bobcat habitat

It's that strange time of year when summer and fall overlap.  On one hand, we still have flowers.  Late-season roses are blooming...

...along with the companion morning glories that I planted, that don't quite match up in color but makes the climbing roses look more full.

I'm still pulling tons of flowers from the garden.

Lots of critters still around, like this round-backed millipede...

...and megachile apicalis, this little bee...

...and this spider wasp.  

As the name implies, they hunt spiders and paralyze them with a sting.  They drag them to their burrow and lay an egg on the corpse.  When the egg hatches, the larva has an easy food source.  Spider wasps have a notoriously nasty sting, one of the most painful you can experience from an insect ("electrifying" is the word most often used).  Like with most things, if you leave them alone, they won't bother you.

Lots of creatures and flowers, but more and more signs of fall.  It's apple time...

This year's apples are small but plentiful.  I've already processed about ten pounds and I've barely begun!  There will be a lot of apple pies this winter.  I dice up about 4 pounds of apples, add a bit of sugar/spices, and let them macerate in their juices for three hours.  Then I bag them up and freeze them.  They are ready to pop into a crust whenever the desire hits!

Lots of tomatoes now, too.  I have lost track of how many pounds of sauce and dehydrated tomatoes that I've put away!

Leaves are starting to change, too.

In part, though, it's because it's been SO dry.  We didn't have any rain for three weeks, and 90 degree temperatures.  Leaves were shriveling everywhere.

see all the dead leaves around Claudia?

It's definitely going to impact our fall color here, but at least we've got a bit!  

Our turkey poults are getting so big!  Soon they'll melt into the forest for the winter.

We've got so much activity on our trail cams.  A coyote in the back field!

The fawn and mom pair are still tied at the hip.

We've got a camera down by the big pond, facing a game trail.  So...many...animals!

Yes...that last video is the largest bobcat I've ever seen!  It showed up for a few days in early September but we haven't seen him around for the past week.  So exciting!!!

I'm going to keep an eye out for more activity...and cooler temperatures.  Have a great week!  

Rain on the Brain

More signs of fall!  Some much-needed rain.

My sweet *autumn* clematis has begun to bloom!

Fall-blooming ginger lilies are opening up.

Our Japanese maples are definitely starting to turn.

More liriope, and more evidence of fall-grazing deer nibbles too!

Beautyberries are finally changing colors.

"Stage one" acorns!  My favorite - a lovely green.

A large group of ruby-throated female hummingbirds have swarmed our house this week.  They typically over-winter in South America, so they're working overtime to get enough sustenance for their fall migration.  They're incredibly territorial and have been chasing each other like mad!

Love their beautiful iridescent feathers.  Speaking of iridescent, check out this Chrysis nitidula-complex, or cuckoo wasp!  They get their name from the way they, like the cuckoo bird, lay their eggs in the nests of others.  Then their larvae eat the host larvae and thrive. 

Another cool insect I recently found is the spider wasp.  I was working at my desk and kept seeing a wasp dragging spiders across my window.

I went outside and got a better picture.  These wasps use spiders as hosts for their larvae.  These spiders you see have been given a paralyzing sting, and each will receive a single egg.  As with the cuckoo wasp, the larvae will have a built-in source of food when they hatch.  I think it's so interesting!

A South Carolina mantis sits on a zinnia blossom, waiting for its next meal.  They're so small compared with the Chinese mantises in Indiana!

Doesn't he look a little grumpy?  I left him alone so he could get back to hunting.

Lots of tiger swallowtail butterflies around...

...but many of them are looking a little ratty, like the one below.  They only have a one-month life span and they can get a little tattered by the end! 

When not outside prowling around for seasonal clues or working, I'm spending time on my sewing.  I made two 10-inch paper pieced quilt squares this weekend.  Both are the same pattern, but have a look at the one on the right.

I chose the colors and put it together, only to realize that the diamond sides and half of the star points faded into the background.  I studied the example and saw that the author chose dark complementary colors for the stars and tips.  My second attempt (on the left) has much more "pop" than the first one!  I finally felt confident enough to make a large online fabric order for my first "no more practice" quilt!  I chose more contemporary colors and designs (snails!!) than I have traditionally used, but the patterns really spoke to me and I just decided to go for it!  I can't wait until it comes.

Have a great week!