Berried Treasure

Finally, some rain!  It's been such a hot, dry summer.  I love all the mushrooms that pop up after only a few wet days.

This Tulip Tree Silkmoth has chosen a very smart place to wait out the rain! 

He looks just like a leaf there.

Beautiful tiny scales cover the wing surface. 

Love those antenna!

Rain storms bring weird, alien-like bits of fungus down from the trees, too. 

This little bee is waiting it out inside a flower blossom.

I don't know if it's the rain or the every-so-slightly lower temperatures, but many flowers are blooming again.

Very nice, but I'm absolutely dying for cooler temperatures.  In Indiana you start getting nice, crisp days in September, but South Carolina will still be in the 80s through the end of October!  August finds me feeling pretty antsy for fall, so I take my cues from nature that cooler weather must be on the way.

I examine leaves.  Do I see a bit of color here?!

Pine and fir trees no longer have immature green cones.  These are mature brown cones, another sign of fall.

Nandina berries have started to blush.

Beautyberries are a full, round green now.

Liriope plants, which only bloom in the fall, are starting to send up their spikes.

These signs are very encouraging to me, because they tell me that although it remains wiltingly hot and humid, fall must be coming. 

Speaking of taking cues from nature, we had a carpenter ant infestation this weekend.  I read that carpenter ants in a house mean that there's damaged/wet wood somewhere, so Todd got out the ladder and started to investigate.  He found that the frame to our kitchen greenhouse window was completely soft and spongy.  He also found a big ant nest full of eggs. 

The rot was starting to affect our wooden siding, so it was a real blessing that the carpenter ants "told us" we had a problem. 

I love studying my natural surroundings and becoming more in touch with the plant and animal life cycles.  No matter where we live, there will always be more to learn! 

Have a great week! 

More Signs 'O The Times?

I've reached the time of the year when I feel like I can't take one more hot day.  I think about chilly nights snuggled under quilts, fires in the fireplace, wonderful thick and flavorful autumn stews, falling leaves, crisp air, and hand-knit sweaters.  When living in Indiana I suffered from this in August, but it's a little worse in South Carolina.  True, it's not nearly as hot or humid as Indianapolis, but oh, the warm temperatures start in March here!  So technically it's been summer for 6 months, and I am perfectly justified in my angst.  Fall doesn't start in earnest here until late October/early November, so I'm feeling particularly antsy.

Still.

There are signs.

Our turkeys are back.  They are here early fall until mid-spring every year. 

Our Northern Cardinals have begun their fall molt.

Growing new feathers is itchy business!

They look a little funny now, but this cardinal will have a nice new growth of bright red feathers before too long.

Our local white-tail deer, which make themselves fairly scarce in the summer, are suddenly everywhere.

Fattening up for winter, perhaps?  We've seen lots of older babies, so identified by their size and their protective white spots.

We've also seen a lot of newborns.  Todd saw one that must've been just a day or so old drop to the ground in front of him as he was taking out the dog.  As soon as the dog started barking, the fawn abandoned his pretense and dashed off.

I saw another newborn this morning, huddled against my neighbor's house by the woods.

I didn't see the mother nearby, but the newborn was able to climb shakily to his feet, get his bearings, and dash into the woods.  A little fall magic.

It's not just the fawn-a (ahem) that tells me that summer is nearly over.  The flora does, too.  Our fall-blooming liriope is spiking purple flowers.

Nandina berries are taking on a bit of a blush.

Sweet Autumn Clematis is starting to bud.

And, Lord have mercy, the first of the leaves are starting to change colors.

All of these things must mean that despite a seemingly ceaseless succession of 90+ degree days, fall must be coming soon.  I'll just have to be patient.

Sign O' the Times

No, I'm not referring to a Prince album with the title of this entry.  Even though it's still 90+ degrees F outside, I'm seeing little signs everywhere that fall will soon be upon us.

The deer are even more visible as they fatten up for winter.

The beavers are shoring up their dam with our little trees.

Some of our trees have started dropping their nuts, which they do every fall.  There's a constant gentle tap, tap from them hitting our roof and deck.  We have lots of squirrels here, and they are pulverizing the nuts still in the trees.  I can look out and see a steady stream of shells falling from the trees, and our driveway is absolutely covered in the little shards.

Some of our fall-blooming azaleas have opened up.

I decided to let the Sweet Autumn Clematis have its head and twine up through our gardenia bushes.  I'm so glad I did.  It's just starting to bud out.

The liriope is sending up its purple spikes.

 Our ginger lilies will be blooming soon...

The camellia bushes have little buds...

...and the little berries on some of our bushes have obtained a hint of blush, getting ready for their big fall show of color.

The blossoms have fallen from our beautyberry bushes, and they're setting up berries, too, for late winter color.

You can see the coming season in our insects and arachnids, too.  I've been looking for spiny-backed orb weavers with no luck so far, but I did spot my first Venusta Orchard spider of the season.

I still see lots of flies and bees...

...and I spotted this late-season cicada as he pushed out of the clay and headed for a tree, where he prepared to molt.

Fire ants here are most active in spring and fall, and in the past week saucer-sized mounds have been popping up all over the place.

I always tap the top of the nest with my foot to make sure it's not a 'regular' ant nest.  Fire ants look like harmless little black ants, but they are incredibly aggressive.  Even though I tried to be quick, ants were swarming on my shoe before I was able to withdraw it from the top of the nest.  Thankfully, I didn't get bit.  Look at that activity!

The cats don't care much about the changing season.  They continue with their "all seasons" reclining.  :)

Fall is, by far, my favorite season, so I'm incredibly encouraged by these subtle signs, even though the temperatures aren't quite there yet.  I know it's coming soon.

Have a great week!