Another indoor week

As if the hot weather is not enough to send one scurrying indoors, this week we have had to contend with poor air quality, thanks to some wildfires. Today offered a break from the bad air and it was supposed to be "only" 85 degrees out, so I slaved away a bit in the "meadow", clearing out some weeds and mulching the coneflowers. The temp actually reached 90(!), and I could not help but think, "Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the noonday sun...."

Joe pye

Even with a large yard to draw me outside, I sometimes don't take time to look around. This week I've witnessed Mama Hawk teaching her two youngsters to hunt, hummingbirds visiting the fuschia, a monarch amidst the milkweed, possible fox or coyote scat in the front lawn. I just have to pay attention.

'Golden Tiara' hosta

I have ordered a couple of landscape designs in my lifetime. Recently it occurred to me that the designs show the plantings from a birdseye view, and not how the plantings will look to a person standing nearby. For example, the shrubs and trees in the backyard provide a variety of greens and visual textures, but they need something more, some other colors. Ditto the natives planted in the front of the house - pretty when they bloom in the spring, otherwise a lot of green that also looks kind of weedy.

Begonia

After the last go-round with the landscape, I told my SO that if this does not work out, I'm putting everything back into lawn. But I'm not doing that, obviously. I keep making changes instead, mostly additions.

Sunbathing

Because what would I do with myself if I didn't have the yard?

Pre-Thanksgiving calm

Not much happening around the ol' homestead these days. I still haven't cleaned out the gutters or finished raking leaves. That wet snow from last week broke some of the taller perennials, so I may cut those back now rather than later.

Artsy pic of milkweed fluff

The usual suspects have appeared at the bird feeders - sparrows, house finches, goldfinches, nuthatches, chickadees, downy woodpeckers, blue jays, bluebirds, but not starlings... YET. Nothing exotic.

I have been looking for a TV couch where Clio and I can lounge while streaming my favorite shows. The requirements were something clean and comfortable but not expensive. Habitat Restore to the rescue! If you see something you like there, you have to act quickly, and I did. The pets took to the new loveseat right away.

King of the couch

This piece is in such good shape I kind of hate to let the dog up there, but that is why I purchased it. An old mattress cover should provide enough protection.

Cue up "Better Call Saul"

Another reason I wanted a TV couch is the recliner is perfect for bird watching. So now that is across the room, facing the backyard with a good view of the main feeders and the birdbath. I look forward to spending most of the winter out there, watching birds by day, watching TV by night. After all, it is the dormant season.

Bugs

Sometimes, when the morning light and dew are just right, the invisible becomes visible. In the past, I have found the front lawn completely covered in spider webs. That hasn't happened lately, but the other day, I did find a couple webs in the backyard, evidence that bugs still live on my property.

One blog I follow is called Garden Rant. They recently featured an article by Susan Harris about the Bee Lab, or more precisely the Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Lab, in the Putuxent Research Refuge, between Baltimore and Washington, D.C. This is the place to go for everything you ever wanted to know about native bees, with links hither and yon. And if you go to Pollinators.org, you can find out what plants and shrubs to plant in *your* area to help native bees.

Of course, I had to check out what my bees like, and sunflowers are one of the best sources of pollen for them. Good thing the local squirrels planted those last fall and I let them go wild this summer. I enjoy this wall of sunflowers so much, I changed the photo at the top of my blog.

I love standing out in the sunflower patch and watching the different bees. I expecially like seeing full pollen sacs.
Interestingly, while milkweed is great for monarchs, it is of no use for bees because the pollen is out of reach for them. And some of the items on the list do not excite me, like iris. But as I adjust the plant population in my yard (I just ordered asters to plant with the goldenrod), I'll keep in mind what the bugs favor.

So far, we have escaped the horrid heat that is tormenting the south and southwest portions of this nation. It looks like our respite will end next weekend, when highs will be in the 90's. Not as horrible as 110, but still a good reason to stay inside. It will also be dry, so I will continue to water the tulip tree, as it hasn't given up yet.

When there is a storm that includes thunder, all four pets hang out with me, as shown below. A short while after this pic was taken, I abandoned them for a safer spot than by the picture window because the tornado siren went off. Fortunately, no local damage occurred.

The yard is still full of birds and their young. The babies haven't figured out that the reflections in the windows are NOT trees and shrubs they can land on. One would think from the number of window hits I hear each day that the yard would be littered with dead birds, but I haven't found any. I think they don't hit with enough force to do any real damage to their fragile little necks.

An aside: While I am very happy that I had my landscape redone last summer, I have to admit that the results are not very showy. Right now, the only things blooming in the front yard are a clump of nodding onion and one butterflyweed plant that the monarch caterpillars didn't destroy last year. Meanwhile, "my" areas, the ones I asked them to not touch, sport monarda (which is fading), ironweed, and rudbeckia on the south side, a sea of hostas plus in the future goldenrod and aster on the north, and honeysuckle vine, daylily, and sunflowers in the back. I can see me adding more perennials over the years because, frankly, I like to look at pretty flowers.