Another Visitor

The butterflies are starting to arrive.  Today, this eastern tiger swallowtail (missing one tail!) came to sample the sweet nectar of the garden coneflowers.  These flowers really do have a heavenly scent.  I cut a couple of the stragglers and put them in a vase to bring a little of the outdoors in and was surprised to find how strongly scented these pretty pink flowers are.  I'm glad they are hearty, too, as we've still been experiencing hot, dry weather and expect it to remain this way the rest of the week.  I've planted lots of cone flowers and black-eyed susans, not only because they are native plants and I find them very pretty, but because they are drought tolerant and fairly deer resistant, too.  For our area, those features are important ones for a thriving garden.

WOW ~ Weekend of Wildlife

This weekend has been an exceptional one for wildlife sightings. This afternoon, we discovered the luna moth above at rest on our front porch.  Since childhood when I saw my first one, the luna moth has been a big favorite.  The gorgeous lime colored wings with yellow and tan eye spots and the fuzzy body with large antennae make this moth a simply beautiful one to behold. These days it's rare to come across the luna moth.  I hadn't seen one for years so was very excited to find this lovely luna napping under the porch railing!

Welcome to the World

Kevin captured another special wildlife moment today when he took this photo of a mother deer with her spotted fawn nibbling on greens in the middle of our driveway.  The little fawn stuck right close to her mom.  After eating, they rested in the woods behind our cabin, giving us precious time to admire the new baby from our back window.  We hope to see more of the fawn as she grows!

Garden Visitor

Dark Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly

This has been the summer of the dragonfly.  We've had more of these elegant winged, combat fliers around our little pond than ever seen at one time.  I've been wondering where all the large butterflies have been.  We've seen lots of the tiny cabbage whites sprinkling the woods and gardens with their delicate pale creamy color, but very few of the big swallowtails that usually abound in our area and frequent our garden.  This morning, this beautiful dark swallowtail with iridescent, upper blue wings alighted on our coneflowers ~ a very welcome visitor!  She was a bit skittish, but stayed around long enough for me to get the photograph above to share.  



Coming Along

Despite super hot, dry days with temps up in the 90s, the veggies are hanging in there and going strong.  As a novice gardener, I'm always thrilled when my plants start producing healthy, edible fruits.  Above is a jalapeno pepper ripe with two peppers and more on the way.

After I watered this California Wonder pepper today, it attracted a thirsty, little friend.  This pepper's almost ready for picking!

I thought I'd chosen a beef steak tomato plant at the nursery, so you can imagine my surprise to find these tiny cherry tomatoes growing on my potted tomato plant!  Just as well, I love the little ones, too.  They're great to pop in your mouth right off the vine ~ like tasting a little bit of sunshine :)

Up, Up & Away

This spring, our resident phoebes laid two sets of eggs, one early in the spring and one later in the season.  They'd built a compact nest of grass and moss on the rafters of our front porch, right over our grill.  Hot dogs and hamburgers were on hold until both broods were successfully reared and on their way.  After their tawny speckled eggs hatched, the parents diligently fed their young taking turns bringing grubs to the hungry, wide eyed babies.  At night, the fuzzy, little birds slept peacefully, cuddled up with one another in their cozy nest.  We often could make out a beak or two sticking up above the front curve of the nest above us.

Just the other day, Kevin and I got to see the last two baby birds fly away from the nest.  Kevin captured the photograph above before the last chick took wing.  It felt so amazing to see all of the babies grow up healthy and strong and fly off to their freedom.  And, they chose July 3rd to make their final leaps, so we could still enjoy grilled hot dogs for the Fourth of July! 

Summer Flower Garden Showcase

Our summer flower garden is a mixture of perennials and annuals of brilliant colors.  It brightens up our little corner of the world and attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

Here are some close-up photographs of our garden flowers ~
Blackeyed Susan, Mexican Blanket, Coneflower, & Blue Pansies