Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Summer Yard

The lacewings have been at it again.
You might think the summer yard in a warm place like Pure Florida isn't that different from the winter yard, but it's a much busier place in summer.

Spiderwort buds.
Spiderwort may be a pretty plant ... at least for a few hours each morning, but it has become an herbaceous nemesis of mine. We are pretty relaxed on our landscaping, but we do attempt to keep a little bit of semi-manicured lawn surrounding the house and spiderwort forces me to mow more often than I would prefer.
It's spread into the grassy lawn and grows much faster than the drought stressed bahia grass. This results in a pretty messy looking lawn as the taller spidey's stick up over the slow growing grass.
Lucky us, nobody can see our "yard" from the distant county road.

I'm working here.
If I were a bug nerd like some of you and if I had a favorite butterfly, it would probably be this battered Gulf Frittttillllarrryyy. This one was crazy for that particular canna lily blossom.

Bucking the trend, a deer browses outside of my garden.
The young buck above is getting knobbier. I took this shot sitting on my my porch. He's just outside the "lawn" area and is probably debating whether he should wander over and browse the rest of my brown-eyed susans by the walkway.
Too late dude, your mom clipped them down to the roots yesterday.
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21 comments:

Ericka said...

cool pictures. are those egg cases from the lacewings?

(hmm. blogger changed my language to german. this is interesting.)

robin andrea said...

That Gulf Fritillary is so beautiful. What colors! I'd see why, if you were a bug nerd, this one would be your favorite.
Nice eye contact with that little buck. We had a mama and bambi at our place yesterday. Too cute for words.

R.Powers said...

Ericka,
Yah, dat eeze egg cases :)
Weird about your language change.

Robin,
Cool new image you're traveling with!
The doe/fawn combo is very "Ahhhhh" inspiring :)

pissed off patricia said...

I have never met a butterfly that I didn't admire. Nothing prettier than watching a butterfly float around and enjoy your yard. Okay, that little buck is pretty too.

We think our tortoise may have moved to a different location in our yard. Something has dug a burrow under the bushes and still no action in the old one.

Rurality said...

The deer have left us alone this year but the wascally wabbits have gnawed off all our beans.

BTW the Publix mojo was pretty good, but not that strong... will need to marinate longer next time I guess.

Mechelle said...

How cute is that young deer - you can almost see the brain wheels turning!! Great photos!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photographs.

Not to change the subject, but do you ever try black and white? Or is that an option in the digital age?

pissed off patricia said...

Thank you for asking about our vacation. It was sooooo good. Coming back to the daily grind was awfully difficult to do. I like waking in the morning and the only decisions to be made are where to have breakfast, lunch and dinner. Do we walk on the beach before or after breakfast? Oh yeah, I love that.

R.Powers said...

POP,
Gophers will abandon burrows occasionally around here, so I'm hoping your tortoise is okay.
Tough decision, that beach walk before or after breakfast :)

Rurality,
I had a rabbit problem last year, but the deer may have eaten the rabbits along with my garden. I haven't see any bunnies lately.

Mechelle,
Thanks. Deer are cute, deer are cute, deer are cute...
I keep telling myself how lucky I am to have them as they devour my plants ;)


Scott,
Thanks.
You can change any photo to BW these days with a click of the mouse.
I know BW is artsy, but I just love real color.
... maybe it's because my folks didn't get a color TV until I was about 18.

Anonymous said...

You always take beautifiul pictures that capture the momement! It makes me wish I was there!! How lucky the students are to have you for a teacher!!!

Anonymous said...

That should be moment!

R.Powers said...

Anonymous,
Thanks!
Don't be shy Anonymous, this is a friendly place :)
Glad you commented!

Deb said...

I would have never thought spiderwort would be an invasive lawn species!

I like that fritillary. We have a few other species around here, and they are beautiful.

I found some deer hoof prints in my garden the other day, so I guess this means war.

Anonymous said...

This makes me think about hopping on a plane and heading down to see what's cooking under the Florida sun. I remember being completely mystified by those lacewing eggs late last winter- when I left they were still up on their stalks, not yet hatched/

You sure you're not of the Buddhist persuasion? I think those lovely metallic beetles are- well, lovely- but they cut down my garden faster than deer. I believe I bought some spray with your beetle's name on it...

SophieMae said...

Oh my goodness! I didn't think it was possible, but your pictures just got even prettier! Yesterday's storm fried my modem, so I went ahead and bought the new puter I've been considering for months now. The monitor is one of those skinny flat things - widescreen, which is gonna take some getting used to - and the pictures are almost TOO brilliant. And your page's colours look different, so I'm wondering which monitor has it right.

Did you know that spiderwort is also known as cow slobber? 8-]

John Cowart said...

Hi Pure Florida,
Over our long weekend, my wife and I, for the first time, visited Cedar Key, Chiefland & Fanning Springs. We drove along some roads and toured some archaeological sites and other places I'd never known existed before reading references to them in your blog. Thank you for the tips. We had a great time. You live in a wonderful area full of beauty. I always look forward to your posts.

john

R.Powers said...

Deb,
Well, you know what they say about a weed "the right plant in the wrong place ..."
Good luck with the deer in the garden. Venison will go well with those veggies you're raising.

Vicki,
WE are all cooking under the FL sun. Our cooling afternoon T-storms are missing ... at least around here.
Are Buddhists fond of beetles?
:)

Sophie,
I will tone down my brilliance :)

Your 15 dollar dialup modem died and you bought a cool new computer?
Clever!
I need a good excuse to replace this old reliable Dell ... (2003 vintage).
I did not know about cow slobber, but I suppose it has something to do with the gooey sap of the spiderwort?

John,
Hey that's great! Glad I could be of service. We may have passed each other on the road!

Doug Taron said...

If I were a bug nerd like some of you and if I had a favorite butterfly...

Hey, I resemble that remark. We also have problems with spiderwort growing into the lawn. I also have a big one coming up in a crack in my cement patio. I can't quite bring myself to spray it.

Ava said...

Wow! Once again you wow me with your pictures!

I love the outdoors and always enjoy your blog!

R.Powers said...

Doug,
If the arthropoda fits ...
:)

Ava,
Glad you liked the photos!
There's more :)

Anonymous said...

You should see some skippers around that canna as well, Fc. They have beautiful chrysalids, though the caterpillars are kind of "wormy" looking, and they do mad damage to the leaves.