For a couple of hours this morning, I was spot spraying my back garden with 2,4-D. 2,4-D is a potent herbicide that is sold under the brand name Weed–B-Gone. I used about four tablespoons of the stuff, which kills everything that isn’t grass, mixed with water. And as I sprayed, I felt guilt. I …
I noticed several of these enormous caterpillars on my Starflowers (Pentas lanceolata) this morning. Enormous and, I might add, really ugly. Note that the head and the butt (do caterpillars have a butt?) are kind of brown and slimy looking, as if it were pooping at both ends. Apparently Pentas are a host plant for …
It seems a melancholy thing that summer is slipping away into fall. I especially regret seeing the daylight hours slowly shortening with each sunset. On the other hands, there are compensations for us and for the suburban wildlife around us. For people, there are plentiful peaches and tomatoes, cooler temperatures, fewer mosquitos (or at least …
I’ve already mentioned the Mexican Sunflower (Tithonia rotundifolia) growing in the vegetable/herb patch. The longer I watch this annual from Mexico and Central America, the surer I am that I want to plant it again next year. First of all, when I hear the name “Tithonia” I think of Freedonia, the fictional country in the …
So now there are bees and pollinators all over the front garden. Especially bumblebees. Judy took these videos with her phone. This first one is mostly bumblebees on the Wild Bergamot. Judy says these bees are rather hyperactive and difficult to keep in the frame. Bumblebees always seem so industrious, but also cute. Maybe because …
Until recently there seemed to be far fewer bees than normal in the garden, which is ordinarily a place humming with insect activity. The bees seem to have returned in quantity over the last couple of weeks, though still in smaller numbers than last year. Butterflies are still pretty scarce. Here are some bee and …
So when I got home from work today, I decided I would check on the Cardinal’s nest I wrote about in my last post. As I walked up to the nest, I inadvertently flushed out a female cardinal who exploded out of the tangle of vines. In her absence, I tried to get a look …
The prairie rose (Rosa setigera) and the trumpet honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens) are collaborating nicely to create a viney (not really a word, so sue me) tangle against the back brick wall of our attached garage. The kind of tangle, I hope, that will tempt birds to build nests. So we were very happy when we noticed …
I have more bird feeders than I can actually use at any one time. That’s OK, though, because I like to change feeders and types of food as the seasons progress. For instance, I stop feeding peanuts once the warm weather is established. These changes keep the birds on their toes (or would if they …
Judy saw this guy sunning himself on some dead leaves in the driveway bed. Pretty sure it’s a Mourning Cloak. Any butterfly enthusiasts out there care to confirm or contradict this ID? I read a little bit about Mourning Cloaks here. Apparently these butterflies are one of the few that can live through the cold …
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