8-25-20 VERMONT: While we were not paying attention, August has slipped away. It’s two months since the Summer Solstice and the sun is now more than half way back to the Equator. From late August to early October the sun moves from 12° North of the Equator to 12° South of the Equator and leaves us in the deepening darkness.
It’s still dry, there have been a few showers, without much accumulation, and I’ve been watering every few days. I finished weeding the terrace and the old chimney bed, removing and transplanting the ferns, and replanting the bed with hostas, seven from various places in the yard where they were not showing well and three new ones, Hosta x ‘Royal Splendor’, Hosta ‘Gold Standard’, and a lost name tag. I added two White Moss Thyme, Thymus praecox ‘Albiflorus’ and one Wooly thyme, Thymus pseudolanuginosus to the edge of the bed. I did more weeding in front of the porch.
Last year we had many Monarch butterflies that produced caterpillars that covered every stand of milkweed, and turned into hundreds of adults that were everywhere last fall. This year we have had a handful of adults and no caterpillars until today when I saw two good sized ones in the bed below the deck. I have been looking for caterpillars and signs of caterpillars—eaten and chewed leaves and caterpillar poop on the plants—but these are the first I have seen, I hope there will be more.
New blooms: sedum, aster.
Last year we had literally hundreds of Monarch butterflies. This year only a few so far.
But I did find this Monarch caterpillar and another one on the milkweed, again last year there were many, many, many.
Nice sunset after a shower.
Followed by heavy morning mist.
Atlantis Fritillary on echinacea.
Judy said that I take too many close-ups, so here are some whole garden shots, mostly Judy's pix.
It’s still dry, there have been a few showers, without much accumulation, and I’ve been watering every few days. I finished weeding the terrace and the old chimney bed, removing and transplanting the ferns, and replanting the bed with hostas, seven from various places in the yard where they were not showing well and three new ones, Hosta x ‘Royal Splendor’, Hosta ‘Gold Standard’, and a lost name tag. I added two White Moss Thyme, Thymus praecox ‘Albiflorus’ and one Wooly thyme, Thymus pseudolanuginosus to the edge of the bed. I did more weeding in front of the porch.
Last year we had many Monarch butterflies that produced caterpillars that covered every stand of milkweed, and turned into hundreds of adults that were everywhere last fall. This year we have had a handful of adults and no caterpillars until today when I saw two good sized ones in the bed below the deck. I have been looking for caterpillars and signs of caterpillars—eaten and chewed leaves and caterpillar poop on the plants—but these are the first I have seen, I hope there will be more.
New blooms: sedum, aster.
Last year we had literally hundreds of Monarch butterflies. This year only a few so far.
But I did find this Monarch caterpillar and another one on the milkweed, again last year there were many, many, many.
Nice sunset after a shower.
Followed by heavy morning mist.
Atlantis Fritillary on echinacea.
Judy said that I take too many close-ups, so here are some whole garden shots, mostly Judy's pix.
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