fuzzi's Puttering Around the Demesne in 2018!

Late start, but I'm finally here!

I'm going to check out everyone's new threads before posting more.

Come on, Spring!

I posted this elsewhere, but thought it might explain my background on gardening:

My mother used pesticides for years in the 1950's and early 60's, but suddenly she discovered Rodale and put away Rockwell. My first experiences with gardening was a 20'x15' (approximate) organic garden in which she grew the usual tomatoes, peppers, etc. She never got my father to build her a compost bin, but she'd dig holes around the plants and bury potato peelings and other vegetable scraps in order to improve the soil, which was mostly sand.

She started me on the Love of Gardening path. I was given a 4x4 section in her garden in which I planted Marigolds (big ones), radishes, and which I rarely weeded. I also got paid for hand-picking Japanese beetles, slugs, and Tomato hornworms.

Marigolds remain my favorite flower, and I plant the petite variety in abundance around my yard and in containers.

I don't vegetable garden anymore. Physically I am unable to due much of the heavy work, but I still compost, and maintain (for better or not-so-well) my perennial gardens. And I have my two little ponds, on which I dote.

No gardening news, yet, so here's a few bird pictures from this winter:


1/6/18 - Mockingbird in the snow


1/6/18 - Myrtle warbler, aka "Yellow-rumped" warbler


1/7/18 - Red-bellied woodpecker (male)


1/14/18 - Tufted titmouse (looking straight at me!)

Unusually warm here this weekend, low 70s. We're expecting rain tonight, thunderstorms, and a rainy pattern for the week.

I checked out my pond earlier and got my first mosquito bite, ack.

There's a dead-looking frog at the bottom of the pond, "spread-eagled" but when I fished him out with a net, he did not smell or appear to be decomposing, was slightly stiff but not hard. Since I've read that frogs can "hibernate" and shouldn't be considered dead until things warm up, I put him gently back in the pond. While using the net to remove some string algae, I also caught and released a number of tadpoles.

It would be interesting to see the frog revive.

The weather's been warming up lately, with a couple near-70 days yesterday and today. After we got home from work, I went outside to top off the bird feeders and stayed until I'd scooped all the dead water hyacinths from the pond, and got the pump running strongly again (it was clogged with some debris). The water temperature was about 60F. The frog had not revived (he was not hibernating, as he was starting to smell), so I removed him (sniff), but when I was using the net to remove dead plants I found several live tadpoles AND a minnow! I put a bunch of rosy/fathead minnows in the pond last year, but never saw them again and figured they'd been eaten or died. Woo!

My pond on February 15th, after cleaning out dead frog and debris:

The weather has warmed up nicely the last two weeks, unusually early even for eastern NC. This weekend I've spent some time outside "puttering" and doing minor yard work. I have seen two LIVE frogs in the last week, one is probably a Green frog, and the other appears to be a Southern Leopard frog. Oh, and I continue to sees lots of tadpoles. The Creeping Jenny ground cover continues to spread over the entire area around the pond, which pleases me.


2/24/18 - Small Southern Leopard frog (you can't see it in this photo, but he still has a tiny "tail")

I have some carrot "volunteer" plants growing around the pond area, too, probably spread from my attempt last year to attract and feed swallowtail butterflies. My milkweed has not yet sprouted, though, hmm.

The Canna lilies are up, the daffodils are blooming, and the neighbor's Bradford pear trees are covered in white blossoms. I call them "popcorn trees" because they look as if they were covered in that snack.

And I have a carpet of violets in my perennial garden. A few of them have strayed over into the Creeping Jenny area by the pond, which is fine with me. I love violets, they are probably my second favorite flower after marigolds.


2/24/18 - Shy violet next to a Canna lily

I repainted the "shepherd's crooks" that I use to hang my hummingbird feeders: they were originally painted black on cast iron, but had rusted some. I used black gloss "rust" spray paint to cover all the surfaces, but then used bright red to paint the butterfly ornaments. I'm hoping the red portion will help attract hummingbirds this year.

Speaking of birds, yesterday I was sitting on my stone bench by the pond when I heard fluttering of wings, and turned to see a Bluebird perched upon the feeder pole. I exhaled a quiet "oh!" and he flew away, so no photo op there, but I was thrilled to see a Bluebird up close, about five feet from my location. Since Bluebirds don't generally eat seed, he must have been checking out the suet cakes I have hanging high. I hope he comes back.

Then this morning I looked outside the kitchen window and saw a male Goldfinch on the feeders. I had my Ricoh in my pocket, and managed to get one photo before he flew off. We've not had many Goldfinch visits this winter, so I was pleased to see him stopping by for a snack on his way north.

And I also managed to hang a brand-new birdhouse for my Chickadees! The last five years or so they've been raising several broods a year in a dollar store ornamental bird house, never intended for use, which finally all but fell apart. Droll Yankees is known for quality feeders, and upon perusing their website I found a beautiful Chickadee house on sale, so I bought two of them. One's now mounted on the porch support post, a replacement for the dollar store house, and another will go in the backyard, in a place tbd. The literature said that other small birds like Titmice and Nuthatches might use it as well, but I wouldn't mind, as I love all those little birds.


2/24/18 - New birdhouse for the Chickadees!

I forgot to mention that the lizards are out and about! I saw a couple anoles this weekend, though no skinks yet. And no snakes, yet, either. I don't mind snakes, the non-venomous types are welcome but I prefer to not see them too often.

I have frogs in my garden too! -- both the smooth green ones (Hyla cinerea) and what I think is the "Southern Toad" (Anaxyrus terrestris) -- not a climber, hangs out in the damp detritus and leaf mulch near the spigot.

There is a gap in my brick walkway that is just shy the size of a brick because of the curve. I've filled in most of the other smaller spaces with interesting stones or ceramic bits. But this one, I laid a flat stone across it temporarily. In spring and summer, it reliably houses a toad. In the winter, it has a mouse nest inside. Since it seems most hospitable, I think the flat stone is pretty much a permanent feature now, even though you have to watch your step.

>8 southernbooklady: I love toads, too, but don't see them much.

>9 2wonderY: how nifty! I have a plastic "toad house", but it's never had a resident. :(

Yes!!! Finally, after seeing Bluebirds visiting the feeders several times this week, my camera and patience won...



"Bluebird, bluebird, through my window..."

>11 fuzzi: Excellent!

Busy day "back at the ranch"!

I've been doing research on building a small mechanical and biological filter for my 100 gallon pond. Originally I wanted to do a bog garden as part of the filtering process, but have been unable to come up with a feasible plan that would not require major changes to my pond and immediate area.

I had decided that a "skippy" filter was my best bet, but after seeing an incredibly simple and easy filter using a five gallon bucket, I modified my plans.

I took a 5g plastic bucket (with lid), had my dh drill two holes (1" through the lid, 2" on the side), and then I cut a bottom shelf and a second support out of a plastic grid light cover. After putting a shelf inside the bucket near the bottom, I added a filter pad, a bunch of plastic scrubbies, another filter pad, the second shelf support, and snapped on the lid. I inserted the water pump hose through the hole in the lid, so that the dirty pond water will be pumped in, and trickle its way through all those filtering items before exiting as clean water through the 2" hole near the bottom. I will tweak the setup as needed, once I see how it works. It was already clearing up the murkiness of the pond's water pretty well before it got dark.



The pond was murky for a few reasons. First, there was a lot of string algae in the pond, normal for Spring. Secondly, after removing my water lilies for repotting, I took a net and scooped out a bunch of leaves, other debris, and muck from the bottom of the pond, which stirred up a lot of sediment. Thirdly, when I placed the repotted lilies back into the pond, some of the excess dirt from their pots added to the already cloudiness of the water.

I saw one large frog in my skimmer, and we both were surprised! He/she immediately headed for safety in deeper water. I also accidently netted tadpoles while scooping debris from the bottom of the pond, and even captured (and released) a minnow!

And speaking of creatures, I saw my first butterfly, too. It was going too fast for a clear look or a photo, but it appeared to be either an American Lady or a Variegated Fritillary! It was checking out the wild violet blooms.

Oh, and I also cleaned our outside closet, which becomes a catch-all during the winter.

Whew.

We've a friend coming over for dinner tomorrow, so I don't expect to have much time outside work after church. Hopefully the weather will continue to warm up, so I can get more of my gardening chores started, if not completed...

It has been unseasonably cool and windy the last week or so. Today was the first time I got to really work in the yard since Easter weekend.

The pond has cleared up, I can see to the bottom despite the string algae. My water lilies are sending forth new leaves, the arrowhead and pickerel rush are also leafing. Even my Siberian iris is looking as if it's going to spread out, with new green shoots arising. Once the weather warms a little more, I'll buy a couple plants each of Water lettuce and Water hyacinth to add to my pond. YES, it is legal to buy/sell them here. Mine do not escape my little pond, and die with the first frost. They are excellent at shading the pond during the hot summer, and are also very good at removing waste from the water. The frogs love to lounge amongst the plants, half out of the water, and find a safe hiding place within the trailing root systems.

Pond on April 8th

My Clematis is blooming, and the Milkweed plants are popping out, everywhere!

Clematis

The perennial "bird" garden is slam-full of Coreopsis, Sedum, Canna lily, and Amaryllis shoots. The Shasta daisy and Monarda have grown back, strongly, too.

Last week I noticed a bunch of Star of Bethlehem blooming where I thought I'd eradicated them a couple years ago, so this morning I dug them up, making sure to also remove the surrounding soil. These pretty but invasive flowers will grow back if you miss one tiny bulb. By tossing all the dirt into the trash can as well, I hope I won't have a recurrence of this perennial.

I also severely pruned our Camellia, removing all its dead wood. My dh's Kumquat was badly damaged by a couple extremely cold (for us) nights this past winter, so today he lopped off most of the top, all dead wood. We're not sure if the fig tree is alive, there is no new growth yet. We've had the tree and its fruit for over a decade, it would be such a shame if it has died.

The Hydrangeas are leafing out, though not as well as in past years. My two Gardenias appear to have survived, too.

Day lilies are spreading out all over, and the Evening primroses are thick and lush in the beds up front. They are descendants of the primroses we had growing in the gardens when my siblings and I were children. My sister moved to Minnesota this year, and suddenly realized she'd not brought any primrose plants for her gardens! I'll be putting some young plants in the mail to her once the weather there warms up. They just had a blizzard in MN, so it might be a few weeks, yet...

Evening primroses, should be covered in buttercup-type blooms in about three weeks.

It was such a nice day today, sunny and with the temperature in the low 80's, but I had to stop after a couple hours outside. My body is not yet adjusted to the warmer weather, and I had symptoms of heat fatigue, precursor to heat exhaustion, so I went inside to cool off. In a couple weeks I'll be better able to handle the warmer temperatures of a North Carolina summer.

>14 fuzzi: My heart applauds your lovely spring, and thank you for sharing it. :-}

>15 Lyndatrue: you're so welcome! Spring plants does a heart GOOD.

Yesterday morning I stopped at a yard sale a couple miles away, and bought four large terracotta pots in good shape for a dollar each! Nice. The owners of the house were gracious enough to give me a little tour of their pond and gardens, and we compared notes. They also dug up and gave me some ground-cover plants I'd admired, which they could not identify. Ha! They're bugle aka ajuga plants, not the carpet variety (leaves are wrong), and are not considered invasive here, so I'm planning to plant them here and there in semi-shady spots that could use some color.

>14 fuzzi: What a lovely color Wisteria, especially for spring.

I tried to save my Water Lettuce to a fishbowl, but I waited too long; frost had killed already. But it took a long while to know for sure. Meantime, I added a couple of guppies. They've been fun.

>17 2wonderY: guppies in a fish bowl? Watch the population explode...

Whales have calves,
Cats have kittens,
Bears have cubs,
Bats have bittens,
Swans have cygnets,
Seals have puppies,
But guppies just have little guppies! - Ogden Nash

>18 fuzzi: I think the odds came out as 50:50 that these two were the same gender. No little guppies.

>19 2wonderY: aww. The boys generally have long and colorful tails.

Saw my first hummingbird today!

I filled and hung the feeders on Sunday so it didn't take her long to find them.

Here's a list of the birds that have been visiting my feeders and backyard the last couple months:

Bluejay
Brown-headed cowbird
Brown-headed nuthatch
Brown thrasher
Cardinal (male and female)
Carolina chickadee
Carolina wren
Chipping sparrow
Downy woodpecker (male and female)
Eastern bluebird (male and female)
Fox sparrow
Goldfinch
Grackles (common)
House finch (male and female)
Junco (not since February)
Mourning dove
Mockingbird
Myrtle warbler (aka Yellow-rumped warbler)
Pine warbler
Robin
Ruby-throated hummingbird (female sighted 04-17-18)
Starling
Towhee (male and female)
Tufted titmouse
White-breasted nuthatch
White-throated sparrow
Red-bellied woodpecker (male and female)

Not sighted, but heard:
Pileated woodpecker
Red-shouldered hawk

>21 fuzzi: That's quite a list! We don't have nearly that variety.

Congrats on the hummingbird sighting!

I haven't seen any juncos today, but they were still around earlier this week. I'll have to keep an eye out.

>22 harrygbutler: the juncos only come when we get wintry weather, and are referred to as "snow birds" locally.

I saw the male hummer last night, got some not-too-bad pictures (it was dusk), will try to post the best one later.

>21 fuzzi: I love your bird lists because I think you live near enough to me that I have a hope of seeing many of the same in my garden. I'm not good enough to tell the different sparrows apart (except the house sparrow -- he's easier) but I have sighted most of what you listed. Not the nuthatches, though, I don't think:

birds at my feeder

On the other hand, since I'm on the coast, I have a whole range of showy coastal birds, herons and egrets and the like, so that's nice. And last year I saw a male great crested flycatcher -- he swooped down onto the bean tower, stayed there for about a minute, and then swooped away. Made my day -- I had to call my mother to tell her about it.

>24 southernbooklady: thanks for the link. I enjoyed seeing the birds at your feeders...especially the goldfinch, which I think is actually a Western tanager! I just did a side by side comparison, studying the beak and wings, and I'm fairly certain of the identification...and I'm jealous. I saw a male Western tanager in Connecticut, when I was a teen, but not since. They do stray east a lot. Wow.

I'm not good at sparrows, either. The members of birding club I joined call them LBJs: Little Brown Jobs, hahaha!

Nuthatches like the woods next to my house, and the suet I offer.

>25 fuzzi: I envy all of you who have such a wide variety of birds. I doubt I'd be able to identify unusual birds that visited, in any case. I have a neighbor with cats, some of them feral, and I suspect that most of the likely cat dinner bird varieties are either already dinner, or to smart to visit. When I first bought the house, there were numerous quail, and a variety of doves and crows. I do see an occasional hawk, surveying the territory, but the pickings are slim. It's just become too populated, more's the pity.

Sometimes I get a mama duck who gets confused as to which way the pond is, and I usually manage to herd them off in the right direction (with a bit of fear when I convince her to take them across the road, which is thankfully quiet most of the time).

>24 southernbooklady: Your bird pictures were lovely.

>22 harrygbutler: here's the picture of the male Ruby-throated hummingbird, though it's a little dark due to the time of the day (dusk)



>26 Lyndatrue: I'm blessed with fields and trees all around, and woods next door, but I've also made an effort to provide a sanctuary of sorts for birds. We have a large "burn" pile that's a couple years old which many of the birds frequent.

And I currently have eleven feeders in use, including three for hummingbirds, plus a bird bath, two small ponds, and lots and lots of seed-bearing flowers that I let stand until all the seeds have been stripped. My yard will never be on the cover of House Beautiful, but I like it.

Addendum: I have three ferals, and our yard is visited by snakes, and other wildlife that like to eat birds, but I have tried to give the birds plenty of cover yet not give predators the same.

Feeders in my yard:


On the right is the first pole I installed when we moved here, with a feeder each for black oil sunflower (tube) and safflower seeds (house), a suet cake in a cage, and a small feeder with peanut butter balls.

The double crook has one of my hummingbird feeders and a blue dragonfly wind chime.


My new set-up being visited by a mockingbird, including (left to right) a woodpecker suet feeder, a metal feeder I fill with black oil sunflower seeds, a black oil sunflower tube feeder, and a peanut feeder.

>28 fuzzi: I so miss mockingbirds. They were everywhere when I lived in Southern California, and I knew that I wouldn't see them here, but I still really miss them.

Your feeders are lovely, by the way.

>29 Lyndatrue: thank you. The pole system and most of the feeders were purchased at Wild Birds Unlimited. The tube feeder in the first picture was made by Droll Yankees, and was worth the additional cost. All the parts are quality metal except for the clear plastic tube. I don't recall when I got the feeders (I have one stored away), but it's been probably about twenty years. The plastic tubes finally turned yellow and brittle, but I bought replacement tubes from the company a couple years ago. Their feeders really do last.

Here you go, Lyndatrue:


4/20/18 - Mockingbird perched on the propane tank. I was sitting outside at the time, and took this photo with my little Ricoh CX5. I love how sharp a contrast there is between bird and leaves.

Saturday we spent more time in the yard, as the temperatures were only in the upper 60s/low 70s. First we went to the garden center, where I bought some annuals, a new watering jug, some water hyacinths for the pond, and a cast iron bunny to complement the other one I have!

Underneath the pond's spillway (part of the waterfall) is an old wheelbarrow tub, spray painted green and filled with small gravel, to provide a sturdy and steady base for the waterfall. I added container soil in this tub, around the edges, and planted petunias, purslane, portulaca, and a lantana. Once they fill out they will hopefully provide a nice border or frame around the water feature.

I cleaned off the front porch and moved my houseplants outside to their summer home. I moved a few chrysanthemums that had survived the winter in containers, placing them in the ground in a sunny spot next to a hydrangea. Then I planted vincas in the pots that grace the front steps. Perhaps I'll get to the side steps' pots later this week.

After weeding my raised beds I planted pentas, vinca, lantana, and carrots (the last were seeds). The carrots are for the swallowtail butterflies. Speaking of butterflies, my milkweed plants have buds, and I should see flowers soon. I also planted some tithonia seeds next to the propane tank. If it grows as it has in the past, it might camouflage the tank some. It also attracts butterflies and hummingbirds.

Sunday afternoon I went to see "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the local university, then came home to plant a new raised bed with summer squash. We recently purchased several portable raised beds (you can put wheels on the underside) and while my dh planted cucumbers for pickling, I want my crookneck and zucchini!

I did not manage to find time this weekend for more pruning chores, though my second hydrangea needs it badly. Maybe one evening after I get home from work I'll find enough ambition and energy to do some. Once the heat starts, it limits my opportunities to work outside.

My irises are waiting for me to give them some attention, too...

BIRD ALERT! BIRD ALERT!

I was looking out the kitchen window at dusk a couple days ago, and noticed a bird under the feeders that didn't look like one of my regulars. I was able to grab my small camera and take a couple shots.

It was a new bird to add to my Life List:


A Lincoln's sparrow!!!!

Lincoln's don't visit NC much, but they do on occasion. A couple birder friends online helped me confirm the identification.

Woo!

>33 fuzzi: Oh, wow! Congratulations indeed!

We had another lovely weekend, temps in the upper 70s on Saturday and upper 60s today, Sunday. I spent a good deal of time outside doing yard and gardening chores, thankful for the extra opportunity to get these things done before the heat and humidity come roaring in...we're overdue.

I decided to do some weeding in the front yard, where the honeysuckle and other weeds invade the juniper slope and the iris beds every year. I had one iris valiantly putting forth golden blooms despite the weedy growth all around. After about an hour of pulling up the honeysuckle (a curse on whoever imported it!) and assorted growths, the iris now have air, light, and room to spread out some more.


4/24/18 Iris plant before weeding


4/28/18 Iris bed after weeding

I had moved all my house plants outside to the east-facing porch last weekend, but several of them needed repotting, so that was my next job. Then I planted the last few containers that sit on my steps, planting vincas that will bloom all summer despite heat and drought.

By mid-morning I took a break to run some errands. Last Saturday I purchased a pair of work gloves at the local nursery and found they really did fit "like a glove", so I went back and bought two more pairs. I also stopped at the farmers' market to look for mosquito plant, but none were available. I did bring home a four pack of catnip/catmint for my felines. At at yard sale I found a wrought iron planter that had just a little rust on it, and bought it for a dollar! After scraping it with a metal brush and adding a coat of black flat paint, it looks great! I love finding stuff like that.

I also painted a pair of resin frogs that over the course of about four years have gradually faded to almost white. Of course I chose green as a base color, but I also have some yellow and red paint to use as accent colors, not decided yet how best to do the job.

We also made a "run" to the local home center, Lowe's. We needed a new nozzle for our front yard hose, so I grabbed one, as well as a few cans of spray paint, a reflector for our driveway (people turn around in our driveway and run over my reflectors frequently), a roll of 3mil plastic to cover the front slope, and twenty bags of cypress mulch. I've already used some of that mulch in the back yard pond area, but most of it is to cover the plastic sheet to replace the one on the front yard slope that disintegrated over the winter. I need to do this to slow down the creeping weed invasion of my yard. I'd planted more junipers last fall, and they need time to spread out and cover the area without being choked by honeysuckle and other broad leaf weeds.

My squash plants are up! I'm excited. I love eating summer squash. My dh's cucumber plants have also sprouted.

The pond area continues to evolve and improve. The annuals I planted around the waterfall area are looking very healthy.

4/29/18 - View of the pond area from my kitchen window. You can see a Silver-spotted skipper on the top of the shepherd's crook, on the left side!

On Saturday I added marigolds to planters and placed them next to the two benches in the pond area, and I pulled a bunch of weeds. The milkweed have not yet bloomed, but are full of buds.

My Silver-spotted skipper continues to visit, basking on the shepherd's crooks I use for the hummingbird feeders.

And I saw my first catbird of the season!


I think that's all...it was a very full but rewarding weekend.

>34 harrygbutler: thank you! I never get tired of a new one.

>35 fuzzi: Your Iris is lovely. They're one of my very favorite plants. I had a volunteer that decided to grow in an area that there were never any plants, and I'm awaiting the bloom to see whether it's a sport, or just a bit of tuber that I dropped accidentally.

What a bright yellow yours has! It makes me so excited to see my own bloom.

I do love spring.

>35 fuzzi: My irises aren't blooming yet! Well, except for one I don't know the name of that always blooms early and goes for a long time -- I call it my "Montpelier Iris" because both mom and I took some seed pods home with us from a visit we took together to Madison's Montpelier gardens. Now mom grows them in her garden in New York, and I grow them in mine here in North Carolina, and they kind of connect us and remind us of the trip.

>35 fuzzi: Our irises haven't bloomed yet either. Most of ours are some variety of purple.

One of the highlights of Saturday's bird walk was encountering a first-of-the-season catbird.

>37 Lyndatrue: thank you! The iris in that garden were given to me by a doctor here at the university who had thinned out her gardens (which I need to do, too!). She had them organized by COLOR, waaaay much more organized than I am. There are some peach-colored irises in that garden, too, but I am unsure if my being neglectful will result in few/no blooms this year. I've got some lovely compost I can side-dress if they'll like it, have to look that up.

I love spring here, until it gets hot...

>38 southernbooklady: what a lovely way to remember a visit. I like it that your mom shares plants, like my sister and I do with our evening primroses.

The daffodils along the road are blooming again, they must be liking the continuing cooler weather.

>39 harrygbutler: I love catbirds! I enjoy birds not only for their coloring, but their personalities, and the catbirds, mockingbirds, and thrashers all have a ton of bravado. I have a vivid memory of a catbird dying in our yard when I was a young girl, and my mother told me not to touch it as it had probably been poisoned by pesticides. I can still see it's pretty rusty undertail coverts. Funny how that stuff sticks with you.

I forgot to add that on Friday evening when I got home from work I'd gone outside and done about an hour's worth of weeding. For me, it's therapeutic. I got a swath between the blueberry bushes and the overgrown vegetable garden, cutting down saplings that were too big for me to uproot without some help. I also weeded around my Stella D'oro lilies in my bird/perennial garden, which were being crowded by henbit, and overeager sedum and coreopsis!

These are the gloves I bought, that I HIGHLY recommend:



I am allergic to poison ivy, so I've been using disposable latex, but I like these better. The other plus is my skin doesn't handle gardening damage as well as I've gotten older, so good gloves are becoming necessary.

>40 fuzzi: As fast as possible, I must tell you NOT to put all your rich compost on the Iris. They like a little bone meal at the end of the blooming season, but the most important thing to remember is that all that other stuff is a waste, and in some cases may even burn them. Iris are aggressive weeds, who happen to be so lovely that we encourage them.

Back to drinking coffee, and trying to wake up. :-}

>42 Lyndatrue: thank you. I wasn't planning to do anything until the weekend, but your information was greatly appreciated. You mentioned bone meal, and an "aha!" went off in my head, probably from my childhood and my mother's use of organic items in her flower beds.

Three weeks? Oops, time for an update.

The weather in May has continued to be mild, at least in the mornings, so on May 5th I tackled some chores that needed to be done, had been needing to be done. First I headed for the drainage ditch by the road, which was full of branches, leaves, vines, and probably critters, bringing my rake and long handled pruning shears. I did as much raking as I could, making sure to not actually reach down with my hands until the ditch was somewhat clear, in case there were any snakes. I don't mind snakes, but I am cautious about debris in case there is a venomous copperhead or rattlesnake residing there. No snakes were uncovered, whew. There was a LOT of poison ivy in some areas, and after clearing everything but that noxious vine, I went back and got the Round Up (yes, I know, don't lecture, I'm 95% organic). Spraying the poison ivy is the only way of containing it here since I am highly allergic: I don't try to dig it up. I managed to clear the area from next to the pipe that goes under our driveway, and for about ten feet.

I also pruned back much of the volunteer privet saplings, and a ton of honeysuckle that is trying to smother the junipers that are growing on the sloping portion of my front yard. While weeding one area of the slope, I found an azalea that had been inundated with weeds, one I thought had perished last year. Woo! It's now free of encumbrances, mulched, and watered well.

The second hydrangea by the front steps has been pruned. There was a ton of dead wood needing to come out, and since I'd not gotten any blooms I figured it was safe to take out the branches without any leaves.

The first week of May was when my amaryllis and Stella D'oro liles started blooming gangbusters.

The weekend of May 12-13 was quite rainy, but I managed a few little chores here and there. I went to a local pond and with permission from a homeowner, scooped out about 18 or so minnows. Into the pond they went!

That weekend I saw one of my water lilies put forth a bud, but by the time I got home from work every evening, it had closed, bummer. However during that week the astilbe by the mailbox and the milkweeds started blooming.

And look what else showed up that week:



Yes, I saw two Monarch caterpillars! And by the end of the week, I saw them no more, so I am thinking they found a place to do their metamorphosis.

What's nifty about my milkweed patch is the variety of fauna I've noted:

Monarch caterpillars
Milkweed bugs
Ladybug
Daddy-long-legs
Green spider
Long-legged flies
Honeybees
Carpenter bees or bumblebees, or both

All that in a small 4'x4' patch of milkweed in blossom!

Last week I also saw my first White-tailed skimmer dragonfly, a male. I'd seen some variety of dragonfly very briefly a week or so before, but not enough of a glimpse to even attempt to identify.

The frogs have been singing every night, all night. I can tell that some of them are Green treefrogs, and suspect the others are the Southern Leopard frogs and Green frogs, but have not done a positive id yet on their calls.

Other visitors to the yard last week include a couple of rabbits (Hazel? Fiver?), a Black Racer (snake), and at least one box turtle that my dog keeps fetching, bringing to me. Fortunately she hasn't harmed the turtles (she likes to chew) and they've been released safely, back in the yard.

The ponds continue to clarify, water plants to grow, and are attracting other critters like spiders! I love the spiders that show up, walking on the surface of the water despite their size (1" plus).

The evening primroses started blooming around mid-week, May 16th or so. They were beat down pretty much by the torrential rains we've had since, but are still doing their best to raise their heads above the deluge.

The gardenia bushes are putting out new leaves, and I am thankful. I was afraid we'd lose them after the cold winter. My dh's kumquat and fig trees are trying to come back, but only a few leaves are showing so far. The Camellia bush has a lot of dead branches, most of which I've pruned except a few too tall or too large for me to handle.

This week (May 21-24) the weather continued to be rainy, so I have been limited with what I can do outside. The summer squash and cucumbers are growing fast, and I'm watching for blossoms, expect them any day now.

The blueberries are ripe this week! Last night I picked enough to fill two eight-cup bowls, and they taste so good! The birds have pecked a few fruits so far, but I don't mind. Once I finish picking, the birds are welcome to glean.

No coreopsis blooms yet...nor canna lilies either, but I expect we'll start seeing them in a week or so.

That's all I can think of. Thanks!

First sighting of a Sleepy Orange butterfly, on Monarda.

I also sighted an Ebony Jewelwing, but couldn't get a decent shot.

>45 fuzzi: This makes my heart leap with joy. Such beauty!

>46 Lyndatrue: I get all excited over seeing butterflies, and dragonflies, and hummingbirds. Their time in our gardens is all so brief, but very much welcomed.

>45 fuzzi: nice picture!

>48 NorthernStar: thanks!

Three months, no posts, apologies. Once the temps rise, mid-June, I do maintenance only as I just can't handle heat combined with humidity as is common for this area in the summer. I also have my busiest time of the year at work mid-May to early July, so I concentrate my time on keeping basic housekeeping chores done, and have less time for the outdoor chores, which in the summer mainly consist of watering my plants and doing some snatch weeding (grab it while you see it).

We harvested a ton of cucumbers and some squash before we went on vacation in early July. I didn't expect they'd be alive when we got home and I was right...even though my brother dutifully waters my plants, he doesn't do enough to keep the less-than-hardy types from dying. I thought I'd lost one of my potted Monardas, but after a couple weeks of frequent watering, it came back (whew). All my day lilies in pots survived, probably because I mulched them heavily with grass clippings before I left. I'm mulling over where to actually plant them, but won't be able to do any digging or transplanting until the weather cools down some, like late September or early October.

Looking back at my plans earlier in this thread, I realize I never got to weeding and mulching the front slope, and it's awful looking...but I hope once the weather moderates a little we can get out there and get'er done before cold weather arrives.

The butterflies started arriving more regularly in mid August. I always take my camera (or two) with me when I go outside to fill the bird feeders, and usually get some shots of the fauna that are attracted to the water and flowers. In case you didn't see these on the Butterfly thread, here's a few of them from the last couple of weeks:


8/16/18 - Fiery skipper


8/20/18 - Monarch


8/25/18 - Azure butterfly


8/25/18 - Eastern Tiger swallowtail


9/1/18 - Palamedes swallowtail

The pond and the surrounding plantings continue to be my joy: I have minnows, tadpoles, and several frogs that live happily together in the big pond, while some of their kin live in the small pond next to it. We've had swarms of dragonflies every day for weeks: they come to flirt and breed and continue their species' existence. I love dragonflies, they are so bold, circling around you and landing close by as if to examine who disturbed them. I can get lots of good photos as they don't startle as birds do.

The small pond and the water garden tubs have been hosting a chorus (literally) of green tree frogs and gray tree frogs. I don't see them, but they have been singing every night for weeks, and just stopped their nightly concert about a week ago.

The black racer (snake) has a presence in the pond area, but usually doesn't let me see him (her?) on my visits to the gardens. I've observed the end of a black tail on a couple of occasions as the snake hides from me. We've had a lot of lizards this year, mainly skinks, and between those and the frogs, the snake has had a nice dining selection to choose from. I am not callous, but realize that snakes are part of the ecosystem, and as long as they are not venomous, are welcome to share my space. I grieve a little over frogs that disappear, but before they do, they have already filled my water gardens and ponds with their offspring.

A couple weekends ago it was a little cooler, so after my dh put some new line on the weed whacker, I trimmed around the pond and cut back all the weeds that have been trying to take over in my absence. We've had so much rain this year that the grass and weeds have been aggressively attempting to overrun my garden areas. As with the slope, mentioned above, I plan to work on the weedy areas around the ponds and lay down the mulch that I bought several months ago, that is, once the weather cools!

Today as I was cleaning up debris from my ponds, I decided to clean some of the string algae from my water gardening tubs. I was very careful to shake the algae over the tub in case a tadpole or frog or other critter was hiding in it, so I was quite surprised when I saw a flash of orange IN the tub! I couldn't believe it, a GOLDFISH? I scooped him out and put him in a plastic cup I had handy. Yes, it's a 2" long Comet goldfish, the type that are sold as feeder fish in pet stores. How it came to live in a water garden that I started this Spring is a mystery to me. I filled the tub with water and added plants from my main pond, which does not have goldfish. I've not had goldfish at all for about three years, and never in the big pond. All I can guess is that a goldfish egg hitched a ride on a bird's leg, or a frog's tummy, or perhaps was attached to some Parrot's feather plants that a friend got for me. What was I to do? Nothing. I put the goldfish back in the tub, where he seems to be thriving, but am unsure of what I'll do when winter arrives, as he'll die in a five gallon container exposed to winter weather.

And with that, I think I'll grab my camera and take a stroll around the yard, dodging the mosquitoes as they'll be coming out in force about this time.

Thanks for reading. I have enjoyed sharing. :)

Warning: photo of snake follows:

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Here's a photo I took of my resident Black racer:



Back at the end of June I walked up to the pond late one afternoon, and noticed something moving, so I froze. There, taking a drink from the pond was a very long black snake, a Black racer. It raised its head and stared at me, but as I did not move, it then put its head back down and continued to drink. I managed to take several photos before it finished drinking, noticed me, and took off quickly.

It's not a wide snake, maybe just over an inch in diameter, but it is very long, probably 4 feet or so. They are called Black "racer" because they can move very, very quickly when frightened.

>51 fuzzi: Unlike most city-raised folks, I love snakes. They're a useful and important part of our world, especially helpful in keeping the rodent population down. I would call animal control over rattlesnakes ONLY because there are children in the area.

I like your butterfly pictures, always, but I'm in love with this snake photo. Beautiful shot.

>52 Lyndatrue: I've posted pictures of snakes before and discovered that some people prefer a warning so that's what I did. :D

I was not raised in the country but have always loved animals. I find snakes fascinating, how they move especially. When one of my classmates brought a garter snake to school one day, to "scare the girls", I think I disappointed him, as I asked if I could touch it, and hold it. Hahaha. Growing up we didn't have a yard that attracted snakes, so I never saw them until we moved into our current home, about 12 years ago. The lot next door is nothing but woods, and beyond it there's a small area filled with hardwood trees, undergrowth, quite damp, and attractive to all sorts of wildlife. Our yard is somewhat overgrown, so we have visitors including box turtles, rabbits, opossums, raccoons, squirrels, and probably foxes though I've never seen any in my yard.

I am glad you enjoy the pictures. I love how the camera captures the beauty of nature, and want to share my joy with others.

Those are phenomenal photos! I'm purely jealous, but I'm sure it's partly a matter of lacking the patience and stillness you have.

>54 2wonderY: thank you. Patience is part of it, standing still while the sun beats down on my head and while mosquitoes bite my legs and arms, all just to get a good shot. It's important to me, so I do it. I keep a supply of calamine lotion on hand...

It looks as if we will be affected by a hurricane (Florence) later this week, so my Sunday afternoon puttering will be focused on "policing" the yard, making sure that anything that could become airborne is put away in the shed.

My potted houseplants will remain on the porch until the last moment, to see if they have to be brought inside. They generally do well if placed on the concrete base, pushed together in a tight bunch, surrounded by the wooden railings. I didn't need to bring them inside for Matthew, so it just depends on the sustained wind strength.

Birdfeeders will remain outside until the last moment as well.

I hope you chose the next to last moment! We don't need you haring off on your own over the rainbow adventures.

We're not expecting winds >40mph until Wednesday evening, so while most of my yard objects have been stored in our shed, there's still time to complete the job.

I topped off the water in my pond today, as it was a little low. Too bad it couldn't wait for Thursday and Friday.

Almost had a tragedy in the pond today...

...while doing final preparations before the hurricane hits, I discovered a frog in the skimmer. He thrashed around a bit, but then he wasn't in the skimmer. I figured he'd hopped out, and put the skimmer back together, but noticed the waterfall had stopped working. I pulled the hose off the water pump and reached in the intake pipe to see what was restricting the water flow...and felt something soft. I grabbed it and yanked, and pulled out a Leopard frog! He was just inside the pump itself, had been sucked through the hose that runs from the skimmer to the pump. If I'd not removed him (hanging on for dear life??) he might have been killed!

I think he was okay, he swam away. Whew.

>59 fuzzi: Truly, all's well that ends well. I'm happy about the frog (I have a love for them), and happy you saved him. :-}

>59 fuzzi: Yikes! Can you put a screen on the end of that intake?

>60 Lyndatrue: >61 2wonderY: there's a filter pad that is supposed to prevent larger items getting sucked through the hose, but 1. he swam under it and 2. he's a little frog. I didn't see him floating this am, so I hope he's recovering from his ordeal. I like my resident frogs!

I think we're about as prepared as possible for Hurricane Florence. If you don't see me here for a few days, don't worry, we're expecting power outages that could last several days.

My dh's employer decided that he was essential medical personnel, and so he's at work, for a couple days. I am not amused.

We've had some wind here, on and off all morning, but the first outer rain bands just hit. As soon as there's a break in the rain, I'm going outside to take down the bird feeders. The birds have been very active this morning, "stocking up".

Laundry is done, dishes washed, bags of ice into chests, aquariums have had a last water change. Once the power goes off the perishables that I'll want to use in the next 24-36 hours will be moved into the coolers and a big piece of duct tape will be placed across the refrigerator door handle as a reminder to NOT open the doors!

Oh, and I brewed enough coffee for the next two days, and have stored it in a vacuum bottle to keep it somewhat warm...I like my coffee!

And I have a Sharon Kay Penman ready: Time and Chance. It's about 500 pages long, should help keep me occupied!

>63 fuzzi: Stay safe, and all of us here will be thinking of those of you in the path. XXOO

>63 fuzzi: fuzzi, since I was hit I know you were hit. Are you okay?

>65 southernbooklady: we're fine. We've lots of branches and leaves all over the yard, and three small trees fell behind the shed. However, there's no damage that I can see.

How did you fare?

>66 fuzzi: and >65 southernbooklady: I'm very happy to see both of you showing up. I hope that the damage was not too severe for either of you. Such a sad business, this storm was.

>67 Lyndatrue: the great blessing is that, while it was expected to make landfall as a category 4 hurricane, Florence lost enough strength in the last few hours to lessen it to a category 1 storm. The residents of New Bern, Jacksonville, Wilmington, and other towns still have it bad, though, due to the flooding associated with such a slow-moving tropical storm.

>66 fuzzi: I came through just fine, my house is on very high ground. Most of my neighbors were flooded. I was out of town when it hit so I won’t even be back home until tomorrow. That had been maddening!

>69 southernbooklady: glad to hear your home is okay. There are so many people who live in flooded areas who can't return home yet.

I'm so glad y'all are both ok! I can barely watch the news coverage on the recovery and the flooding. Totally breaks my heart!!

While reading cassiebash thread about critters, I was reminded of my own, especially my fish.

I have a 10 gallon aquarium that I've been using as a nursery for the Albino Bristlenose plecos, but I'm down to just five fry that have grown to over 1" long, and which I hope to re-home in the next month or so. Then what?

I am not big on keeping a tank running "just in case" I need a sick/quarantine aquarium, so I'm thinking of going for RCS (Red Cherry shrimp) again, or some small schooling fish.

Some of my possibilities:

Ember tetra


Chilli (aka Mosquito) Rasbora


Phoenix Rasbora


Pygmy Rasbora


Neon Green Rasbora


Galaxy Danio/Rasbora


These are all less than 1" in length, and I could have a school of 8 or more happily and healthily (?) living in a 10 gallon.

::dreaming::

I just happened to remember that you'd posted these fish photos, and realized I hadn't put in my vote for which fish you should get. The "Phoenix Rasbora" look the most interesting (they have an almost fluorescent look to them in that photograph).

I thought I'd already made this comment, but your showing up on my thread today made me realize I hadn't.

There you all are, over there, in the southeasy, getting water from the sky that I would be grateful to see (although I'd prefer to have not as much at once as seems common there).

>73 Lyndatrue: thanks for your "vote"! It will depend upon what the LFS (local fish store) can find for me. I prefer to NOT order live animals online and have them shipped. If they were to arrive dead I'd feel terrible.

We do have drought often in our area, though not recently, and rarely during the fall/hurricane season. Just a few miles away from me is the Tar River, which is bordered by swamps filled with cypress trees. I like walking some of the trails, but always douse myself with bug spray!

New addition to my menagerie: in my 10g aquarium are eleven Galaxy danios, five Salt & Pepper corydoras, and two more Albino corys that will join my other five in the big tank once they complete quarantine.

The five BNPs are now in a tank at a LFS about 185 miles from home.

Photos will follow. :)

Late to your thread, but I am thoroughly enjoying it, especially those pix in >3 fuzzi:, >11 fuzzi: and >27 fuzzi:!

>76 SandyAMcPherson: thank you!

I'm late in getting my 2019 thread started, but hopefully I'll get it up and running soon.

Three years later...

...I'm going to start up another gardening thread. Stay tuned.

New thread is here:

https://www.librarything.com/topic/340858

I'll be adding content soon.