Artemisia

“Bugs and Ducks”

ESPatch Nov 11, 2012 8 comments

Fragrant mist flowers are irresistible to insects.

Plant a good line of them, sit in a front row seat, grab some popcorn or a hot dog and watch the show.

We had cameras at the ready, zoomed in and set on macro.

The first insect caught me by surprise as it scrambled from heart of one of the plants, moving at a frantic pace.

This is a male tarantula hawk,

Pepsis formosa

The females are the spider hunters of this species, the males preferring to feed on flowers.

These are the largest wasps in the United States reaching two inches in length. Their stingers are a substantial 1/3 inch long – if it does stab you it is considered to be one of the most painful insect stings in the world.

The metallic-blue black body and flame-like wings…

Here is something you do not see everyday:

Some other characters coveting the mist flowers this week:

Close but not quite.

Lots of snout nosed butterflies,

Long horned bees,

and spiny hoverflies.

There have been skittish Buckeye butterflies,

Junonia coenia

and plenty of these fighter-jet skippers drinking the nectar.

Of course all of this insect commotion attracted

The anoles were having a feast.

Guess what else we did this week?

The total count was 140 satsumas shattering all previous records for our little tree.

Some of the fruit was very large,

these we separated out,

and blended into juice. I am sure the tree is relieved to have all of the weight lifted off it’s limbs.

With Halloween behind us, it was time to get a little slice of home at the Austin Celtic festival.

This rather smartly dressed viking appeared to be having a spot of bother.

She naturally gravitated toward the nicknack tents and being emotionally scarred after her traumatic goose pecking experience in Baton Rouge,

http://www.eastsidepatch.com/2012/07/all-over-the-map/

she gave these ducks a very wide berth.

Eeek…eeek…quack…etc.

The highlight of my day was when I got to listen to the magical voice of Moya Brennan from the Irish band Clannad.

Back in the Patch:

Smoldering burgundy canna,

and burgundy fountain grass put on a great display on the breeze with a setting sun.

purple_fountain_grass_Copper_Canyon_Daisy

Copper Canyon Daisy is starting to bloom in the wormwood, a nice combination if you prune the daisy tight to the silver canopy of the artemesia.

Finally:

How much longer can they last?

Stay Tuned for:

“The Tent in the Woods”

All material © 2012 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

“They’re under Starters Orders…”

ESPatch May 9, 2012 6 comments

…and they’re off!

Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a fantastic turn out today to witness this, the second annual ESPill-bug derby, broadcast live via morning glory satellite.

Lord Kumo was chauffeured in earlier today in customary fashion,

and was to be seated in his usual “Royal” stinky box seat...

…only to find that it had already been occupied.

Garnet is off to an early lead and setting a punishing (running for her life) pace.

“Go Garnet…go Garnet (clapping)”

Clearing out a pile of decaying leaves recently I exposed a bunch of roly polies that were quickly snapped up by dirty nimble fingers. A few minutes later they all had names; Ruby, Chirp, Garnet, Peep and Quack, nice names for some terrestrial crustaceans…snort.

I continued to listen to their exploits as I raked. I witnessed the gut-wrenching tragedy of Chirp rolling himself up and disappearing between the cracks in the picnic table (I kept raking) and the simultaneous elation at Garnet having crawled over the finish line to win the derby and her freedom from small fingered tyranny.

“Ach, and I thought I had it bad, poor wee beasties.”

After a significant “Chirp-hunt” under the table, and a number of mosquito bites later the search was called off.

It was Ruby, Peep and Quack that I felt sorry for.

Brrr.

Moving along:

My feather grasses are now entering

this rather annoying phase. I am steadily accumulating a huge pile of these filament ladened socks on my back porch.

With the skies opening up and delivering some well needed rain in Central Texas this week, plants

and toadstools have gone into overdrive.

Sedum reflexum ‘Blue Spruce’,

I said Blue Spruce,

wasted no time absorbing the moisture, a very aquatic looking succulent.

As did this Bauhinia corymbosa vine, great for adding depth and a layered look.

Burgundy canna lily…plant it in a large container, cover drainage hole with duct tape and watch it grow and smolder.

It works great paired with giant King Tut papyrus.

It is like the Blitz in this tank that houses the smaller dwarf papyrus variety.

Moving Along:

Spending time on my front porch right now conjures up disturbing memories of “The Ruins”.

This red passion vine is clawing its way toward my front door at about a foot a day.

Who said there was a lack of flowers in the Patch…

Finally…

My front (almost as high a maintenance as the Botox Lady) vitex is now in full bloom,

Sago palm.

I always like the new growth on sago palms…before the leaves get lodged in there and mess it all up.

Stay Tuned for:

“Jack and the Sotolstalk”

All material © 2012 for eastsidepatch. Unauthorized
intergalactic reproduction strictly prohibited, and
punishable by late (and extremely unpleasant)
14th century planet Earth techniques.

Inspirational image of the week: