knitted ladders and insect adders

As we get closer to fall and cooler weather, there's an uptick in my cold-weather craft projects.  I'm knitting a Kate Davies cardigan called Deco...

It's a stockinette cardigan without a steek, meaning that it's knitted back and forth instead of in the round (as a tube that is later cut).  Long purl rows are boring, but at least there's an interesting row of slipped stitches that form the front of the cardigan.

I've had a burst of energy with my postage stamp quilt, too.

Outside, the season is progressing nicely.  A volunteer pumpkin vine in a front bed...

...gives it a dash of fall.  My pumpkins in the back bed are going crazy, too.  The pumpkin flowers are open for business!

Once they're pollinated, they will begin setting fruit.  During my last inspection, I was surprised to see what I initially thought was a small group of spiders on one of the leaves.

These aren't spiders, though.  They're squash bugs, and once I knew what to look for, I found much more evidence of their presence:

Squash bugs are terrible for the garden.  They inject liquifying toxins into pumpkin vines, and even attack mature pumpkins.  I made short work of these invaders with a bit of soapy water.

Deer are everywhere...

...and we're seeing more and more geese, common in the fall.

I noticed a head sticking out of an overgrown garden section this week:

Turkeys are out and about, another frequent autumn occurrence.

I see a pair of singles quite a bit, and also this parent pair with their 11 - 12 poults.

  

Of course, Warren is out every day...

...and he's quite territorial, chasing away a younger rabbit who dared to approach our side garden this week.

As usual when the weather starts to cool, praying mantises are (gulp) hanging around in unlikely places, like this window screen:

Goldfinches, and although I've yet to get a picture, indigo buntings.

Hummingbirds, too, are out in force.  I'd say that a pair feeds pretty continually in the front and side gardens.

I've been watching them and I think that they're nesting in our apple tree.  I frequently see their silhouettes there.

I will definitely be nest-hunting this November!

Inside, we've got kitten mischief...

...but still, a whole lotta napping.

They're loving our open windows this week.  Atypical for August:  low humidity and cool breezes.  A nice transition into September. 

Have a great week!  

back to buzz-ness

 The title is a bit of a cringe, but says it all:  we're home from our travels and focusing on things around here, which includes a whole lot of buzzing.

It's the time of year when insects are EVERYWHERE:  bees and butterflies are frantically working the flowers...

...competing with hummingbirds for the nectar.

It seems like every flower peered into houses a little guest.

Insects have to share a space with our voracious birds.  Whole flocks of goldfinches rise, scolding, from our beds if disturbed.  All local feeders are empty - a DNR directive, as scientists are attempting to discover what's causing a wave of bird deaths, and are discouraging the congregating of birds at feeders - so they're making the most of our flowers.

Birds who don't eat seeds are eating well here, too.  A Great Blue Heron hunts daily in our front pond.  They are quite skittish, and sometimes it's only by seeing their reflection in the water do we know that they are there.

It takes patience to wait for them to reveal themselves.

Small fish and frogs, which they love, can all be found here.

Signs of fall are everywhere!  Care has to be taken when bringing in flowers this time of year, because spiders are marching, mating, and making egg sacs.  Thankfully I discovered this one before it hatched!  Peeking inside, you can see the eggs.

Speaking of babies, our local turkeys are still making a daily trek through our back fields with their poults.  A normal turkey clutch can contain up to 17 eggs, and as few as 9, which is the number of poults in this little family.

Mosquitoes, too, are laying now for fall.  I noticed mosquito larvae in the bucket with our tadpoles.

They are pretty distinctive.

Tadpoles do not eat mosquito larvae, so I had to sprinkle in mosquito dunks - a bacterial attack, which will only kill mosquitoes.  Sure enough, the larvae were gone in a few days!

Deer stop by daily to eat the immature apples that drop from our tree.

This sweet bounty means that, for the most part, they leave our garden alone.  

Our late-summer sunflowers are growing well...

...and I'm still making bouquets.

Tabitha focuses on making peace with this little encroachment upon her space.

Seed gathering and flower drying continue as weather permits.  The season marches on!

Have a great week!

splashin' passion

 The rains have receded and the heat is increasing.  The same can be said for the activity level around here!

MORE butterflies, including this rare-to-me Zebra Swallowtail:

MORE birds, like hummingbirds...

...and this house finch trio, seen here from a distance during feeding time:

Oh, and daily turkeys, walking the fence line.  Not easily seen in the photo are the poults, or baby turkeys, blending seamlessly into the weeds.

From babies to makin' babies!  I heard a disturbance in the pond last week when I went out for Claudia's early morning feeding.  At first it was hard to make out what I was seeing...

...but soon I realized that it was two massive snapping turtles, engaging in a very rough courtship!

Whichever of these is the female will dig into the shallow bank of our pond to deposit her eggs.  She can delay laying for months, and the eggs won't hatch for up to 125 days, but I'll still be watching for any activity!  Snapping turtles are good to have around when they're eating aquatic vegetation, of which we have an abundance.  But they also eat fish, beneficial snakes, birds, and small mammals...like muskrats.  Gulp!  

Wild blackberries are ripening...

...and summer wildflowers, like this woodland delphinium, are in full bloom.

It's so warm and sunny, it's hard to believe that September is only 6 weeks away.

Have a great week!