Wednesday in the garden: Before the rains came

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 throughout the year.

They like the flame acanthus blooms as well.

A red skimmer dragonfly came calling.

  
And in the pond, the newest resident decided to show himself. I think I'll call him Jeremiah.

I've been trying to get a decent picture of this bullfrog for several days, but he's never bothered to cooperate. At least today he showed me his back, and I was surprised to see the colorful pattern that the camera revealed. From a distance of ten to fifteen feet and with my naked eye, the frog just looked gray-brown.

He decided to take a stroll into the variegated lirope that borders the pond.

But he no sooner made it into the grass when his visit was cut short by Rudy, the Mighty Hunter, and he had to jump back into the pond.

And then the rains came and Rudy and I had to take cover, too.  

Wordless Wednesday: Horace's Duskywing on wedelia

Friday Fotos: Backyard butterflies

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

Backyard Nature Wednesday: Rue the caterpillar!

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.

March's end

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 and we've been in spring mode practically since the middle of February. Soon enough, summer will be rearing its fiery head. But for now, we luxuriate in mild, glorious days, enjoying the early blossoms and the spring migrant birds as they pass through, the first swallowtail butterflies of the season, and, especially, loving the feel of dirt on our hands once again. 

Note: I'm linking to the "End of Month View" post at The Patient Gardener's Weblog.

The last days of summer

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 to keep the garden looking good at this time of year and some of us just surrender and wait for the cooler days of fall. The main attraction in the garden these days is the wildlife but even they are rather quiet. Except for the cicadas, of course.

Most of the backyard birds are still molting and they tend to be fairly silent during this period, almost as if they are embarrassed to call attention to their disheveled appearance. Silent though they are, there are plenty of them around, both adults and juveniles.

Just this week, I've seen a pair of robins escorting a couple fledglings around. There's been a whole tribe of wrens, including four or five fledglings, scouring the shrubbery for bugs. 

A young Carolina Wren looking for a snack in a 'Pride of Barbados' shrub.

And the yard is virtually overrun by cardinals. In the late afternoon when the cardinals come to the backyard feeders, one can see twenty or more of the beautiful birds of all ages as they gather for their late day snack.

A molting male Northern Cardinal eyes a feeder containing sunflower seed.

I can't say how many hummingbirds are in the yard these days. They zip around so fast that I can't count them, but I know there are at least three.

Most of the hummers that I am seeing now are Ruby-throated males like this one sitting just outside my office window.

I see posts on other birding blogs of hummingbird feeders that are being visited by large numbers of the little birds, and I wonder, how do they do that? Maybe my birds are just especially intolerant, but they will not share. If another bird comes around while one is feeding, the chase is on. They do not peaceably feed together. Admittedly, the chases are very entertaining, but it would be nice if they would all sit down for a meal together. At least then I could count them!

There are also plenty of butterflies in the garden in these last days of summer.

The little yellow Sulphur butterflies are ubiquitous in the garden at this time of year.

Milkweed is not just for Monarchs and Queens; Pipevine Swallowtails like it, too.

 

Gulf Fritillaries are very active at this time of year and they love these flame acanthus blossoms.

A Giant Swallowtail nectars on milkweed.

I've mentioned here before that the numbers of green anoles in my backyard are down this summer compared to previous years. It's likely that the cold snaps last winter reduced their numbers. Last summer they seemed to be everywhere, but this year I can sometimes walk through the garden without seeing a single one.

There is one little guy that I can count on seeing regularly though. He's my patio buddy.

Just about any day that I sit on my patio I'll see him there, checking the pavers for insects.

And, of course, displaying his impressive throat pouch for all to see.

He's looking around to see if anyone noticed his display.

The plants in the backyard are looking rather sad as summer winds down, but the critters are always entertaining.