Perhaps she might benefit at being a bit more wary of disappointed felines and bad dreams with a punch, but I'm sure she'll be bargaining once again with a disgruntled spirit down the road in a second beyond midnight dream. After all, to narcissistic cats, promises are but words, and words but wind, but aren't they just the cutest little wads of fur when purring in ones lap?
Deciding not to spy for little beings that might not be there, with a sigh, I stop just to listen. The thunderstorms have left a sprinkling of broken old ash tree branches here and there, and the freshly fallen leaves of the male persimmon tree seem plastered like glue to ground and my shoe soles. A gust of wind sends a rush of more loose leaves to the ground, and that lovely persimmon tree stands almost naked while the others are still properly attired.
What to write...
Spicebush leaves yellowing in autumn
Blackhaw Viburnum leaves in autumn turning from green to red to black
Red Winterberry berries and Swamp Sunflower
Right: Fructicose Lichen with bushy growth
Left: Foliose Lichen with leaf like lobes
An alga and a fungus living together as symbionts called Lichens.
The alga photosynthesizes, providing energy,
and the fungus obtains water and minerals,
and protects the algal cells from desiccation.
Polluted air kills them, so they are an indicator of a healthy environment.
They are also an indicator that my white ash tree is in it's declining period.
Hibiscus moscheutos (Swamp Mallow) gold autumn leaf
White Ash Tree fallen seeds and empty Black Walnut shells left by squirrel
We seem destined to die with garden tools gripped in our hands, as the gardens reach thirty years old. Instead of aging in grace, they are a slight disgrace...worn out, it would seem. The two rather ratty looking, non-native hollies along the back fence line were removed and replaced with winterberry, purple coneflower, and zizia aurea.
Three 'Hummingbird' Clethra dwarf shrubs out back have no fragrance when they bloom. Such a disappointment. They were replaced with two of the original Clethra alnifolia, in hopes my yard in the years to come will once again overflow with that intoxication fragrance of what some have described as honeysuckle, rose, clove, and heliotrope. Whatever it is, it's a fragrance to die for.
Some type of Funnel Cap Mushroom
Somewhat flat at first, then flexing to a funnel shape later
In their funnel shape, they are 5" across, give or take
Rain splashed bits of soil and mulch onto the caps
which have turned into small ponds with snails.
I'm not sure if the snails can get back out.
Collection of Redbud Tree autumn leaves
in stages of gold, red, and mildew
The underside of a dead Gilled Bolete mushroom
with its gills that look a bit like sea sponge.
Whatever reason, the healthy Gilled Bolete mushrooms are melting.
Our female persimmon tree will sadly be cut down this fall, as we can no longer keep up with cleaning up all those ripe persimmons plopping to the ground and attracting flies as they rot. It becomes a freaking mess...such a headache. As a smaller tree, clean up was attainable without too much fuss. Now...I'll just be glad when we have a quote for the cost. The ratty non-native hollies under it were removed also, leaving a rather bare lonely landscape.
I suppose I'll always have that urge to plant just one more plant before winter settles in, right up to that moment when winter settles in. On the porch waits six aster 'Patens' and two blue lobelias for what's beginning to become forever for the rains to stop long enough to dig eight little holes. Usually our autumn weather is drawn out into November, but if the first frost comes in late October, then turned-over buckets are used to cover their heads on frost nights. Being native, they aren't fussy.
Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum autumn leaves (red) on aromatic asters
Potter Wasp (Eumenes fraternus)
The female builds a miniature pot out of mud on a plant stem,
stuffs it with a live paralyzed caterpillar,
and lays an egg on the meal. The developing larva eats on this,
while the adult wasp feeds primarily on nectar.
Honeybee
Carpenter Bees
Blue-green Sweat Bee
The clouds have thinned out, the sun is shining, and I'm contemplating, if I really want to wade into that sea of aromatic asters covered in honeybees to snap a few shots of those no time to pose little buggers. I've done it before, and it's a bit tense deciding when to part the bushes and walk back out through the bees.
I think I'll do dinner instead with Applegate chicken and maple sausages, and lovely asparagus, sitting in olive oil to roast in the oven. A cup of English breakfast tea in the evening will complement it nicely. I hope this post has been a fun bit of witty humor for you, and that on All Hallows' Eve your dreams will have nothing to do with a ghoul, a goblin, or a demonic owl.
Swamp Sunflower
Inchworm - caterpillars of the
Eupithecis miserulata species of moths
Lacewing larva with its weird looking protection cover
of plant bits and dead carcass bits from food eaten.
Bits of pollen stamen are attached to it also.
Inchworms are a good food source for it.
Small bumblebee
~ Take care ~
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