Friday, August 31, 2018

The Lost Season

The weather this gardening season has not been conducive to gardening.  We had cold weather up through May.  Then the rains came and continued to come for weeks on end.  I watched helplessly as the weeds took over everything.  After the rain, the staggering, breath-stealing heat and humidity hit and it has been like that for a very long time.  The bugs are bad, the weeds out of control and the garden is a mess.  I can only think that fall may finally offer some relief and allow me to spend some time outside.  The weather is changing and not for the better.

On the bright side of things, I've had a bumper crop of monarchs this year.  The milkweed bloomed during the constant rains and I feared that there was no nectar to be had.  I guess the plants provided them with places to lay eggs because my front porch is decorated with the lovely little jade green jewels.

So far there have been 6 of them and one caterpillar that didn't make it, the spiders got him (which I also have a bumper crop of this year!)  However I did spy this guy last night and have been watching him to see the amazing process.
He's hanging off our handrail, a much safer place than the logs of the porch as the spiders love all the corners a bit too much.  

So far 4 of my wards have taken flight, one I rescued yesterday morning as it was sitting incredible close to a very large orb weavers web and since I could not find the spider I didn't want it getting any ideas.  This morning I was fortunate enough to spy another hatchling and nab a picture of it.
To me this is such a special gift, to know that my little patch of milkweed is providing what these beauties need to continue their life cycle.  So many humans do so much damage to this amazing world of ours, not realizing that each insect, animal, and plant has a part to play in the web of life.  All I can do is tread as lightly as I can and cause as little harm as possible.

While I was snapping the picture of the monarch, movement caught my eye and lo and behold the orb weaver appeared.  I suspect slightly chafed with me for stealing the meal yesterday!
I was very surprised to see how small this one was in comparison to the web it has.  The web (which I have no idea how to get a photo of) is about three foot by three foot around.  It's massive and is connected to the porch swing, the top of the porch and the birdhouse hanging from a hook as well as the lower rail!  This spider was not messing around when it made its home on my porch.  

For now, I sit inside and watch the weeds grow and flourish.  My mother laments on the critters that come to her yard and eat her plants.  I would love to have something that would eat the stiltgrass and whatever this noxious weed is that is taking over everything, however, Randy continues to say no to goats.




1 comment:

  1. Best way to get web pics is in the very early morning when the dew is on them. I'm working on attracting Monarchs. I had Swallowtails this year. Finally got my butterfly garden in this past spring.

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The Lost Season

The weather this gardening season has not been conducive to gardening.  We had cold weather up through May.  Then the rains came and contin...