See the little trees coming up from the fan clubmoss?  They are about 4 inches tall.  I think these are the fruiting bodies.  In fungi, they would be mushrooms;  not sure what they're called in mosses.  Guess I better get busy and do a little research.  I'll get back to you.  

OK, I learned that those "little trees" are the spore-bearing strobili.  Mosses don't have flowers or seeds, but reproduce by spores like ferns and mushrooms.  That's about all I know about it.  I just know that I love seeing this huge colony of clubmosses.  Thought you'd like to see it too.   
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

We saw this insect in the park.  Its color was so vibrant, we had to stop.  It held still for a full minute!!!  I used my new favorite app SEEK, and it called it Beautiful Demoiselle.  Had to look it up.  According to SEEK, scientifically it is Calopteryx virgo, or European damselfly.  
 

According to Wikipedia, Calopteryx virgo lives in Europe.  'The distribution of the beautiful demoiselle covers all of Europe with the exception of the southwestern Iberian Peninsula, the Balearic Islands and Iceland.  On the North African Mediterranean coast, its southern populations in Morocco and Algeria can be found.'  No mention of Southern Appalachia.  
 

I sent an email to iNaturalist, SEEK's creators, and asked about other damselflies in our area, and I got this back:  'Seek's image recognition model doesn't take location into account, it relies purely on visual similarity,'  plus a link to four species of damselfly spotted in north Georgia.  This one is probably Superb Jewelwing, Calopteryx amata.  Ya gotta love that!!!!
 

I love this app even more now!!!  Information AND support!!  Did I mention that's it's free?  
 

Whatever species it is doesn't really matter to me;  we were just captivated by its beautiful iridescence.  And now you get to see it too.  Maybe you'll see some in your travels.  I hope so.  They are so beautiful:  superb, in fact.  
 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

Look!!!!  The cucumber plants are latching onto their fence.  Those tendrils are really strong, and hairy.  They catch the wire and stick, then pull the vines up tight.  
 

I love seeing this.  I planted about 40 seeds.  (seeds from last year's cucumbers.)   I plant that many just in case they don't ALL germinate.  Well, they did!!!  I hope you like cucumbers.  Because...

 

Along about July, I'll be dropping them on your front porch, ringing the doorbell, and running.  Hahaha!!!  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I love this picture of a dad and daughter out collecting crabs from their traps on Linkhorn Bay in Virginia Beach.  It was Father's Day, 2018.  It was early morning, and I watched them for a while.  They didn't talk much, but I could see that they worked well together.  Probably been doing it for a long time.  See the lookout?  
 

I have happy memories of my dad; (very old memories,) he died in 1975.  I don't send him cards anymore, but I always celebrate Father's Day with happy thoughts.  
 

The Father's Day cards I send now are from Ranger, our cat.  Not sure he'd like the boat, but he'd probably love crabbing with Jon, his dad.  

 

To all the great dads, and granddads:  Happy Father's Day!!!  
 

 

 

 

 

This year the Summer Solstice is on June 20th.  It marks the beginning of summer.  
 

The summer solstice occurs when one of the Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun.  This creates the longest day of the year.  
 

I added the picture of STONEHENGE, because over the centuries there have been festivals, ceremonies, and rituals associated with the summer solstice.  Lots of interesting lore.  You can find out more at:  

 

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

 

                                                    American flag and Juneteenth flag

 

As I was putting in today's date, I realized that today is Juneteenth.  My blog today isn't about gardening, it's about history.  

 

I have heard of Juneteenth, but didn't really know much about it, so I looked up, and learned some good stuff.  Here's my internet source:  

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneteenth?wprov=sfti1  
 

I don't need to copy and paste the whole article, but it is very interesting, definitely worth the look-see.  I made it easy for you;  all you have to do is click on the link, and go read for yourself.  It's good to be informed.  
 

Thanks to Patty and Bill for putting up the Independence Day decorations in time to include the Juneteenth Independence.

 

It's important to celebrate our nation's holidays.  

 

HAPPY JUNETEENTH!!!

 

 

 

 

 

Our beautiful view.  Looks so good all cleaned up, thanks to Lopez tree service.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

 

We had some tree work done this week, and these guys are great!!!  I took some videos, but I still can't load them.  

 

It was so amazing to watch Lopez climb the tree to cut off limbs, and the other two guys dragging off the cuttings.  It started to rain while he was up the tree, but when we heard thunder, he came down.  They came back early the next day.
 

We learned about him from Fidel, the Five Forks lawn maintenance crew.  Nice guys.  When you need tree work done, you can reach him through Fidel, or use the phone number on his truck.  It works for texting too.  I tried it to say, "see you tomorrow."

 

Here's an amazing picture that Jon took of Lopez up one of our trees:  at 8 am.  

 

 

 

 

He trimmed up 7 trees, and now our view is fabulous!!!  Highly recommend.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

It's a never ending battle:  squirrels and food.  My friend Nick understands it this way:  that's all they have to do all day, figure out ways to get food.
 

I watched last week, as a squirrel jumped from the ground to a horizontal limb about 4 feet up.  I stomped and yelled and made a bunch of noise, sending it right up into the apple tree!! AAK!!!!  Nope, that didn't work out too well.  

 

So, off to Home Depot for a roll of flashing.  Hey, it works to keep them out of the bird feeders.  So here's how we hope to get some apples this year.  We've got our fingers crossed.  Hahaha!!

 

I'll let you know if it works.  
 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

This is another species of Asclepias. It is Asclepias variegata, also known as Redring or White Milkweed.  It is native to eastern North America, and can be found in Canada and the US.  We've seen it a lot in our travels on the Skyline Drive in Virginia, and right here in western North Carolina.  They're easy to spot on roadways and in the meadows, especially when they're blooming.  Just like other milkweeds, it is also food for Monarch butterflies.  
 

This one stands about 2 feet tall, and lives at Meeks Park.  We go there a lot.  There is a 2 mile walking path with gentle hills, (not like our neighborhood walk with its 600 foot vertical climb.)  And there is always something interesting to see.  
 

The genus was formally described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753, who named it after Asclepius, the Greek god of healing.  I just looked this up, and found that I've been spelling the plant genus name incorrectly.  The Greek god's name is Asclepius, and the plant genus name is Asclepias.  I'll go back and revise my writings, because it matters to me that if I'm teaching you something, I should have my facts straight.  
 

I hope you see some milkweed blooming;  it means there will be food for the Monarch butterflies.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!