Friday, July 29, 2022

The Poetry of Summer


Eastern Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly















Type of Orange Paper Wasp
They chew on bits of paper, wood, bark, etc., mix it with saliva, 
and form the resulting pulp into a nest typical of their species


Joe Pye Weed








Cicada Hiding


Neofavolus alveolaris, I think.
Yellow gills on bottom that look like a sponge.





Phlox 'Laura'


Too hot and humid to enjoy


Wild Bergamot, Monarda fistulosa
With type of fly and an ant


Bumble Bee











Female Eastern Carpenter Bee on 
Hairy Sunflower, Helianthus hirsutus














My life feels in slow motion dragging itself across the landscape of a thousand trip hazards.  I’m in perpetual garden watering mode – a half here, next day a half there, next day what’s remaining of the first half, and so on… on and on and on.  Days of high 90’s F or higher, with too few days of reprieves in between since June.  Memories of watering only once a month in ancient times taunts me, as the heaviness of the humid heat drains me instantly as I step out into nature.  I seem to be keeping the tree frogs happy, though, as their night chorus appears wherever I’ve watered.

I’ve had better days and photographing summer now is rock bottom on my list of necessities.  I’ve had a setback with my neck that has sent me to hell for a while, but let’s not dwell on that.  I’ve dwelt on it enough, for all of us, just living it.  Dustin up and quit eating his kidney friendly food… he’s not the slightest bit interested in in anymore.  Senior canned dog food isn’t plentiful, but we’re trying Simply Nourish and Blue Buffalo.  So far, he’s eating them both quite happily.

Lacey’s not always interested in her Tiki Cat canned food, prompting us to visit PetSmart to buy one can of every without fish Fancy Feast Medleys and some from Instinct with gravy.  An appetite stimulant is applied to the inside of her ear flap when needed.    She has a drive to eat almost constantly, without any weight gain.  She’s healthy, according to her regular bloodwork, so we’re waiting results of a more extensive bloodwork profile to see if she has Crohn’s disease or Lymphoma.  We’ve been waiting a week.  It’s really a bummer… waiting.


Some days have passed since I began this… thunderstorms coming in from the north are a constant each day.  Yesterday we found a rather large, small branch from the Ash tree had fallen and broken the central branch on one of the winterberry shrubs, lessening its height by half.  It was the oldest winterberry in the garden and quite tall, so that was a disappointing discovery.

Searching the internet about gardens as engineered products, I came upon the fact that a National Garden Bureau exists in this country.  News to me.  One of the topics was re-engineering gardens, in my case , adapting to the shade created by maturing trees.  We have an arborist coming in Monday to trim back the two hornbeam trees… this is when gardening begins to cost a bit more than planned.

Although I garden naturally, my garden isn’t natural… Nature is natural.  I had a plan, executed it, and Nature has been working overtime since then to wipe it off the face of her earth.  It’s a bit annoying, to say the least.  How dare she mettle with my efforts to help myself to a little bit of her heaven concentrated into a tiny patch of land.  Just because I fill the space overflowing doesn’t mean I want every tree seed that hits the ground to grow into a forest, or every weed seed that hitchhikes with the wind to love me with a vengeance.  She refuses to listen to me, saying Mother knows best.

Yes, Mother…


Dustin


Miss Lacey minding the kitchen.
A cat's job is never finished.


These old shoes are the cat's meow.









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21 comments:

  1. ...I have plenty of bees in my garden, but precious few butterflies this year.

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  2. Lovely shots of the butterflies. I love the pic of Miss Lacey minding the kitchen. Hope mother nature will sort out her wanton ways :)

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  3. Hello,
    It has been hot and dry here, we seem to miss the storms. The heavy rain passes all around us. Your flowers are looking beautiful. I am sure the bees and insects love your garden. The Swallowtail is a beauty. Cute photos of Dustin and Lacey. I hope Lacey 's bloodwork is good news. Great collection of photos. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a great weekend. PS, thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  4. Hello. Lovely post. Beautiful butterfly. Cats are so cute.

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  5. We have messed with nature so much it's not hard to figure why she is kicking back a little, just so that we don't get too uppity. Lighting a few fires around the world got our attention, didn't it?

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  6. Lovely butterflies ! So beautifully captured!

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  7. I love the butterflies and bees.
    Pets and food, such a tricky one. We've been experimenting, as well.
    (ツ) from Jenn Jilks , ON, Canada!

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  8. Gorgeous photos! Those swallowtails sure know how to pick the right background bloom for their close-ups, don't they? Those are beautiful shots. And Lacey is looking lovely. For whatever reason, Lizzie is on a hunger strike, choosing not to eat either her canned or crunchy foods. Apparently she's not liking duck. We'll try a different can tonight. I hope you find success with the right ones.

    I shudder to think what my garden at home looks like. My neighbor is watering it but no one is "tending" it (not that I do a very good job of that myself). I guess I'll see at the end of next month when I return!

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  9. Nature is a very territorial "creature"; she wants everything to belong to her.
    As always, I admire the photos you take - you have a great sense of observation and talent for garden photography.
    My thoughts go out to Dustin and Lacey. 💕 I know from experience what it's like when our little furry friends have problems. I hope everything will be fine! Maybe the heat is also a reason for indisposition... I want to believe that before anything else. Miki, our dog, has liver problems... She is on a diet. 😊 She doesn't like the food she has to eat at all, but... she eats, because she has no choice.
    All the best for you and your loved ones!

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  10. I sure hope you feel better. It seems so much harder to get things done when you are in pain. Love seeing your bees and bugs! Take care!

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  11. That swallowtail butterfly is gorgeous. And you always take such nice bee shots! I laughed at the "trespassers will be composted" sign. I hope your pain lessens soon.

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  12. Beautiful photos of the Swallowtail Butterfly! I wish it could visit my garden too.

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  13. The butterflies photos are absolutely beautiful. Glad to see Dustin and Lacey are doing well and a bit fussy about their food. Isn't that always the case. :) Take care and have a great weekend.

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  14. Your photos of the swallowtail are wonderful, dear Yvonne!
    Haven't seen one here this year... The cicada is really a master of camouflage, I wouldn't have spotted it.
    What you call Joe-Pye-weed, we call it Wasserdost (roughly translated: water oregano - I'm surprised it's called "weed" in English.) It's a great butterfly/insect food plant, the favorite plant of the urchin moth butterfly (Arctiinae). Monards are such great insect magnets too, I think your garden is full of good food for the animals! Your other pets, the four-legged ones, are also well cared for, although they sometimes cause concern. Our Nina only likes to eat a little canned food, too. I put some torn sausage on it and she likes it. Not healthy but hey, she is 19 and has cancer. She's definitely not going to die of the sausage. Dustin and Lacey are so adorable. Why do cats love to lie on shoes so much? Nowhere does it smell better "human" than there (and on the toilet ;-) Sorry, but my cats love or always loved that too ;-D) !?
    Have a happy new week! Hugs and all the best,
    Traude
    https://rostrose.blogspot.com/2022/07/mallorca-reisebericht-teil-3-tag-7-bis.html

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  15. great shots of the insects and flowers. And of furry friends :)

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  16. Your photos are always so incredibly beautiful, Yvonne.
    I especially love the shots of the furry ones.

    Hugs and blessings!

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  17. Hi Yvonne, thank you for mentioning National Garden Bureau in your blog post! We do exist and hope you find more information at our website! Happy Gardening!

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  18. lovely post. your butterfly shots are gorgeous.

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  19. You do find poetry in every corner of your life and I thank you for taking me on a lyrical trip with you. Beautiful photos but it's the words that caught me in their web.

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  20. What beautiful glimpses into your garden. I have been admiring those same butterflies in my own garden too. They are so hard to photograph as they move about so fast.

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