and damselflies hover constantly as I'm working.

The kittens, too, are constantly watching and learning...

...when they aren't playing...

...or sleeping.

Growing up is definitely hard work.

Have a great week!