July 28, 2024

I can't believe we're three weeks into July already.  Here is a giant yellow Hibiscus bloom on a plant I bought at Family Fare - it turns out to be a Yellow Hibiscus.  What a beauty!

At the gate where we pass from the back yard to the front, we've been waiting for a while for the Japanese Anemone (one of our first bloomers as we pass from Spring to Summer) to bloom.  Here it is!

In the back yard, on a fence post, I spot an Astilbe given me by Betty Beese years and years ago.  Over the course of a few days it fills out with fluffy purple stems.

The Water Lilies, which Chaim and I planted last summer, did very little then, probably because of the interference of the resident Raccoons.  Almost as soon as one would have a decent-sized bud, it was torn into and we had almost NO blooms.  This year, Chaim has taken to playing with the Raccoons (about 5 of them at a time) - using an old broom and peanuts as a reward.  After a nice session of playing, the Coons are happy to leave the Lilies and the Fishes alone so far this summer.

The result of this preemptive playing seems to be that the Lilies have largely been left alone.  Here you see a Pink one and a Yellowish one.  The colors are a bit less distinct in a photo of the Yellowish ones than in real life.  aAt the left edge of the picture you can see a less-far-along Yellowish bud.  Picture 2 shows a lovely Pink Lily, and to its left a Pink Lily Bud, and to its right a folded Yellow Lily flower.  Froggy (the one Green Frog that has stuck with us through the summer so far) is shown in the back of picture 2.

Here is what I think is being called an Ivy Geranium.  We almost lost it one day when I got up and looked into the pond.  There was the Geranium barely floating in there thanks to its floating pot.  I hauled it out and now it has begun to get its lovely magenta blooms back.  Picture 1 shows the nearly-drowned one and picture 2 shows the recovered Geranium.

Let's start with a couple of Ants.  Remember how we get several pictures of an Ant and try to get a family of them in different positions - that helps us to recognize them better.  These two pictures show the same Ant.

Let's look at the Damselflies we've seen lately. The first of these is an Ebony Jewelwing - look at that gorgeous iridescence along the tail.  Second is another kind of Damselfly, but I have only a partial identification - it 's one of the Pond Spreadwings!

The bigger more sturdy version of the Damselflies is the family of Dragonflies.  This gorgeous green one is an Eastern Pondhawk.

Here is a Spider that I don't recognize.  There are so many of those!  Fortunately my friend @paolosol of iNat knew it was a Comb-footed Spider!  The second is a Cross Orbweaver (Araneus diadematus).  Third is a Common Pirate Spider.  This is the first one I've spotted this summer.  They'll get better!  You can tell one by the figure-shaped decoration on the abdomen.  (This one looks like a violin shape.)

This sprawling mess is what's left of a Blue Spruce plant that started from a big cone that fell in the back of the yard.   I just never got around to tossing it!

 I'm always thrilled when the camera manages to see a tiny creature in its lens.  This little fellow is an Assassin Bug, one of the Zelus genus of miniature monsters.  You can differentiate some of these little fellows, since Zelus luridus has red eyes and a greenish overall color.  Here in picture 1 it's not hard to see the red eyes.  The long proboscis coming out of the head will be used to grab a victim and suck its juicy goodness.   Picture 2 shows the stab and grab technique as the little fellow grabs supper.  

That reminds me, it must be supper time.  But off a different menu!  I'll leave you with a shot of Froggy, sitting on a Water Lily pad and next to the gigantic bud of a Bright Pink Water Lily.   I hope your week will be filled with gorgeous sights and lots of friendship.  Love, Martha