Ah-choo!! Or so I thought.

The things you learn. Here I was under the impression that Goldenrod (pictured here) was the culprit for the misery I have suffered every fall. The truth is that the guilty party is Ragweed which looks nothing like this plant. I have been walking around for the last week and a half in a daze of antihistamines trying to dry up my runny nose, and here I've been blaming the wrong plant. No wonder I have seen people growing it in their yards, and florists using it in arrangements. I thought these people were crazy, now I know better. What other misconceptions have I been living with?

Sitting in the Garden

What a gorgeous day. The last day of August; where did the summer go? Now technically, we have until the 20th or so of September for the Autumnal Equinox and the true start of fall and the end of summer, but once the kids return to school it feels like the end of summer. So after running around to appointments and errands, I decided to sit outside and enjoy a cup a coffee and my garden. I'm currently reading about the philosophy of Zen and tried focusing on the present moment. The yard was full of activity. The birds were all lining up for a turn at the feeder. They hop from branch to branch overhead and swoop from tree to tree across the yard. There were the usual suspects: chickadees, gold finches, nuthatches, and even a woodpecker. I shut my eyes and just listened to their songs and chatter. I also heard the drone of a distant lawnmower and the whine of the crickets and cicadas. Ah peace! Only to be broken by the rumbling of the school bus coming down the street returning the little darlings to me.

Vermont's Wildflower Farm

Just south of the Shelburne Museum on Route 7, you will find Vermont's Wildflower Farm, the "seediest place in Vermont."

They have a lovely garden walk through a meadow, down into the woods, and around to a pond. In the meadow, I found this milkweed plant with a nice cluster of pods.

Where there's Milkweed, there will be Monarch Butterflies, just like this one.

Although Monarch's lay their eggs on the milkweed plant for their hatchling caterpillers to eat the leaves, I photographed this butterfly on a Cone Flower or Echinacea. Extracts from this plant are believed to stimulate the immune system and are commonly used as a natural cold preventative.

Gardens at the Shelburne Museum

At the Shelburne Museum, there were many beautiful gardens. This formal one greets visitors when they first come onto the property through the ticket building. This border is found outside one of the cottages on the property.

At this time, the museum is sponsoring an exhibit of Georgia O'Keeffe paintings. Outside of the building housing the exhibit, you will find this garden inspired by her work.

Modern Day Postcard

Once upon a time, you would have purchased these images on a card, written a pithy comment ending in wish you were here and posted it in a mail box. Today, I've captured these images with my digital camera, down loaded to my laptop, and using the hotel's free wi-fi service I can send this out to the world to see.

We are visiting Shelburne, VT this week. It has been perfect weather for touring across the state. These pictures are from the Shelburne Museum. This museum is not your typical museum. Electra Webb began collecting buildings and items of Americana to fill them in the 1960s. Today the Museum trustees continue her mission.

The kids loved touring through the paddle wheel steamship the Ticonderoga. This ship was built in 1906 for a mere $162,232.65 and could carry up to 1070 passengers (only 6 lifeboats), and used 2 tons of coal an hour to achieve top cruising speed 23 miles per hour.

This covered bridge was brought to the Museum grounds and once served as the entrance until weight concerns caused the Trustees to create an alternate entrance. The Museum also includes a round barn, a Shaker barn, a horseshoe shaped barn, a vast collection of carriages and sleighs, quilts, toys, and even a lighthouse. It is definitely a great place to visit. Wish you were all here with us!

Weeds, Weeds, and More Weeds

The hot, humid weather in New England has spurred on the growth of the weeds in my lawn and garden. In the intense heat, there was no way I was going outside to pull weeds. Then to my chagrin, I came down with swimmer's ear and was proscribed an antibiotic which made me sensitive to the sun. The threat posed by mosquitoes and West Nile Virus kept me in at twilight. Finally, today we had moderate temperatures and I was determined to tackle the weeds.

You have got to love the names chosen for weeds. I have previously posted a picture and description of carpetweed, which lived up to its name this month and carpeted a vast area of the yard. The beauty pictured here is named spotted spurge. The spotted spurge is a drudge for sure. It's everywhere. I have seen it in the lawns of my neighbors, so I am not alone in battling this blight. When left to its own devices it can cover up to 16 inches of ground. In a way it is nice to know just what you are doing battle with. In reviewing several websites, I have identified many of the other weeds growing in the yard. Now if only I could be as successful at eradicating them as I have been in indentifing them.

Goldfinches

This year, I have been very consistent with keeping my bird feeders full. I even expanded by purchasing a thistle feeder in order to attach finches to my yard. Boy, has it worked. Goldfinches, I just learned, tend to stay together in small flocks longer than other species of birds. Because of their food requirements; seeds, which are more prevalent as the growing season progresses, they mate later in the summer. Knowing that they like seeds, I have let my flowers go to seed after blooming. Several years ago I planted Cosmos, an annual, which finches favor. Now, I don't even bother to plant them anymore, because every year the seeds that have fallen uneaten have grown the following season.

I managed to capture the male goldfinch above while getting a drink. Below in the first picture, is the male eating at the thistle feeder. The second picture is the female eating from the feeder I keep filled with sunflower seeds. If you are curious to know what the finch birdsong (as well as many other species of birds) visit the Macaulay Library.

More Dragonflies

We have a bumper crop of dragonflies again this summer. It is amazing the variety of colors, shapes and sizes.

This is a Spangled Skimmer who was sunning himself or herself on the garden pathway.


This in a Common Green Darner. I caught this one having a rest on a daylily in the front sun garden.





This last one, is a Common Basket tail. It perched on one of the plastic plant stakes I had used to support my peonies, when they were in bloom, earlier this summer. I was standing about two feet away when I shot this picture. I can't believe how still it stayed.

Foxgloves and Agatha Christie

Foxgloves are steeped in folklore. These plants are also the source of digitalin, a strong heart stimulant which in excess can cause death. Agatha Christie used digitalin poisoning more than once in her writing. In "The Herb of Death," a Miss Marple short story found in The Tuesday Club Murders, foxglove leaves are mistaken for sage and used to stuff ducks for dinner. Tommy and Tuppence, Agatha's husband and wife sleuthing team, encounter foxglove leaves mixed in with spinach for a salad in Postern of Fate. In both cases, the entire household partakes of the meal and gets sick, but only one member of the group dies. This is because someone has secretly added a fatal dose of digitalin into a drink the victim has imbibed. Agatha was famous for having more than one murder occurring in order to mask the true victim or motive for the murder. Often some innocent person was bumped off by the murderer in order to cover his or her tracks. No one would suspect one of the household as being the poisoner if everyone was sick. In many of her stories, the poisoner did just that, knowing that a little bit of the poison might not be fatal to himself, and thereby throwing suspicion onto someone else. Very tricky, but Agatha's sleuths always discover the culprit in the end, usually after a few more corpses have piled up.

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.

White Iris

These white bearded iris are the first in the garden to bloom. They will be followed by some burgundy, purple, blue and yellow iris. By the end of the week I expect quite the show of flowers.

Mom and Dad came for a visit today and have brought me another bag of pachysandra. I plan to begin planting tomorrow. The last batch they gave me is doing well. At this point all the rest of the planting is done, or at least until fall when I will be putting some bulbs in for next spring. I have plans for more crocus, daffodils, tulips and some dwarf iris. Now will come the challenge of maintaining the garden. The maple trees are releasing their seeds; "helicopters" are twirling down to the ground. My chipmunks are gathering them in their over inflated cheeks but thousands will go uneaten and will germinate in the garden. Then I will spend hours on my hands and knees pulling the baby maples out of the ground. I chalk it up as good exercise.

Thanksgiving Dinner Anyone?

Earlier this year we were visited for the first time by a group of wild turkeys. One day we had 15 of them in the yard. There were three males all puffed up in their glory, strutting around with the "we bad" attitude. The females were ignoring them and fighting amongst themselves. They fed from the ground around the feeders, even though they could have easily reached up and eaten directly from the feeder itself. Once spring had really arrived and food sources were more plentiful, we no longer saw the turkeys until this week. We have had one perhaps two turkeys at a time visit the yard. I had the camera handy today and was able to catch this one in the act of eating dinner (she's under the feeder with her head down and the tail is behind the lilac bush that is just coming into bloom). All of a sudden I have a craving for stuffing and cranberry sauce.