Showing posts with label reptiles. Show all posts
Showing posts with label reptiles. Show all posts
Saturday, December 12, 2009
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...
Labels:
amphibians,
insects,
mammals,
mushrooms,
perennials,
reptiles,
snakes,
wildflowers
Friday, August 29, 2008
Trouble on the web...I lost most of my links! (But not my skinks...this one got hung up here only briefly.)
Hey Bentley! Have you seen my links?
Gizmo? Well keep watching out for them, ok?
I bet it was the gnome! (Isn't it always the gnome?)
I was trying to update my links and re-arrange them, but I didn't want to copy and paste them all. So I thought I'd be clever and take a "screen shot" image of my links page with all set on "edit" so I could see the URLs...but I only got the first few lines on the image! (Of course I'd deleted the whole damn page element before I realized it!) *Sigh* So if your link has disappeared, don't panic! Stay where you are! I'll find you! :)
Labels:
pets,
reptiles,
tech issues
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Update on the composter...although I have been using some finished product this season, I haven't added to it as often as I'd like, since the worm bin gets a lot of the scraps. Well as I lifted the lid, who did I see? This compost thief cute skink was dashing around, presumably hunting bugs. Guess it's not very hot in here, eh?
Then let's get some "hot composting action" going! After a few layers of kitchen scraps and garden cleanup debris, I'll top it with these biodegradeable packing peanuts. They're made from cornstarch, and just dissolve in water....

.....see? They're mellllting! Just like the witch on the Wizard of Oz (or your boss, ex-girlfriend, whatever :) . I really love it when shippers use these, and in a perfect composting world, it would be a law!
Unless your shipping something that may get wet! (Hope they come up with a biodegradeable product for that, too.) Note: No skinks were harmed in the manipulation of this compost! He jumped out right away and ran off in the grass. For now...
.....see? They're mellllting! Just like the witch on the Wizard of Oz (or your boss, ex-girlfriend, whatever :) . I really love it when shippers use these, and in a perfect composting world, it would be a law!
Unless your shipping something that may get wet! (Hope they come up with a biodegradeable product for that, too.) Note: No skinks were harmed in the manipulation of this compost! He jumped out right away and ran off in the grass. For now...
Friday, August 15, 2008
The dawning of August Bloom Day...and I'm awake to see it!
This cute annual has a papery texture, and remained closed-looking like this for the longest time...
....that I had no idea it was hiding this bloom!

Daylily "Strawberry Candy"....
.....double yellow hollyhock...I want some of the super-tall old-fashioned varieties too. (This gets only about 3 feet tall for me.)
I really like it when I can get a color scheme going like this, especially by accident! (That's right! It's the dreaded "red and yellow" combo! Mwahahahahahahaha!)
"Lorraine Sunshine" heliopsis still blooming like crazy...

....cute little five-lined skinks show themselves here and there all summer...

.....and these yummy blackberries are just ripening...
.....some sort of cute skipper enjoying the coneflowers....
.....with some funky folded wings! (Wasn't there a paper airplane that looked something like this in grade school?)
The water garden tubs finally look good after a bumpy start. In fact, I think these are my favorite results so far, except for the water lilies...I miss the way the pads look, even if they don't bloom for me.
Even the "feeder goldfish" seem happy! (Maybe because they aren't being fed to anything :)
Purple prairie clover blooming more than ever....
....and this sucessful sedum nearly concealing this little frog...

.....this cyclamen is exciting for me, I've never had these grow, let alone bloom!
This daylilies' name is unknown to me, as it was a passalong from my sister. (I like it, though!)
Nice volunteer morning glory...lots of people find them invasive, but they behave almost too well for me....I want more!
Weigela 'White Knight' re-blooming....
...'Stargazer' oriental lily blooming (and smelling) amazing...

.....so is her cousin, 'Mojave'....
....I like this coneflower, 'Green Envy'. I hope to collect lots of these, new cultivars as well as various wild types, since the pollinators love them so much.

Okay, not blooms, but my birdhouses have been coming up with some strange occupants this year. I don't really understand how this rodent got in here, but when I looked later he was gone. I can't even tell if it's a chipmunk or red squirrel...
...but I know who this is! This Grey Tree Frog was living in here last year, too. I'm glad these bird houses are being used, but I sure didn't think it would be by everything except birds! These are made from a cement/wood composite to be durable, and kinda expensive. Oh well...when you're a landlord to wild things, you can't always choose your tenants!

...as I jettison another Bloom Day. For more exciting Bloom Day action, see our founder Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Happy Bloom Day!
Daylily "Strawberry Candy"....
.....double yellow hollyhock...I want some of the super-tall old-fashioned varieties too. (This gets only about 3 feet tall for me.)
....cute little five-lined skinks show themselves here and there all summer...
.....and these yummy blackberries are just ripening...
.....some sort of cute skipper enjoying the coneflowers....
.....with some funky folded wings! (Wasn't there a paper airplane that looked something like this in grade school?)
The water garden tubs finally look good after a bumpy start. In fact, I think these are my favorite results so far, except for the water lilies...I miss the way the pads look, even if they don't bloom for me.
Purple prairie clover blooming more than ever....
.....this cyclamen is exciting for me, I've never had these grow, let alone bloom!
.....so is her cousin, 'Mojave'....
Okay, not blooms, but my birdhouses have been coming up with some strange occupants this year. I don't really understand how this rodent got in here, but when I looked later he was gone. I can't even tell if it's a chipmunk or red squirrel...
I don't have an official name for this daylily either, it was a passalong from my mom. LOVE the color, though...
.....and I love to see these guys, too! This is a benefit from growing milkweed, Monarch butterfly caterpillars. They come in all sizes...
...and this one was teeny!

But this bloom isn't! This daylily is 'Mary Todd'....

....more nice yellow, this is 'Prairie Sun' rudbeckia....
....and this pretty mushroom, Amanita muscaria formosa (I think).
Here's chicory! I have been trying to get this to grow for me a long time, even though it grows by the side of the road everywhere up here! Isn't that just how it goes?
Not blooms again, but I can't stay on topic to save my life, so...the clinging birds found my upside-down suet feeder-yay! I was going through way too much peanut suet, mostly because of greedy red-wing blackbirds. But they don't like the regular ol' seed and suet cakes as much, so those are in my "regular" suet feeders and the good stuff is in here for just the woodpeckers and this White-breasted Nuthatch .

More pretty daylilies, this is 'Majic Dawn' next to 'Mary Todd'....
...nice bright flower on this plant, whose name escapes me right now (the plant is grey and fuzzy like lamb's ear)...

.....speaking of "escape", look who surprised me on the porch! Time to tidy up these pots and stuff!
This planter is really going crazy! Even though it's crowded, I really like the way it's turning out...
.....especially considering where it was when first started.
I hadn't been seeing as many frogs as usual this year until recently, but now these babies are everywhere!
My strawberry begonia is still blooming in the garden, the flowers are so cute and airy...
...I like this Mexican Evening Primrose too. The bloom looks like it's wearing a scarf around its' "neck"....

...another nice daylily that I don't have an official ID for, but it looks like a "spider"-type bloom...
....sea holly blooming nicely...

.....another coneflower, petals not quite open all the way. Some of these do have petals that stay like this, though.
Cool blooms on this Indian Pipe ...I have this in the woods around my yard.
Another nice coneflower, I think it's 'Kim's Knee-high'....

....wild Harebell (I have a lot of this)....
...'Russian Princess' lobelia....

....hosta 'Fireworks'....
....'Ice Carnival' daylily...
.....purple pimento pepper, and they smell fairly hot. Unfortunately, the only one to sample these so far is Gizmo the cat, and he's not talkin'! I picked five small peppers the other day, put them on the counter, and he ate all of them! Judging from the small bits of vomit I found in the kitchen, I'd say he's regretting that decision (goofball!).

Dyalily 'Blueberry Sundae'....

....white cat, 'Bentley'...okay, again not bloom, but I let the cats out for a bit the other day and have to mention it. Bentley wasn't too thrilled, he mostly stayed on the porch and complained...
...Gizmo, however was very interested in exploring....
....pretty much everywhere! My son would be upset to know I let them out, because they have always been house cats, and eagles cruise overhead out here regularly. (These guys would be very tasty to a large raptor like that, as well as easy pickins'.) But they always meow when I'm outside, so I thought I'd let them come out already. They did fine, but Bentley was pissed at Gizmo when they got back in the house. He growled and hissed at Giz for a good couple hours, then seemed to get over it. I think he was upset that Gizmo didn't come when Bentley called to him from the porch, but who knows.

Very cool double daylily, I think it's called 'Kwanzo' . I got it as a passalong from my mom...

....and I love it! It blooms more than doulble...like triple and quadruple sometimes!
Coneflower 'Polar Giant'....

...the only two surviving carnivorous plants out in the screen house for the summer and looking happy...
....although my Norfolk Island pine is happy not to be outside! After the hissy-fit it threw last year I decided to leave it in for the summer. I open these windows when I can to provide a cross-draft and keep the trunk sturdy, without stressing the thing into dropping more branches like before. So far so good...
...and last but not least, this tiny tomato prepares to jettison its' bloom...

But this bloom isn't! This daylily is 'Mary Todd'....
....more nice yellow, this is 'Prairie Sun' rudbeckia....
More pretty daylilies, this is 'Majic Dawn' next to 'Mary Todd'....
...nice bright flower on this plant, whose name escapes me right now (the plant is grey and fuzzy like lamb's ear)...
.....speaking of "escape", look who surprised me on the porch! Time to tidy up these pots and stuff!
...another nice daylily that I don't have an official ID for, but it looks like a "spider"-type bloom...
.....another coneflower, petals not quite open all the way. Some of these do have petals that stay like this, though.
....wild Harebell (I have a lot of this)....
....hosta 'Fireworks'....
Dyalily 'Blueberry Sundae'....
....white cat, 'Bentley'...okay, again not bloom, but I let the cats out for a bit the other day and have to mention it. Bentley wasn't too thrilled, he mostly stayed on the porch and complained...
Very cool double daylily, I think it's called 'Kwanzo' . I got it as a passalong from my mom...
....and I love it! It blooms more than doulble...like triple and quadruple sometimes!
...the only two surviving carnivorous plants out in the screen house for the summer and looking happy...
...as I jettison another Bloom Day. For more exciting Bloom Day action, see our founder Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Happy Bloom Day!
Labels:
amphibians,
annuals,
birds,
Bloom Day,
carnivorous plants,
houseplants,
insects,
mammals,
mushrooms,
perennials,
pets,
reptiles,
snakes,
veggies,
vines,
water garden
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