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!  

helter swelter

It's July at last!  I know that we've really only had about 3 weeks of summer weather, but that's been plenty for me.  Taking a puppy outside in the heat every 30 minutes (plus romp sessions) has pretty much done me in.  I'm already counting the days 'til fall.  I'm trying to appreciate 'summer' things, though. 

Like interesting insects.

ringed assassin bug

carpenter bees

spiny oakworm moth with two serious inspectors!

Japanese beetles

milkweed beetle

paper wasp

...and others, too!  It was so humid when I went outside to confront this flower-munching deer that my camera lens instantly fogged, so I didn't get a great picture, but...he's definitely licking his lips!

Deer have been getting into the hostas by the house too, so I'm definitely paying attention in case they need to be chased off.

I caught this guy ambling by as well!

eastern box turtle

The annual garden is putting on blooms, although it's definitely subdued this year.

I'm glad to have ANY flowers after our cold, wet spring!  The perennial garden is still blazing.

Nice to have a little color.  It's not autumn leaves, but it'll do!

Meanwhile, Pepita is keeping us busy.

We've had her for going on three weeks now and she's definitely more confident...and stubborn, which is a hallmark of her breed!

learning to leash-walk with Daddy

She is still sweet and cuddly, but has a lot more puppy energy.  Thankfully she doesn't bite like a lot of puppies, and not much barking either.  Just a few potty accidents...

who, me?

...and a lot of outside romps!

She does not love being outside, which is kind of surprising.  We end up having to carry her out to the field to try to get her to run.

Todd carrying Pepita to the back field

When I check the trail cams, it's a lot of Todd letting Pepita go and Pepita running for the house!  :)

But at least she's getting exercise...and we are too!  Just wish it was a little cooler...at least August is only three weeks away.

Have a great week! 

our sweet Claudia

It's been a tearful week here on the homestead.  Claudia, our beloved barn cat, is not doing well.  It's hard to qualify the exact issue, other than she seems to have aged rapidly.  She's not eating much.  Her fur is extremely dry and matted and she does not like to be brushed like she used to.  She has a stiff, arthritic walk and spends most of her time asleep, but not in her usual spots on the porch chairs.  I suspect that she's unable to jump up like she used to, so we've made a soft place for her on the ground.  She stays there, but spends more time in secret cubbies under bushes and locations unknown.  I've heard about animals going off to die somewhere and have been really fearful.  This week, Claudia is getting tons of wet food treats and head rubs.  

I caught my first glimpse of Claudia in July 2019.  She was feral...

fleeing our first encounter

...but quickly got used to her new family.

We both love her so much and are trying to sneak outside as often as possible to give her the love and attention that she deserves!

I'm glad that she's finally getting some warmer weather.  It's been so chilly and rainy this spring.  Some flowers have loved it...

my 'Roguchi' clematis

late-blooming poppies

lambs ear

...but most flowers have been unhappy, including my poor annual cutting garden.  My last-minute planting of the easiest flowers - zinnias, cosmos, marigolds - have produced a handful of seedlings, a few desultory sunflowers (how?!?), and weeds.  It's too late to plant more seeds.  The garden is toast this year.  At least I can take a break from the seeding, potting up, and planting out of grumpy seedlings that don't tend to make it past the first few days.  Next year I'll start over with new seed and hopefully will have better luck.  

Tons of critters around, at least!  In the frequently foggy mornings...

...I see lots of deer.

eyeballing my sunflowers...

Some cool caterpillars...

grub worm

bronze cutworm moth caterpillar 

...and other insects.

syrphid fly

eriophyes tiliae, the red nail gall mite

another gall wasp, the wool sower

I've found some really exciting spiders, too (skip the next few pictures if you're spider-averse)!

This is a northern male black widow spider, only slightly venomous and less aggressive than the female.

Ditto this red ant-mimic spider.

Check out this wolf spider and her egg sac!

Todd has informed me that we have "record humidity" settling in for the next few weeks, so I'll be spending less time outside...and more time inside with these guys...

Frances and Calliope, an uneasy truce

Frances nap

...and just outside, with this gal.

Have a great week!