Ad astera per apis

The asters in flower are framing the hill, in a swath of lilac cloud flowing across the top and sides. All of September, the honeybees were swooning over the sedum, and the bumbles had the asters to themselves. I’ve been trying to get a good picture of a bumble for a month now, but they […]

More monarchs, la-di-da

I don’t know where we got this overblown scare. Massive storm in the Northeast? Get real! A little wind, a little rain, big deal! What was that, a feather? It’s like the weather keeps saying, To the moon, to the moon, pow! — but the braying is over now. The world is blue skies and […]

Crabapples multiply

While the apple trees I planted this year are still establishing themselves, the crabapple that inspired me is fruiting. Several handfuls worth. I guess keeping the weeds off the tree work. The crapapples look like big, hard cherries hanging in their clusters. Thing is, since crabapples are so tart, how do I know when they’re […]

Fall surprises

Just when I had given up on my sad-looking, spindly poblano plant, it decided to prove me wrong. (I get to be wrong a lot in the garden.) It cleverly concealed its fruits in the shape of withered sunflower leaves amid all the withered sunflower leaves. And that’s not the only strange thing.

Harvest Moon

It’s the first night of autumn. There’s a full moon hazing its light through the clouds. Jupiter hangs below it like a fat jewel in the eastern sky. No way are the cats going to come in.

Sedum Autumn Joy, Full of Bees

“Autumn Joy” pink sedum is one of the easiest ways to feed your bees. It’s one of those plants that you only have to plant once. Just pick a sunny spot and it will thrive. And every autumn, it will put up pink balls of flowers. If there are any honeybees around, they will find […]

Looking for the Monarch migration

Every year around this time, I start looking for Monarch butterflies, hoping to see the migration going by. Usually I see a few straggling by, or stopping to fuel up, like this one on my butterfly bush the other day. When I see a Monarch in fall, I always remember the time I saw streams […]

Two pears down, one not found

There’s a pair of pears Down there. And a third has fared Somewhere. Maybe it rolled downhill To be feasted on by a squirrel. Or a raccoon gave the tree a whirl And its belly is sweetly filled. I was going to pick them some day Before one was stolen away And the other two […]

Return of the raspberries

My Heritage raspberries have finally gotten their second wind. They’re classed as everbearing, but what that really means is they can offer a dual crop: one on last year’s growth in midsummer, and another on this year’s growth in fall. They’ve been in flower all August, but the inconstant dry weather seems to have held […]

E pur la pietra muove

One consequence of the collision between cat and yard is the carnage among the littlest of critters. Every now and then, some poor little thing is laid out as a dead mousie by the door. So I bury them. And plop a nice big rock on top. But this time, it wasn’t big enough. Either […]