Fall

It has cooled off a lot, and it's looking like fall.  The main trees in my yard are Water Oaks and Yellow Poplars.  I knew the poplars turned yellow and they're one of the first trees to drop leaves.  They turn, and fall right away.  They're adding bright color to the ground in the backyard.  My last experience with oaks were the huge ones I had in Michigan.  They had big leaves that were a real chore to deal with in the fall.  I think I like Water Oaks.  Their leaves are small which means they'll decompose faster, and won't lay a thick carpet of suffocating leaf litter.  I don't plan to deal with them at all.  Since there's no lawn in back, they will contribute to the garden where they fall.

I was also pleased to see that the Water Oaks are colorful in the fall.  Most oaks turn shades of brown.  These are turning yellow first, then darken to an attractive shade of pinkish gold.  Very pretty while all the shades are on the tree at once.

Got all the big (as in EXPENSIVE) projects done outside.  At least for now.  There's a few other things I'd like to do, but they're not a priority, and can wait to see when the budget allows.  I'll be concentrating on the gardens from now on.  Well, except for the inside projects.  Still lots of those, but most are just a matter of getting it done, and not any more expense.

I spent some imaginary money at Home Depot the other day.  I just cruised in to see what they had for fall planting.  Yep, I want that.  And that.  And some of those.  I managed to walk out without buying anything, but I'll be back soon.

In Wildthings News:

I finally put out bird feeders over a month ago, but no one noticed.  The Carolina Wrens dropped in, but I think they were only interested in what they could find lurking in the deck flower garden in the same area.

This female cardinal was the first to notice this week.

Her mate was right behind her.

I'm sure I'll see more action now that birds are coming.  There was a House Finch the other day.  As migratory birds begin passing through or coming back, it should get quite busy.

I saw Pileated Woodpeckers for the first time when I moved to Tennessee 10 years ago.  The forest around me was full of them.  I was surprised and pleased to see them in my backyard here.  This neighborhood is surrounded by extensive forest land, and there's a lot of natural habitat all through the 'hood.  Apparently enough to attract the Pileateds.  I've been trying for 10 years to capture one on film, but they never came close enough.  

I finally got these this week!  Not the greatest shots due to full zoom through window screen, but I got him.  That was exciting.  The red spot in the chin stripe marks this one as male.

I'm enjoying the cooler weather.  The AC has been turned off for about a month, and I like that.  I'd rather have windows open, and the electric bill is happier.  I hope it will be a while before I need heat, but I might have to start running it at night.  Once it goes below 55, it's a bit too cool in the house for me.

The Wildthings list has been updated.

tnt

Natureschild

Light Play

One of the many things I like about this house is the natural light.  Every room has a large window, and most have 2.  I began to notice the interesting silhouettes on the walls.  On the east side of the house is the thick stand of trees.  The rising sun shines through them and casts animated shadows on the floor or wall.  The setting sun also gets through the trees on that side enough to add living art.

I've always loved suncatchers, and in my old house, I had several windows on the south side.  I took advantage with crystal rainbow makers in those windows.  One of my crafts is beadery of a sort.  I refurbish windchimes and suncatchers with glass beads and crystals.  I had quite a collection.  Alas, I don't have a good south window in this house.  The only one in the main areas is the living room, but it's under the porch roof and doesn't catch any light that way.  So I have to accept that my suncatchers will only be effective in a limited way.  I'll probably refurbish my rainbow makers again to get more crystals in one piece for the few windows that can do them justice.

This is the nook off the kitchen.  I thought for a long time about what to do with it.  It's not very big...about 9' x 6'.  I tried the table in here, but it took up more room than I wanted to give up, and I hardly ever use the table anyways.  I finally decided that this would be my crafting corner.  Then I realized I spent a lot of time looking at it.  My "throne" is at the end of the island where I drink coffee or wine depending on time of day, and just gaze out the doors at the trees where I'll see wildlife, and the deck garden.  I decided to make the room part of the view.

As you can see, there's a lot of light play here.  The doors face east and the window is north, so the light isn't intense or all day, but it's bright enough for most houseplants.  To maximize the light, I installed the mirror tile "window" on the right behind the plant rack.  Not only does it gather more light for the room, it reflects the view outside the door.  The houseplants turn the room into an extension of the outside.  So now I'm calling this "The Garden Room".  Next project will be to paint it.  It's going to be blue as will the kitchen.

One thing that became a special sight was the gazing balls.  I have 2 glass mosaic balls that I found at the discount store (Big Lots).  They were originally intended for the garden, but then I discovered the glass mosaic pattern reflects the sun when it's in just the right position, and shoots sparkles all over the room.  You can see a hint of that in the photo.  So those balls are permanent fixtures in front of windows.

If you have windows that give you interesting light, consider using that light in a creative way.

tnt
Natureschild

How to identify birds and other critters.

I identified a new bird today.  Not only new here, but new ever.  That's always exciting for a bird watcher.  I noticed a small gray bird flitting around in the edge of the woods.  My first thought was a warbler of some kind, but couldn't find anything like it in my book.  So I pulled out another book.  This one is older, and some of the birds have new names or ranges now based on more recent scientific info, but the illustrations are really good and comprehensive.  It wasn't under warblers in this book either, but I began to thumb through the sections to see if anything else came close.  There...Blue-gray Gnatcatcher.  I cross-referenced in the newer book, and it can't be anything else.

The reason I never considered Gnatcatcher is that I've always thought of them (flycatchers) as bigger birds.  This one was very small...warbler small.  Here's where having a system to identify birds helps.  You have to notice specific things about it.  Not just size, color, and markings, but also behaviors.  Tail movement, feeding method, etc.  These can be very helpful.  And you have to remember what you saw because the bird is probably long gone by the time you get to your books or the internet.  As I'm going to my books, I repeat in my head over and over what I noted to keep the image fresh in my mind.

This is what I marked about this little bird.  Blue gray above, light below, no breast or body streaking.  Prominent white stripes on each side of dark tail, as well as a white stripe on outer flight feathers.  It flicked and wagged its tail which was held upright like a wren.  It also hovered briefly.

One book stated that no other gnatcatcher has the white edged tail.  The other said it wagged its tail like a mockingbird.  When I saw that, I thought to myself, yes, that's what I saw but being it was a small bird I immediately thought of the way wrens hold their tails.  It didn't really mention hovering, but most flycatchers do to some extent.

When you get to your resource, you also have to pay attention to range.  Highly unlikely to see a west coast bird in the southeast.  You might be seeing a breeding or migration range.  There's many birds I only see at certain times of the year.  Here in the southeast, you'll often see spring or fall visitors, and they don't stay for long because they're on their way somewhere else.

We got a lot of rain the last 2 days, and it's still dreary.  My gauge got 2".  The sun is trying to come out but I don't know if it will make it today.  At least it's cooled off.  A lot!  I was actually chilly this morning and needed long sleeves.  Nice to shut off the AC and open windows.  I really appreciate having central air, but I'd much rather have windows open, and do so whenever it's comfortable enough.  For me, I'm comfortable at 80 degrees and that's what the AC is set at.

tnt
Natureschild

Active morning in the garden

Ok, there's not really a garden here yet, but I've always liked how the British refer to a yard as a garden.  Even if it's just a lawn with some trees and shrubs, or a tiny patio space, they call it a garden.  So I will, too.  It will all be garden eventually.

There is a garden sorta.  I talked about the nursery bed in the last post.  The surviving daylilies and other perennials are recovering from their ordeal.  As I thought, they just needed more sun, water and actual ground.  That space is large enough to hold a lot of things until I'm ready to design the gardens.

I picked up 3 "Northwind" Switchgrasses the other day.  This was one of my favorite grasses, and I didn't bring any with me.  Probably would have gone the same way many of the other transplants did...dying of my procrastination.  Since I don't see them very often, I snapped them up.  I'll split them in two or three and set in the nursery bed to grow a bit bigger.  By then, I'll know where I want to use them.

I also set up a window box planter that wasn't doing anything as a seed bed.  I had a couple packs of Purple Coneflowers to start.  I know I'll want a lot of Coneflower for the butterfly garden so seed was the best way to go.  When they're big enough, I'll set in the nursery bed.  Or if they haven't outgrown the window box, I might just keep them there.  I'm starting to plan the butterfly garden so they might be ready when I am.  The other reason I like starting these with seed is that they'll be hardier.  Nowadays, the coneflowers in garden centers are all the fancy new cultivars...doubles, new colors, etc.  I haven't had a lot of luck with any of them, but I can count on the species to be vigorous, and it's just as beautiful.

It's my plan to acquire more perennial seeds to fill in the gardens.  Oh, I'll buy plants,  I can't resist, but as with the coneflowers, I've found seeds to give the best results for many things.  Just have to be patient as they usually won't bloom the first year.  If the window box works well, I might pick up a few more for that purpose.  I can usually find them at Big Lots at discount prices.

The 4 pines were cut down last week.  The crew did a great job.  Those trees were mature and tall.  They threw rope over the top with a slingshot (slick!) so they could control where they came down.  They dropped them right next to the deck which was a bit concerning, but they knew what they were doing, and the trees came down exactly where they wanted them.  Then they cut them up, took away the logs, and fed the rest into a big chipper shredder.  I got a big pile of wood chips.  Pine chips will be wonderful mulch!

Pine wood chips and a birdbath pedestal.

I asked for a level top on this stump, and it's about as perfect as a chainsaw can get it.  I've never been able to get a free standing bird bath this level!  That's a 16" saucer.  I haven't caught a bird using it yet.  When I got this dish, I also bought the smaller one you can see in the title image.  I've seen the wrens bathing in whatever was catching rain water on the deck so I set that one on the pot.

Next project is the fence.  Got that lined up yesterday, and it should be installed in about 2 weeks.  Can't wait to get Whipper off the tie-out.

Oh yeah.  Why it was active this morning.  Spotted a Red-bellied Woodpecker on one of the backyard trees.  While I was watching it, a pair of wrens fell out of a tree in a serious battle.  Wrens are very territorial.  They startled the woodpecker into going on the ground where they were scuffling to see what the fuss was about.  Then I saw a Pileated Woodpecker on another tree and whatever it was after really had its attention.  It poked around that tree for a quite a while.  Unfortunately not close enough or clear of branches to try to capture with the camera.  I've yet to get a Pileated on film.

And there's the baby bunny grazing in the lawn.  Saw it first last evening, but it was out there again this morning.  Couldn't be much more than 3 weeks old, it was that tiny.  Don't think I've noticed new litters this late in the season.  That's why it's important that people don't disturb a cottontail nest unless they are absolutely sure it's abandoned.  Baby cottontails are good to go shortly after their eyes open.

tnt

Naturechild

I can dig it.

I'm finally getting around to putting my poor TN daylilies in the ground.  I'm ashamed to say I lost some of them in the move, as well as all but one of the other perennials.  Ashamed because it's mostly my fault.  You see, I dug and potted them back in the fall, and they sat in the pots through the unusually cold winter.  Not really a problem for daylilies but the others couldn't take it.  I didn't take a lot of care when I potted them.  Hey, I moved daylilies from MI to TN in plastic grocery bags!  Pots were a luxury.  So anyways, when I got them here, they went on the ground along the backside of the house.  Where they've been ever since.  That area is fully shaded so they were getting no sun to speak of.  I lost all the ones in the smaller pots, some of which were rather special.  I was going to lose them all if I didn't get them in the ground.

One of the reasons I hadn't planted them is that I didn't know where I wanted them yet.  It finally occurred to me that I needed a nursery bed, and the best place for it was on the east side of the house near the water tap.  I took herbicide to the turf and waited for it to die.  It took 2 sprayings to get it all.  Then summer kicked in, and that corner starts getting sunny about 10 am.  It was scorching there.  I could only work there early in the morning, and sometimes I'm not good about getting motivated that early.

Finally got motivated yesterday.  The other reason I was dreading the job was what I expected to find when I began digging.  In TN, my land was made up of sandy soil and stone.  Lots of stone.  I couldn't go an inch without hitting a stone.  I don't have the power to dig a hole with a normal shovel because a stone would stop the shovel cold every time.  I discovered my favorite digging tool was my BFS (Big F-ing Screwdriver).  It's a heavy duty 18" flathead screwdriver that I acquired from work a long time ago.  It served as a sort of pry bar, but in TN it became my most valuable garden tool.  I started a hole (on my knees) by loosening the soil and stones with the BFS, and then a hand shovel to pull the dirt out.  And that's how every hole was dug thereafter.

The first hole I dug here was for the mailbox.  Sure enough, it was lousy with stones.  I hoped it was just that it was next to the road, and the sewer line is there.  Makes sense there would be a lot of gravel in that area.  Imagine my surprise and pleasure when I began to dig in the nursery bed.  Nary a stone!  Really?  That would be awesome!  I realized I didn't see much stone where the land was cleared in back either.

Yes!  I can dig it!  By the way, that comes from an old song (60's?).  Can't remember the band, but I can clearly hear the song in my head.

I can dig it, you can dig it, we can dig it.
Can you dig it, can you dig it, baby?

Not only was there no stone, the soil is really very nice.  I expected the usual southern red clay, but that isn't prominent.  It's there, but well balanced with topsoil and sand.  That's almost the perfect blend for garden soil.  Clay, topsoil and sand.  The only thing missing is humus, and this could be present in back where there had been years of leaf litter.  This is could be the best property I've ever had for gardening.

In other news.  Fire ants.  Yes, I am so blessed.  Didn't have any experience with these little nasties in TN.  There were quite a few large mounds on the property when I moved in.  So far, I haven't been attacked.  Well, once.  I was standing near a mound observing it, and one got me on the ankle.  Yep, it hurts pretty good.  I can imagine how horrible stepping on a mound would be.  And these things swarm out of the nest in a second.  Any vibration, even a light tap on the ground near the mound brings them out.  Must watch my step at all times.  If the mound is destroyed , like from mowing or weed-whacking, they simply move a few feet away and start a new one.

I looked into controls, and found several options since this is a common southern problem.  Decided to try Orthene, made by Ortho.  It's a fine white dust that's sprinkled over the surface of the mound.  I didn't know how it worked so I went online to research.  Found many reviews on Amazon, and almost all of them were glowing.  Apparently the way it works is that the ants track the poison dust into the nest.  This stuff smells seriously toxic so I wondered how well it would work.  Surely ants would avoid something like that?  But I could see it was being transported away.  The dust gradually disappeared from the surface of the mound.  If the mound was already dead or abandoned, the dust didn't go away.  I think I can add my own glowing review to this stuff.  I'm seeing fewer and smaller mounds now.  I'll probably always have to watch my step, but at least I know I can minimize the danger.

The south is cooking now.  High 80s and 90s.  I've kicked on the AC in the house, and only work outside in the early morning before it heats up.  I have plenty to do inside.  Like painting.  I want to get painting the main rooms.  Got colors picked, just a matter of getting the paint and getting on it.

tnt
Natureschild

Operation Backyard

The backyard was cleaned out yesterday.  The ideas are starting to come.  First 2 photos are the before shots.

This mess was made up of Privet, Mimosa, Pink-Flowering Raspberry, Honeysuckle, and many things I didn't identify.  English Ivy, Virginia Creeper, and Poison Ivy (ugh!) on tree trunks.  The trees are Yellow Poplar, Water Oak, and Virginia Pine.  There's also a couple white Dogwoods back in that corner.

After.  You can just see the trunks of the Dogwoods behind the biggest tree at the top left.  I'll be tacking onto the existing fence on the sides.  

The open area in front of the trees gets pretty good sun all day.  The Salad Garden will go to the left near that side fence line.  The wide space in the middle will be a butterfly garden, and there should be room for a nice strawberry patch.

This is also the only good view from inside the house.  The windows in the other main parts of the house are partially obscured by deck railing.  I can see the whole thing from the kitchen window, so I'll plan the garden to be seen from the window as well as the deck.  A lot of ideas coming to me as I stand there gazing out the window.

I like Mimosa, so I had him save this one.  

Beautiful soil!  Years of neglect and leaf litter made some excellent topsoil.  The back property line is north and it's very shady back here.  I'll be creating a woodland garden in pretty much the whole shaded area.

I won't be able to do much for a little while.  I have to wait for it to dry out so I can see what's left alive that needs removal.  I'll be using a lot of brush killer until I get all that under control.  In the meantime, I'll be hitting the nurseries to see what's available.

Discovered this vine after the tall brush that hid it was removed.  Sure looks like Wisteria.  The darker one is English Ivy.  They're on a pine that I want to cut down.  The Virginia pines (the bare trunk and the ones behind it in the previous photo) in the space are dead or dying, and this one is too wimpy looking and too close to the house for my comfort.  If that is Wisteria, I'll have to figure a way to preserve it.

One of the residents looking to see what the land clearing turned up.  And again...look at that soil!  I also saw some chipmunks.  Didn't see them before because the brush hid them.

One thing I worried about a little, but couldn't help, was if there were any ground bird nests.  I'd have to look it up, but I think Towhees and Brown Thrashers nest on the ground.  At least it was late enough that they had already raised a brood before the habitat was gone.

Stay tuned as I get gardening.

tnt

Natureschild

May

Not much to report.  Got a guy coming this week to clear out the backyard.  Before and after photos when that's done.  As soon as that's under control, I'll be ordering fence.  Whipper will appreciate that.  Then I can begin to think about gardening back there.  Ok, I've been thinking about it all along, but until it's cleared out and fenced, I can't really visualize what I have to work with.

At the top of the left-hand menu, you'll find a couple new pages.  One for Garden Tips, the other for nature identifications.  I'll be updating those pages as needed.

Weather has been wonderful.  Been getting some daily gentle thunder-dunders, but not a lot of storm or rain from them.

tnt
Natureschild

My dog is so smart

Whipper has adjusted to being a full time house dog very well.  He pretty much housebroke himself.  His crate is his "cave", and he often goes in there in the evening when he knows I'll be shutting him in it for the night.

He does something I don't think I've heard of another dog doing.  I've certainly never seen it.  He cleans his own teeth.  Apparently, food gets caught in his back teeth, and that long narry jaw is kind of hard to work it out of.  When he was an outside dog, he scraped his teeth on whatever he could find in the yard.  Statuary, deck rail, whatever was the right height, and he seemed to prefer a rather sharp edge.

So now he's in the house after he eats, and I watched him trying to find something to scrape on.  When he went to the corner of a table, I said no.  I could see him thinking as he looked around the house.  Every time he went to a piece of furniture, I said no.

He had tried the gate to his crate but it wasn't stationary.  After telling him no to furniture again, I got up and went to his crate and pointed to the corner of it.  I pointed several times, told him to try this, and sat back down.  Darned if he didn't try it!!!  I really didn't expect him to understand what I was saying, but he did!  But I guess the crate corner (it's all wire) wasn't quite what he needed.

I had some cardboard from unpacking, and fashioned a thing on the corner of his crate that was more like what he liked to use.  When I saw him looking for a place to scrape today, I showed him the cardboard.  And he immediately used it!  I'll probably make it more permanent with a piece of wood later, but at least he gets the idea.  I'm wondering if he'd like something more like a toothbrush.  I have small cleaning brushes in my tools that might work.

Brush my dog's teeth?  Pffft.  He'll do it himself, thank you.

tnt
Natureschild

Top O' The Morn

Spring has not sprung.  The unusually cold winter (for here) hasn't broken yet.  Not what I expected.  I have seen 70s so not a total bust, but mostly 30s or less mornings to 40s/50s for daytime.  At least it's mostly been sunny days.  I'm still working in the house so I don't mind the coolth that much.  Still have piles of stuff, but it's slowly getting squared away.

The weather forecasts on TV are interesting.  I've never seen a local forecast split into 2 distinct areas before.  It's "Upstate" (where I am) and "Mountains".  Mountains is NC, and obviously a bit cooler as a rule.

The existing shrubs around the foundation are azaleas and Chinese Fringe Flower.  I thought I recognized the Fringe Flower because I had tried one in TN.  The tag threw me off, the botanical name was different than I remembered.  It didn't do very well for whatever reason so I never saw what it would do.  Looked it up to see what these will do, and decided they were not a good choice for a foundation plant.  They'll get 10'-15' tall which might be too big for my taste or practicality.  They're pretty good sized so not sure if I want to move them.  They'd look best untouched as they have a natural spray shape, but it's either prune them or move them.  I'll probably prune.  In the meantime, they're getting ready to bloom so they'll be my first flowers here.

I've identified quite a few birds even though I don't yet have feeders up.  Some I didn't expect to see here.  Shouldn't have any problem attracting the usuals to the feeders.

Robin
Blue Jay
Cardinal
Mockingbird
Carolina Wren
Tufted Titmouse
Bluebird
Mourning Dove
Eastern Towhee
Brown Thrasher

I was surprised to see Bluebirds.  I didn't know they'd like this sort of "suburbia".  I was very pleased to see the Carolina Wren.  I loved this perky little bird in TN.  There's also a small woodpecker that I haven't got a good enough look to ID, but I think it's either a Downy or Yellow-bellied Sapsucker.

2 Days Until Spring.  At least the forecast agrees as we are supposed to get 70s later this week.  I'm ready.

tnt
Natureschild

I am here!

I consider the official move-in date to be Feb. 25.  That's the day I handed over the keys to my old place, and the last day I needed drive back to TN.  Just had a few things left to pack into the car for the final drive home.  HOME.  I'm still adjusting to that.  It's just now starting to feel like home, even though everything is in piles all over the house.  Some needful things it's taken a while to find in the chaos.  I tried to pack essentials last so it'd be fresh in my memory where they went, but some things still went invisible.

Whipper has had a bit of a rough time adjusting to the move, but he's getting there.  When the delayed closing on this place and the really crappy snowy weather in both TN and SC set my time frames back, I was still running back and forth after the furniture came down on the moving van.  Whip takes up quite a bit of space in the car which meant less room for stuff.  Couldn't leave him in the house for 6-8 hours a day while I ran back and forth.  Couldn't leave him tied out either.  My good friend Alan saved the day by taking Whip in until I was done moving.  He raises show dogs, and often takes in houseguests of the 4-legged kind, and I knew Whipper would be a good houseguest.

The first night here, Whipper wasn't comfortable.  Long drive, strange place, paths between piles of stuff, tie-out instead of fence, and then a thunderstorm.  He stressed in a very messy way.  The good thing is that even though he's been an outside dog all his life, he tried to tell me he had to go, but I wasn't quick enough for a bout of diarrhea.  He also went off-feed which didn't help.  He drank a bit of water and that was it.

Alan had medication for the diarrhea, and got him eating.  He learned about potty times with Alan's schedule.  His stay ended up being a week instead of the 4 days I thought it would be, but Alan was the best about that.  I know his time there was much better for him than what he would have endured while I was still moving.  So now we are here, and he went off feed again the first day, but was eating normally by the 3rd day.  I tried to get him on a potty schedule but we aren't getting it.  Now I put him on the tether twice a day for a while.  Eventually, I'll just see if he tells me he has to go out.  Housebreaking has been no problem so far.  His fastidious nature, and apparently being able to hold it for a long time took care of that.  Can't wait to get the fence up.  I think part of the problem is the tie-out.  He's not used to it.  I have been crating him at night so he doesn't get the notion to wake me up in the middle of the night.  My own sleep habits are too iffy for that.  Happily, even though he's never been crated, he took right to it.  He goes in on his own whenever he wants, and actually spends quite a bit of time in it.  It's about the same size as the dog house he had in TN, so I guess it feels like his house.  I only latch it at night or when I leave the house.  Works for me.

The weather has been cool here (still warmer than TN!), which is good so I can do what I need in the house.  Gonna have to deal with the yard very soon.  I'll get some before pictures before I do anything else.  I'm going to hire someone to clean out the underbrush.  The back and one side are overgrown with privet and brambles (just can't get away from those damn brambles!).  They gotta go, there's currently very little usable backyard space.  This is also necessary before I can fence.  The brush has eaten up the property lines and then some where the fence will go.

I haven't got bird feeders up yet, but so far I've seen Blue Jays, Titmice, Robins, a woodpecker I haven't ID'd yet, and gray squirrels.  Lots of squirrels.  Guess I'll be chasing them off the feeders.  Haven't had to do that since MI.  The trees are oaks and pines.  Not sure what kind yet.  That's the kind of habitat squirrels and the birds I've seen like.  Many of the trees have ivy (it's evergreen) growing up their trunks.  I don't mind ivy, it looks cool.  I will want to control it to some extent.  Also some heavy vines on trees that are either Virginia creeper or poison ivy.  Please oh please be creeper.  Won't be able to tell until they leaf out.

There are some new landscape shrubs (still have tags) around the front of the house.  Haven't investigated what they all are.  Azaleas for sure, but I'll have to bend down and look at the others' tags.  Don't know if I'll leave that landscaping as it is, but I like azaleas, and they don't like to be moved, so I'll probably work with them.  A boring shrub would have to go.

Stay tuned as I transform the yard into the lawnless garden I envision.  I hope to hire a neighbor kid or somebody to cut the grass until that happens.  Don't even own a lawnmower and don't intend to.

tnt
Natureschild

Happy New Year

The move is happening!  Sold my place, found my new place, and it's all over but the final signatures.  Where am I going?  South Carolina, just outside Greenville.  I ended up with the house that's been at the top of my list all along.  If all goes well, I'll be moved in mid-February.  Almost finished with the packing, and then it will just be the essentials that I can't pack yet.

So there won't be much posted here for a while as I settle in.  Already planning my new garden...sorta.  Can't make real plans until I'm more familiar with the lay of the land, but I have a lot of ideas about what I want to do.

Whipper has been learning to be a full time house dog.  As you might know, he's always been an outside dog and nightwatchman.  Now that all the animals are gone, he can be retired, and he deserves it.  He just turned 10 years old, but doesn't look or act a day over 5 (except for sleeping a lot).  The extreme cold weather this month was the first factor in bringing him in.  I don't completely trust him to be fully housebroken, but he's always been so fastidious (he goes as far from the house as he can get, cleans his own feet, etc), I didn't think it would be difficult.  The 2nd bathroom has been serving as his "night crate".  It's not very big, and I knew he wouldn't do any damage in there.  I couldn't take a chance on him damaging the carpet before I turn it over to the new owners.  The new house has no carpet (yay!), and a small laundry room that can serve as a temporary training crate.  He'll be used to being confined to a small room at night when we get there.  He'll have to be tethered at the new place until I get the backyard fenced.  I'll be working on that as soon as I get down there.  Taking a dog outside to a tie-out for potty breaks is a pain in the arse.  And I'd like the fence in place by spring so I can begin gardening the space.

That wicked cold snap gave me my record low here.  I had never seen zero in 9 winters, but that day, it went down to -1 with a high of 17.  I'm really looking forward to slightly warmer winters in SC.

See you on the other side (of the mountains)
Natureschild

Houseplants

If one can't garden outside, one does it inside.  I've always had houseplants.  Over the years, I've tried many different ones, but like my outside garden, I prefer plants that don't ask too much of me, and so I have some staples.  Call me lazy, I guess.  I do tend to neglect houseplants, and the biggest reason is that they need more than garden plants.  They won't get rain, you have to provide water.  They are confined to pots so the soil gets tired and can't feed the plant properly.  You have to repot regularly.  You might have to fertilize them.

I recently read an article that said that regular fertilizing could be the death of houseplants.  I actually experienced this, but didn't realize exactly what had happened.  One of my staples is the Golden Pothos, an extremely easy and fast-growing vine that does well in the low light of indoors.  Want more pothos?  Just cut some and root it in water.  I have kept these rooting in water for a long time, and they seemed to be okay with that.  I came up with a design idea that involved pretty glass globes hanging in attractive gold chain hangers.  I found the crackled glass globes in the decor aisle, and the chain in the hardware aisle.  The globes held more water than I needed for this, so I found some drinking glasses that fit perfectly inside.  This worked out beautifully.  Since tap water will leave mineral stains on glass over time, it only appeared on the glass inserts.  The globes stayed sparkly and clean, and the smaller glasses inside anchored the plants better than if their roots were spread out in the globes.  Then I went around and gave all my pothos a haircut.  They rooted and grew in the water, and made a very attractive and different display.  I kept a small watering can filled at all times so the chlorine in the tap water could gas off before I needed to top off the pothos' water.  Learned that trick from having aquariums for most of my adult life.

One of my first experiments with this was going well until I decided to give them a shot of fertilizer.  For my houseplants, I just used water-soluble food (Miracle Gro), so that's what the pothos in water got.  They began to brown and die.  I can only assume it was the fertilizer.  They apparently didn't need or want it.  They got all they needed from the water and sunlight from a nearby window.  The next time I tried it with no fertilizer and they did great.  Never again will I feed plants living in water.

Then this article explained why some of my other plants were declining.  It was my habit to add some Miracle Gro every time I watered.  Except in winter.  I had read a long time ago not to feed houseplants during winter because they go sort of dormant in response to less daylight.  But I noticed some actually seemed to grow more in winter!  I often repotted the ones that needed it in the fall.  After reading this article, I realized why they seemed to look better when I quit feeding.  Because they didn't need or want it!  If they had been repotted, they had fresh soil, which is really what they wanted.

What this article said is that most commercial fertilizers are chemicals and minerals...salts.  Salt is deadly to most plants, and in the confined situation of houseplants, it builds up in the soil.  Less is more when it comes to feeding houseplants.  Repotting does more for houseplants than plant food, and if you do feel the need to feed, use an organic fertilizer very sparingly.  So I'm throwing out the rest of the Miracle Gro.  Maybe I'll pick up a bottle of Fish Emulsion, something that has long been recommended for houseplants.

Another thing I'll do when I get settled in a new home is set up rain barrels.  City water is not great for plants as its salts will build up in the soil.  That's what the ring of white is on vases, etc.  I'll collect rain water for the potted plants.

Besides pothos, I also have a few other hardy houseplants.  Over time, I've learned what they need.  Spider plants are beautiful and dramatic, but they want more sun and water.  They become pot-bound very fast as their root system is large and bulky.  I have both the striped and the solid green.  I've learned the solid can take less sun than the striped, so I can grow that one farther from windows.

I have a Neanthe Bella Palm that I found in the garden center at Lowes.  It was sold as a patio plant, but I thought I'd try it as a houseplant.  I learned that one doesn't like much light, it gets sunburned.  It's doing great in a corner of the room that never gets direct sunlight.  Anita Draceana was bought as an interesting topiary type of plant.  It had been grown and pruned into a globe shape atop a standard.  A standard is a tall single bare trunk.  It's not a globe shape anymore, but it does well in low light, too.  The Thanksgiving Cactus also does well with less than bright light.

Yes, I said Thanksgiving Cactus.  I've always wondered why my Christmas Cactus bloomed before December, and now I know.  A random thing that came across my Facebook feed recently showed me how they are different.  It's in the leaves.  Thanksgiving Cactus has little spikes on its leaves (actually its stems).  Christmas Cactus is smooth.  Mine is spiked.

Some plants I've tried and abandoned due to being more trouble than they're worth.  Ficus is the most annoyingly sensitive plant I've ever had, even though it's actually pretty hardy.  Any change in its environment causes it to shed leaves like a cat sheds hair.  I mean any change!  Move it a few feet, leaves drop.  Dry air in winter, it sheds.  Too much water, not enough water, cool draft, warm draft, more light, less light, it sheds.  They didn't grow new leaves fast enough to replace the ones they dropped, and I got tired of picking up after them.  I finally trashed them.

I used to grow violets, but they are a bit demanding, and need quite a bit of light.  If you have a bright window sill, they'll be fairly happy, but I've never really had a good place for them.  I prefer plants that can serve as decor which means not necessarily in front of a window.

Others I've tried just didn't do well for me.  As in my garden, if it can't make do with what it gets, it's too much trouble for me.  But I will try new ones now and then.  It's what I do.

Another tip I recently learned explained why my heavily water-rooted plants didn't adapt to soil well.  In fact, they often died after planting, and I didn't understand why.  When water-rooting plants, you must plant them in soil before the roots get long.  No more than a couple inches is best.  This is because those short young roots can move into the soil more easily.  A long thin root can't.  It just sits there unable to grow anymore, and eventually rots.  I knew this about garden plants.  I always root-prune new plants before planting in the garden.  If they've been at the nursery for very long, the roots are winding around in the pot.  You must tease them away from that circular pattern, and sometimes, it's just easier to prune them.  If there's a thick mat of roots on the bottom, I slice a good inch or two off the entire root ball.  It doesn't hurt the plant as long as it gets plenty of water after transplanting.  It actually encourages the plant to grow more roots, just like pruning branches forces the plant to grow new leaves.

In Bird news, he is finally roosting under the carport without any cajoling from me.  Whether because of his bad experience that snowy morning, or because his wings are clipped, I don't know.  I'm glad I don't have to worry about him so much now.

Weather is up and down.  Very cold and then not as cold.  So far, the very cold nights are just a couple in a row.

Happy Holidays
Naturechild

Dumb Bird

Not much else happening these days so here's more of the Bird saga.

Shortly after I took the last photos of Bird's attachment to Whipper, I was able to catch this scene.  Bird was on Whipper for quite a while.  This one looked a lot like mating behavior.  Bird was vigorously drubbing Whipper's shoulders, and it must have been a pleasant massage because Whipper barely twitched through the whole session. 

Still no reaction.  What a dog!  Since this, Bird has been concentrating his efforts to mount Whipper at the other end.  Apparently not as pleasant for Whipper as he won't allow it.

Bird was roosting in a tree whenever he could.  I tried several times to reprogram him to roost under the carport where he'd be dry and safe.  I lured him into the pen with birdseed, locked him in for the night, and then let him out in the morning to forage.  It seemed to be working for a few days, but when I tried letting him come and go as he pleased, he again went for the tree at dusk.

Now this particular tree is actually a large wild privet shrub just the other side of the back fence.  It held leaves longer than most other trees, but it's not a substantial tree and the branches are flimsy.  I didn't know how he was getting up there.  I always missed that small window at sunset when he went to roost.  The fence is 5 feet tall, I really didn't think he could fly over it.  I thought maybe he was using the tree in front of the fence to sort of climb up and then hop over to the fence and then to the privet.  I finally caught him in the act, and he was flying straight up off the ground to the top of the fence!  Well heck.  I threw up my hands in defeat.  Fine, if you want to be undomesticated, you're on your own.  I knew it was just a matter of time before he came down in the morning on the wrong side of the fence, it's happened before.  And being a dumb bird, he wouldn't remember that he could fly back in if he wanted.  If I wanted him in, and he seemed to want in, I had to spend some time and birdseed to lure him in the gate.

Then we got our first snow this week, and it was a pretty good one.  It started out as all day rain, and turned to snow overnight.  When the sun came up, it was a winter wonderland.  A good 3" or maybe a bit more.  It stuck to everything, and it got so cold that night, it was ice under the snow.  Not a good night for a chicken without a roof over his head.

I couldn't see him in that privet from the house.  I heard him crow once that morning before the sun came up,  so I knew he was there at that time.  I thought about how disorientated he would have been when he saw his surroundings after sun-up.  Nothing but white everywhere.  He was hatched this spring, he's never seen snow before.  He wouldn't have known where to go when he came off his roost.  The weight of the snow on those weak branches would have changed his roost, and maybe even dumped him on the ground.  After that one crow, I never heard or saw him all that day, and I was watching for him.  I figured he was history.  He would have been very cold and probably wet to the skin, and maybe not able to walk in the snow with those fluffy leggings of his.  He'd be easy pickings for a predator.  If I had seen him outside the fence, I would have gone back and lured him in, but I didn't.  As usual, I have afterthoughts.  As soon as I saw he could fly over the fence, I should have penned him up so I could clip his wings.  I felt really bad that I didn't think of it soon enough.  So with regrets, I bid Bird R.I.P.

Then there he was the next morning pacing along the fence!  Looking hale and hearty as ever!  Where was he all the day before???  I got him back in the gate, and penned him up that evening.  Just before full dark after he went into roosting stupor, I went out and clipped his wings.  Now he's leery of me again, but at least he went to roost in the pen on his own last night.  Maybe he realized that the carport was much more comfortable than a tree when there's cold wet stuff falling from the sky.  Or he realized he can't fly now.  Nah.  This is a chicken brain.  Doubt he can process that much.  We'll see how it goes.

Sure hope this cold snap breaks soon!  20's at night and barely 40's during the day even though it's been crystal clear and sunny since the snow.  Way too cold for me.  

tnt

Natureschild

November

After observing this scene several times since I posted it the last time, I've come to the conclusion that Bird just likes hanging with Whipper.  I wasn't quick enough with the camera yesterday.  Bird pecked the ground between Whipper's front and hind legs.  It was only when he pecked his body that Whipper reacted.  He swung his head at Bird with a show of teeth.  Don't blame him.  I've been pecked by chickens and it can really hurt.  That's as far as it went.  Bird left, and Whipper resumed his doze.

Bird is also warming up to me.  Especially since he learned I'm the keeper of the bird seed.  He forages under the bird feeder for dropped sunflower seeds.  I began giving some just to him, and now he's liking me a little better.  He's even coming up on the porch when I'm out there.  I picked up a bag of the cheap mixed/cracked corn bird seed I used to feed my flock of chickens.  Pickings are getting slimmer now that we've had a few good frosts, so I'll supplement his grazing with the bird seed.

The next shot is a rare capture.

This is an Eastern Towhee (previously called Rufus-Sided Towhee).  I see them now and then under feeders, and this is the first time I've caught it on film.  This was taken at full zoom through the window so not as clear as I'd wish.  They're secretive ground feeders, and prefer forest floor where they forage for seeds and insects.  They have a unique method that's very chicken-like.  They scratch and hop back to see what they uncovered.

Our first frost on 10/26 was actually first freeze.  It went down to 23F that night.  That and the lack of rain hurt the fall color show.  Usually a light frost or two gets leaves turning, but a freeze will kill them before that can happen.  The crape myrtles went immediately to dull brown dead leaves instead of the pretty pastels they usually give.  Then the first hard fall wind last weekend blew most of the leaves off everything.  So disappointing fall color around here this year.

tnt

Natureschild

Random Shots

So this happened.

I had gone into town, and had been back home for about an hour.  I heard the neighbor's dogs carrying on so I looked out to see what was up.  Saw these 2 horses in their front yard driving their dogs crazy.  The horses were not the least bit intimidated, and in fact, went after the dogs a little bit.  The horses even went right up to their front door and putzed around between their car and house.  That was when she came out and shooed them off.  I was waiting with my camera because I was pretty sure they would make their way to my place for a good shot.  They did.

They checked out all of my front yard before heading off down by the creek, and I assume back home wherever that was.  It seems to me I saw these in a field on my way into town, but don't remember exactly where.  Somewhere not far down in the neighborhood I think.  So this was a fun diversion.

This next scene I've been waiting to capture because I've seen it more than once.

This rooster is one of the 24 chicks my hens hatched this spring.  When I sold the flock, he was the one I could not catch.  The attempts to catch him must have traumatized him because he won't have anything to do with me.  He takes off if he even sees me in the window.  He has done just fine on his own.  I don't feed him, but I do maintain a water bowl for him.  He doesn't seem to fear Whipper at all.  I'm not sure if he just likes being near him, or if it's the fact that they both like this patch of bare ground under the crape myrtles.  He spent some time getting snuggled into his little wallow for the mutual siesta.  If Whipper knew he was there, he didn't show it.

Because of this bird's semi-feral attitude, he will stay as part of the landscape when I move.  I wouldn't be able to catch him anyways.  He's roosting as far up a redbud tree as he can get which is farther than I can reach so I can't even snag him at night. 

Getting our first taste of winter this week.  They're calling for first freeze and maybe snow tonight.  I finally got all the daylilies (16!) I want to take with me potted up.  Just have a few other perennials I want to dig up, and the beginning of my future new garden will be good to go.

tnt

Natureschild

Noxious Invaders

Noxious is defined in the dictionary as "harmful or injurious to health or physical well-being".  In the natural environment, it refers to non-native plants or animals that negatively impact ecological systems.  Many such plants are labeled noxious weeds or noxious invasives.  Kudzu vine is one of the south's most notorious noxious invaders.  It was imported from China, and found the southern climate and lack of natural predators so agreeable it became known as the Vine That Ate The South.

I'm lucky there is no kudzu here, but there is some not too far away on the main road.  I do have another invader that gives me fits, and it's a tree.  Ailanthus altissima, also called "Tree of Heaven".  This is another Chinese import that loves the mild climate, and the edge of my surrounding forest is lousy with it.  This tree grows very fast, and before I had identified it, I began transplanting the shoots I found.  There weren't any trees on my property in the beginning, and I was like...yeah, fast tree.  Since then, not only did I learn that it's noxious, I learned why.  Besides being a very prolific self-sower, it also sends out runner roots, and new trees grow at the ends.  In no time, if they aren't kept mowed down, they will form a thicket and nothing else grows there.  So I battle this damn thing constantly.  It pops up everywhere!  It looks a lot like sumac, which also grows here, so it can hide in a sumac thicket.  Sumac is a native and a valuable wildlife resource, so unless it's growing where I don't want it, I leave it alone.  But the ailanthus will eventually over-grow the sumac, and offers no value to the ecology.

So what prompted me to talk about noxious invaders?  There is another that I really like but didn't have any around here.  Mimosa.  I realize it's considered noxious, but it's not as obnoxious as ailanthus, and it does have redeeming qualities.  It's a pretty tree, and the beautiful exotic blooms attract hummingbirds.  I actually bought (mail-order) some one of my first years here, but they didn't survive as transplants.  I acquired some seeds but never got around to growing them.

A couple years ago, one of my gardening magazines profiled a new mimosa cultivar called "Chocolate Summer" with dark purplish brown foliage.  Described as not as invasive as the species (cultivars usually are more civilized).  So I went a-shopping, and found it at one of my favorite mail-order nurseries...Sooner Plant Farm.  Being a new introduction, it was very pricey, but I had to have it.  I could probably find it much cheaper now.  It's a very striking foliage plant, and I do love purple leaves.  I haven't seen the flowers yet.

This poor plant has been so mistreated.  I couldn't decide where to put it so it sat too long in its nursery pot.  It lost its leaves and I didn't know if it was still alive.  I finally put it in the ground late that summer (2011), and the next spring it sent out new leaves.  That same year (2012), I decided to move it again, and it again dropped it leaves, but came back this spring.  So now I'm going to dig it up again to take with me when I move.  At first I didn't know if I would, but decided I paid too much for it not to.  It seems to handle all my meddling OK so hopefully it will again.  I'm holding off digging it up as long as I can in hopes it will have gone dormant.  Purple or red leaves don't change much in the fall like green deciduous plants so it will have to be an assumption that it's gone dormant.

I mentioned Sooner's.  It's also listed to the left with a few other nurseries with which I've had good relations.  I'm never disappointed with Sooner's quality, or their careful packaging of live plants.

tnt
Natureschild

Something new.

One of my greatest pleasures is seeing something new (to me) in the garden.  I run to my books or the internet to learn what it is.  This was the latest.

This is an Eastern Fence Lizard that appeared on the porch rail yesterday.  It was very patient as I tried to get close enough for a good shot.  This guy was very small so I had to get real close!  My guess is less than 3" (the rail is 1-1/4") nose to tail.  According to the source, they lay eggs in late summer, so this one is probably not very old.  It was so cute!

When I first moved down here, I began to see Five-lined Skinks.  That was fun.  We don't have lizards scurrying around in plain sight up north.  You have to search hard to even see one, and know where to look, and I had never seen a lizard anywhere.  The first skinks I saw down here were actually on the outside wall of the motel I stayed in while searching for my new home.  Once I got settled in here, they were everywhere, but I saw them most on the porch or old shed.

This is an especially pretty lizard.  The juveniles have a bright blue tail.  I once dug up a skink nest while weeding.  First the mother appeared, and then I saw I had dug up eggs.  That was startling, and I felt real bad.  I quickly covered them back up, and hoped they survived my clumsiness.

This next shot isn't something new, but the situation was.

This Tawny Emperor spent a lot of time walking around on the window glass.  So I spent a lot of time shooting it.  A different perspective, for sure.

I keep notebooks that list all the species I've identified, most since I've been here.  One for fauna, one for flora.  This new lizard brings the "Beasties" list (fur and scales) to 12.   I've ID'd over 50 birds, and 29 flutterbies.  Flutterbies include butterflies, moths, and a few other interesting insects like Praying Mantis and Cicadas.  Speaking of that, this is the time of year I usually see big Praying Mantis.  Haven't seen one yet, but fall garden cleanup usually shakes some out of hiding.

The weather has been beautiful!  Perfect!  Just right for garden work.  I've been working at getting perennials potted up for the eventual move.  Still no progress in that department, and I fear this latest government fiasco will impact the real estate market even more.  But I continue to plug along as though I will be moving soon.

Something that has slowed me down a little is spiders.  I really really hate spiders.  I can tolerate little ones, but not big ones.  I never realized this before, but apparently orb weavers are most active in late summer.  I don't remember seeing them earlier in the year.  Now there are way too many enormous orb webs where I want to go in the gardens.  You can see them best in early morning before the dew has dried.  The rising sun lights them up.  The biggest orb weaver is the Golden Garden Spider, which as spiders go, is not ugly, but it is BIG.  There's a couple of their webs in the gardens right now.  Then there's a smaller ugly brown one that likes to spin under the porch roof.  As long as it stays out of my way, I try to ignore it.  I'm going to have to figure out a way to remove the one Golden pretty soon.  I really need to get in that garden, and she's smack dab in the middle of it, and her web stretches about 3 feet.  No, not going to kill her.  Much as I hate spiders, I hate smashing big ones (gross!) almost as much, and this is not a dangerous spider.  I'll get her onto a stick or something (a long one!) and relocate her.

tnt

Natureschild

Flutterbies

The butterfly gardens are a huge success this year!  They're constantly animated.  The main one is the Porch View daylily garden (see previous posts), but the Bird Garden in front has some action, too.  The flowers they are hitting are Butterfly Bush (of course!), Tall Garden Phlox, Coneflower, and Joe Pye Weed.  A few seem to like the Altheas (Rose of Sharon) and Crape Myrtles as well.  The Joe Pye I have was a dwarf cultivar, but I think it's reverting to the species as they are now taller than me, and I couldn't reach to get good photos of the butterflies all over them.  I just enjoy that one from the window.

Pipevine Swallowtail warming its wings.

Male Eastern Tiger Swallowtails

Female Eastern Tiger Swallowtail.  Yes, some of the black ones are the ladies.

Great Spangled Fritillary.  This was a rare capture.  Freshly emerged and still wrinkly.

Same Great Spangled Fritillary.

Silver-Spotted Skippers

I couldn't resist the pollen-covered Bumblebee butt in Althea flower.

Hummingbird Moth (old pic because I couldn't get a good one this year).

The daylilies are pretty much finished except for a few sporadic reblooms.  I was really impressed with Moonlight Sail (see previous post) for its first year.  Even though it's very immature, it shot out flowers over a long period.  About one per week, but I'm sure when I have more splits in a mass, it will put on a really good show.

The house is finally listed.  Now I wait, and continue packing non-essential stuff.  My realtor said there were some inquiries but so far, no one has scheduled a viewing.  I still have to finish getting the Goodwill stuff together and out of here, but I'm making progress.  I'm on Realtor.com almost daily, and have quite a few prospects.  It was my plan to start viewing houses, but I decided to wait until there's more action on my place before I go gallivanting long distances to see houses.  Can't make an offer until I have an offer unless sellers will accept a contingency contract.

tnt

Natureschild

Mystery Solved

I think.

I got to thinking about that mystery daylily I talked about in the last post.  A couple (few?) years ago, I realized I had very little pink in the daylilies, and ordered several that spring.  I could account for 3 of them, and didn't recall a 4th.  This is why I keep certain catalogs as reference.  In my dejunking, I got rid of all the magazines, including those catalogs.

This morning, I went to the catalogs' websites (there's only 2 I ever ordered from), and found a double whose name rang a bell.  The more I thought about it, the more I'm sure it's what that is.  "Over The Top" fit what I was seeing, especially the described size of the bloom.  They say 8", but I'm seeing 6", maybe 7".  It's still a pretty good size flower.  Here it is this morning.

Not terribly impressive for a double, but since this is its 1st year to bloom, maybe it will be better next year.  Also probably the reason I forgot I had ordered 4 pinks that year.  It failed to remind me.  I'll keep it.

Here's another double I had almost forgotten because it hadn't put on a good show until now.  "Yellow Submarine".  This is an impressive double for sure.  Looks more like a rose than any other daylily I have.

The next photo is one of the other pinks from that order with its neighbors.  I labeled it for my own reference.

"Pink Attraction" is the truest clearest pink I have.  Since "Over The Top" is taller than "Frances Joiner", I'll make a note to that fact and plant them together again.

BTW, I'm not absolutely positive about this, but FJ may be one of the oldest if not the 1st doubles.  I've had it a really long time.  So long that its name was lost to me until recently when I saw it in a catalog.  For lack of a name, I called it "Sunset Waves" (I do that).  It's good to know its true name, and once I found it, it fit that vague memory of its tag.

There's another long time resident that just started blooming so I haven't snapped it yet.  Its name was also lost, but I loved it for its heavy substance and high fragrance, and so it moved every time I did.  I called it "Heavy Yellow".  Recently saw it in a catalog as "Isle of Capris", and confirmed it with a search.  That catches up most of my lost names.

If you have "old" daylilies you can't identify or only vaguely remember the name, here's a really good database.  Daylilies.org.  Use the "database online" search tool.  One thing that helps ID old cultivars is the year it was registered.  If you can remember the years you've had it, it helps to narrow it down.

One more.

"Moonlight Sail" was given to me last year.  As I was getting this photo this morning, I realized it's also quite fragrant.  It pays to stop and smell the daylilies.

tnt

Natureschild