One of the many benefits of getting away from home for six days? The changes in the garden jump out! It's as though the plants have exploded in volume and color. Upon our return, even #1 Son commented on its beauty and the multitude of butterflies. I am thrilled to give you a peek into my oasis!
My fellow gardeners will not be the least bit surprised to read that the bee balm is the most significant butterfly magnet in my garden.
Of course, some species seem to prefer other plants, such as the coreopsis (upper left) or yellow penstemon (bottom).
Today, I was surprised to find a host of tiny grasshoppers hanging out on the prairie coneflower. They weren't the least bit fazed when I leaned in for the close-up.
Speaking of critters, my commitment to let nature run its course with my native plants is a strategy that seems to be paying off. The caterpillars that nibbled on the goldenrod do not seem to have had a lasting impact; if anything, the munching caused the plant to branch out and produce even more flower heads. The aphid infestation on the asters has not destroyed any part of the plant. And I wonder if, by allowing the aphids to linger on the asters and other plants, it kept them from flocking to the non-natives such as the burning bushes; the last two summers, those bushes had tell-tale leaf curl from aphids -- but not this summer.
In general, I am delighted that the garden has started to "fill in". As faithful readers will recall, we started with minimal plantings three summers ago. Through natural seeding, as well as my own strategic sowing of seeds collected from the garden, several beds have begun to take on the full, higgledy-piggledy prairie look that is my goal.
The "big picture" views excite me, and close-ups are also a source of joy.
The fence baskets and deck pots are also coming along nicely.
The rock garden near the front of the driveway is still a work in progress, and that makes sense given it has only been in place two years.
I may regret planting this lamium, a perennial from last year's baskets; they are not native and can quickly take over a bed. But for now, they provide color and interest while the rest of the plants get up and running. Just another part of my garden journey!
Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme
where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain
time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your
blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and
enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an
easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I
stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join
in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.
Shaking my head in disbelief, I begin to pen this post about July 2020. How can it already be August 2? If you’re like me, August rouses memories of back-to-school shopping, and last-minute attempts to collect on all of summer’s unfulfilled promises.
A few days ago, I was weeding along the roadside, and a neighbor paused
to chat while walking her dog. She
listed the summer visitors she had been hosting, and then switched gears to
describe the fall activities for her kids.
“And then it will be Christmas,” she said. It might have been the heat and the dazzling
sun, but I almost passed out.
Christmas? Stop the bus, I want
to get off! It feels like summer has
just arrived, and it may disappear again with the blink of an eye. Even Whitefish Mountain Resort joined the
conspiracy by sending out an invitation for past employees to re-apply for
winter positions. Really? So, this post is my deliberate attempt to
drag my feet, to savor summer, to deny that fall is around the corner.
It has been a full month, when I pause to reflect. Three hikes plus one
over-night camping trip.Several doctor’s
appointments (all is well) and a lengthy visit to the dentist for a crown.Volunteering at the museum.Coffee chit-chats and kayaking with my Dear
Neighbor Friend.Ongoing job search
support with #1 Son.And of course, joyful
intervals in my beloved garden.Activity
seemingly makes the hands of the clock launch into overdrive. Occasionally, I long to simply lounge on the
deck, gazing out on the beauty right in front of me.When these feelings occur, I rationalize that
the season of “lounging” will come of its own accord, when I can no longer be
so active. And I jump back into the
fray!
Non-human animals have it much simpler, and maybe we (you know I mean me) would be wise to take some lessons from them.
First: take a nap in the heat of the day (not my strong suit)
Second: Eat well (A+ on this one thanks to Head Chef)
Third: Avoid predators (in my case, it's mosquitoes and ticks that threaten my health, and dare I mention the c-word?)
On July 21, I was working in the garden and the badger strolled within 5 feet of me. I was caught by surprise and didn't get him on video. But wouldn't you know he stuck around most of the afternoon, apparently hunting chipmunks, and for your viewing pleasure, I have two videos below. Don't worry, no death and carnage in either one. But if you watch the second one closely, you will see a chipmunk escape the foliage and run under the deck, literally under my feet and then the badger follows.
Fourth: Hang out with buddies (COVID has put a bit of a kibosh on this; I've relished my coffee/kayaking dates with Dear Neighbor Friend, and we invited a couple for dinner on two separate occasions.)
Our back forty is a popular location with the swallows given the lake and the multitudes of flying insects that congregate there. A dead aspen has become a gathering spot for the swallows, until something triggers them to all take off at once, as you can see in this video below.
Fifth: stay hydrated (I don't have any animal pix for this one. And I don't think alcohol and coffee count toward the 90 ounces of liquid I ought to be drinking ... maybe I should move on ....)
Sixth: look after your offspring (this is a joy, not a "task". We are so excited #1 Son is moving to Montana while he continues his job search, and #1 Daughter and her boyfriend are visiting in August. The family reunited!)
July is the month when
most plants in Montana progress rapidly from leaves to blooms to seeds. As many times as I have walked our property
and the surrounding land, I still make new discoveries. And I rejoice in seeing old favorites as
well.
My garden is also
flourishing; you can expect another post on that soon. For now, I am tickled “yellow” with the
success of the yellow penstemon since in previous summers it seemed weak and prone to insect infestations. Sometimes,
gardeners have plants that tend to crowd out others, and we have to actively
restrain them. I am not quite ready to
do that with the coreopsis (the yellow plants in the pictures below), but I can see the time is coming. Just look at how prolific they are and all
from three plantsat the time the landscaping was installed.
I have managed to tear
myself away from the outdoors long enough to draw a birthday card for a close
friend in the UK, and for my father-in-law.
Note: if you are planning to send anything overseas, allow plenty of time. Two weeks passed before my friend received
her drawing, and it was three weeks for my father-in-law. Yikes!
I was also proud and honored to have my Violet Protest square included
in a display of Montana-made squares at Honey’s Café in Red Lodge,
Montana. Organized by Maggy Hiltner, the
installation features 24 squares that will be forwarded to Phoenix to join
squares from all over the U.S. for the main Violet Protest organized by Ann
Morton. My second square is halfway
complete and will be ready in time for the November 15, 2020 deadline. You can still participate!
No summer is complete
without a “campfire” and S’Mores. As
faithful readers know, I always take the makings for S’Mores on our camping
trips, so this summer “promise” has been partly fulfilled. But you may be shocked to learn that we had
not yet used our firepit this summer!
That was rectified last weekend, and at the end of the night, Spousal
Unit said “We need to do this more often.”
In Montana, it’s never too hot in the evening for a fire – as soon as
the sun begins to dip, the temperatures drop dramatically and the stars blink
on. You are likely to spot several
satellites tracing their way across the sky.
Night sounds are distinct, and identifying them (or letting your
imagination run wild) is entertaining.
That evening, we saw a crane fly up from the lake and land at the
tippy-top of a pine tree some distance from our house. So special.
If you live in the
Northern Hemisphere, what remains on your wish list for the summer? I am dreaming about swimming, attending an
outdoor concert, and a picnic at the lake.
Oh, and definitely more ice cream!
Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme
where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Tuesday (U.S. Mountain
time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your
blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and
enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an
easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I
stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join
in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.
Female Nokomis Fritillary butterfly on bee balm in my garden - thanks to
David of Travels with Birds for the identification
"August is like the Sunday of summer." Unknown. Well, folks, I don't know about you, but I am not even close to ready for summer to flit on by, so we are going to ignore for the moment that the calendar page has inexorably flipped to August. Instead, we shall linger in those lazy (well, maybe not so lazy), hazy (well, we actually have crystal blue skies here in Montana) days of July 2019.
Evening light at our lake
How did you spend your July? It will come as no surprise to you that I treasure the long light of summer. It enables early mornings on the deck, with coffee of course. Or twilight walks to the lake at the bottom of our property. And sunset kayaking with my dear neighbor friend on her lake. Early July saw regular rainfall, and I reveled in pulling on my wellies and wandering a sparkling fresh world.
Storm clouds gather on the western horizon
The naturally occurring plants on our property provide unending entertainment and photo opportunities for me.
Left: Showy Death Camas Upper right: Blue-eyed Grass
Lower right: White Spirea
On one such outing, my little eye spied something white in the dead branches of a lodgepole pine. Can you see it? Hmmm .... what could that be? Upon closer inspection, it was easy to identify a mushroom, impaled on the branch. Now, how did that GET there? Why, your local neighborhood squirrel put it there.
Being off the ground helps the mushrooms dry quickly and become tough and brittle. These dried mushrooms resist decay and the squirrels stash them away for winter snacks. For me, this falls in the category of "Now I have seen everything!" Everyone knows the saying "Make hay while the sun shines," and now Spousal Unit and I have a new appreciation for it. My dear neighbor friend and her entire family engage deeply in the haying process during the summer. When conditions are right, it's all hands on deck for this labor-intensive operation. That's how we found ourselves at the farm, helping where it was needed most. (Actually, my role was observer and photographer.)
Mowing. Mown hay has to dry thoroughly before it can be raked and baled.
Raking - Spousal Unit is driving the red tractor, a 1959 Ford
Workmaster 641 - suffice it to say he was like a kid in a
candy store!
Baling - hubby of my dear neighbor friend drives the
tractor while his grand-daughter drives the baler
under the careful oversight of her dad
Looks simple and organized, but the bales to the left and the mown hay to the right - a gargantuan team effort
Spousal Unit loads bales onto the sled while my dear neighbor friend
drives the tractor
Spousal Unit moves bales from sled to elevator, which takes them to
the hay loft, where dear neighbor friend stacks them
Hay loft. This hay is kept for the farm to use; the
rest is sold and goes direct from the field to the customer.
Work hard, play hard. That could be Montana's motto. So, when my dear neighbor friend needs to relax after all that haying, she kayaks on the lake. And sometimes I am along for the ride.
We got this close to the loon nest only after concluding that the eggs were unlikely to hatch. And wrong we were -
2 weeks later the eggs lay broken in the nest and the young ones were bobbing about
Stuffed breakfast biscuits
The family summer vacation is as iconic as motherhood and apple pie, and during July we were glad to welcome friends from Cleveland, along with their twin sons. In his usual fashion, Head Chef fed them well.
A highlight of the visit was our hike along the Highline in Glacier National Park. But that's a subject for a future post. For now, I will tease you with a picture taken by one of our visitors - this year is a bumper crop of beargrass!
Of course, there's nothing like a summer night to light a fire and host neighbors and friends for chit-chat and s'mores. When the last guest has gone, and the stars are sprinkled on the night sky like so much glittery confetti, we linger by the fire. And we give thanks. For our dream home. For excellent health, to enjoy the glorious world on our doorstep. For good neighbors. And for long summer days, even as they drift into the past.
Welcome to Mosaic Monday, a weekly meme
where we get together to share our photo mosaics and collages.
Please include at least one photo mosaic/collage in your post.
The link will be open from 1 p.m. Sunday until 11 p.m. Monday (U.S. Mountain
time).
Remember to add the link to your Mosaic Monday post and not the one to your
blog.
Please link back to this post so that your readers will be able to visit and
enjoy more wonderful mosaics; taking the MM blog button from my sidebar is an
easy way to link back.
As host I will visit every participant and leave a comment so that you know I
stopped by.
Please try and visit as many other blogs as you can, especially those that join
in later, so that everyone's creativity can be appreciated fully.
Thank you for joining in today and sharing your mosaics with us.
