Multi-Creature Feature

It truly feels like summer here in South Carolina, and we've got little creatures coming out of the woodwork...literally. 

The 3-foot long fish (we've been told that they're carp) have resurfaced in our pond.  They love to come to the surface in the late afternoon to take advantage of the sun's warmth.

I noticed a carpenter bee starting to bore a hole in our wooden flag post outside (coming out of the woodwork - get it?).  Only female carpenter bees are capable of stinging and rarely do, so I shooed it away.  In just a few minutes, it had already gnawed quite a hole.

I put a piece of Scotch tape over the spot to discourage a return visit, but the bee just settled in an inch below it and started a new hole.

I watched its progress.  In no time at all, it had gotten another good start...

...and more...

Look at it go!

I'm afraid it was pretty disappointed to discover the lack of space in that little pole, because the hole was abandoned after a day or two.

I did see a really interesting moth while out by the flag.  Its jaunty shape reminds me of a fighter jet!

I found this ant nest under a rock while clearing vines.  See the little white eggs?

I put the rock back so as not to disturb their little habitat.

This Eastern squirrel watched me weed this week.  I was surprised how close he came...Eastern squirrels are so much more timid than the fox squirrels I'm used to!

We've had a thriving nest of raccoons in a side yard tree since we moved in.  I'll occasionally catch one climbing down during the day and slipping into the woods.

This not-so-little guy was curled up in a flower bed right by our front door.

It's an Eastern garter snake and totally harmless.  They can grow up to four feet long!  These are definitely not the little garter snakes I'm used to, but I don't mind them.  They're great to have around.

I found a cardinal nest in the side arbor.

I had to clear out a foot of leaves from the side yard, most of it by hand, since the hostas had already come up, and the parents of the little ones were absolutely frantic.  Here's mom:

I really hated to upset them, but the work had to get done, so I just moved as quickly as possible.  Speaking of the side yard, it's finally leaf-free and weeded, although no flowers have been planted yet...

One of the best things is the fence, which means I can safely take the cats outside for a little outdoor time.  Bosewichte was an alley cat before his adoption, so he knows how to navigate the terrain...

...or beg for more time.

Tabitha isn't used to the outdoors, so she spends a lot of time crouching...

...and looking over her shoulder.

There hasn't been any time for baking or any leisure activities, really.  Besides the time my business demands, I've been doing all the outdoor work I mentioned before, plus indoor things:  sanding and scraping and painting (a concerted effort with Todd).  I decided to carve out a little time every day to unwind with knitting, and began making a sweater for myself.  Inevitably I got swept up in my work and laid the knitting aside.  When I picked it up again after two or three weeks away, I transposed the working colors and knitted a full two inches incorrectly before I noticed it.  See the blue at the top?

I frogged the mistake and promptly knitted it again, incorrectly.  Frustrated, I frogged it down to the ribbing and started again.  I'm very pleased with how it's turning out now!  It's also an incentive to work on it a little bit every day, so that I don't lose my momentum and start making mistakes.  This sweater pattern contains my first steek, where I'll actually cut through the knitted fabric to insert a fold-down neck.  It should be interesting!

Hope you're having a productive week, too!

Before and After

Having two wooded acres, we play a lot of catch-up in the spring.  For the past two weeks, I've spent at least 2 hours a day in the yard, and at least 4 hours each weekend day.  Todd has put in his time on the weekends, too.  But - oh!  It's starting to come together.

This is an area I decided to turn into a woodland path connecting the front yard to the front of the house last year.  I cleared away the ground vines and leaves, but didn't do much else. 

Here is the after shot, after I hauled up load after load of bricks from our fireplace area and planted ferns, hydrangeas, and helleborus all the way up on either side.  Oh, this tiny picture doesn't do it justice!

We have a circular driveway lined with rocks and small stone walls, alternating.  I crawled along the whole length, weeding and pulling out trapped leaves and sticks.

Before:

After:

The walls:

After:

I prefer it a bit shaggier than this, but trust me, it will grow quickly!

Our helleborus are generous self-seeders.  Thousands of seedlings sprouted through the thick matted leaves...most had to pulled up.  The front right bed before:

After:

The left beds, too, were absolutely choked with leaves and twigs, and the old growth of the ferns and helleborus had to be cut away.  A small before shot:

After:

The small fenced-in section just outside our bedroom was one of the worst.  Overrun with ivy and tree seedlings and over a foot deep with leaves in places, the hostas had come up before we'd cleared the space.  That meant crawling around and carefully clearing the leaves with my hands.

Before:

After:

The back garden was just as bad.

It's hard to tell because of the glare, but I spent hours and hours trimming bushes, pulling weeds, and removing dead leaves.

I'm not done by any means.  I still plan on devoting a couple of hours a day to yardwork.  I want to build another brick-lined path in the back yard, fill in all the bare spots you've seen in the side and back gardens with shade-loving flowers, and MORE weeding, and MORE leaf removal, and MORE transplanting.  There's a lot of work involved, and I'm absolutely covered with mysterious insect bites of various sizes and levels of itchiness, but I love seeing it come to life.  I'm excited to reach 'maintenance mode' and be able to sit back and enjoy all the natural beauty.

I hope you're having a great week!

Singing Behind the Plow

Todd and I drove to Jackrabbit Mountain in southern North Carolina (right along the Georgia border, about 90 minutes from our house) this weekend to go hiking with his father and stepmother.  The weather was a balmy 82 degrees and sunny both days, and trees everywhere had leafed out into that vibrant green color of late spring that all tree leaves have before darkening to their true shades. Meadows were choked with wildflowers. In the distance the Blue Ridge Mountains were a deep purple color. 

I've decided that even though upstate South Carolina isn't where I'd like to permanently settle, I really love this region for natural beauty.  Everywhere we saw bogs...

...lakes...

...or streams.

We hiked through both woods...

...and meadows.

The ground under the trees was completely covered in ferns.

We saw lots of trillium...

...ladyslippers...

...and many other woodland plants, including ground violets in three different colors.  Even the weeds had an attractive look!

The trees were full of songbirds, and I saw evidence of other little creatures.  Here dew is gathered on an empty ground spider web...

Someone had a turkey dinner very recently!

Todd spotted this black rat snake, who was sunning himself on a log.

Don't worry...they're completely harmless!

We visited the John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, North Carolina, where they offer year-round classes in photography, gardening, nature studies, writing, dance, cooking, craft, art, and dance. I would love to take classes here!  The school is situated on 380 acres of beautiful farmland and woods both, shot through with walking trails.  Here we go!

The sign above says, "I sing behind the plow."  It's definitely a cheerful, bustling place (although I neglected to take photos of the actual school)! 

It was nice to get away for a weekend, and Borga is a changed dog when she gets a nice long walk.  Look at those happy faces!  :) 

Have a great week!