Or is it a wolf in spiders clothing…or a sheep?

My arachnophobic daughter spotted this Wolf Spider roaming around the dark misty-moors at the very back of the Patch.

I told her not to stray too far from the decomposed granite path when the moon was full!

Wolf Spiders

It is called a Wolf Spider because they hunt and run down their prey in preference to constructing a web and passively waiting…hence the long legs. They also have three rows of eyes – the top row of two are medium sized, the middle row consists of two large eyes, and below are a row of four smaller ones (not visible in this picture – he kept turning around). These provide the spider with exceptionally good eyesight for spotting and catching its prey.

More about the wolf spider and some other monsters here: https://www.eastsidepatch.com/2011/11/little-monsters/

Apparently at night, armed with a flashlight and good eyesight, you can witness hundreds of these reflective wolves’ eyes scouring a backyard for suitable prey.

I suggested we should go out and witness this spectacle to my daughter who just looked back at me…

over a very large pile of stamps.

A pound of them to be precise, and that equates to a lot of Queen heads! (also known as definitives)

As Covid has been keeping us largely housebound for the best part of this year, our ‘very basic’ knowledge of Philately has increased dramatically, as have our compulsive ordering of stamps from eBay sellers.

Let me tell you, a pound of stamps keeps you busy for a very long time.

I even roped my sister into sending over my childhood stamp collection from Scotland.

Thanks so much sis!

The virus has officially sent us off the nerd deep end. We now have so many stamps our collection had to be upgraded into one of the largest binders ever constructed, a marvel of modern engineering.

Talking of engineering this channel has captivated me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w7gzIQAHf0

It is a struggle to heave ‘The Book’ (as we now collectively call it) from the side table, up onto our large dining room table. It lets out an audible groan whenever it has to support it.

Naturally I gravitate toward the bug stamps:

These textured Yugoslavian stamps are literally miniature works of art:

This next stamp, featuring a ‘Kora’, was very interesting to me. Years ago, I had dragged one of these cumbersome instruments on a plane back from The Gambia.

When played well, it sounds like a harp.

Moving along…

I recently ran a few yards of granite where my future deck is going to be constructed.

The cats are always there to flop around on it, proceeding to use it as the worlds largest litter box!

Like she cares.

The deck will be on the right,

right below his escape window?

Hmm.

I planted a bunch of fennel early this year (regular & bronze), and they have put on a great show. Hosting everything from swallowtail caterpillars, wasps, flies, aphids, and loads of ladybug larvae. You name it, it was on them. I would have had a crawl on them myself, if the stalks could have held my weight.

You cannot beat this plant for entertainment value, it even finished with a fine firework display.

I am planting twice as many next year.

“In nomine patris, et filii, et spiritus agave sancti”

Century plants really do make a big, old, crusty, stinky messes when they finally do push up the daisies, but wow do they go out in style!

A massive beanstalk (up to 25ft) packed with seeds – a final push, one last hurrah.

An agave reproduces once right before it dies. This process of reproducing once , flowering, setting seeds , and then dying is called: Monocarpy.

This beanstalk looks like it was pushed over onto the curb for safety reasons. In the wild it would’ve come crashing down, dispersing seeds around the area, to then produce more agave plants.

New East Side Patch color:

New East Side Patch Porch (Thanks Juju)!!!

All that is left to do are the pickets around the porch, the oversized flagstone to the steps, and  the sidewalk. Oklahoma flag to match the browns perhaps?

The soccer ball fits into the color scheme!

I will leave you with this rather odd face in a cloud I caught the other night,

and a design I generated for a new-build in Tarrytown. The client wanted a classical modern aesthetic, very clean.

The front entryway and illuminated steel planters offer some enclosure from the street. House color changed to off-white, I added crushed limestone pathways, and privacy side planting.

Front floating deck platform / steel planters. New gates added on both sides.

Cut limestone lueders and boulders / dark mulched beds reflect contemporary architecture. New driveway, small courtyard.

Clean lines, sweet olive for fragrance. Turf in the sun, beds in the shade.

(Cabana not finished at this point) – Extended outside deck on Cabana, softening muhly and seating between the willows.

Stay Tuned For:

“Oleander Bloom”

 

“Aw come on”!

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