I don't know ... she moved to just under the railing before watering occurred. The hosta got a watering can instead of the hose to prevent spraying her too much (didn't want to startle her off the edge or anything). I think they absorb water through their bellies, so probably loved the nice moist dirt. I think they lay their eggs in water, but I'm all for toadlets, so she can lay eggs wherever she pleases!

The water's edge seems to be part of our yard given the entertainment we gain from it. Great Blue Herons are common, but last evening's visitor in the gentle rain was larger than most. They are beautiful to watch. They model patience and seem to just take it all in as they thoughtfully stand and wait, slowly moving from spot to spot collecting dinner.

Well, next year I will have to put New Guinea impatiens in a special little garden out back. This year, I put some NGs in, and some of the regular impatiens. Violet (the bunny) has eaten all the regular impatiens in that garden, but left the New Guineas alone. She's plowed through the violets, hence, the name, and stopped by for an after breakfast wash-up.

Beatrice Potter is an amateur compared to you. Violet looks so happy, like she's rubbing her eyes after a generous meal ready for her nap. Make her a blue coat with gold buttons. Please!

Let's assume I was focussing on the back end - through the kitchen window.

Hummingbird Moth loves the buddleia, too.

Beautiful--those pictures are fantastic!

Butterly bushes were standards in yard when we lived in Georgia but I assumed there was no hope for them here. Since my zone is supposed to be the upper reaches of 6 I believe I'll try a couple in the pollinator bed. Yours looks fantastic. If they can withstand some winter wind we'll be OK. Usually the winter wind is from the north behind the house and the trees break it, but we can occasionally get some real gales from the southern side.

Deannatoby, butterfly bushes may die back to the ground in your area, but don't cut back until you see leaves just starting in spring so you know where to cut. They grow back to size quickly. I had one here in my colder area for about 4 years.

Thanks for the advice. Will put it in my pruning calendar.

Monarch on the butterfly bush

An enormous (but dead) dragonfly

This juvenile skunk must be hungry - he's out at noon on a rainy Monday attacking our bee hive. He spent about an hour working at his meal and eventually got stung enough times to abandon the mission. Haven't seen him back since, so I'm hoping he decided it wasn't worth the effort! Our beekeeper says she's never seen it in person since they typically attack hives at night. Skunks are the main predator of bee hives and they are after the bees, not the honey!

Great skunk video, suzabanana, I didn't know that skunks are predators of bee hives! I just read that some beekeepers raise the hive 6 inches off the ground which forces the skunk to rise up and expose its stomach to stings. It looks live your hive is raised, so that isn't a perfect solution.

Or, as you said, that skunk was really hungry. Amazing!

Claire

Suzabanana, the one friend I have with hives has an electric fence around them. I guess it must keep the skunks away since she hasn't mentioned them, but the bears do need to be discouraged and will pull apart the hives for the honey and bees if her fence stops zapping.

This afternoon we had a sudden downpour while we were standing in front of the kitchen window. There was a hummingbird on the bare branch that I've left at the top of the dogwood for the birds to perch, and DH and I watched as she flipped wings and tail and preened in the rain. She appeared to be enjoying it, but we did consider that it might have been annoyance due to getting so wet. I was having too much fun watching to go get the camera, and after a few minutes she flew to a spot with more shelter.

NHBabs: A couple of days ago I was watering some plants with a hose and a hummingbird flew over and hovered at the edge of the jet of water, probably getting some light mist. Of course, another hummingbird appeared and got territorial, chasing the first one away.

I'm glad skunks and bears don't like garden hoses.

Claire

I was aiming for the two Monarchs in flight and it wasn't until I saw these pictures that I realized who photobombed a Monarch. Not great quality, taken at an angle through kitchen window, but funny (to me).

There's a monarch under the hummer.

Nice pics, Jane! That would be a neat hybrid - either a monarch with wings flapping 50 beats per second or a hummer with stained glass, orange and black, wings.

Claire

And, she likes cleome. We have perhaps another 5 weeks of hummer life. I sure miss them when the take their leave.

The Downy will miss the hummer feeder. That tongue looks like toothpick in the water.

Jane, I haven't seen woodpeckers in a while, and I have never seen them on my hummingbird feeders!

Here are a few of our critters. Our resident doe, always cautious:

Her offspring, not so cautious:

Buck in velvet (might be related?):

Male blue bird with a ritual. Sometimes does a face plant with beak in the soil. No potential mate watching either. ???

These most welcome juvenile blue birds showed up a couple of days ago. We had activity in our boxes all season, but no sign of success. We did have some house sparrow interference, other issues, and never saw or heard babies for the first time in many years. We think perhaps they ended up nesting nearby. For whatever reason, glad to see them around! This is only 3 of many that showed up.

As soon as the blackberry lillies open, the butterflies come:

Susan

Susan, what a wonderful wildlife selection! Our cats are so great at killing mice and voles (and I see the evidence often) but i think they're not helping the songbird population. The eagle wasn't helping, either, but two new pairs of ospreys may have chased him off, and ospreys only eat fish, thankfully. I hope you enjoy all your bird sightings to the fullest!

I did find a snake yesterday, and a fat spotted salamander. That's about what I've got for this week!

Love the shot of the doe behind the tree, Susan! Wonderful wildlife you have and super shots. Your bluebirds are comfortable if they're anting or sunning. Wonderful yard!

Jane

A first for me this afternoon! People on Facebook Birders confirmed that this is a Prairie Warbler. Cute little female, 1st year. She didn't take a bath, but was very interested.

Wow Jane, awesome! I'm guessing this bird is unusual in your area? Not familiar here anyhow. Nice pictures!

I didn't realize hummingbirds use Cleome. I have the Violet Cleome this year too but have not seen a hummer using that yet. Just the Cuphea. We have butterfly bushes, but, haven't seen them use that either. I have seen a hummingbird moth using them though.

I saw a curious behavior of a cardinal yesterday, wondering if anyone can enlighten me on what he was doing. It was a male, and he was hopping along the edge of one of my raised veggie beds and pulling something off the borage plant. I couldn't see from the window what exactly, but it appeared to be a piece of a leaf, which he seemed to chew and spit out. Later I went outside and sure enough there is some leaf and stem parts on the wood around the edge where the borage is.

I didn't think birds eat foliage. He didn't appear to be flying off with it for nesting material either. If he was eating bugs, would he have pulled part of the leaf off with it?

I haven't seen anything like that cardinal's behavior, PM2. Maybe he was eating bugs that were embedded in the leaf or attached to it? Or maybe he was eating buds?

Maybe someone else has an idea.

Claire

I wonder if he was eating buds (which are on their food list in several places I looked) and spitting out the extra bits that weren't as tasty. It would be the wrong time of year for gathering plant matter to use in nests.

I did a search too and didn't see any reference to them eating leaves, so I think either answer could be right...bugs or buds. But I'll definitely keep growing borage for a new reason. [g].

This is too neat not to share.

why-can-some-birds-drink-salty-seawater

Today I saw no less than 5 monarchs on a butterfly bush at once and then my daughter exclaimed that there were 2 on the grass "fighting"...well, she's only 6 but got a big life lesson today ;)

Fighting. Too funny!

Butterfly porn flicks! A new feature on the forum...

Claire

We have spring peepers that visit the windows at night in summer to catch insects attracted to the light. They are tree frogs so have no trouble clinging to the glass. Last night DH startled one that had been clinging to the walll next to the kitchen door when he opened the door, and it jumped in rather than away. After several minutes' chase, he managed to catch it and get it back outside, but his comment (this from a man with faster reflexes than anyone I know) was, "Those little guys are fast!"

We don't seem to have peepers where I am. I always wondered what they were - tree frogs, Interesting. Soon we will be hearing crickets, such a sad sound, that the season is closing and winter is around the corner.

This morning, I could hear birds out my window. So I went to see what they were up to and there were about 6 gold finches, 2 of which were adolescents, going to town on the Honey Bee Blue Agastache in the garden. Usually I notice them when the sunflower goes to seed, I didn't realize they enjoy that Agastache. That is one of my favorite plants. It's not all that eye catching, it has a quiet attractiveness to it, but it is covered with bees for a long time and now gold finches eat the seed. Plus, my favorite part of them, is that if you crush the leaves they smell like root beer. And they reseed very politely. And they grow well in my clay soil, which all Agastaches do not.

Some of Buddy's family today at the cleome. May be here for another 3 weeks?

This red-shouldered fellow wouldn't even look at me. He ignored me so well! Talk about looking down your beak at someone! He lives an acre away.

Jane

Beautiful flight photos, Jane.

Wonderful, Jane!

I missed a shot of a deer with twin fawns the other day, standing like statues on a neighbor's lawn. All I have to offer in its place are pictures of insects, which seem to be more suited to my photographic abilities.

A grasshopper posing on a blade of grass next to my metal dragonfly.

and a bumblebee harvesting pollen and nectar from a sunflower

Crickets are singing at night now, so I guess summer is nearing an end.

Spedigrees, what variety of sunflower is that, it's gorgeous?!

Prairiemoon, thank you. I'm guessing this volunteer sunflower is a cross pollinated mix of the three sunflower varieties I bought about 6 or 7 years ago. Two varieties from Heirloom Seeds were a "red sun" sunflower and "tatahumara white seeded" sunflower. The latter was a very tall variety with one giant flower on each stalk, the kind of sunflower that my husband wanted us to grow. The third type of sunflower I bought was a type I favor with an orange halo in the middle of each yellow flower. The ebay seller I purchased them from called them "tangerine sunflowers" and collected seeds from her own sunflowers to sell. I believe both the "red sun" and the "tangerine" had multiple blossoms on each stem, shorter stems than the "tatahumara."

The first year all these 3 distinct sunflower types grew and thrived. I saved seeds from some and let the birds have the rest. Thereafter my saved seeds grew all solid yellow sunflowers (the red and the bi-color blooms were gone) and they produced multiple flowers per tall stem (large but not giant flowers). So I'm guessing that these sunflowers are a mix of the 3 original varieties with some, but not all, characteristics of each.

Unfortunately after that first year, the sunflower foliage was affected each season by some sort of mildew that blackened the lower leaves. Thus I gave up saving seeds and planting sunflowers, but I was gifted with volunteer plants each year that I allowed to grow despite the inevitable mildew.

This year my two volunteers grew as vibrant and healthy as their original ancestors did that first year, not a sign of mildew. Perhaps mildew has good years and bad, and this is one of this particular mildew strain's bad year. I'm encouraged enough that I plan to save some seeds this fall. (I can send you some if you'd like.)

It all happened the other day between 2:49:29 and 2:49:31. In those 2 seconds, somebody said something. The doves can put 4 lbs. of safflower seed on the ground within 2 hours by rocking the feeder. Of course, on the ground, the other 15-20 doves enjoy the buffet. May be that there's a pecking order for who gets to rock the boat of seed. Lots of team work with doves. But I'll only fill the feeder once a day, because doves really know how to rock!

Spedigrees, well you made some nice selections. And I see this one is a branching type too. I would think, cross bred revert to yellow a lot of the time. I love the color of the center and the length of the petals.

My sunflower was looking quite healthy but in the last couple of weeks, I’ve noticed three of the lower leaves, having a problem. As soon as the seed ripen, I’m going to cut it down and get it out of there. Mine was a volunteer from last year too.

I would love to have seed from that, if you end up saving enough. And would be happy to find something I could trade with you. I’ll send you a back channel message through GW, next week. Thanks very much. :-).

Smarter than I am - I would have no idea which fungi is edible. Hope he was right.

The turkeys enjoyed the new patio this morning.

I haven't been here in a long while because 1) I went to visit my grandchildren and my daughter & son-in-law in France. And it was wonderful! and 2) I've been doing a lot of political activity work since I returned. But now I'm back.

I suppose I could wait for the next thread ... a September thread ... but was curious to see what's been happening here. I'm posting the following photos, taken by my husband a few days ago. Our neighbors put up a wood duck box at their part of the river, but it hasn't been used much. Except for a week ago when a young Egret decided to perch on it for a long, long time. In fact, it has used this spot for several days now. The series of photos show the Egret ....

Looking over the river which he/she mostly does...

Often standing on one leg ....

Frequent preening ....

Possibly looking for a friend. I'm guessing it's too late for a mate?

Molie

That's not a wood duck box, Molie, it's a pedestal! Great pics!

Claire

Turkeyville around here these days. We think there are 3 hens and around 15 good-sized poults

They really enjoy dusting in the dirt, weeds, and apple drops

One hen with her 5, another has maybe 9

This hen is caring for just one, and it appears to be much younger than the others. Very independent for being so little, but she keeps a watchful eye.

Susan

What lovely scenes, Susan! Every yard should have turkeys to watch - they're such interesting birds.

It's not Turkeyville this year for me. I only see a few very skittish adults every day and no poults at all. I keep hoping there's a big flock somewhere that just found a better buffet, but I'm afraid the predators have been active. There have been foxes, coyotes, mink and fishers sighted, and turkeys are desirable prey (think Thansgiving).

I did hear a hen clucking in the yard, as they do when they have poults to manage, and I hope she had at least one. I miss them.

Claire

Claire, we saw babies just once a few weeks ago. Then nothing but 3-4 adults for a long time. We heard the clucking fairly often. It's only in the last couple of days that the poults showed up. So perhaps you will be seeing them soon!

Yesterday we saw a turkey chick so small he still had a lot of down. He was the only one that young amongst the group. I didn't know one so young could come this late in the season.

The hen may have lost her first brood to predators and mated again. I hope the chick grows up before winter comes.

Claire

We have been wondering if the constant rain over much of the normal turkey egg time killed off the chicks prior to hatching. We usually have a number of poults since we have good habitat and DH leaves the mowing until after we are pretty sure that they are out of the nest. But this year not one. We are now seeing the turkeys grouping up again into larger flocks.

The thread is getting long and probably slow to load for some, so I'll set up a new thread soon. As usual, feel free to continue the discussion here, but please post new items on the new thread, 2017 #5.

Claire