Cats and Butterflies

Last month I found this caterpillar on the sidewalk out front. I helped it by moving it across the sidewalk in the direction it was headed so a bird or other predator wouldn't find him so easily. I watched to see if I could see where it might go to pupate. I lost it, I could never find it again.  

Then today on the Butterfly Weed that is growing out back I found another Monarch caterpillar creeping up on some of the nearly dried up Butterfly Weed plants. This does give me hope for the future. I look at these plants daily. I am surprised I haven't seen more of these caterpillars before today. This is the first time I have found Monarch caterpillars in my garden in a long time. I hope they grow up and return next year.

While out and about I came across this huge pile of scat. I am not even going to try to id it but what was so fascinating about it is that it was covered with butterflies, bees and beetles. You can see the Monarchs, Pearl Crescents, Buckeye and Painted Lady Butterflies. Did I say Lady? Anyway...

If we have a little closer look you can see the bees.

and the beetles.

I wish I knew the bees and beetles a little better. Can you tell what they might be?

Sweet Relief

It wasn't pretty but boy was it ever sweet relief. This shot was just before I emptied the gauge the first time. 

I couldn't get a thing accomplished around the house from watching out the windows. It had been so long since we received any measurable rain. I watched out the front window as the water crept up the drive.

Then I would dash to the kitchen to look out toward the Circle Garden. You can see around the edges that the water was gathering. The center of the Circle has been built up over the years with mulch and compost. These newly installed plants are loving this rain.

Now we can look out the patio door windows. The patio was full of water. All of the flower beds around the patio have been raised over the years too. With so much rain I doubt it would make much difference.

I decided to take a little break in my office. I looked out and there was a small creek between our house and the neighbors. 

During a lull in the action I went out to check for any downed limbs etc. We kept hearing limbs hit the top of the house.

I didn't get far away from the house due to full paths. 

This morning I emptied another 1.25" from the gauge. I had quite a bit of debris to pick up. One of the limbs came down on our Lemon Tree and dislodged 3 of the 4 lemons that were on it. I hope the remaining lemon grows in girth since there aren't any others remaining on the tree. The odd thing was I could only find 2 of the loosed lemons. I wonder if an animal came and got one. Hmmmm

This is the first time I got to use my shiny new wheelbarrow. It is much larger (6cu ft cap)  than my previous wheelbarrow. Yet it is as easy or easier to use due to having 2 wheels for stability and a poly tray to keep it light weight. I got the entire mess from yesterday to the truck with one trip.  

All of this rain was pushed into our area by the tropical storm Gordon. I hope that all of my gardening friends are finally well watered yet not over watered. If you need rain it looks like a hurricane is going to hit the East Coast this week. I think we are caught up with rain now but I wouldn't mind to get a bit more after a few days. All the plants are seemly beaming. I hope your garden is happy too.