We saw our first Monarch of the season on our neighbors' sage.  I waited a while for it to open its wings, but when it did, it flew, and I missed the picture.  But we know that this is a Monarch, and they are passing through on their way to Mexico.

 

 

SAFE TRAVELS!!!

 

When our friends came to visit the other day, they wanted to walk in the garden.  It seems to me that there is nothing there to see, but we did it anyway.  As we walked by the zinnias, I noticed this butterfly just hanging there.  I knew what that meant:  she had just emerged from her cocoon and was warming up enough to fly.  

 

You can't tell from her under wings, but I saw the topside of her wings, and it is a Pipevine swallowtail.  Instead of bright blue like the Black swallowtail, the coloration on the bottom of the hind wings was a dusky turquoise.  Beautiful!!!

 

I hope you will look it up in your butterfly book, or on the internet, and see how pretty she is.  And right here in MY garden.

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

 

We saw this on the deck post, and knew immediately that it was a stick bug.  Of course, Seek had a more dignified name for it:  Northern Walkingstick.  OK.  This one was about 3 inches long, so I guess it was a male.  The females are 3.7 inches long.

 

Still, interesting to see.  Our own Nature program, right on the front porch.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Our friends up on the ridge sent us this picture of a black bear in their yard!!!   This is the third sighting in the last month from the same area.  Look how close he is to the road.   This is the same road we walk when we walk the loop.  One other time he was in Tom's driveway at 1 pm!!!  I guess it was the same bear.  

 

I am not an expert on black bear behavior;  I thought they were crepuscular, but this was at 5:30 in the afternoon, nowhere near dusk or dawn.  I thought it was unusual at first, but he keeps coming back.

 

I do know this though:  FOOD is their main objective, and bird seed is a favorite, especially in nice neighborhoods like ours.  We are all so kind to feed the birds, but now may be a good time to abstain from bird feeding.  The birds have plenty of natural food in the fall:  seeds, berries, etc.  But if you must feed the birds, be sure to bring in the feeders at night.  You definitely don't want him up on your deck, or destroying your bird feeders.

 

Maybe if Mr. Bear can't find any food here, he will move on.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

 

Ok, this is kinda gross, but also very interesting.  This is a tobacco hornworm on one of my tomato plants.  Usually I get rid of them, but this one is doing a remarkable thing.  

 

There is a parasitic wasp, Cotesia congregata, that oviposits her eggs under the skin of tobacco hornworms.  When the larvae hatch out, they use the hornworm for food.  So, you see, this hornworm is serving a very important purpose:  feeding beneficial insects in my garden, thus reducing the population of hornworms.  

 

The first time I saw this, I had no idea how a caterpillar could lay eggs.  Of course, they don't, but you don't know until you know.  The wasp larvae feed on the caterpillar, then spin their cocoons which pop out through the caterpillar skin.  So, these white fuzzy things on the caterpillar are wasp cocoons.  Natural hornworm population control.  

 

Now you know.  Still kinda gross.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I don't know...does this look comfortable to you?  Yeah, me too.  

 

But this is how he spent a couple hours yesterday.  I guess to understand it, you have to be a cat...

 

 

HAPPY TIMES IN THE MOUNTAINS

 

OK, this is why you need to bring in your bird feeders (all of them) every night.

 

This little raccoon got into Sandy's hummingbird feeder, and left its little sticky footprints all over the deck.  

 

Cute, but...do you really want to encourage wildlife to come onto your deck?  I don't think so.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

We haven't seen the butterflies, but we know they have been here.  

 

Cabbage whites are very noticeable flittering around in the garden, so I don't know how we missed them.  But they lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves of all the Brassicas.  I noticed all the caterpillar poop in the kale, so I started looking for the feeding caterpillars.  And here they are:  GROSS!!!

 

You really can't see any damage yet, but as they get bigger, they eat more, and leave huge holes in the kale leaves.  We have to get rid of them SOON!!!  

 

We use a biological insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis, we just call it Bt, that disrupts the digestive system of the worms.  It doesn't kill the butterflies, or any other critters, including us, just worms.  Worms have an enzyme in their stomachs that reacts with these bacteria, and they stop eating our kale.  Really, that's a nice way of saying that Bt causes paralysis.  

 

Anyway, Bt is approved for organic gardening.  So we use it.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

When we brought in the cabbages I saw all these snails on this one.  I thought you would like to see them, showing their tentacles.  Did you know that their eyes are on the ends of their tentacles?   Interesting.  

 

Good news, they are so little, I don't think they ate too much of the cabbage.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

You know all those catkins from the oak and hickory trees?  Those things that stuff up your gutters, and hang all over everything in the spring?  In actuality, they are the male flowers carrying pollen to make future acorns.  Ok, we get that.

 

Well, I heard a great name for them the other day:  are you ready?  Oak Worms.  Hahaha!!!

 

My friend called them that in passing, and I fell out laughing.  I guess it is a throwback from her childhood.  Funny!!!  Anyway, now you know what to call them...next spring, when you see them again.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!