A Robin's Sanctuary

 

Robin's egg shell

A rabbit hiding in plain site

Spent white flowers of the Blackhaw Viburnum 

that have dropped to the ground.

Looks like part of the Trillium.

 

'My Mary' Azalea loosing its old blossoms

Maple seeds

I think this pin head size insect is the nymph 

of the Florida Predatory Stink Bug.

The dried up spots on the Wreath Goldenrod leaf 

are most likely caused by leaf sucking insects 

that the nymph has already devoured.

I suppose nostalgic is the word that comes to mind when I walk and sit in the garden, of which the best part of my life has been devoted to.  It’s a feeling of contentment laced with a bit of quiet desperation when one’s state of mind endlessly desires to accomplish more, and one’s state of physical being must accept the fact that the sky is not always the limit.

The patio and deck cleaning are out of the way, and the recovered fallen Ash tree branches have been redistributed into the garden to slow down erosion.  We are talking about small branches over six feet long and the size of my skinny arm.

I cannot even comprehend the sound of such a tree limb cracking and falling through a maze of branches on its way down to be stopped by the earth.  I thought I heard one yesterday, and when I found it, the size was like a two foot stick no thicker than my thumb.  I thought for sure an elephant had come crashing out of the heavens to dine with me at lunchtime.

Talk about dining, a bumper crop of five hungry piranhas masquerading as juvenile squirrels have invaded my garden from their hidden nest in the huge tree across the street.  A quart of sunflower hearts runs out long before the sun has reached its zenith for the day.

Spring wears her disguises of winter and summer so cleverly, that one may wake up to a warm morning in May and end their day back in the coldness of January.  Summer has a way of sneaking in unnoticed until one day it’s hotter than hell in the neighborhood.

A new cellphone has entered my life, even though I usually wear something out before retiring it and moving on.  The learning curve is a bit exasperating when a Samsung Galaxy S7 is replaced by a Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra.  Thank goodness for YouTube videos.

My garden comes across mostly as fifty shades of green, because… well, because it is a garden of fifty shades of green.  The sunny areas around the edges are always full of color, but the shady areas are more subdued in their shy coloring.  It’s a garden where photos never fully justify its quiet beauty, and yet I try, sometimes succeeding.

Welcome to my May, and a day that began in sunny warmth and ended in a growing coolness worthy of a coat.

Physocarpus opulifolius - Ninebark

Top photo are the seed heads from each pollinated blossom.

Insect is most likely a carpet beetle.

Conradina verticillata, Cumberland False Rosemary

a member of the mint family.

It has been classified as a threatened species.

Fleabane

Byzantine Gladiolus

This photo looks abstract, but it shows the iridescence of the glad.

Euonymus americanus, Strawberry Bush

Pollinated by ants.

Philadelphus inodorus L.

Scentless Mock Orange

Woodlouse (Sowbug)

A crustacean

'Polish Spirit' Clematis 

Grows like a weed in clay soil without amendments.

Have no idea the names of these two small flowering clematis.

Solomon's Seal with flower buds not opened yet.

Hexastylis arifolius*, or evergreen wild ginger

I removed the non-native Dicentra Spectabilis,

to be replaced with native plants.

Discovered a few survivers that will be left alone for now.

Honeybee discovered on a warm rock on a cold day.

Almost stepped on it.

'Minnie Pearl' , Thickleaf Phlox

Notice the pink eyes.

Itea virginica 'Saturnalia'

Pretty new leaves and flower buds not yet opened.

Bellwort, Uvularia grandiflora 

Surrounded by wildflowers and grasses.

Swamp clematis

Copper Iris, Iris Flava

Likes moisture.

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Saturday's Critters

My Corner of the World