Mason Bees
Today I finally got around to doing the long overdue cleaning of the mason bee house. I put a bee house in our yard a couple of years ago hoping to help increase the numbers of these threatened pollinators, and with the hope that their …
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cultivating a sustainable life
Wildlife
Skunks and Green Tomato Mincemeat
Don’t worry, I haven’t just invented the world’s worst holiday pie. At about 2:00 this morning, I was awakened by the sound of something squealing and squawking for dear life under my bedroom window, and then the burning stench of hell itself filled the house. …
What the…?
Can someone please tell me how this little fellow found his way to my nice clean towel that was hanging on the clothesline? It was hanging a good 10 – 15 feet above the ground! I can only assume that he spied the towel from …
Cooper’s Hawk
My daughter took this photo awhile ago of what we think is a Cooper’s Hawk (any birders out there that can confirm this?). It landed in the tree in front of our house while they were out playing one day, and she was quick to …
Bits and Bobs
It’s raining today, and we’re off to visit friends. Here are a few pictures from the garden that I took over the weekend. David Austin rose “Molineaux”. Purple Dahlia.One of the ladybugs emerged from its pupa yesterday! The frog fountain is back in commission.
The Birds and the Bees (well, ladybugs actually)…
The resident Juncos are wondering why the heck their fountain isn’t working anymore. While we were away last week, the pump for our frog fountain (sitting on the rock with a bird on his head – you’ll probably have to enlarge the photo) went on …
Poppy heads and ladybugs.
I finally got around to clearing all of the dead poppies out of my garden today. While I love the way they look bundled together in a vase, I’m wondering if I maybe should have left them where they were. Closer inspection revealed masses of …
Bored yet?
I’ve been a bit of a shutter-bug today, but I’ll only bore you with a few more garden shots. Here’s a picture of the biggest bee I’ve ever seen in my life: The picture doesn’t do him justice, but he had to be an inch …
Slime Mould
Thanks to Phelan, the mystery of yesterday’s garden discovery has been solved. It’s slime mould, which is now officially one of the coolest things I’ve ever heard of. Listen to this: “It has been observed that they can find their way through mazes by spreading …
What a fun-gi!
Does anyone have any idea at all what this might be?! It sprouted up in the garden tonight, and I mean that literally. When I first discovered it, it was about 1/4 of an inch away from the top of the wooden stick, and by …