Thursday, September 22, 2022

My sweet and sad September_ as she lingers at the threshhold of Autumn.


One day the first prematurely senile leaf will quietly detach itself in a faint breeze and flutter silently to the ground. All through the summer an occasional unnoticed, unregretted leaf has fallen from time to time. But not as this one falls. There is something quietly ominous about the way in which it gives up the ghost, without a struggle, almost with an air of relief. 

    ~Joseph Wood Krutch, "September,
    " The Twelve Seasons: A Perpetual Calendar for the Country




Just like sweets


Austin and Charlotte
I think they were part of the same litter.
Austin showed up a week after Charlotte and her kittens appeared
 during a rain storm.
There has always been a bond between them that I try to preserve.










It’s that time of the year when a twig from the old White Ash Tree is carried with me, to move to one side the orb weaver webs spanning the pathways or plant containers from one plant across to another, as I walk my patio and paths.  Otherwise… there’s nothing like that velvety feeling of a spider web plastering itself across one’s body as they inadvertently walk right into the almost invisible wonder.

The gardens have suffered this year from drought too long, then rains too long, then drought too long, then… you get the drift.  The Chelone lyonii, commonly called turtlehead, has suffered this year from our pruning neglect this past spring of the Swamp Rose growing amongst them, and the forever expanding Joe Pye Weed laying across them after the flowers have bloomed.  Personally, planting the Swamp Rose was a task I now regret.  We all make gardening mistakes, here or there that plague us forevermore, don’t we?

The Spicebush berries were plucked off the bushes over a month ago by a very determined Mockingbird.  I watched it lunge up off the concrete repeatedly to pluck berries from lower limbs too weak to hold its body weight.  There’s a group of young cardinals in the gardens; where their nest was I haven’t a clue, but it’s usual this time of year to be blessed with their company.

So many photos of flowers with insects, but I’m drawn to them in that a closeup always reveals their true selves, instead of that tiny nondescript creature flying or crawling about.  A flower without an insect is a flower.  A flower with an insect shouts out look at me.  I can’t resist that call.

The writing's on the wall as far as planting more plants after this year.  Planting nine wild petunias, two each day at the base of the White Ash tree, caused me to cancel my physical therapy sessions for a week to recuperate.  Vic's offered to help, but by his own admission, as far as gardens are concerned, he's a destroyer not a creator.  We shall see.  

My White Ash Tree is having an affair with Miss Poison Ivy, and I see a new villain has enter the picture making it a threesome… English ivy.  The bane of nature’s love affair with my garden.  

I know the "rules" of gardening, but  I've broken most of them over the years.  Watering in the heat of the day, watering overhead, leaving plant matter to compost in place… my garden’s still here doing what it was meant and chooses to do. 

My house and garden are a life raft floating in the green sea of expanding suburbia around us.  The houses are spaced closer and closer together, and lawns seems to be the new gardens.  Perhaps... the reason wildlife in my space is disappearing.  

We were commenting the other day about the diasppearance of skunks this year.  Not a one seen or smelled.  With country being sucked up by the housing industry to produce more homes around us, we have become isolated from the wild, causing great sadness for me.    

I’m still in a funk over loosing my Lacey, and it has been an uphill task to give this post the right ambiance.  I find photographing the garden gives me some peace in my mind, but it is all so short lived.  It will take time.  I hope you enjoy the photographs as much as I enjoyed taking them.       



Miss Poison Ivy


Spicebush Swallowtail Catepillar's Abode
A folded leaf for protection during the day.
You can see the leaf it munched on last night.


Only 1 or 2 butterfly eggs out of 100 live to become adult butterflies.
Maybe it was the early spring, I don't know, 
but this is the only catepillar I have found on all 7 spicebushes.  
Its chances of not being eaten are pretty slim. 


Little Bumblebee feeding on nector of 
Blue Stemmed Goldenrod (Solidago caesia)


Crowns of rhizomes of Celandine Poppy (Stylophorum diphyllum)
in dormant stage waiting for next spring.


Orange Hover Fly








Maybe an olive green leafhopper or planthopper


Some type of Katydid hiding under a leaf.
I need to see the entire insect to tell you which type.
I didn't feel like desturbing it, so this is all you get.


Hairy Sunflower, Helianthus hirsutus
with maybe a Furrow Bee.


The Large Milkweed Bug,  Oncopeltus fasciatus


Hiding


Hexastylis arifolia - Little Brown Jug
The large leaves are about 6" wide.


The leaves of this one are amaller.
They are happy to grow in the layer of oak leaves.


Phylloporus rhodoxanthus
commonly known as the Gilled Bolete Mushrooms


Underside, after being uprooted by something.


Looks like claw scratches from some critter.








Clouds backlit by the sun,
driving home after an outing to buy milkshakes in Mt. Juliet.


Small Bumblebee (maybe 1/2 of an inch long) 
with a Small Carpenter Bee (I think) flying by.





Maybe a Green Sweat Bee


I think this is a type of Furrow Bee (Genus Halictus)
It's maybe 3/8th inch long and thin.


Quite a bit of pollen collected on its hind legs.

















Arcigera Flower Moth (Schinia arcigera)
about 1/2 inch length,
on Late Purple Aster (Symphyotrichum patens)
Favors asters as a food plant for its young caterpillars.


The scales and hairs of the wings are faintly visible in this photo.
I took this photo around 6 pm.


Early next morning it was resting on an aster flower bud.


Small Bumblebee on aster





This bee looks a bit metallic, so maybe a Dark Sweat Bee.




















Fluff from a bird






  Thank you, 
  to all of my blogging friends, 
  for leaving such 
  kind and warm comments
  when my cat Lacey 
  passed away.  
  It means the world to me.


  I miss her so much.







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31 comments:

  1. Wouldn't you think we could package grapes in something other than a plastic box? Thanks for the natural history lesson. Your blog is always filled with information - and well written too.

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    1. Thank you. Plastic seems to be here forever; even though, in my opinion, is one of the worse pollutants in history.

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  2. ...your in the south when you find muscadines. In the '60s while I was at the University of Georgia I worked with a professor doing research on muscadines.

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    1. Muscadines are native here, so the heat and humidity doesn't affect them with the diseases other grape varieties have to be sprayed for. They have a tough skin, so I give them a little nip with my teeth at the place the stem was attached and pop the center out of the skin and into my mouth. This type has a musky taste I adore.

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  3. I 'think' I was able to add you to my sidebar's blog list. I hope so. With blogger being such as it is--who knows?! Thanks for popping in to play along with the table game. I had already posted the results but will go back and add you. lol.

    If you feel comfortable, please send me your email address. I usually reply to all comments on my blog but need an email addy to do it. My own is: dianakos1@gmail.com.

    You take wonderful photos. That is a true artistic quality and one I do not excel at by any means. lol

    Thank so much. Hugs- Diana

    ps, Hope your heart heals after losing your sweet kitty. I know your pain.

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  4. Hello,
    Your garden images are lovely. I hope with time you are more comfortable and have many happy memories of your sweet Lacey. Take care, enjoy your day!

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    1. Thank you for linking up and sharing your post. Take care, have a happy weekend. PS, Thank you for leaving me a comment.

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  5. All the pictures are beautiful, but I love the pictures of Charlotte and Austin! 💕 The two are so sweet that I feel my blood sugar rising when I look at them!
    I wish you clear days!

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  6. Hello Yvonne :=)
    The bond between Charlotte and Austin is lovely to see. Your photos of them side by side are so endearing. I enjoyed seeing all your garden plants and insects. Dwindling land due to housing developments is a big problem for wildlife and plastic is another, at least your garden is a haven for bees and other pollinators.

    The name of the plant on my post is Nakid Lady, Colchicum arenariam. The flowers appear in late summer or autumn. before the foliage. They look kind of strange, don't they!

    All the best Yvonne, and take care.



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  7. The pics from your garden are lovely!

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  8. This is a beautiful post, Yvonne, both in words and pictures. I especially loved the thought behind this sentence: "So many photos of flowers with insects, but I’m drawn to them in that a closeup always reveals their true selves, instead of that tiny nondescript creature flying or crawling about. " I love that you SEE beyond the visual, through the visual.

    You are grieving and grieving is important. Don't worry about being "light" for us.

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  9. Sweet photos of Austin and Charlotte. Great photos from your garden.

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  10. Beautiful photos of the fall and also of the summer.
    I like the cats a lot.
    Greetings Irma

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  11. Gardens so easily get out of control. Creatures find nooks and crannies to settle safely but sometimes it seems all life is fragile lace that at any moment could loosen and scatter its threads.

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  12. Your nature photography is divine ~ and your words inspire ~ So sad about Lacey ~ so hard to lose our fur persons ~ they are so special ~ Xo

    Wishing you good health, laughter and love in your days,

    A ShutterBug Explores,
    aka (A Creative Harbor)

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  13. Your garden photos are beautiful and I love the bond between Austin and Charlotte. I am so sorry to hear about Lacey! Photography continues to help me through difficult times. I hope you find some solace in that as well.

    -Soma

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  14. Beautiful post - every word and photo.
    Precious photos of the kitties 😺😽
    So sorry to hear bout Lacey.
    Sending you lots of healing thoughts and hugs, Yvonne. 🌼💛🌹

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  15. Your cats are so cute. Love your garden photos too.

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  16. Beautiful photos! I like the shots of the insects and mushrooms; but even more beautiful are your cats!

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  17. I really loved your opening about the autumn leaf letting go. We also have experienced hotter dryer summers here, though at the moment we are in the full flush of spring - my favourite time of year. And I too despair abut the expanding suburbia. Part of me wants a quiet place away from city life, but as we age we need more facilities I think. Take care, enjoy your week, and thank you for visiting my blog this week.

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  18. Lovely photos. I am sorry about Lacey.

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  19. Wonderful photos. Austin and Charlotte are beautiful! Gardening can be a big challenge, but so pretty when things go well. I am sorry for your loss.

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  20. I don´t know, but there are something special with floers, bees and butterflies :) Love the combination :)

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  21. What a great post. You are so tuned into the world around you that it amazes me. The commet about running into spider webs was cool. Where my son used to work he sometimes started very early so while I was up I would go hiking on my favorite trails and I was always running into spider webs.
    I help take care of a monarch waystation where I live and I have learned so much from a lady that I help with the project. We haven't seen too many butterflies but we get all sorts of bees, wasps, and hornets. She said not to worry about it.
    I'm so sorry about the loss of your cat. Our critters just don't live long enough. A year ago we had three healthy dogs and we lost all three to various ailments. It's been quite a shock. We still have our two cats though.

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  22. I so loved this tour. The gorgeous critters, the mushrooms, the plant life and the rest. Thank you for sharing your autumnal joy with us.

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  23. Such sweet kitties! I love the bond between them. Such beautiful and interesting garden photos too. There is so much life in a garden that often goes unnoticed.

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  24. What lovely photos! I really enjoy watching the bees in the garden and you've captured them beautifully.

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  25. Great autumn photos! Best time of year.
    Amalia
    xo

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