Each day I see Twig, the hummingbird, perched upon a fruit tree tree. Sometimes he chooses the plum tree, other times the apple tree. His feathers soaked from the down pouring rain, weather makes no difference to Twig when there's territory and precious sage nectar to defend from his rivals. I move toward him and […]
"Hey Daddy-O. This hipster looks like he could stand one more greasing. He's not slick enough."
"Nothing ruffles my feathers more than other hummers poaching my nectar." All summer, it's a regular Hummar War around my house. I always see photos of hundreds of hummerbirds happily sharing meals on one or two feeders all over the hummingbird forums that I read. Not at my house. Nothing but guarding and all out […]
I'm not the same woman he married 15 years ago. We blissfully started our lives together as an active, social couple who enjoyed the outdoors. Neither of us could have foreseen the endless health challenges that would completely turn me into quite the opposite. But we face them together and he's been a rock through […]
Is it weird that I did a happy dance when I saw a bud on my Nasturtrium? After killing 47 of these the first time around, I'm pleased to see this group likes it here!
All summer I wanted to purchase praying mantis eggs for the garden because I can't seem to get rid of the damn cucumber yellow beetles. But Mr. Wild Dingo refused. Being a bit discriminate against the mantids due to their alien looks and carnivorous habits, he claimed they would eat us.
Charlene, the flower crab spider, sits contemplatively upon the black midnight basil plant. Normally found on goldenrod or other flowers, the flower crab spider (genus Misumena) is generally white in color but camouflages itself by secreting a liquid yellow pigment to match the flower it lives on. Crab spiders don't spin webs to catch food, […]
Alyssum does not love me. I can kill it faster than I can squash a bug. Not that I actually squash bugs. I've tried watering, not watering, full sun, part sun, some shade and a lot of shade. Nadda. It goes from the pot to dead in 3 seconds. I'm not taking it personally. There […]
Poor Joannna. She's getting rather attached to this place. As usual, Bob brought his trusty assistant Joanna, the poodle mix to my monthly IVIG appointment. When it was time to leave, instead of quickly hopping in the car worried about being left behind, she decided to run around the garden avoiding the car at all […]