a little night magic

This is a tough time of year for blogging, because not only is it incredibly busy in general, but it's so beautiful outside that I've taken a ton of photos...this week alone, I've edited and saved 132.  It's hard to narrow it down and choose favorites!

Some things aren't pretty, but they're interesting, like this centipede in the process of molting.

Some things aren't exciting or rare, but I find myself admiring them every single day...like our red maple.  In different light, the leaves range from pale yellow to bright red and I love them so much!

And some things ARE fleeting and worthy of mention.  It's PEONY SEASON (said in Oprah's deep announcement voice)!!!  I have big drippy bouquets all over the house.  PEONIES!!

Peony time means poppy time.  I got these seeds from the famous Sissinghurst Garden in England.

The perennial garden has positively sprung to life this week and I can't help posting more pictures!  

Everything you see here will be in bloom by July...lemon balm, coneflowers, obedient plant...but until then, I'm just enjoying the different leaf textures.  

Todd has been working in the yard...

...and I've been working too, lots of weeding...

...and working on my annual cutting garden.  It's been so cold this spring (down in the 40s this week!) that my seedlings just haven't done well.  I'd hoped for a better yield, but I'm getting maybe 40% germination.  I'm going to keep putting out greenhouses and hoping for the best!  

Claudia had to go to the vet this week for a sore paw, but she's feeling better now and is back on duty.

Not fast enough, though.  When I was weeding in the tomato garden, I kept finding these big grass balls buried a few inches below the soil surface.

Vole nests.  Their little holes are everywhere!  I found other little secret nests, too, like this sac spider nest.  Just a bit of mud, suspended from wire, completely hidden until I weeded.

And from another nest...I think this is a song thrush egg.  I found it in the driveway.  Isn't it pretty?

A little night magic...someone's been visiting our front porch under the cover of darkness.

A big raccoon is leaving tracks in the pollen (thankfully pollen season is over, so I can clean up this mess at last!).  I see possums, raccoons, and skunks on the trail cam, right in front of our porch, almost every night!

Of course, I'm still checking the ones that are down by the pond.  Look at the tiny buds on this sweet little buck!  Pretty cute!

(Date is wrong...this is from a couple of weeks ago)

So many other things, but I'll have to save it for next time!

Have a great week!  

still life

 I'm delighted that I'm still getting vegetables from our parched garden.  These 'Black Beauty' tomatoes and "Straight Eight' cucumbers are so beautiful together that I have declared them off-limits for eating.  I set them out, one bowl at a time, to enjoy looking at, like a still life painting.   

Gourds and pumpkins are providing a nice festive autumn atmosphere on our front porch, along with goldenrod and 'wheat' from our field borders.

 I'm so impressed with the bounty from these few vines that I'm ordering all sorts of fancy ornamental gourds and pumpkins for next year...pale greens and oranges, tiny white pumpkins, and big warty monsters. 

While gathering in the garden this weekend, I saw a bit more still life...this tobacco hornworm caterpillar was absolutely frozen in place.  He's been parasitized by the braconid wasp, which is a wonderful thing.  Hornworm caterpillars are mighty destroyers of tomatoes.  A braconid wasp, wanting a live egg incubator, specifically seeks out hornworms.  The eggs hatch and the larvae chomp merrily on the caterpillar's innards...not enough to kill him, but he's definitely immobilized.  The larvae spin tiny white cocoons that hang from the caterpillar's back...

Adult braconid wasps emerge from the cocoons and seed out new caterpillars to infest. 

Caterpillar dies and is therefore unable to inflict any more damage in our tomato patch.  Double bonus...braconid wasps are pollinators!  Nature's pest control at its best.  

Life is supposed to slow down in the fall, but we've remained pretty busy.  While turkey vultures circle lazily overhead...

...I've been cleaning the debris from the front garden.  Flowers are prematurely browning up because of the drought, so I've been trying to keep on top of snipping, including taking down cleomes before they drop their seeds.

Somehow, back garden flowers are still doing very well...

...and I'm able to continue to gather bouquets, but only in autumn colors - orange, yellow, and white.

Snapdragons, basil, cosmos, zinnias, coneflowers, black-eyed susans, toadflax...all contribute their cheery colors to our seasonal bouquets.

Our overnight temperatures are supposed to dip into the '30s (!!!) this week, though, so I anticipate a rapid wilt.  I'm excited to collect these seeds!  The garden is big...

...but I'm already planning an expansion for next year.

The back fields have been bush-hogged for the fall, but Todd and I have both been out with the weed eater, tidying up fence lines and borders.  It's been rewarding, having these fields return to natural meadows.  They were absolutely weed-choked when we moved in, with thistles, burdock, cockle burrs, jimson weed, and more. Cockle burrs and jimson weed are annuals, meaning that they only live for one year, but re-seed easily.  Thistles and burdock are biennial, meaning a two-year life cycle.  We mowed last fall to stop re-seeding, and have mowed multiple times this year.  The weed patches continue to reduce, and are replaced by beautiful natural grasses and wheat.

The mown fields, too, make is easier to walk to the back pond.  I love to see the fall colors reflected in the water...

...and see signs of life in the mud around the water's edge.  Raccoons have left tell-tale tracks all over.

I continue to see deer bounding through the meadow from my office window.  I wonder who else visits here at night?  

Leaves are continuing to slowly change, with our somewhat cooler temperatures...

It's still plenty warm, though, for frisky pups.

Not quite warm enough for the cats, who are seeking out sunbeams...

...and fabric piles.

I'm hoping next week that it's cool enough for heated cat mats!  These two just can't wait.  :)

Have a great week!