"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 […]
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 […]
Thursday's are Ladies' night at the ladybug sex club. The box said, "Release your ladybugs at dawn or dusk. With ample food and moisture they can begin reproducing immediately." And they say there's no truth in advertising. This team doesn't much care about privacy. That's the boy on top, always much smaller than the girl. They hold […]
I tried vegetable gardening this year. Aside from my tomato plants and most of my herbs, it was less than stellar. All my lettuce bolted. My cucumbers were pathetic. None of my squash fruited. I mean, I have to be a complete doofus not to produce a single zucchini, right? So I ripped it all […]
Ever since the new lizard condominium complex went in (it's a three-tiered orchard built with natural stone & flagstone-- perfect for lizard housing), Lizard Rock has been the hottest spot in town to catch some rays, gossip or hook up. Larry and Mona had many a rendez-vous before Mona got knocked up. Now we have 87 […]
Meet Heloise, the adult female hoverfly or flower fly of the family Syrphidae. Hoverflies get their name from how they hover in midair. Known as the helicopter of flying insects, they are able to dart quickly, fly backwards, and come to hover again. Sizes of hoverflies vary from small, long and slender, like Heloise here, […]
This is Eddie otherwise known as Red-Eye Eddie. The other night, I was searching for bush crickets in our trees with a flashlight (no camera) just so I could watch them sing with their wings, when Eddie hopped up on a table on our terrace. I don't know what kind of Katydid he is, though […]