Butterflies, Butterflies, Butterflies

The butterfly bushes are blooming.

Tiger Swallowtail

Tiger Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

Tiger Swallowtails

Black Swallowtail

Zebra Swallowtail

Zebra Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail

No One Expects...

The Spanish Inquisition (unless you're a Monty Python fan.)

Gloria was out on the patio with her camera this afternoon while I was in my den starting to study for a professional certification.

Between the heat this week, and the studying, I haven't had a chance to get many pictures - or even spend much time enjoying the gardens and the wildlife.  So, I'm happy to have some new pictures to post from the yard.

We've seen this guy, but haven't had a camera handy.  But this afternoon we caught him in the act,

despite his best efforts to look innocent and deny everything.

The evidence was overwhelming.

After he cleared out, the buffet went back to business as usual.

And a little more down to earth, things were hopping too.

All pictures thanks to my wife Gloria.

A Bounty of Butterflies

It seems like everyone tries to attract butterflies (and hummingbirds.)  We have four butterfly bushes along the back fence, and they're living up to their name.  We chose them because we know they are fast growing and we were looking for something to act as a natural screen in front of the chain fence across the top of the hill in the back yard. We were looking for privacy fencing and counted the butterflies as a bonus.

The bonus has come calling this summer.

I recognize the Eastern Tiger Swallowtails - the yellow ones - but I don't know what the dark visitor is called.  Here are a couple more shots to show off his vivid colors at the wingtips.

If anybody recognizes him, please leave a comment and tell me what he is.

Meanwhile in another corner of the yard, a neighbor had his own agenda:

He wasn't interested in sharing his dinner with anyone.

Colors of the Season

These are just some of the colors of the season in my yard today.

This evening they were joined by some bright red fresh sliced tomatoes and toasty brown pan-fried crab cakes on fresh rolls from the farmers market this morning.

The peppers will be peeled and canned (whatever doesn't get eaten first - sliced up into salads or on sandwiches.) 

Early July Garden Visitor

I'm trying to make a habit of regularly taking panoramic pictures of the big garden on the back hill, to have a record through the season of what's blooming when.  I was out taking a series of pictures for early July when I spotted a visitor to the butterfly bushes along the fence.  I had my camera on the tripod, so I was able to move in part way and use the full zoom of the camera and still get some sharp pictures.

We've got 4 butterfly bushes against the back fence. We had one in a previous house and know that they grow big quickly, so we decided to use them for natural screening.

It's an extra bonus that the screening attracts such wonderful visitors. This guy stayed around and let me get about a dozen pictures of his summer glory out in the afternoon sun.  I haven't gotten any pictures yet of a couple of chipmunks that we're seen playing in the yard and on the patio.  But, I was able to get a video of a baby rabbit who came to join our cookout a few weeks ago.  

For now I'm going to work on stitching together the panoramic shots I took to add today's status to the library of pictures for this summer.

Bye.

Making Decisions - toxic plants

Well, I had to make a decision about a couple of the shrubs.  I've been learning about what they are, and researching online.  I was at Patuxent Nursery and found some shrubs that were the same as some of the mystery plants in the yard.  It was called Nandina.  We have them in 4 different places around the house, the previous owner must have liked them.

I did some research and found out they are toxic to birds and cats, now it didn't mention dogs, but since we have mostly senior dogs I was concerned.  I wouldn't want one of our kids to wander up and start munching on a toxic plant.  Since we had three more around the house, I decided the one in the back hill had to go.

Here is what it looked like in early June.

The Nandina, also known as Sacred Bamboo or Heavenly Bamboo is the tall shrub in the center.  But it's toxic and it had to go.  But, it was perfectly healthy and I didn't know if is was sacrilegious to cut down a plant called Sacred Bamboo.  (Oh No, I've got to cut down a Sacred Shrubbery - Monty Python forgive me.)

But part of this gardening stuff is pruning and weeding and making decisions (oh god, more decisions.) So far I've discovered that I like the planting of new plants more than the trimming and pruning of existing plants and shrubs. But with the nurturing of the new comes the pruning of the mature.  So I got out the tools and took down the Nandina.  Now we have a hole in the lower area below the path.  You can clearly see a stone from the garden path in the gap.

But now we can see the blueberry bushes, the butterfly bushes, and the azalea on the upper part of the hill. We've been discussing options to fill the gap, but we're getting to like the view of the upper hill. I know it was the right decision - for reasons other than aesthetics - but it's nice to have the aesthetics work out too.

Saying goodbye to Sadie

We took Sadie in as a foster about 3 years ago when her mom was going into a nursing home and couldn't keep her anymore.  We promised her mom that we would take care of her and find her a good home.  We've never found her the right home and she’s been part of our family here ever since.  Tonight we’re going to have to say goodbye.  She’s 15 years old, has cancer, glaucoma, and a persistent ear infection that the best specialists in the area cannot clear up.  We've seen her slowing down over the past couple of weeks, and she’s stopped eating.  We've been through this enough with our elderly dogs that we know it is time to say goodbye and let her go.

I’ll remember her as the one who was so attached to me that she had to sleep up in bed between my legs. When I came home from the hospital after my heart attack she wouldn't let me get more than about 6 feet away from her for most of the month I was recovering at home.  She has never been a lap dog, but she makes sure she has a spot where she can see me and keep an eye on me when I’m home. She follows me from room to room and when it’s time for bed she’s been known to stand in the living room and bark, calling me to the bedroom down the hall so that she can get up in bed. She usually beat me down the hall and was waiting on the corner of the bed by the time I got to the door.  She had an assertive personality, her nicknames have included “Sassy Sadie” and “Princess Sadie.” She’s a barker and that was why we had to insist that any potential adopters lived in a single family home – she would have been a poor neighbor in an apartment or row house.  She also did not do well at adoption shows since she was usually trying to dominate the other dogs by barking and carrying on.  So we were never able to find the right home and we became her forever home.

Tonight we have an appointment at the vet to let her go. We've done this before, and we’ll probably do it again, but it’s never going to get any easier. I’ll hold her in my arms on the drive over; we’ll carry her in and a little while later we’ll leave without her.  We’ll come home and give the other three some extra loving and attention and going to bed tonight won’t be the same.  I’ll have too much leg room.

We'll meet again at the rainbow bridge.