more Hercules, please!

 The season is marching along, with so many daylilies...when did I plant these?

Hosta flowers are starting to come up, too.

The garden is really starting to pop (I'll have better pictures soon)!  It's definitely more tame this year - no 4' cosmos or marigolds - but it feels more manageable, too.  We've had regular rain, which is a big help!

Right on schedule, we have squash bugs.  And where there's squash bugs...

I had terrible germination with my pumpkins (like with everything else) and was only able to plant about 10 this year...and many of these were volunteers from the yard!  Even though the pumpkin plants are just a few inches tall, they are swarming with squash bugs.  I have to crush the eggs every couple of days, or the babies will eat the pumpkin leaves and possibly kill the plant.  

Herons are still visiting the pond regularly...

heron pouncing on a fish 

...and many other interesting creatures are around, too!

eastern tent caterpillar moth

eastern whitelip snail

house finch

song sparrow

plume moth

[look away if you're spider-averse!]

venusta orchard spider

hentzia jumping spider

Todd found this beauty in the driveway recently.

It's a female eastern Hercules beetle (a male would have gigantic 2.5" horns!).  Isn't she a beauty?  Check out her wings...it looks like a watercolor painting!

She was legs-up days ago, so I put her on the porch, where she moved sluggishly.  I didn't expect her to live, but she continued to do so, so I moved her to the garden.  She's gone now.  I hope she's laying eggs somewhere...I'd love to have more of these around!  

There was a rabbit right by the house...or there used to be.

The weather has been...amazing.  With one hot and humid exception, we've been in the 70s for several days.  It was 55 degrees when I woke up today!  Beautiful sunny days and blue skies.

The kittens watch me from their perch while I'm working outside...

...unless they're otherwise occupied.

Pleasant days indeed.

Have a great week!  

Ephemeral Emeralds

Late March...some rain...a warm spell...I knew that ephemerals would be popping up!  Like the name suggests, ephemerals are woodland wildflowers that are here-and-gone.  In a brown landscape with not a lot of green growth, they are little gems scattered in the forest.  I love seeing their little faces every year!

Rue Anemone

Spring Beauties

Cutleaf Toothwort

Harbinger-of-Spring

Red Maples are budding out!

The woods are alive, finally!  This spring peeper is singing his heart out.

I've seen so many southern leopard frogs!

Turtles everywhere.  Todd, with his eagle eye, sounds a "turt alert" when he spots one from the trail.

Are these geese making a nest?

This freshwater snail is working his way through the debris on this submerged leaf.

Insects are stirring, too.  These water skippers are killing two birds with one stone, makin' babies and having a snack simultaneously.

A pair of predacious diving beetles, clasped in an embrace, dove for cover as I leaned in for a photo.

Interesting creatures.  They can't breathe underwater, so they bring air down with them, storing it within their bodies.  It has to be just the right amount.  Too much and they would be too buoyant, and not enough, they would drown.  They're called water tigers for their somewhat brutal hunting methods...floating limply in the water until prey (fish, tadpole, etc.) passes, and then, quick as lightning, biting.  They inject a digestive juice that partially liquifies their victims, making them easier to eat.  

I spotted another fascinating insect yesterday.  This is a violet oil beetle.  Not just a pretty face!

They're also known as blister beetles because they secrete a corrosive liquid from their joints if bothered, causing skin to blister.  Their life cycle is absolutely fascinating!  Any Creepshow 2 fans?

Young oil beetles have tiny grappling hooks on their legs, and after burrowing out of the ground, climb onto the nearest flower.  They wait for bees and hook onto their bodies, hitching a ride back to the hive.  There, they gorge on eggs and prepare for pupating.  They're so interesting...the Czech Republic even had a violet oil beetle stamp!

I love being out in the woods in spring, and so does Borga!  

After more than a decade of dragging us around, she's finally starting to slow down.  She's pretty tired after an hour, and she no longer leads the pack...she's content to trot behind Todd.  Sometimes she even lets me walk in front!  Hopefully this will be a very active spring for us, and she'll have lots of opportunities to stretch her legs.

Have a great week!  

bat wings and cat things

We had a delightful little visitor at the apartment last week...a little brown bat!

Myotis lucifugus eats half of their body weight in insects a night so really great to have around.

I was curious about the etymology of the name. Myotis means 'mouse eared,' and lucifugus is a combination of two latin words that mean, literally, he who flees from the light.  I think I just found my next pet name!  :) 

We've gone on a few hikes this past week, seeing more bag worms...

...snails...

...and caterpillars (this is Spilosoma virginica, the Virginia tiger moth caterpillar)...

...but we don't have to go into the woods to see nature.  We see plenty at the Indiana University campus!  I lost track of how many rabbits we saw there this week.

We both agree that it's the most beautiful campus we've been to.  So many wonderful walking trails...

...beautiful buildings...

...and nice landscaping.

It has certainly welcomed us home!

Downtown is so pretty at night.

The cats are certainly making themselves at home...

...and Borga, too, is learning the ropes!

Have a great week!