Guess who loves the hot, dry weather?  Tomatoes and eggplants.  The peppers are totally wilted, but these other Nightshades apparently love this weather.  They just keep making fruit.  Well, the tomatoes are winding down, but the eggplants are growing great.  We have picked over 50 eggplants.  Last year we got 8.  Ya never know...

 

I'm happy.

 

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

OK, here is the "before" picture of our mountain view. This is what we see from our deck, and how we gauge the coming of autumn.  I will show you again as it progresses.  

 

Meanwhile, we are still praying for rain and cooler temps.

 

 

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!

 

We love seeing the crabapple trees in the park.  Right now they are loaded with crabapples, and aren't they pretty?  They look good enough to eat, but trust me when I tell you that they are SOUR!!!!!  Of course, I've tasted one, but it was way too sour for me.  I've heard of crabapple jelly, but I bet there is a ton of sugar involved.

 

Not much fall color yet, but I thought this might be a nice welcome to fall.  Burgundy is a fall color, right?

 

 

HAPPY FALL TONIGHT AT 8:05!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

While we were checking out the Boogie-woogie aphids on the American Beech trees, we noticed this fuzzy fungus blob.  It appeared to be right next to the black sooty mold that feeds on the aphid honeydew.  I took its picture on the Seek app, and here's what I got:  its name is Scorias spongiosa, it is a sooty mold fungus that grows on aphid honeydew, and is only found on American Beech trees.  Interesting, huh?

 

 

HAPPY ALMOST FALL!!!

 

 

 

I know I have shown you this before, but it's that time of year, and the Joe Pye weeds are blooming.  This white one is my absolute favorite.  And this year it seems to have multiplied.  I can't see if there are multiple stems or just multiple blooms, all I can really see is that it's white.  And I love that!!!  

 

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

 

 

A couple weeks ago I showed you the native clematis in bloom along the road through the Ocoee.  I thought the bloom season was longer, but this year it seemed pretty short.  Anyway, here are the seed pods on the native clematis in the park.  I was able to get a close-up picture of them.  Aren't they cool?  

 

Right now the seeds are green and held tightly to the little stem.  But when they mature and dry, they turn brown, get fuzzy looking, and pouf in the wind.  They are airborne seeds, just like dandelions and fireweed.  

 

I hope you get to see some in your travels.  

 

 

HAPPY ALMOST FALL!!!

 

Looks like our Dogwoods are getting ready for winter, with lots of berries.  I've even seen a few Dogwoods starting to show fall color.  Not this one, but others.

 

I just think this is so pretty.  Thought you'd like the picture.

 

 

HAPPY SUMMER STILL!!!

 

This is just a tiny bit, but it shows you the beautiful arching habit of goldenrod flowers.  

 

Lots of people blame goldenrod for their allergies, but it is really ragweed that is to blame.  It blooms about the same time, in the same places, and is yellow just like goldenrod, but it's not the same.  Ragweed is more upright, and feathery.

 

I will look around, and find ragweed to show you in another post.

 

Let's just be happy now seeing goldenrod in our travels.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

After I showed you the two praying mantids on the cucumber trellis, I saw another one in the tomatoes.  This one was alone, and I wondered if it was one of the two I had seen the day before.  

 

I kinda remembered that the female eats the male after mating.  Actually, I thought I remembered that she bites his head off.  Well, I did go back and look that up, and found out that I didn't imagine it.  Praying mantises do practice sexual cannibalism, and the female does eat the male after mating.  AND!!!  Get this, she starts with the head!!!

 

Now that you've seen it, it's kinda hard to unsee it.  Sorry.  

 

But here's the up side:  Aren't you glad you're not a praying mantis?  Me too.    

 

 

HAPPY SUMMER!!!

 

Gross, but interesting.  The worms have drilled into this butternut while the skin is still soft.  They move in, and push out the pulp.  Of course, this one is shot, but there are lots of others with NO wormage, and tougher skin for protection.

 

So we are thankful for what we get, and let the critters have what they get.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!