hobble wobble

Recently, I've experienced a perfect storm for photography-quashing.  Our mild summer temperatures shot up, so we've got the normal excruciating heat + high humidity that keeps me inside the house as much as possible.  Additionally, I developed a soul-crushing case of plantar fasciitis that had me barely able to walk (thankfully, I'm hobbling around a bit better now after a week of ice and stretches).  If those combined things weren't enough, I was gamely out taking photos last week and suddenly...the black bar of death.

My camera shutter shattered.  It can be repaired, but it's probably best to just buy a new camera.  So, as I wade through recommendations and technical details, no new pictures.  I have to rely on the backlog from the past few weeks.  Thankfully, there's a lot.  

A common theme over the past month...so many butterflies!

Five!

So many rabbits.

Goldfinches everywhere.

The cutting garden is blazing with color!  I haven't gotten many photos of it, but...

Insects abound.

katydid

spiny-backed orb weaver (technically not an insect, but...)

bees are busy!

walnut sphinx moth

twice-stabbed stink bug

green stink bug nymph

Inside, cats are being cats. 

Still not allowed on the dining room table...

new toy

Todd is still working in the yard.

setting up tomato enclosure earlier this summer

burning weeds after a quick downpour

The summer is passing quickly!  We just celebrated our 16th anniversary...

2008!

...and our anniversary means that summer is on its way out.  I purposefully chose August for our wedding because August is my least favorite month and I wanted to have something to celebrate!  August in Indiana is always hot, humid, and dry.  But it's only three weeks until September! Now September...I love September.

I am impatiently waiting.

Have a great week!

the gold (finch) standard

I love finding interesting things on our daily walks.  These white planthoppers always rest in a line on branches.  They look like young leaves, until you look closely!

Black locust treehoppers, clustered here, are cared for by ants, who love their honeydew secretions.

More branch-huggers...these tulip tree aphids!

A raccoon has been here...

I don't usually see these, but a marbled salamander didn't quite make it across the path last week.

They are North Carolina's state salamander!  Another interesting fact:  they are bioluminescent.  

I love finding new flowers in the woods.

rosepinks

Of course, we're still seeing turkeys all the time.  Crossing the road...

...or ducking into fields.

The poults are getting big!

It's goldfinch season for sure.  I hear them chattering all day long, and they're basically living in the flower garden...

...perching on flowers...

...and gobbling seeds.

If you see one, there's usually more!

They usually don't do too much damage.  

The weather has been so nice that these country roads are full of bicyclists...

...and lots of kayakers on the local small lakes.

We're getting into the rough weather of late July and early August, though, and even the cats are wilting from the heat.

We work outside only in the early evening...

adjusting the many hoses that snake around the flower garden

mowing the back field for exercise, 3-5 days/week

...and spend more time inside.

Claudia rests in the heat...our main view from the living room window!

We'll start moving more in September, when the cool weather starts to roll in.  

Have a great week!

fog-et about wearing flannels yet...

 It's October!!

Despite a really uncomfortable heat spell that's taking the spirit out of the season...

91 yesterday, supposed to be hotter today and even hotter tomorrow!

...we're still hiking every morning.

Because it cools down at night but is just so hot during the day, we're getting amazing fog.

All the spiderwebs are dew-dazzled.

Goldfinches are out, stripping the seeds as quickly as possible.

Still a few rabbits...

...last-minute mating...

milkweed bugs

The Molyneux roses put out their final flush.

We're still getting tomatoes...

...and plenty of flowers.

The garden contains enough "fall colors" to seem as if it's changing with the leaves.

It's October...but it won't really be October until the heat relents.  Until then, we're going to fake it with plenty of pumpkin...

pumpkin scones, which I make every October 1st

...and early-morning pre-heat outdoor time.

leaves are changing...it's going to be cool soon!

Have a great week!