This Fall's First Frost.....

 The mandevilla has been so lovely, gave us 6 months of continuous blooms. But the first frost always kills them, so I buy a new one in the spring.


End of the road for the morning glories, too.
The shasta daisies produced a few late blooms. This one is the home of this little crab spider. She looks rather menacing, huh?

Bugs on Blooms and Beetles on Beans

Japenese beetle on green beans.

Do you know what these are? Some kind of aphid, I assume, with very wooly 'brows'. That's my finger  behind the base of a mandevilla blossom.

Update July 3: I asked Cindy at Bug Safari if she could identify these little guys. Thanks you Cindy!   Here's her reply:

Your little mystery bugs are planthoppers, which are sort of "cousins" to aphids. Many of the planthopper nymphs sport fuzzy "tails". I looked on BugGuide, and yours seem to be a good match for the genus Acanalonia.

Pests on Petals. Small shasta daisy.

This little guy: less than half an inch long.

One Wish

'Wall Flowers' (lantana in foreground)

Dewy morning in mid-May.

Beads of dew on strawberry leaves.

Modified with 'watercolor' effect.

Every little point decorated with a clear bead.

Campion (a weed), about a one inch flower.

Christmas Cactus in mid-May.

Metamorphesis

Dewy Rose.

Potted begonia in the screen porch.

Buds, bees and butterflies

These nice clumps of some sort of allium are always just alive with all sorts of small bees and wasps, and other insects, as well as many butterflies, none of which pay any attention to me as I get the camera in close. I think these are a type of garlic. Together with allyssum the make a lovely white bed, very easy to grow. 

 Sipping Soda Through a Straw

Company for Dinner

Table for Two

And the next image of a short series, 'enhanced' with watercolor effect.

Here be Spiders

There are always one of two of these spiders in my yard during a summer. They are very common here. They build big orb webs in the vines usually near a wall or fence, so one is not likely to just walk into it. They don't move much, so are easy to photograph.  Found this information online.

                   BLACK AND YELLOW ARGIOPE
GENUS and SPECIES: Argiope aurantia

One of Kentucky's largest spiders is an orb weaver called the Black and Yellow Argiope, Argiope aurantia. Commonly called "garden spiders," these orb weavers can be almost 3 inches long from leg tip to leg tip. Argiope spiders are very common in backyard gardens, and have given a fright to many a homeowner. Although they are large and intimidating, their bite is only dangerous to people who experience severe allergic reactions to insect and spider bites.

Mid-August Garden Tour

 While doing a little clipping and trimming this morning, I was greeted by this little Praying Mantis. (well, not really little, about 2 inches long) and that prompted a dash into the house to get the camera. So here are some other images of the day. Just a few morning glory, and one last day lily. I cut back the spent 'surprise lilies', and here's closeup a shot of a broken off stem. The hostas are coming on, with their big white lily clusters. (also known as Plantain Lilies). A Cicada, and of course, the inevitable bumble bee in the rose of sharon.

 

Summer Wraps

It happens every summer....the spiders take over the hedges. (Oh, boy, the hedges need a haircut again, too!) If one wants to avoid the haunted-house image, it's a daily job to sweep the webs down and darned if, by the next morning, they haven't rebuilt them. So today, I got a can of spider spray and gave them all a (hopefully) lethal little shower. Thus misted, the webs show up even better. There are several different types. It seems almost a shame to destroy all that awesome engineering.  And to think it is all done by those 'itsy, bitsy spiders' (some not so itsy-bitsy!), and mostly overnight....in the dark! Creepy, but amazing.

So, of course, I had to get the camera...... 

(click to enlarge)

We had a good heavy shower this afternoon, and it washed away most of the webs, so I will not have to sweep them down, after all. Now, we'll see if the spray did any good, or how soon they re-populate and/or rebuild. 

When I sprayed this one, I was surprised at the interesting construction of it. Like a hanging basket with an under layer. You don't really see all the details, until it has some mist on it, and the spray is very fine and coats the 'threads' so you see them. They make an interesting image, with the changes of 'hue'.  

Another rainy weekend.

Begonia over-wintered on a windowsill.

Itty Bitty Beetle, about 1/8 th inch, inside a very drenched dutch iris.

Peony beaded with droplets.

The peonies are all weighted down by the light rains we've had this weekend.