Bee-vouac

The cool weather seems to be confusing the squash plants. Usually the flowers are closed by noon, but this was still wide open to what little sun warmed the gray sky this afternoon. What I wanted to know is whether there were any squash bees inside.

Syrphid flies

Today felt almost summery, so here’s some more bugs from earlier in the summer. Syrphid flies this time. I admire how much they look like bees until you get close enough to spot those big fly eyes. Sometimes I don’t even realize what I saw until I upload the pictures from the camera, they’re so […]

Ladybugs

Still rummaging through the archives for pictures to post. Just to make up for the horror yesterday, here’s a nice, cute ladybug. Also this picture is from the three weeks of summer we got earlier, just like today we got about three hours of sun in the afternoon. Anyway, ladybugs are relevant now, as in […]

Robber Flies

It’s too wet and rainy to do much today, so I’m digging into the archives. Let’s see, what have we got here? Hmm. How about more weird flies?

Soldier Flies

Let’s see. I’ve hacked up half a leaf bag of ragweed, half a leaf bag of dogbane, another leaf bag of still more weeds — and there’s just no way my compost tumblers can keep up. So with bags of weeds and trimmings standing by, I am discovering yet more denizens of the compost pile: […]

Raspberries get a second wind

The raspberries I planted last year are taking off this year. They’re Heritage raspberries, which can be ever-bearing or fall-bearing depending on how you prune them. I voted for ever-bearing.

Labor day

Such a happy water hyacinth. I think it’s celebrating not being salad for raccoons. Or maybe it suddenly realized that Labor Day is the end of summer, so if it was going to flower, it better do it now. You’d think with that bright yellow target just beckoning to bees it would have more pollinators […]

Possum

The moon is rising fat and amber in the evening, the cats are on their last patrol, the skunk drops by for its breakfast, and — Holy God! That’s a big possum! He even looks like he’s about to make some pithy, home-grown observation, like “We have met the enemy, and he is us.” Is […]

A cardinal in the afternoon

Every year I look forward to watching a pair of cardinals raise a young one or two. I like to think it’s the same pair, but it’s hard to tell. Once they grow up, they all look alike. But this guy is not quite grown up. What makes me think so?

The evening bandit

Ah, I love getting visits from the local wildlife. I heard a thump from the feeders and sure enough, here’s a raccoon enjoying a leisurely supper. Cats watching from the windows don’t bother it. Flashlights shining don’t bother it. The flash of a camera sure as heck doesn’t bother it. Those sunflower seeds must be […]