Critters and delicious stuff

Just a quick picture post about all the cool stuff outside my window:

There's a praying mantis in this pic above that I didn't even notice until I loaded it!

I love the color of the eyes of this dragonfly! For some reason, dragonflies are often called the "Devil's steed." I don't get it.
the praying mantis again! Looks like she has a little design on her back.

I thought this was funny. Mantis wants a sneak attack! Maybe i can get a great video of them fighting, you'd be amazed!

The few, delicious raspberries that survived from my overzealousness from last year, added to creme brulee!

Random tame deer that has been wandering our park and doesn't understand the concept of danger until it gets eaten by wild dogs.

Birds and the bees...

This post is sort of a self congratulatory pat on my back, not entirely out of ego, but because I am thrilled to have attracted so much cool stuff to my garden: birds, squirrels/chipmunks (not always good to have around, but fun to watch and entertain the dog with), various bees, hummingbirds, assassin bugs, praying mantises, tree frogs, toads and even snakes are all cool!

Most of the work done to attract all of this wildlife was through happenstance and some actual hard work on my end (do you have any idea how many toads I carried back to my garden?)


Quite a few of the birds that have flocked to my garden (which reminds me, I need to built birdhouses for) came due to prodigious amounts of seed I left out which also attracted squirrels/chipmunks (unfortunately who were then attracted to my attic... another story for another time). The birds have further stayed and produced bird babies all around who feed their way on an accidental wild woodland strawberry groundcover I acquired from a plant trading section. I didn't even know I picked up some of the plant, but it covers nearly all of a helpful location i was tired of mulching.

Forgotten overturned pots and large flat rocks provided safe spots and nooks and crannies for toads who have in turn attracted snake(s) who hopefully will rid me of some chipmunks :)
The chipmunks too have been helpful though by planting all these sunflower seeds that had been for the birds and I always have a sunflower somewhere, which makes MORE sunflowers to attract the seed eaters.

Even my accidental spots of standing water, terrible mosquito breeding grounds I know, but the dragonflies near the lake have popped on by to make themselves at home here too.

It's all pretty remarkable and makes you want to sing the "Circle of Life," huh?

Actually that might be a little too saccharin even for me and that was my college graduation song. Made me feel like I was preparing to get eaten by a lion. Thanks for preparing me for life Purdue!

All in all, this is just a post about me blathering on about how happy I am that I'm not the only one enjoying my garden. Now if only I could make the squash vine borers not enjoy it.

Randomness.... trying to keep up!

Alas! High winds have broken my handmade 2 year old trellis! The beans! The bean! They have all, fallen down.

:(

That was nice and Shakespearean dramatic eh?

But yes, to be specific, only a third of the trellis broke down. I still was able to harvest quite a few snap beans prior and even after the fall:
These are the same beans too that I brutally burned with baking soda, so little loss there. Good time to replant too anyways, the vines were getting ridiculous! The only issue now is finding the branch clippings from neighbors to create another trellis. Maybe I'll just knock some nails into the fence and string some twine this time around.

The area where the beans were planted was in a raise bed with okra and strawberry plants, so I like to believe that they were getting some legume lovin', nitrogen fixing goodness.

I wasn't entirely certain if it is best to dig under the bean plants back into the soil to keep the nutrients in, or just compost the vines/leaves, but from what I've been readin, it seems that you can just cut the vines at the base and let the nitrogen fixing nodule roots go back to whence they came and allow the next crop of whatever enjoy it.
So, that sounds like a good plan. I am trying to decide whether I want to grow pole beans there again because it was such a good place for them, at the the bed 5 to its left is still full of cucumber vines and I can't plant there. But I also know I need to take into account that crop rotation thing. I think as long as I plant something different in the spring I should be fine.

More things of interest! Snake!
(skin):


























Anyone able to recognize what kind it is? It's 32 inches long, though I am sure longer by now if it was shedding. I am hoping it's not one of the 4 major poisonous ones in the area, but if it is... well, we all leave well enough alone. Though if I recall, the poisonous ones have diamond shape heads and this one looks triangular.

It's sort of a love-hate relationship because I know it's taking care of all the bunnies and mice, but then again it probably eating all my beneficial toads/frogs...and I haven't seen many lately now that I think of it...

FINALLY,
remember that praying mantis I saw hiding out underneath the hummingbird feeder some days ago? Well it got BIG. Double the size from last time. I would have taken a pic of it but well, I noticed the hummingbirds were acting a little antsy by the feeder and then reason was, when they got near to drink the mantis was actually taking SWIPES at the birds! It was at least half their size by now and those arm/claw things seem to have some good reach. So......... I immediately went out and with a long stem of perilla because its so utterly disposable at my house, I relocated its happy green self to the cucumbers/okra bed where I then realized I had lots of cucumber/okra flowers with lots of pollinators buzzing about, so I hope it doesn't feast on so many beneficial things that fruit doesn't set....
That would be ironic.

Anyways, adieu and more later.