Invertebrate fauna

The bees are loving the pygmy date blossoms, and monarchs abound. I have my eye on four chrysalises including this guy. It tested out the back plank, but settled for in between. Which is good and protected, but I'm not sure theres enough room for it to spread its wings when it emerges, so I'll need to move the plank in a week to open up space.

Sharing

Been happy to have milkweed popping up around the yard. This one is growing between the brick pavers. Caught the butterfly and bee both partaking.
Managed to get some more milkweed seeds to sprout in pots, so hopefully we'll continue to have more of these kinds of visitors frequenting the yard.

Bugs in the fall

This gigantic grasshopper was frequently found on the fuji apple tree. Not sure why - it didn't seem to have too much damage. Also found 2 of these gorgeous caterpillars living in the grass/weeds when I cleared the small area near the garage. Same color as monarch but I don't think they are - a different enough pattern - but with some searching I have yet to figure out what they are. Also found some very large caterpillar droppings under the purple potato bush (Lycianthes rantonnetii, but haven't been able to find the culprit... wonder if it's a tomato hornworm or something.

Shifting focus

Keeping things interesting

Been making soufflés a lot lately and each time I screw something different up just for fun. Last week got some yolk in the whites, plus opened the oven door while they were cooking, and put them in the custard pan and they did not rise one bit. Today's mistake was to mix everything into the bowl with the whites instead of vice versa. And that part seemed to go OK but I undercooked it. In other news I found what I call a big cockroach in with my seedlings. The man who lived in Tennessee calls it small.

Bugs and more bugs

The coastal area we are in now is way more buggy than the last house. The butterflies are a delight but the pests are numerous and I'm not used to them. Spraying seems an inevitable reality in the future... But for now here are a pair of swallowtail caterpillars munching on our citrus tree and a 3-inch stick bug from the hallway at work. I slid him onto a piece of paper and moved him a few feet so he would't get trampled. While we see swallowtails flying around all the time here, I don't think I've seen a chrysalis yet and look forward to that.

Within the basil

This guy came in with some basil leaves picked for dinner, and was promptly returned to the garden so he could go back to work.

Brand new butterfly

We were cleaning up the yard at the old house and the heavy lifter suggested I pick a few lemons to bring to the new house. I wander over and decide to pick the low one that seems to be sitting on the wall, when I find what's hanging next it... a monarch that had emerged from it's chrysalis today. It was hanging onto it still, resting and waiting for its wings to dry. They pump fluid into the wings and wait more than 4 hours letting everything set up before they fly around. I first saw this one a little before noon, and when then around 4pm it was flying around the yard. He must have emerged early in the morning. I hope the monarchs like the new house as much as the old.

Caterpillar convention

Mid march in my yard is where it all happens, apparently. I counted 8 monarch caterpillars in this one pot over the weekend. They "hide" in the shade during the heat of the day, but the rest of the time it's nom nom nom.

Caterpillars year round

I've heard that Monarchs migrate and all but the caterpillars seem to be in my garden constantly. These guys are fairly small and the plant has regrown nicely so they'll have a lot to eat.

End of year gardening

Came home from holiday travels to harvest some stuff that had been forgotten for a while, plus some moth caterpillars that were chomping on my carrots. I tossed them in the compost bin and they climbed out for their closeup.

Monarchs and peppers

I have about 3 medium size milkweed plants and about 6 seedlings but I still feel bad that there's not enough leaves for the monarch caterpillars. I might need to go buy a few more adult plants. How many can you find in this pic? Followed by the big red peppers that took a really long time to turn red. The fruit formed over the summer but didn't turn red until the first or second week of December. There's one more green pepper but I don't think I have the patience to let it turn red. It might get pulled next week so I can plant more carrots. Never enough carrots. =)

Critters

Had to water tonight as it's been getting hot and I skipped this morning. Found a monarch caterpillar (next to some aphids who shouldn't be there but at least the sensibility to fit into the color scheme) and stalked the alligator lizard for a while. Hopefully the lizard wasn't traumatized and will keep frequenting the cantaloupe bed. Also saw some mice (yes, more than one) which totally sucks. Max doesn't seem willing/able to get them. Sam has been rummaging around the planting beds, I thought she was eating tomatoes, but more likely she's been hunting.  I might just stop reprimanding her for trampling on the plants and give her free reign for hunting. She got one 2 weeks ago. Finally I wanted to share our new work mascot, Mr. Slim who lives in the stairwell. Isn't he adorable?

Tater salad

Popping into the blogosphere to share pics of the potatoes and bugs. Always the bugs with me.
The bee was enjoying the lavender near my office. As for the potatoes, I paid $9 for starters and probably haven't grown as much as I could buy for that at the store, but they're pretty and it was fun to dig them out - like an easter egg hunt. There will be more of the yellow ones in a few weeks (plants haven't died back yet so didn't harvest). Sadly it's green june bug season, so the bird net might as well come down, the bugs are worse than the birds, and can fit through the net.

The yard today

It's all about... my favorites... flowers and bugs. Buddleia, scabiosa, purple green beans, tomato with guard, and does anyone know this last bug? I've seen it before but don't know what it is or more importantly if it's bad or good.

Peach blossoms and beer brewing

You know what I always say, the only thing better than peach blossom season is peach eating season. The mid-pride is in that wonderful place of near full bloom with almost no leaves, just gorgeous. It's buzzing with bees, even had a large fuzzy one making the rounds. As I was puttering about with garden stuff, the farm boy brewed his first batch of beer, which will hopefully help carry us through the months between blossoms and fruit.

Mallow butterfly mania

The first mallow plant (a red-flowered butterfly plant that appeared as a mystery last year see here) is hosting 4 chubby, happy monarch caterpillars. They're munching it up and being just generally adorable.  I bought a second mallow plant last weekend, which will have yellow blossoms, and was thrilled to get an adult monarch hanging around all Saturday. It was oddly unafraid of me that  so I was able to take some photos and videos, even got one of it laying eggs on the new plant.

This day in garden

Ladies and gentlemen... the top three most exciting garden happenings of this glorious, warm Saturday:
1. Giant tomato is hinting it's going to turn red
2. Finding four tiny monarch caterpillars on my butterfly bush
3. Scoring a tangled mess of an aloe plant that I can split into 4 plants