Category: Gardening

He’s back

On August 8 – the first day I was able to put my shoes on and go out and water my lawn after a week of recovering from the great white shark attack on my toe – the frog was in my shoe. This wasn’t the first or second or even third visit, either. But it was the fourth one I caught with my camera.

So I dumped him out and snapped some photos for your amusement.

There he is. In my shoe. Which means the dance begins.
Sometimes I consider buying new gardening shoes just so he won't be disturbed. (Don't tell Kim)
"You don't scare me, fat boy."
He's so lethargic when I find him in my shoe in the mornings.
A wee bit disillusioned, too. I mean, what's he trying to do here? Hide under the shoe? Fat chance.
Until we meet again ...

Blue bloom

Yes. It finally happened. I had a convolvulus bloom in the backyard tree bed. Find its photos and more among week twelve’s garden shots.

Here's a shot of the whole plant. There's a few of them still left in various place around the yard, and on the porch. Can't wait until they all do this.
Here's a shot of the whole plant. There's a few of them still left in various place around the yard, and on the porch. Can't wait until they all do this.
Here's another shot of this baby.
Here's another shot of this baby.

Say hello to my little friend(s)

For a few days this past week, we’ve had some newcomers loitering in the geraniums, munching on some rabid parsley that had grown there from an adjacent miniature pot. So, I called Kim over to check ’em out, she’s never seen anything like it here in Rosenberg. She did a quick Google search and discovered they’re caterpillars that will develop into swallowtail butterflies.
Swallowtail caterpillars. Everywhere. I counted (and highlighted) five.
Swallowtail caterpillars. Everywhere. I counted (and highlighted) six.

Here are the links Kim found:

Munch, munch, munch. This one was the biggest.
Munch, munch, munch. This one was the biggest.

But our friends didn’t stick around for long. By Monday, they had checked out, leaving destruction in their wake. Where did they go? Kim thinks the mockingbirds got them. Maybe the frog who lives in my shoe gobbled them. Maybe, they wandered elsewhere. But nothing else on the porch has been eaten like they left the parsley.

The parsley is gone.
The parsley is gone.

Wherever you are, you cuddly fat lepidopteras, here’s hoping you return one day in a much more attractive form.

King of the world
King of the world

Reward for paying speeding ticket: ice cream

I just paid a speeding ticket I got on the way back from my summer vacation in Colorado County (where? – exactly … somewhere on I-10 where it’s OK to pull over the guy who’s just trying to get out of the way of some tailgating redneck in a pickup truck). Clocked at 84 miles per hour. Speed limit: 70. I must have been in a hurry to get back to town to pick up my car, which was in the shop, just waiting me to pay a lot of money for its return.

Yeah, I was driving Kim’s car. She said, “I never drive it over 80.”

There were two of them, hiding on the blind side of the hill. It didn’t take longer than 10 minutes before I was on my way. I am thankful there were no stupid human tricks involved in the ticket issuing process. And I’m just paying the ticket – like a man – this time, for the first time ever. No wrestling with an online defensive driving course or twiddling my thumbs somewhere during class. No. Screw it.

For my next trick, I will devour a bowl of ice cream.

Here's a bunch of dead red sun sunflowers I deadheaded last week. Deadheaded about as many this past weekend, too. Sigh.
Here's a bunch of dead red sun sunflowers I deadheaded last week. Deadheaded about as many this past weekend, too. Sigh.