“Heeeee! cooler temps”!
“Hahaaa, cloud cover!”.
I love these two little clay guys, I picked them up at the Great Outdoors a couple of years ago. Pretending that the carrot head is biting down on my finger, followed by the customary “ow, ow, owing” just never seems to get old in my household, (a big white van will pull up soon). The detail on these wall ornaments still amuses me, right down to the tiny little bug that resides on the carrot. Okay the the Skip Richter comparison is a bit of a stretch, but come on, you can see the “down to earth” resemblance in the eyes, when Skip laughs, can’t you? (Sorry Skip)!
“ESP is a sick and twisted little man”.
The times really do feel like they are finally changing the last few days. The winds of fall change are upon us after a particularly brutal summer. These backlit canna lilies, in all their blazen glory, are showing the first signs of their impending crusty demise, a true pointer that colder weather is lurking around the corner.
Canna lily look like a feather? …so bad!
The honey bees are going crazy on the Amaranth which is in full flight right now. In Greece, the Green Amaranth (Amaranthus viridis) is called “vleeta” and it’s a popular dish. It’s boiled, then served with olive oil and lemon like a salad, usually alongside fried fish. Greeks stop harvesting the (usually wild-grown) plant when it starts to bloom at the end of August.
Sticking with the purples, the Mexican bush sage (this sage is native to Central America and Mexico) is putting on quite a show right now in my front yard. I have the regular (left) and the the bicolored cultivar (right). This one has to fight a little harder due to its’ slightly shadier position under my vitex, as such, it tends to be a little …
…ahem,
leggier?
Another hot item right now is the Mexican fire bush blooms.
On a cooler note, a recently watered canna leaf. I wish I could say it was real rain, but I have forgotten what that is.
Some more fake rain on the papyrus.
The blooms on this philippine violet always cool down a scene. The plant is native to India and Burma and is related to the shrimp plant and the ruellia, or Mexican petunia. This plant to me, just has a little more class!
Fantastic fall plant, mine typically gets to about 4ft tall, with great, and I mean great foliage color, before and after the bloom. Note to brain…I need to get a few more of these.
Why you little spiny orb weaver you!
The spiny orb-weavers Gasteracantha are a type of spider. They are also commonly called Spiny-backed orb-weavers, due to the prominent spines on their abdomen. These spiders can reach sizes of up to 30mm in diameter (measured from spike to spike).
Less prominent this year, these little chaps remind me of beach-buggys or..
Atv’s. You have to admit that this little spider looks seriously rugged, stylish and off-road sporty. The “Top Gear” guys would be proud. (BBC America)
Other sightings in the yard this week:
This was the smallest and youngest anole that I have ever seen, on my pond cattails. This little dinosaur was extremily shy, he kept running around the opposite side of the cattail as soon as the lens came anywhere close. I did manage to coax it into a couple of shots. Click then click again for a close up.
I would love an identification of this dragon – brown all the way.
This tropical water lily smells as purple as it looks. If the color purple had an aroma it would be this!
The color of this “warty” pride of barbados
seed pod caught my attention.
Golden bamboo as it looks through
our front window…great in the wind!
Stay tuned for:
“Costa Del Orbit”
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