king of the butterflies

 It's hooooooot again, so life feels a lot like this:

Working outside right now is sweaty business!

August is the month of blue skies...

Todd and Pepita by the house.

...and pink sunrises.

(Against my will) I've been outside quite a bit.  So many cool dragonflies in the late summer!

Slaty Skimmer

Blue Dasher

Widow Skimmer

...and other beauties.  I've been seeing a ton of Monarchs lately!

No, not THAT one.

And our own local dung beetle!

More encouraging signs of fall.  Naked ladies are out!

The leaves on the burning bushes are starting to turn, always an early sign.

Purple loosestrife, a late season bloomer, is brightening up the shadows. 

Pepita is working hard on her cat-nice associations, with some gentle assistance from Frances.

She's doing great with fetch and particularly loves oversize sticks!

Some pretty impressive growth in 7 weeks!

She's a happy girl.

Have a great week!

the cave dwellers

Last week was freakishly hot and humid...and this week was almost like fall.  Pepita spent a lot of time rolling on the ground outside and I felt like doing the same!  While keeping a sharp eye out for ANYTHING changing colors/looking like a sign of fall...

...I also enjoyed the last of the mid-summer flowers.  

Guys, you're facing the wrong way!  The garden's over there!

Another sign of the advancing season...tiger bee flies are back!  Telltale signs include white drips on the porch...

...larvae cases sticking out of carpenter bee holes on the upper portion of the deck...

...and, of course, the bees themselves.

They hatch, they mate...

terrible cell phone pic

...and they're gone. 

Lots of wasps are making nests right now.  We've got paper wasps building nests on the porch and in some of our bushes...

...and grass wasps carrying long strands of vegetation into pre-drilled holes for nesting.

Cooler weather gives me a great opportunity to actually be outside...and see things!

raccoon print in the mud

eastern box turtle shell

a skipper

Todd's and my 17th anniversary was this past week.  We decided to go to Bluespring Caverns and take the longest underground boat tour in the U.S.!  I got a photo of our walk deep into the cavern...

...but unfortunately, a cell phone that takes fairly terrible pics in broad daylight is not going to do well in a dark cave.  Oh, well!

At home, Frances is finally reaching his potential as the fat, lazy cat I knew he could be if he just put in the work.

Of course, he's earned his rest...he works hard at keeping Pepita in line, mostly by sitting on her leash so that she's unable to move.

He is a great  partner in crime to the Barnacle (what we call Barnabas 90% of the time), too.

Still not allowed on the dining room table, not that they care much about that!

Pepita is still learning "Be nice to the cats!"  She sees them as romping partners, or maybe big squeaky toys.  

the side-eye

It will just take time.  This whole experience is definitely teaching me patience.  Oh...and SOMEONE took a very important test recently.  It turns out that Pepita is NOT an Australian Shepherd...not even a little bit.

(Her "supermutt" is Australian cattle dog, chihuahua, pug, collie, and German shepherd)

It's probably a good thing.  We rather impulsively adopted her without considering the breed.  I read belatedly that Australian shepherds are incredibly high-energy, tend to bark, can be suspicious of those outside the family...I'm glad that our lower-energy people-loving mutt is exactly who she is.

Have a great week!   

helter swelter

It's July at last!  I know that we've really only had about 3 weeks of summer weather, but that's been plenty for me.  Taking a puppy outside in the heat every 30 minutes (plus romp sessions) has pretty much done me in.  I'm already counting the days 'til fall.  I'm trying to appreciate 'summer' things, though. 

Like interesting insects.

ringed assassin bug

carpenter bees

spiny oakworm moth with two serious inspectors!

Japanese beetles

milkweed beetle

paper wasp

...and others, too!  It was so humid when I went outside to confront this flower-munching deer that my camera lens instantly fogged, so I didn't get a great picture, but...he's definitely licking his lips!

Deer have been getting into the hostas by the house too, so I'm definitely paying attention in case they need to be chased off.

I caught this guy ambling by as well!

eastern box turtle

The annual garden is putting on blooms, although it's definitely subdued this year.

I'm glad to have ANY flowers after our cold, wet spring!  The perennial garden is still blazing.

Nice to have a little color.  It's not autumn leaves, but it'll do!

Meanwhile, Pepita is keeping us busy.

We've had her for going on three weeks now and she's definitely more confident...and stubborn, which is a hallmark of her breed!

learning to leash-walk with Daddy

She is still sweet and cuddly, but has a lot more puppy energy.  Thankfully she doesn't bite like a lot of puppies, and not much barking either.  Just a few potty accidents...

who, me?

...and a lot of outside romps!

She does not love being outside, which is kind of surprising.  We end up having to carry her out to the field to try to get her to run.

Todd carrying Pepita to the back field

When I check the trail cams, it's a lot of Todd letting Pepita go and Pepita running for the house!  :)

But at least she's getting exercise...and we are too!  Just wish it was a little cooler...at least August is only three weeks away.

Have a great week!