Bugs in a golden bower

It’s not just bees in the goldenrod. Many of the black and yellow bugs are Locust borers. Not a beetle to boast about, as their larvae are in someone’s black locust tree. One thing I noticed as I was leaning in to get a better shot was the smell of the goldenrod. How did I […]

Hey squirrels, look at the corn you grew!

The corn the squirrels accidentally planted actually set some kernels. Sure, it’s an unlovely gap-toothed grin of corn, but who cares what it looks like? It’s corn! Now I’m tempted to try growing sweet corn on purpose next year. That is, I’m just tempted enough to think about why it wouldn’t work. Not enough space. […]

How many bumblebees do you see on the goldenrod?

I wish I could get the camera to convey the abundance of bumblebees on the goldenrod today. The sun is back and it’s found a perky stand of goldenrod in full color. Lots of bumblebees have found it too. Usually I could spot at least six or seven on it at a time. In this, […]

Will the mystery plant remain unsolved?

I’m beginning to think we’ll never know what the mystery plants are. The grey weather has descended. Some of the leaves are showing a dusty white rust of doom. But still the various mystery flowers open a bright yellow. Still they are foolish enough to keep setting fruits. And at least one green Agapostemon bee […]

Cool weather revives hostas too

Usually the hostas flower in June and that’s it. But now with the cool weather, a clump of hostas up on the hill are flowering again. They even have bumblebees in them, getting pollen pasted on their butts. It’s nice to see them flower again, but it feels like another sign of weird weather this […]

Return of the cool

The cool weather coming back has brought the comeback of the Alpine strawberries. Once again, they’re good for a small handful of intensely ripe little dots of sweetness. It’s nice, but I feel like the weather is getting cooler quicker than usual this year. I’m not used to hearing frost warnings in September. Maybe we […]

This bird knows I’m not a cat

When I went out in the yard, I was impressed by how boldly this Mourning dove walked right up to me. It’s even bolder than it’s cousin the pigeon. After all, it knows I’m not a cat. Maybe it thinks I’ll be intimidated by its feathered dinosaur ancestors. But most likely, it knows I’m the […]

Winter is coming, the Monarchs are going

The monarchs are on their way to their winter capital. Butterflies, that is, heading for Mexico. One visited my Butterfly bush on this cloudy day. It sipped a good nectar snack, and fluttered along on its way. I passed along word to Journey South, but that might be my whole sighting of the annual migration.

Soldier fly on the brink

One of the great things about making compost is that it pretty much takes care of making itself. All you really do is pile up weeds and leaves, and wet it down. Everything else is just finding the right container. I love my tumblers, but I pull weeds faster than I empty the tumblers. So […]

Mystery plant on the run

The mystery plant is definitely acting like a squash of some sort. It’s sending out tendrils as far as it can reach, as if it were trying to get away. From what? Is it trying to hide from the squash bees?