The photo you would have seen here shows the backyard in all it's fall glory. The poplars are all yellow, the maples a pinkish-red, the sumac a deep red, and even some of the oaks are starting to turn.
As the temperatures drop...and then rise again!...and then drop...the number of reptilian wildlife and insects start to decrease. We still have a few stragglers hanging around. Take for instance this little guy.
The photo you would have seen shows a small anole lizard basking on a miniature pumpkin that sits on the straw bale in our front flower bed.
The few remaining lizards and insects seem to be in tough competition for resources. We thought we had found a dead or dying Carolina mantid on what remains of the Butterfly Bush, with a juicy spider not more than a 1/2 inch away. As I prodded said mantid it appeared that we had ruined her plans. Instead of continuing to stand deathly still, she opted to swiftly attack the spider. Within minutes the spider was oozing and the mantid was chomping away.
The photo you would have seen shows the Carolina mantid as she chews on the spider. A very nice close-up photo.
In other news, we have winterized the garden and set up our table inside for the citrus plants. Those pansy's can't withstand nights below 50. Not to be confused with our pansy's, which are the toughest plants I've ever seen.
To winterize the garden, we evened the soil out, threw down some winter rye grass seed, and covered it with straw. We threw the seed out mere hours before it rained and within days had a lush green garden. I dare say the winter rye is growing better than anything we planted this year, even better than the cherry tomatoes. Not to be outdone, the cherry tomatoes launched one last failed attempt to reclaim the garden.
To winterize the garden, we evened the soil out, threw down some winter rye grass seed, and covered it with straw. We threw the seed out mere hours before it rained and within days had a lush green garden. I dare say the winter rye is growing better than anything we planted this year, even better than the cherry tomatoes. Not to be outdone, the cherry tomatoes launched one last failed attempt to reclaim the garden.
The photo you would have seen shows a view of the garden looking towards the house. Visible in the scene is the lush rye grass, at least 6-8" tall in most places. A second photo would have shown the grass from the ground level, showing the height (for added effect). And a third photo would have shown a myriad of cherry tomato seedlings peaking through the rye grass.
Lastly, as of November 1st, I have declared our lawn defeated. Twice in October I thought the time for mowing was past. And twice in October the yard rallied. Despite it's valiant attempts to continue growing, I declare the final score: Jason 1: Yard 0. Better luck next year, Yard!
The photo I would have ended with would have shown the wonderful brownness of the yard, framed by me laughing maniacally at it from atop the lawn tractor.
Maybe I'll be more careful with the camera next time.
Maybe I'll be more careful with the camera next time.
1 comment:
I can totally see these pictures in my mind. They are terrific. Especially the mantid one. Gross! Happy Fall!
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