The Beauty Of The Changing Seasons

"Momma he's crazy....Crazy over me.."

The red dragonfly. He became my shadow today. It followed me everywhere. Seriously. After our friendly introduction at the pond edge........:

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It followed me on my hunt for moths near the woods...and then followed me to the front yard where we stopped for another chat:

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He showed me how he can change color too. When he landed on the Tiger Lily it was as if he was turning orange along with it:

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I had so much fun with this little guy. :)
 
I need to make a correction on the green dragonfly. It is an Eastern Pondhawk. This is the female and the male is what I've been seeing that has the bright blue. He's elusive too.
Quite the predator I've been reading, which explains why it looks so sinister to me.

So ends the mystery of the drowned moths. They didn't drown on their own. This morning when I went out to the pond deck I found several of the moths lying on the deck. One of them was still barely alive, so whatever happened had been recent.
I happened upon a google image of an Eastern Pondhawk with a moth as his prey. Every one of the moths on the deck had a wound on the back of their heads. The shot I got of the Green dragon was on the pond deck.
Mystery solved....natures way.

Sad news on my Hollyhocks, something came along and ate most of the tops off the plants. :(

The good news....I began the harrowing task of cleaning my garage today and put a huge dent in it! Now I can watch critters from the big window in there with a nice cuppa in the morning during the colder months.
The window is about 6' long by at least that high. I will hang a bird feeder and a perch in front to see what comes around.
It's about time we had a "Bird Week". ;-)

:cheertwo:

And how about a little different direction on "Natures Way" to end the post with a little humor?

Bug porn:

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Well, how do I like a post that ends with the untimely demise of your Hollyhocks? Boo. Nature's way, but still....

As always Canna, I'm in awe.
 
SweetSue said:
Well, how do I like a post that ends with the untimely demise of your Hollyhocks? Boo. Nature's way, but still....

As always Canna, I'm in awe.
Click to expand...

SweetSue said:
Well, how do I like a post that ends with the untimely demise of your Hollyhocks? Boo. Nature's way, but still....

As always Canna, I'm in awe.
Click to expand...

LOL, I'm sorry...I should have ended with a positive. I edited it to end happily.

And here's some pretties just for you:

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:circle-of-love:
 
The rigged up perch worked. Now I'm still striving for that crystal clear shot.

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Now we're getting closer.

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The females are quite territorial on the feed. Constantly bickering with each other. :laugh:

Once I get this perfected I'm hoping for the ruby throat to come around. He's not here too often.
 
Cannafan said:
Love that shot of the air dragon! It looks like a helicopter. I've always thought that helicopter design was initiated by someone watching dragonfly's and they just don't want to admit it. :)

You have such an unusual garden variety of veggies. That looks delicious, and I love good aged balsamic vinegar. On a nice pan of roasted brussel sprouts....yum yum!

My honeysuckle has always had a two bloom stage. I think it may be because they weren't all planted around that deck at the same time? Some were about a month later to be planted...not sure if that makes a difference.

That danged hummingbird is giving me a series of near misses with the camera this morning. LOL I put some silk flowers out there that look more like something it would think nectar to be in. I figured it would know those wild flower varieties weren't food worthy.
It worked. ;-)

I remember looking into getting hemp seeds so I could grow my own sprouts, but the only way you can legally get them is the kind they have specially treated to not be able to germ. Still illegal...the feds don't want the trouble of mistaking Hemp plants for MJ plants. Good grief.

Thanks for the pics! I'll get back to my Hummer stalking.....
Click to expand...

I'm sure inspiration for a lot of things come from the earth, gives me ideas. :) If I posted video it would be neat to post one on those dragonfly's. They are in large groups and I mean like 30-40 just in one area. I've been watching some of them recently and I realized they are going after some other large group of small flyers, so in essence it's a feeding frenzy, pretty neat. Like your moth's I suppose!

Much like the flowers, I have a lot of variation in the veggie/fruit garden as well. I could probably stock a small farmers market, no kidding! My health issues limited me quite reasonably last year so I am putting forth my best effort to make up for it, all around. Lot's of canning if all goes well or just a whole lot of fresh munching. :) Should have brussell sprouts too, those just need some time. The landrace stuff is always much tastier not to mention prettier.

That's a crazy dragon fly! Maybe he finally landed to see why you keep following him around and give you the stink eye. His eyes, nose and mouth are very distinctive but what sets it off are those pointy ears. Weird but cool! :) I'm telling ya though, those dragonflies will acclimate right to you, hard to shake them after. :)

Persistence payed off, that's awesome to get the hummingbird! Look forward to the ruby throat.

Oh, you were right, the honeysuckle including mine does re-bloom without dead heading. :thumb:
 
I say...if you can get a video of them go for it Smokey! I know I would certainly enjoy it. These critters fascinate me.

:circle-of-love:
 
OH My! How long have you been waiting on your Wisteria?? I'm heading out to check mine right now. I've been waiting 6 or 7 years, I wish I had put the date on the areas I planted them. LOL

Lovely pics, I especially like the fungus shots. That stuff just grows in so many varieties and colors.

I have a youtube account, maybe you could send a vid to me and I can post it? It's up to you, no problem to do that.
I'm taking a couple days off work to get some major stuff done around here. Burn party first thing this morning if the wind stays down. The garage needs a major overhaul and I'm determined to get that done today. I'll be in and out so you never know what I might come up with in pictures. Probably some major spiders from the garage disturbances. :rofl:
 
Well I accomplished a ton of needed clearing and tossing and burning. The fire pit in the back yard came in very useful for tossing the scrap pieces of lumber and left over log pieces from the winter. The wind played well with others today and didn't cause any havoc.

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So, I figured as long as I have this nice campfire going...why not grill up some Sausages and dogs?

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Those were delicious. Now you know you can't leave a campfire without getting some stickies on a stick into it, right?

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I like mine slightly charred, where you have to blow out the fire on them.

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After letting the food settle I decided to put all my tools and things away, and enjoy a nice glass of Pinot Grigio at the fire.

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That glass of wine relaxed me so much that I realized just how tired I was. :laughtwo: I called it a night and retreated to the house just as the mosquitoes were starting to swarm. Timing is everything. :)

I'll probably do the same tomorrow.
 
I'll keep that in mind! :) I was out for a little last night but the squitos were bad here too. I tried a video shot with my zoom lens and it was a little slow to focus, also watching it showed a few things I would rather not. :) Anyhow, I took a few pics of some ripping around in the sky, not the best. Some look like air planes. Every night so far a group comes in.

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I'm going to have to go out at twilight tonight and see if the activity of these over-sized flyers increases around the pond deck where the moths hang out. Might get a great shot yet. ;-)
It's been too hot for the paddle boat, but today is supposed to be much cooler. I might take a trip out on that to see what I can scare up.
Have to coax my Pops into taking me to the dump today, so I have to make the coaxing goodies....No Bake Smores. LOL Works every time.

My Wisteria shows no signs of flowering. Maybe next year. :)

Later!
 
Oh crap, sorry I forgot about the wisteria! I have had it for about 4 to 5 years! Yes, I have been lazy because of the heat, lot's to get done with the cool down. :)
 
This game is quite a fun time. :) I think the females are getting used to me in the window. I did get a few shots of the Ruby throat this morning, but they were a bit blurred and too dark because of so much light behind him. I'll keep trying.
I wore a camouflage shirt so they couldn't see me. :laughtwo:

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My Squash plant is going to outgrow the enclosure. Still no fruit to show what it will be though.

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The mint has some pretty little flowers on it now:

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These flowers were growing in a field near work. I have no idea what they are. They are so delicate looking:

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So...on with the mystery moth story.

Turns out they have larvae around. Yeah, I found three of their caterpillar larvae on my Purple Cannabis plant outside just a chewing away at the leaves.
Hope those Dragonfly's get their bellies full!
 
Everybody must be really busy lately.

Let's see if we can coax some people out with a Whatizit?

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This moth is pretty, but I sure hope it doesn't lay eggs on my plants.

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Whatizit looks like slightly charred marshmallow...?

Yup I've been busy but here is a cool spider found on a hike last week.

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And, a giant caterpillar - probably will turn into some sort of hawk moth if it doesn't become a juicy treat for a bird. There is a seven-year-old finger in there for scale in one picture.

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You are correct PeeJay. :)
I thought it looked so much like a Salmon head that I couldn't resist posting it.
It's the charred insides of the marshmallow left over on the stick. I like to pull the first layer off, eat it and then cook the insides again.

What a gorgeous spider! I've never said that about a spider in my entire life. :laughtwo: I can count the eyes. Cool shot.

That caterpillar is huge. Great markings on it. Wish we could see what it turns into! The seven year is a good model....should get a hand model contract soon.

Thanks for posting those, I know how busy you are.
I'm in the same boat recently, overtime and home stuff. Lucky I can get on here at all the last week or so.

Later gator!

:circle-of-love:
 
I had a short work night yesterday, so I headed over to the folks for a game of cards. My Mom has the coolest Orchids that were given to her a couple years ago.

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It's fascinating what different Orchids will devise to attract pollinators. I'm seriously thinking of growing some from seed here. I would have to isolate them from cats.....that's a problem. LOL
 
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