Hello again! It was almost this time last year that I signed off to focus on health issues. I'm happy to report that after extensive chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation treatments, I'm in remission from cancer and doing well. A huge relief!!! So, welcome back to my blog. I hope you will enjoy the photographs and artwork I'll post from time to time, as well as my nature notes and ponderings on life. Fall is such a colorful season and it seemed like a great time to start anew with my blogging.
We've been seeing quite a few praying mantis' on the prowl, always on the lookout for their next meal. The one above was laying in wait in one of my brightly hued coleus plants. We discovered they like to eat stink bugs, which is a big plus. Invasive stink bugs have become a major pest invading our vegetable gardens and entering our house when the weather gets cool outside. We need all the help we can get to eradicate them, so anything that will eat them is a welcome sight!
The bees are still buzzing about collecting the last bits of nectar from late blooming flowers. The bee in the photograph above relished the last of the Mexican Blanket blooms in my garden. He was so busy that he didn't seem to notice or mind that his picture was being taken!
Although I didn't get any photographs of them this year, I'm happy to report that we observed multiple sightings of migrating Monarch Butterflies earlier this fall. Their bold orange wings flashed in striking contrast across bright blue skies, as they fluttered above our heads. I collected seed pods from some roadside milkweed plants, host plant for the monarch, and I plan to dry and distribute the seeds where they'll have a chance to grow well and ultimately nourish future generations of this magnificent and beautiful butterfly.
For those of you who previously enjoyed my blog and are return visitors and for those of you who newly chance upon it, welcome!
