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!   

the latest web series

One of the many things that I love about fall is the increased insect activity as they rush to feed, mate, and nest (or die) before cold weather hits.  Ladybugs will hibernate under tree bark, in rock piles, or in any tight place where they can avoid the frost and the wind (including your walls!).  

Most adult grasshoppers die after laying their eggs in the fall.  You see them in great numbers, hurrying to do what they need to do before a killing frost.

I didn't even notice this guy until I leaned in to admire a thistle plant!

All around, insects are mating as quickly as possible, as our nighttime temperatures dip into the low 50s. 

Both caterpillars and spiders spin webs inside of leaves.

Getting that nectar while they can!

I'm seeing more fall berries, too.

Increased deer foraging...

...and the first touches of color here.

Still, the flowers are going strong in the garden...

...with just a few starting to show signs of going to seed.

It's a great time to take a walk through the back fields...

...or just enjoy the view!

Next week looks miserably hot but at least the days are moving along and October will be here soon. 

Have a great week!

A Walk in the Woods

Indian summer is here, with cool nights and delightfully warm days...perfect camping weather! Last week we loaded up the kayaks and headed south to one of our favorite camping sites, Yellowwood State Park.

We drove down this little lane to reach our campsite.

Out of 70+ available camp sites, only a handful were occupied. We were completely secluded in our little corner, surrounded by beautiful trees...

...and beautiful leaves.

And then some...

...and then some...

...and then some!

The usual creatures were hanging around, like this granddaddy longlegs, otherwise known as a harvestman. Harvestmen are not actually spiders, although they are in the arachnid family. They don't possess venom or silk glands.

A wasp takes advantage of late-season flowers.

Some creatures were unseen, like the woodpecker that probably made this hole:

Or the insects that made these smaller ones:

Wildflowers nodded all around our little campground. These little purplish daisies...

...this lovely flower that had already dropped its petals...

This plant is called smartweed. I think the colors are so lovely.

This woodland plant manages to put out a bright display of color, even though it grows in the shade.

Some ferns nearby were completely white!

After a brief hike, we came back to the campsite and made a big fire.

We toasted marshmallows, made s'mores, and played Scrabble until bedtime.

I love many aspects of camping, but I'm a paranoid tent camper who'd rather sleep in the car. A howling pack of coyotes kept me up half the night, running the plot of Jack London's To Build A Fire through my head.

I managed to rally by morning (buoyed by a champion's breakfast of leftover chocolate and Garden Salsa Sun Chips), so before it got too late we headed off for a six mile hike around the lake.

The trees were beautiful in the dimness of the early morning...

This red berry-producing tree is just starting to change color for fall.

Before too long, the sun was up and the woods were beautiful.

Leaves in light are stunning!

Oaks and maples, especially, seem to glow in the light.

Beautiful!

We saw other berry bushes, too. Two different types of blue berry-producing bushes proliferated around the edges of the lake. I love the coloration on these leaves...


The lake was absolutely silent and golden in the sun shine.

We saw more beautiful leaves...

...and some really interesting fungus. Some ordinary, like this tree fungus...


...but some unusually colored ones, like this green powdery display.

Or this almost-black one.

This swollen wedges reminded me of marshmallows!

I loved the orange caps on these mushrooms.

We even saw mushroom villages!

Another exciting discovery was the presence of beavers. See the chips around the base of this fallen tree? A beaver did that.

You can check the inside of the fallen tree to see the culprit. A beaver's chisel-like teeth chip away wood until the tree falls, and then it's reduced to manageable pieces that a beaver will roll or drag into the water.

Here's a grove of trees felled by beavers. Their weathered tops show the same shape as the newly-cut trees we saw.

A beaver has just begun to nibble on this tree...

...and this tree is nearly completed! Beavers only work at night, so I'm sure someone finished the job shortly after we saw it.

The lake was completely surrounded by trees in various states of change.

More opportunity to see the beauty of nature!

I hope you're able to take advantage of the nice weather and take a walk tonight. Have a good week!