What's Happening in My Garden and Beyond

 It's exciting to us to see variety of all things nature in our garden.  I believe the more variety you entice to your garden the healthier it is.  All wildlife is welcome here and we intentionally don't use chemicals that would harm if at all possible.  

I don't know about you, but my camera is usually in the opposite room when I wish to take a photo.  This was the case when I saw a Black-capped Chickadee on the dogwood.  By the time I reached my camera and returned to the front window I was surprised to find an Eastern Buebird in its place!

One afternoon I spotted a Silver-Spotted Skipper on the geranium blossom on the patio.  He obliged my desire to take his photo.

So many Yellow Tiger Swallowtails have graced our patio as well.  

I always am amazed when the Colchicum pop up in early Autumn.

Some people refer to them as Fall Crocus, but are not crocus at all.  My dear neighbor that shared these with me years ago used to call them crocus.  It's always nice to see them come up.  I understand they are poisonous as many plants are.  I'm not a fan of eating plants unless I really know they are okay to munch on!

When Grayden and I went out for our early morning walk we discovered a large Katydid perched on the door of our car.  

I'm not sure why he found the door a good perch, but we enjoyed seeing him.  He's related to the Cricket and is one of the night sounds of summer.

Maybe he thought the shadow was a potential mate. 

The next photo may not be to your liking.  So warning ahead if you don't like snakes!

I understand as I used to have quite an aversion and still can't say I'm in love with them, but they have a place on our planet.

This appears to be a Gray Rat Snake.  He is not venomous, so we don't need to be afraid.  He is defensive so we didn't bother him.  His diet is mainly rodents.  

I wanted to share another photo that I took last week in Culpeper.  Since it's not far we often visit there.

 After having lunch we enjoyed a stroll through the small town shops.  As we were walking Grayden spotted an interesting insect.

Unfortunately this is the dreaded Spotted Lanternfly.  I had heard of this invasion but had never seen one.  He is a plant hopper that prefers the Heavenly Tree (an invasive tree) as his host.  He eats grapes, stone fruits, soybeans, and apple trees causing extensive damage to crops.  Originally from China and Vietnam the lanternfly has spread to Japan, South Korea, and the United States.  Canada has intercepted Lanternflies in shipping crates in Ontario.  It's always nice to see another insect with which I'm not familiar, but this is one insect that I was very unhappy to see in Virginia! 

Thank you for taking a look at our recent observations!

"Having your head in the clouds, even for just a few minutes each day, is good for your mind, good for your body, and good for your soul."

Gavin Pretor-Pinney