It’s time for another chapter in Ice Swimmer’s series Harakka – an Island. Thanks again Ice Swimmer. Now, take us away…
Fireweed behind the laboratory, ©Ice Swimmer, all rights reserved
We come back from the shore and take a closer look at the fireweed behind the Artists’ Building, the former laboratory. [Read more…]
Our tree this week comes from the down under part of the planet courtesy of Lofty who says:
The Dwarf Peach tree is just over 2 metres tall after 25 years with us, and is now putting on a beautiful feast for the honey bees. Just about every other bush or tree on the property tries to overpower it, but we don’t let them. The coming storm will probably strip off many of the blooms so I had to get a picture today in between gathering clouds.
What a glorious tree. The flowers are such a pretty pink and there are so many of them, I hope the coming storm won’t cause too much damage.Thanks so much for sharing, Lofty
Dwarf peach tree, ©Lofty all rights reserved
Floral detail, dwarf peach tree, ©Lofty all rights reserved
rq has sent us a little series about various flowers and their residents. First one is goldenrod, and it looks like Solidago canadensis, which is quite common throughout Europe. Sadly this beautiful plant is not only strong allergen in the late summer, here it is also an invasive weed that is damaging the environment by outcompeting local species and creating essentialy monocultures in places.
But enough with being a killjoy – they are beautiful and that is important here and now.
©rq, all rights reserved, click for full size.
Sumac flower, ©voyager, all rights reserved
This is sumac and it grows wild just about everywhere in this part of the world. It fills the ditches lining our highways and roads and it’s a nuisance plant in gardens. It’s very hardy and once it gets growing it’s hard to stop. We had one park itself right next to the foundation of our house a few years ago and we just can’t get rid of it. Every year we cut it down only to find it sprouting again in a few weeks. We tried to dig it out once, but the roots were too plentiful and too deep and the next year it popped up again. I poured bleach on it one year and watched it die back and then watched it grow back the following year. As I said, very hardy. Despite my dislike for the sumac living at my house, I do think it’s a pretty plant and enjoy seeing them when driving. In the fall the leaves turn beautiful bright colours, mostly red, but with touches of yellow and orange. It’s one of the first plants to get its autumn colour on and it’s a sure sign that the big trees will be changing colour soon.
Milkweed, ©voyager, all rights reserved
Jack and I are having a better day today. It’s still humid, but the temp plummeted overnight and today it’s a reasonable 22 º. We actually went for a real walk around the neighbourhood this morning and just down the street we found a front garden full of milkweed. When I was young I used to love pulling the pods apart and playing with the silk and it was awfully tempting to pluck one today. Instead, I took this photo, but the desire is strong and I cannot guarantee that I won’t pick one later.
I truly am envious of Nightjar’s flowerbed.
Nightjar notes: Ants are not very good pollinators, but they definitely show up for the nectar buffet, as do flies. One curiosity I was told about the Stomorhina lunata is that the larvae feed on, very specifically, locust eggs!
©Nightjar, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Acanthiophilus helianthi and an ant.
An ant. On a flower. In a picture.
Eristalis tenax a bee mimicking hover fly.
Stomorhina lunata
More beautiful pictures from Nighjar. Do not be deceived by those fuzzy-wuzzy cute little faces.
©Nightjar, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
Moth Tyta luctuosa on the platform and during takeoff. Gotta love those engines blasting!
©Nightjar, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
More perfect shots from Nightjar, this time Hummingbird Hawk Moth Macroglossum stellatarum.
©Nightjar, all rights reserved. Click for full size.
It reminded me of a fun anecdote – during my studies at uni, one of my half-classmates mentioned one evening in the pub that he has observed a beautiful hummingbird in his garden. Pedantic killjoy as I am, I have pointed out that there are no hummingbirds in Europe, so what he has in fact observed was in this moth.
It was mildly embarrassing moment, because he was his half-classmateship was the biology half (me studying Biology-Chemistry, him studying Biology-IT). But there was no real reason for him to be embarassed. Nobody has perfect knowledge about everything and their similarity to hummingbirds in flight is really uncanny.
I have seen these beautiful moths occasionaly in my garden, but never when I had camera in hand.
Nightjar has sent some exquisite butterfly pictures. I love the first one. The contrast between the blue butterfly and pink blossom is just amazing, and the focus is simply perfect.
© Nightjar, click for full size.
Enjoy!
Celastrina argiolus.
Colias sp.
Vanessa cardui
Nightjar has sent us some roses today and they’re all so pretty that I just can’t pick a favourite. The white rose looks so delicate and fresh, the yellow rose has that beautiful salmon blush and that last rose is bold and bright in shades of fuschia. Even better, they’re all memory roses from the garden of someone special. Nightjar says,
These are not from my garden, but from my grandma’s garden that since she died is kind of abandoned. I still go there sometimes to deweed a few things, but I don’t have enough time to properly care for it. Somehow, beautiful flowers still grow there every year, including these roses! The house is about to be rented, and from what I heard about the family that will move there, I’m hopeful they will keep the garden alive. But I will make a few cuttings of these roses, just to be sure…
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
©Nightjar, all rights reserved
Wonderful photos and a tongue in cheek title from Nightjar, who says,
Prompted by Charly’s post “Itsy Bitsy Spider (Not)”, here is a really itsy bitsy spider I found on one of my zinnia flowers. Not bigger than a typical ant, I only spotted it because it is totally not camouflaged.
Nope. Definitely not camouflaged, but certainly very, very small. Good eye, Nightjar. Thanks for sharing.(click for full size)
A tiny Crab Spider on a Zinnia, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved
Tiny Crab Spider, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved
Nightjar has sent us photos of a Barberry shrub that she planted in remembrance of Caine. She says:
Here are the photos of the shrub I planted in her memory, it was in such a small pot and badly in need of being planted. The colour red, thorns and berries that attract birds are all things Caine loved, and that’s what made me pick this shrub.
That’s a beautiful way to remember someone, Nightjar. I know Caine would approve. Thanks for sharing.
Barberry shrub, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved
Thorny and Red, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved
Berries, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved
More thorns, ©Nightjar, all rights reserved