Horseshoe crabs mating

Cool shot, Moni! Horseshoe crabs are amazing . . . they're so prehistoric. I used to be terrified of stepping on them as a kid on Long Island. Are they really mating here, or are they just having a pow-wow? ;-)

Phlox, ground cover, now blooming in my garden

Bud thought I brought him a new toy, I saw his ears

Then I took a closer look

Here to stay for a while

Roxie was also inspecting it.

Jasdip, Bud and Roxie have my heart!

The inside of a tulip from last year....seems that all my tulips have disappeared this year.

Where did your tulips go, Gazania? Thanks for the compliments on 'the kids'. Bud has my heart, Roxie can be a bit of a b*tch. Smudge is also a favourite, the senior that he is.

Casey, great picture of saffron!

Moni, did you tread quietly so as not to disturb their enjoyment? :-)

Gorgeous robin, Susan!

Nicole, phlox is so pretty, and delicate.

Horseshoe crabs are so strange looking! I found one right at the stairs to our beach house when I was little and it scared the heck out of me.GGreat pictures as usual.

Jasdip.....Thanks! fyi....Saffron have red threads in the center, zone 6. I tried growing it in my garden, never bloomed and never came back. :0( A $20 experiment!

Jasdip, I am guessing that voles finally ate them. It is a common around here, but my 2 dozen or so tulips in the front bed had been untouched for about 8 years. Don't know what made the difference this year.

I had the fall blooming saffron crocus planted all around the front of the house when we lived in Ohio. I never tried to harvest the red pistles for culinary use. I believe that the saffron crocus is primarily a fall bloomer at least in this country.

I was up at the farm today. I was watching Star and her new week old baby, Magic, out in the paddock. Star had just rolled and was getting up.

I snuck up and took that picture, and a couple more a little further down the beach. I was told by a local person it was mating season.