Monarch Firsts (for Me)

Our property has hosted monarchs before.  I recall my first two larvae after putting in butterflyweed (Asclepias tuberosa) probably ten years ago.  After a few years of seeing them, they seemingly disappeared from our yard for about three years (while their populations had really plummeted).  After a bit of a rebound, I have seen them in the yard again.

However, this is the first year that I not only got some photos of them in flight, I also witnessed a female laying an egg--twice (on two separate days).  :)  I found it very satisfying.

In addition, the adults used to seem like rare visitors, but this year, over the past two or three weeks, I seem to see one in our yard each day I go out!  Cupplant has proven itself a great favorite with not only the monarchs, but other butterflies and smaller pollinators. 

The milkweed that I winter sowed (and, later, posted about planting out in the meadow) are pictured here, in pots with the monarch making good use of them.

Results of Winter Sowing

This blog is the closest thing I have to a gardening journal.   Way back in February, as I have done for years now, I sowed most of the seeds I had collected.  I never got around to posting.

 In April, they began to germinate.  I never posted.

Most years, I end up planting a few of the plugs out into the yard...then other chores started to take precedence...then the heat of summer sets in--not ideal for planting.  Normally, in the fall, I end up planting the stunted plugs.

This year, I had hoped to get them planted out in the yard when there is plenty of rain predicted.  This week's forecast was supposed to be three days of rain...but then that changed.  Rain is still coming, but not as originally predicted--and my schedule didn't allow for getting things planted in the meadow--BUT, today, I did take the time to do something I have not done in years past.  I potted them up to larger sized pots.  This is what nurseries do.  I am hopeful that, even if I do wait until fall, the plants should be much more robust.

I condensed them...but, I am still hoping to divide each pot into four or five plants when I do put them in the ground.

It's an improvement.

Hummingbird at Trumpet Vine

With our two game cams out if commission for a long while, we ended up buying a new one.  Today, we got to try it out.  :)

(...and Jeff was able to fix the problem with one if the old cams...so, we are back to having two of them.)

It was wonderful to get a clear video of our hummingbird visitor.  :)

Little Lady

I don't know if I have just not been watching, or what, but I haven't seen hummingbirds here for quite a while.  So, imagine my surprise when I saw one right outside my window several weeks ago (when the Penstemon digitalis was finishing up).

I encountered this little lady again, yesterday, while walking past the trumpet vine (that I inherited from a previous owner--it has only begun to bloom over the
past two years.

 Coming around the corner, I must have startled her...she took off ahead of me--probably the only reason I noticed.  Luckily, I had my digital

camera with me, and I zoomed in to snap some pics when I saw her alight on a branch of an elm tree.

I am glad to be seeing this little lady visiting...
and I hope she brings her mate and their friends--or their rivals...
I know how territorial they can be.

Another Fox Pic

I left the trail cam in place for as long as my patience held--probably 5 days.  Still no face pic, but this is still a better shot than the first few I got. :)

Just as there were already garter snakes on the property and a bear came to our bird feeder when we first moved in, I assume nothing that I did to improve the property is responsible for the fox passing through...but, perhaps what I have added, will allow it to utilize the property for more than just a pass through.

There is a spiderweb at the top of the photo...I cropped most of it out which makes the few bright lines more puzzling.

Game Cam Surprises

While sorting through the pics from the game cam--with my husband, Jeff, watching over my shoulder (so glad to see him interested and excited as a few surprises came our way). :)  

No big surprises with the rabbit, squirrel, robin, and ground hog that appeared in the pics--and I was not even surprised to see the raccoon (I've seen their prints in my latest addition to the yard--that I've yet to post about)...but I was happy to finally have a photo of one.

I have wanted to see a fox (and hopefully photograph one) in the yard for years.  I guess I knew it was possible or even likely that they were here or at least passing through...just undetected by me.  Now, I have proof. :)  YAY!

 

Again...no surprises that we have free-roaming cats--I love cats, but hate to see them prowling in the habitat that I am creating to support wildlife.  Domesticated cats are not natural predators of North America...and they decimate wild bird (and other critters) populations that are already struggling with habitat destruction.  So, of course, I was not happy to see these two on the game cam.

What I was not expecting was to catch what looks to me (and to Jeff) to be a bobcat! :):):)  This is a natural predator and one that I've only seen in books.  Since getting this incomplete shot of him (or her)...I have moved the game came to face in the opposite position...hoping to get a face pic next time.  :) 

Game Cam Pics

I finally set up the game cam again--and perhaps in a better spot for seeing what comes through our yard (seems it is a wildlife trail), but not aesthetically or composition-wise.

No surprises here--deer...but it is great to see the fawn.  With a bit of cropping some of the photos don't look so bad. :)

But deer were not the only wildlife to show up on the game cam.

Among some of the common critters that one would expect to see,
some surprises were in store for us.

More to come...

Changing Outfits

From July:



I was happy to find a couple of spicebush swallowtail caterpillars again this year.  After discovering them, I checked on them regularly.  What really thrilled me was the luck I had to get this photo:

Caught in the act...well, just after molting I guess--how cool is that!

Another day, I spotted his latest color change:

Fitting Right In

I planted all of the new additions except the queen of the prairie which I think needs more moisture than the site I'd picked for it will provide.  Once established, I will try to grow some in, perhaps, less than the ideal site, but I'd rather wait until I have more, and plant them in the spring or fall not the heat of summer.

The pollinators already attracted to the other native flowers I have took no time at all to explore the new arrivals.  I've never seen this one before:

Our Newest Additions

Yesterday, I stopped at a native plant nursery looking to add more biodiversity to the summer-blooming natives I've already added.  Here is what I got:

queen of the prairie (Filipendula rubra)

ox-eye sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides)

cup plant (Silphium perfoliatum)

Phlox paniculata -which had a visitor before I even put it in the
ground...this tiny bee actually followed it as I moved the pot, to
set up the group shot above!

Looking More Closely

It is rare for me to pick flowers from the natives I'm adding to the property.  So far, I really have so few, and I feel the nectar, pollen, and eventual seeds that they are providing for wildlife is vitally important.  I hate to take away from the little I've provided.  However, the oldest butterflyweeds I have planted are blooming profusely...so I took three small sprigs.  With them, I took a few non-natives that are blooming (I'm trying to rid the property of these anyway), and then I grabbed a few of the daisy fleabane...that is when, as I reached for a second stem, I saw an already large caterpillar chomping away at one of the flowers.  Of course, I let go and went to get the camera.

I have to wonder what else I'd see if I learned to look more closely more often.

I've yet to identify it, but here is what he looks like:

Chomping away!  Just look at those petals fall.
What a messy eater.

I went back for more photos.

...and today, I noticed there were at least two of them!

Oh, and here is the bouquet I came up with:

His Favorite Perch?

I spotted the hummingbird atop the dead elm tree again today. I'm assuming it gives him a great vantage point--as it does for other birds that use it.  That is just one more good reason to keep snags on one's property--who would've thought a hummingbird would make use of one.

Now I just have to invest in a telephoto lens...

Poor Vision, Great Eyes

For having such poor vision all my life, I've got some pretty good eyes!  As so often happens, I spot a bird or two perched atop the dead elm at the edge of our property.  Usually I have to zoom in and take a picture to upload on the computer before I know what it is.  Today, I spotted a tiny bird on the uppermost branch.  I figured I'd be learning a new bird, once I saw it up close--it never occurred to me that it would be a hummingbird.  I'm shocked that I even noticed it at that distance.