Motley Monday - August 26, 2024

Here we are starting the last week of August... already.  

There was quite a nice rain a few days ago, and much cooler weather.  The end of this week it's going to be hot again though.  Low 90°s.  The garden always likes rain more than hose water, even though it's good water here, from Big Butte Springs in the Cascades.  A secondary source is from the Rogue River.  Big Butte Springs provides 26,000,000 (no, I didn't add too many zeros!) gallons a day!

A praying mantis on a white gladiola (in the photo below).  I used this photo on my other blog with a quadrille (44 words) poem, posted below the photo.

Her forearms bent in prayer,

she slowly moves 

among the blossoms.

She pauses, turns her head

to look warily at me.

You have nothing to fear 

from me, Mantis.

I welcome you 

and promise to protect

your future progeny 

'til spring ushers them forth. 

©2024 Lisa Smith Nelson. All Rights Reserved

The last gladiola and four o'clocks.

The wild grapes are coloring up.  It's hard to believe this was a tiny volunteer when I first saw it.  This is it's second year blooming and fruiting.  They aren't very good, mostly seeds and not sweet. 

The Virginia creeper is already in color.  I love the purple berries with dark pink stems. 

These are daylily seeds from the plants at the neighborhood school (where the park is being renovated).  These are the second ones I brought home, as the first got put through the wash and mostly got washed down the drain.  A few fell out of the dryer.  The second time I took the entire seed pots so I'd know they were in my pocket!  They break into three parts full of little black seeds.  Daylilies don't necessarily bloom true from seed, but they're still daylilies and I like them!  The ones I grew from library plant seeds did bloom true. 

These are a few of the flowers blooming for a second time.  It pays to deadhead and cut back after the first bloom. 

Dazzler penstemon 

Angel Shasta daisies

The pink catmint has come back after my cutting it down to soil level.  The golden oregano is very golden!

The solitary leaf-cutter bees are filling up the cells in the insect house.  I like to see the different materials they use, the colors of the leaves and petals they've cut into little rounds!

I added some replacement tubes from a "Mason bee kit" I bought at Goodwill a few years ago. 

Watch closely and at the end one comes out of a cell.  They were going in and out too quickly for me!

Mickey and I went for a walk to the school playground yesterday.  It's not the same for him, but he still likes sniffing around.  School starts today, so it won't be accessible until later in the day and weekend now.  The worst part of the limited area is the large "grassy" area the kids can play on is full of star thistle, so Mickey can't go out on it.  I'm not sure how the kids are supposed to manage. 

Mickey isn't allowed to pee on anything inside the playground area (my rule, he sniffs around enough to know other dogs have), or walking on the sidewalk, but trees and hydrants are fair game.  Except he wouldn't use the hydrant, the traditional doggy toilet!  He just sniffed to see who else had been there. 

I hope you all have a nice week.  Come back tomorrow for some Tuesday Treasures from the Goodwill Bins, one a true antique!