Firefly Sighting

Last night, along the wooded line of the yard, there appeared to be hundreds of fireflies lighting up. It was the first time this season that I had seen some at night; I have seen plenty during the day. I have always loved to watch fireflies. One of my earliest memories of childhood is of watching fireflies one summer evening lighting up the backyard. I was kneeling on my bed, which had been placed under the window that faced the wooded back yard. My parents were sitting outside talking and enjoying the pleasant summer evening. Amazing the things you remember and what evokes those memories. Smells are famous for stimulating memories, but for me it is often a sight. It creates a sense of deja vu that sends me hunting in the memory bank for "where have I seen this before?"

You know me, I had to do a little research to understand more about fireflies. So here goes. The light created by these bugs is a result of a chemical reaction called chemiluminescence. Fireflies have specialized cells called photocytes which contain a chemical called luciferin. When oxygen and the enzyme luciferase act upon luciferin it is broken down releasing a short burst of light. Visit http://www.ivyhall.district96.k12.il.us/4th/KKhp/1insects/firefly.html for more information.

Dragonfly

With the sun finally making an appearance today, I found this guy sunning himself on one of the brick pavers which make up a path in my garden. Officially he is called a Common Whitetail. It was not easy catching him. I felt like Elmer Fudd creeping up on it, "Be very quiet, I'm hunting dragonflies." As I would get closer it would fly to the next step on the path. Finally, I "caught" him. It's amazing to watch them, you can actually see the entire body contracting as it breathes. We have a real variety of them in the yard and I hope to "capture" more of them as the summer goes on.

This second dragonfly is the female Common Whitetail. Read the information at the above link to learn what the differences are between it and another similar looking dragonfly. I was able to "capture" this one in the back yard. Living so close to water (swamp in the woods behind our house), provides a wonderful breeding ground for these insects. Unfortunately, it also is a great breeding ground for the dreaded mosquito. We will be having a bummer crop of those this year due to all the rain our region has experienced in the last two months (over 22 inches for May/June when the average is usually 6 inches). Can't go out without spraying oneself with OFF or Cutters, otherwise the pests will carry you off.

Identifying Weeds

It's weeding time! Previously, I had complained about the weeds and not knowing what they were called . A little time spent searching the Internet resulted in my discovering that this beauty is called Carpet Weed. It is aptly named as it is making a carpet of itself in the sunniest part of the garden and in the lawn. It is rather hard to dig up, the larger the plant the easier it is to grab a hold of and pull out of the ground. So between this stuff, the maple saplings which are sprouting (a had a stern talk with the chipmunks, they simply are not pulling their weight, they must eat the seeds faster so they don't have a chance to germinate), and the crab grass sprouts I have some work cut out for me.

If you are curious there are a couple of good web sites about garden weeds such as: www.weedalert.com and www.garden.org (the National Gardening Association's site)which has a weed indentifier link. This last site also has a neat plant finder where you can specify the type of plant, its color, height, growing needs and the finder will suggest plants that might work well in your garden.

Hummingbird Moth

If you look carefully at the upper left hand edge of the bloom there is a little brown/tan thing with a bright blue sparkle, that's a hummingbird moth. What is a hummingbird moth you ask, well so did I when I first saw one several years back. At first I thought it was some kind of bee or wasp since it had that kind of color and was doing the bee thing. Then I caught a better look and thought perhaps it was a hummingbird but it was much too small. The link I provided above gives a great photograph of it and explains about the three types of hummingbird moths. They are one of the few moths that appear in the daylight. That is the big difference between moths and butterflies, butterflies are daytime creatures and moths are night time. There are a couple of other distinguishing characteristics like their antennae and probiscus for example.

Flower Arrangement

Although I have a passion for growing flowers, I rarely bring them indoors perferring to leave them in the garden to enjoy. However, the heavy rains we have been experiencing are weighing down the blooms and breaking their stems. In order to rescue them, I have made an arrangement with some of the bent blooms. The most recent issue of Living magazine featured floral arrangements using hosta leaves. As an avid collector of hostas, I decided to try the idea in this arrangement. I collected a couple peonies, bearded iris, siberian iris and variegated hosta leaves. The result was beautiful.

Crayfish - the new lawn pest

Not what you expect to find everyday in one's backyard. This crayfish was a long way from the pond that's located in the woods behind our home. My husband found it while emptying the water in the shop vac (note previous posts - I planted grass last Tuesday afternoon, so we've had rain since Thursday) which had seeped into the basement. Our best guess is that he was intended for someone's meal and managed to get away. The crayfish has several predators including the raccoon and great blue herons. As there is a heron living in the swamp, perhaps it flew over with the crayfish in its mouth and dropped it. Your guess is as good as mine on this one. As soon as we went over to look at it, it put its claws up in a defensive posture. It didn't try to move away, so we were able to snap several pictures of it.

Over the Hedge

Last night we took the kids to see Dreamworks Over the Hedge a very funny story about when suburbia meets the wild. It is really poignant here in the northeast where there is nonstop development. Houses, "McMansions," coffee shops, and shopping malls are rising out of the ground, leaving the local wildlife struggling to find a niche. There are reports of coyotes, bears, and moose, to name a few, roaming down main streets and foraging in backyards. Let's face it where else do they have to go. As their food sources are destroyed they will turn to raiding our garbage just like the animals in the movie. What extremes will humans go to rid themselves of unwanted wildlife? See the movie to get one human's idea of pest control. Don't want to spoil it for you.
It was worth seeing, graphics excellent and some great lines. Made you think about how nonhumans view us.

Rainy Saturday

A rainy Saturday is in store for today. Much of this week was hot, humid and sunny and the garden is really making a show. I've noticed that when people walk by they slow down to look at the garden (I'm so modest). The irises are all in bloom now and the peonies are beginning to open as well. Of course the weeds are doing well. The crab grass and some other broad four leaf (not clover, I will have to do some research into what it is exactly) ground covering are making their presence know in both the lawn and the garden. I will have my work cut out for me when the weather clears. At least I don't have to drag the hose and sprinkler all over the yard in an attempt to water the lawn. We opened the pool last weekend and the rainfall will help to bring the water level up.

Otherwise, I will be indoors today catching up on my chores and there are plenty of those to keep me busy. It is also the opportunity to catch up on my reading. I have just finished Lynne Truss' (of punctuation fame Eats, Shoots & Leaves) With one Lousy Free Packet of Seed. Unlike her other works that I have read, this is a fictional story about the adventures of the staff of a failing gardening magazine titled "Come Into the Garden." It is a classic farce with the characters all interconnected somehow without their realizing it. Of course like all good farces it comes to a climax and all is sorted out (sort of, well mostly).

The Woes of Growing Grass

I do not have a lush carpet of vegetation growing over my yard. I am barely managing to keep what grass I do have growing. I am making a concerted effort this year to fix my lawn, just short of plowing it all under and hiring someone to come out and spray on a lawn. My main reason is to keep the dust down. When my husband mows the lawn I must make sure the windows to the house are all closed so we don't have a layer of dust all over everything. I spread grass seed almost a month ago only to have it rain for 10 straight days. What seed didn't get washed away, eaten by the birds, or rot, has begun to sprout. I decided to try again and wouldn't you know it the forecast is for rain the next three days.

Why is it that the grass that does grow, does so in places I don't want it. I have to weed the grass out of the flower beds and from between the bricks of the front walkway and the back patio. So on the one hand I do what I can to save the lawn and with the other I'm spraying weed killer to stop it from growing in the walks. Go figure. One can't always have what one wants.