Milkweed City

Take me down to milkweed city, where the flowers smell great and the bugs are pretty... ...well, beauty is rather subjective. I'm sure another Milkweed Stem Weevil could be attracted to this one here.

Monarch butterfly caterpillars are the usual residents of milkweed city, since the plants are their favorite food. However, this large stand of plants has attracted many different tenants...

...like this pretty black Virginia Ctenucha Moth. I never realized that some moths are so active during the day.

This gorgeous Garden Spider was quite small, but they can get really large.

Here are two more monarch cats, munching away....

.....so they can grow beyond their current teeny size.

What's this? A drag race?

I never noticed this pretty butterfly before!

Turns out it's a Red Admiral.

This Daddy Long Legs looks small on the large milkweed leaves...

....but the Red Milkweed Beetle is easy to spot!

This sleek pollinator is a Bald Faced Hornet...

...and my froggie friend the Spring Peeper enjoys the sturdy leaves, cover, and insect buffet!

This exquisite Crab Spider has spots that actually match the blooms! Excellent camo!

A less attractive resident is this Robber Fly...perhaps he represents the "criminal element"of milkweed city.

Along with plenty of ants, milkweed city hosts the Banded Longhorn as well...

.....along with a spider I wasn't able to ID (yet...it becomes a kind of obsession with me :) I'll edit in whatever I find out later. Update 10/20/12: this is a Long-Jawed Orb Weaver, more info here and here ...better late than never, eh?

But it's the well-known "celebrity" of milkweed city, the Monarch butterfly, who's the star of the show (and the reason I've happily let this stand of milkweed get so huge). They aren't always too easy to photograph clearly, and I followed this one a long time to try and get a shot with the wings open. This was as good as I got....

.....most were near-misses like this (see it taking flight in the upper right-hand corner?)

They're even more dizzying in their "holding patterns" above the city...

....looking for a place to land.

Today is Save the Frog's Day!

Today is the second annual Save the Frogs Day! Founded by Dr. Kerry Kriger, this fine organization is blazing the trail for amphibian conservation worldwide. They have been working very hard, and gaining recognition for this worthwhile cause. Check out the article on the National Wildlife Federation website about the "America's Top 10 Most Threatened Frogs".

Today there are many activities worldwide for Save the Frogs Day, but we still need to do what we can to spread the word...

...it's the only way to save the frogs!

Important News!!***UPDATE!!***

Victory for the California Tiger Salamanders!

From the Save the Frogs website:
"Big thanks to the 452 SAVE THE FROGS! supporters who sent letters to the California Fish & Game Commission urging them to protect the California Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma californiense). The Commission voted 3-2 yesterday to protect the Tiger Salamanders under the state Endangered Species Act. This represents a major step forward in the conservation of the species. The salamanders are threatened with extinction due to the widespread destruction of their habitat; high rates of road mortality; and hybridization with invasive species. Thanks to the Center for Biological Diversity for initiating and following through with the petitions and lawsuits that kept the pressure on the Commission over the last six years."

Hooray! We did it!



My original post:

Important News!!

The California Tiger Salamander is threatened with extinction, and the state of California is about to vote on whether to list the species under the Endangered Species Act.

Please visit this link and send a letter to the California Fish & Game Commission urging them to list the California Tiger Salamander as Threatened under the state Endangered Species Act. The call for comments period ends at 11:59pm March 1st, so please act quickly!

When you go to the link, all you have to do is fill in a couple fields and hit "send", easy as pie! Please take a minute to help save the California Tiger Salamander...you'll be glad you did!

Odds and Ends From Last Summer

With the current conditions of wind chills in the -20's and 14" of snow on the ground, I've decided to rescue an orphan post from early last summer. This poor Eastern Tiger Swallowtail looks as though it's been caught in a storm as well, albeit not a blizzard.

This image doesn't adequately demonstrate the full scope of the problem, but I need a "rescue from fescue"! Some varieties of blue fescue grass behave very well, but this one was purchased by mail at Michigan Bulb where often the actual nitty-gritty variety of a cultivar isn't specified. Ah well, live & learn & shop more carefully!

I did manage to trim off the seed heads before it got any more out of control, but next year a big makeover is in the works (FYI-This grass will go to seed more than once a year sometimes!)

*Sigh* This was the last of the shiitakes, but I can't complain-this log has been producing since 2005! Guess it's time to contact my friends at Field and Forest Products for more spawn plugs to innoculate some new logs.
Last summer was very creature-heavy, with lots of traffic from skunks, squirrels, and these guys...

...Mr.Raccoon decides to move in closer...

....much to Gizmo's delight...
.....okay, maybe not!
The leaf rollers were pretty busy...
...luckily the milkweed plants were, too. Great news for my Monarch Butterfly caterpillars!

This cute little beach pea pops up here and there all over my yard, never getting too aggressive or unmanageable.

However this creature looks as though she certainly could become aggressive! This is a Common Snapping Turtle, and she startled me when I noticed her at my shoreline (apparently watching me). These images were taken at the time of year when snappers come ashore to lay eggs, but usually after dark. Was she waiting for me to get out of her way?
Guess so! (See her by the tree, swimming away?) Sorry ma'am, please feel free to come back later! (I think they usually return to the same spot every year to lay eggs, so I imagine she did. I have found shells dug up by predators in the yard before, as well as baby turtles trying to find their way back to the water. Fun stuff!)

I am very blessed to have an abundance of froggies in my yard, and last year was no exception. This is a Spring Peeper, isn't he cute?

Canadian geese goslings are cute too, as long as they stay out of my yard! The parents are very aggressive when protecting them, and they tend to try and take over. Definately not the kind of birds I seek to attract when I put out feeders!

That's right....move along....nothing to see here! Now this combo could never get old! Pink lupine and ostrich fern....

....I like this volunteer columbine by the wagon wheel, too.

Plenty of "chive talkin' " going on last year, too (you have no idea how long I've wanted to use that! :)

Hey! Volunteer sedum (not sure exactly which one), nothing wrong with extras!

This area is pretty "weedy", but I like it anyway...

....marsh marigold gets pretty leggy in this spot...

....Canada Anemone mixes nicely with spurge, IMO. Another frequent visitor this year, I saw a garter snake at least once a week all season.

My pal, the Red Squirrel, was bolder than usual (Or I just happened to catch him in the act).

Of course Jack-in-the-Pulpit is always a welcome sight...

....along with his garden mate Yellow Ladyslipper .

Red here doesn't look too impressed, though....

....maybe he had the same kind of luck I did with the "digital revolution"!

Now, if deer could transmit digital signal, I'd be all set! They were near my yard.....

....in my yard.....

.....seemingly around every corner! All season!And very un-apologetic about it! Naturally, they brought their appetites too :(
Another pest last summer was the emerald ash borer, and this odd purple thing was visible at the roadside all over the place. Of course, I had to stop and investigate...

....yep, it's an ash borer trap. Thankfully, I didn't hear that they actually found any in my area, but I'm guessing it's only a matter of time. Ah well, all good things must be challenged (or come to an end)... ....like this post!

Now back to our regularly scheduled winter!