My bluebird box in the backyard has bluebirds nesting in it this year! Typically, they will raise 2 or 3 broods in a season. These are pictures taken the day before the first brood fledged. Have you ever seen such determination?
Looking out at the big world!
Almost ready to go!
A few years ago, I went to a flower show with a friend where I was given a “freebie” lily bulb in a plastic bag. I had no idea what it was or what it would look like, but I took it home and planted it. That year it grew, but didn’t bloom, but the next year it was stunning! Since then I have found that it doesn’t bloom every year, but when it does, it is gorgeous! Each blossom lasts only one day, then a couple days later another one opens. It’s not a native, but I love this lily!
My unknown lily
Today I took a walk around my garden to see what I could photograph. When I got to the goldenrod, I saw a butterfly. Butterflies have been extremely scarce this summer so I immediately tried to get a picture of this one, though I didn’t know its identity. When I looked at the photo on my computer, this is what I saw:
Olive Hairstreak on Goldenrod
According to my Audubon Society Field Guide to North American Butterflies, this is an Olive Hairstreak in the category of “Gossamer Wings.” It’s host plant is Eastern Red Cedar. I am fortunate to have a couple of those trees in my yard. — Robin
This video of her cat playing is from Deb:
Silas playing with a ball and a shoe
Olive
Olive keeps us on the straight and narrow. She lets us know when it is time to get up, when to eat, when to go for a walk, when to get treats, and when to go to bed. She keeps better time than Big Ben! She is a Havanese , rescued from the local Humane Society Shelter. — Wendy
This is the small pond we put in several years ago. Since we live in the desert, we wanted to provide a water source for birds and other critters. The flowers around it are salvia (I think) which, as far as I know, are not native to Idaho. My husband remembers, however, that we transferred the starter plants to our backyard from the mountains. He has a better memory than I do. Whatever their source, they are a great attraction for bees and butterflies. Leslie
At mid-July, much of my garden is going to seed already — particularly the Daisy Fleabane is mostly brown now. The goldfinches are still all over it and for all I know the fleabane may be an important source of seed for them so I intend to leave it there.
On the other hand, the boneset is coming into bloom at this time. I have it throughout my garden where it has self-seeded.
Boneset Coming into Bloom Mid-July
Yesterday I was very pleased to see a couple of butterflies flying through the garden and landing on the boneset. I THINK they were Spicebush Swallowtails. I’ve seen almost no butterflies at all this year so their appearance is very appreciated. I knew they had to be around because I have Spicebush Swallowtail caterpillars on my spicebushes but had not seen any adults yet.
Spicebush Swallowtail on Boneset
So I am going to try to post Deb’s pictures of my 2 Maine coon cats, Izzy and Jack of
Hearts.
Irrezistible (Izzi)
Jack Of Hearts
I planted some pink threaded coreopsis, another native perennial, on the west side of my house a couple years ago. It didn’t do very well last year, but this year it has taken off and actually spread, and now it is in full bloom! It was advertised as attractive to butterflies, but so far, all I have seen are numerous sweat bees, barely 3/8 inch long! These are the same bees I wrote about that have been pollinating our beans. In the first picture, I just wanted to show the coreopsis, but the second picture is greatly enlarged to show one of the tiny bees. I actually caught one at rest!
Pink threaded coreopsis “American Dream”
Tiny sweat bee on pink coreopsis–enlarged
I tried taking some photos after 8:30 PM in late June. These pictures are somewhat out of focus but have an “unwordly” (impressionistic?) quality, with the whites and yellows seeming almost luminous. — Robin
The Garden in Late Evening Light
Culver’s Root Late Evening
FROM WEEDS TO BEES 