The Nature of Things

I was doing some tidy-up pruning in the garden today before an afternoon shower drove me inside. But before the pruning, I documented with my camera some of the things I saw around the garden. There was a bit of activity at the bird feeders. These Blue Jays were checking out what was on offer at the table. They look a little disheveled because they are beginning their molt. They'll be losing all their old worn feathers and growing bright new ones. This juvenile Red-bellied Woodpecker hasn't got his distinctive red head and belly feathers yet, but he's learned where he can find a tasty meal. In the goldfish pond, the water lilies are flourishing. This Giant Swallowtail butterfly was very busy on the blooms of the 'Pride of Barbados'.  These flowers are favorites of many butterflies. The Sulphurs seem to prefer the flame acanthus ( Anisacanthus wrightii ) blossoms. Sulphurs are numerous in my garden in late summer and fall. And the Gulf Fritillaries are numerous thr...

Dainty Sulphur Dog Face Sulphur Dorantes Skipper Fiery Skipper Tropical Checkered Skipper Gray Hairstreak Black Swallowtail Pipevine Swallowtail Tiger Swallowtail Giant Swallowtail Queen Monarch Soon-to-be Monarch - chrysalis Variegated Fritillary Gulf Fritillary Painted Lady American Painted Lady Red Admiral Tawny Emperor

On my inspection walk through of my garden a couple of days ago, I noticed that my little rue plant was looking decidedly the worse for wear. I looked for the reason for its disheveled appearance and it didn't take long to find the culprit. And here he is - a big, fat Black Swallowtail caterpillar! It was obvious that he had been feeding on the plant, unnoticed, for several days, and he is now very near to the end of his life as a caterpillar. Soon, he'll find a place to spin his cocoon and pupate. And then, with a bit of luck, I may meet him in the garden in his new form as a beautiful Black Swallowtail butterfly.       This was a Black Swallowtail that visited my garden earlier this year. Perhaps he was an antecedent of my present-day caterpillar. The rue will grow new leaves and the caterpillar will move on to the next stage in its development. And so the circle of life continues.

This is what the end of March looks like in my garden. The bluebonnets are blooming. American Goldfinches in their summer dress are passing through and stopping to have a snack at the nyger seed feeders. Over the weekend, I saw my first Giant Swallowtail butterfly of the year.  And my first Tiger Swallowtail of 2015. Just beautiful! But the stars of the show these days are the azaleas. For most of the year, their shrubs are inconspicuous, but in early spring they put on a show for us. Mine have never been so full of blooms as they are this spring. This is an old plant in the backyard garden.  This is one of the everblooming azaleas that I added to my front garden last fall. They had a few blooms all through the autumn and winter, but now, in spring, they are absolutely full of these bright blossoms. Spring in Southeast Texas is typically a very brief season. Some years, we go from winter to summer in the blink of an eye. This time, our winter hardly even qualified as a winter ...

Days are getting shorter. Just a month ago, at 7:00 in the evening the setting sun would still be above the tops of the tall pine trees that spread across the western horizon prospect from my backyard. Today, by 7:00 the sun will be well behind those trees, just about down to their bases.  Moreover, the sun has started on its long trek to the south for winter. After reaching its northernmost point in the sky several weeks ago, the sun is now several degrees farther south, looking from our planetary perspective. And so the seasons change. There's only a month left in this season, but it is likely the most miserable month for us. The heat and humidity now are just about unbearable for outdoor activities of any extended period. And the plants which must stand out there all day under the broiling sun are looking wilted and tattered, much the worse for wear. A few leaves are already dropping, harbinger of the deluge to come. The bottom line for gardeners is that it is almost impossible ...