A fasciated Snoopy

Well, that's what I thought yesterday when I found this odd seedhead on a Mexican hat (Ratibida columnifera) in The Meadow. I think it's an anomaly. Linda C., a fellow Texas Master Naturalist on iNaturalist, set me straight and called it "fasciated." Thanks, Linda! 

 

And, wow. A new term for me! Here's an article on fasciation, which is an abnormal pattern of growth in the growing tip of plants.

 

Maybe you see something else, not Snoopy? 

The seedhead among its brethren

Maybe lose some, win some

Alas, our western ironweed (Vernonia baldwinii) and its hybrid are eaten up with a rust fungus. It makes me sad to see them so sick. Thank goodness, I transplanted the one surviving woolly ironweed (Vernonia lindheimeri) across the yard! I think the fungus attacked our ironweeds last summer, too. I'm hoping these survive and come back next year. I think they will.   

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In the meantime, look at our velvetleaf mallows (Allowissadula holosericea). They're still growing UP and out!

Surprises from the past

In the recent past, I discovered these old plant markers that I made at least 17 years ago. Somehow they resurfaced in some flowerbeds. I can't believe how well they've held up! I originally made them April 2009 (and some earlier than that). The butterfly bush is long gone, but our 'Indigio Spires' are still around. Just wanted to share. 

A fun slumber party

Click on photo for more images from the research article....

 

I subscribe to The Nature Notice, iNaturalist's newsletter that comes via e-mail. One story caught my eye:

The story above links to a research article, "A cuckoo slumber party?..." The included photos of the snoozing bees on the sunflowers made me smile. They also reminded me of my own roosting male bees from November 2010  (which were California digger bees, Anthophora californica) and July 2014  (Common long-horned bees, Melissodes communis). 

 

My little cactus

Many years ago, Ray B., a fellow Texas Master Naturalist, gifted this cactus to me. It was much smaller back then. And though I've let many potted plants go, I've held onto this little guy. Somehow it's survived and even thrived. What is it? I wondered that, too. With help from iNaturalist, I think it must be a star cactus in the genus of Astrophytum. That's the best I can do! 

 

Telling a funny on myself

Yesterday James and I visited my mother in Boerne and ran errands with her. She mentioned how she'd always wanted to find a certain grave stone in the Boerne Cemetery. Well, I whipped out my handy-dandy phone and said we could do that right then!

 

"I'll use Find A Grave," I added. "It'll be like geocaching."  

 

Sure enough, the man's name came right up along with the location of his grave. I tried to give directions to James, who was behind the wheel, but it wasn't going well because I wasn't certain what I was seeing on my screen. Finally, I jumped out of the car and said I'd find it on foot first. Which I did.

 

Meanwhile, back in the car, my mother watched as I hiked across the cemetery.

 

"Oh, I hope she doesn't find a bug," she told James. "Otherwise, we'll be here for a while!" 

 

LOL! My mother just thinks she knows me! I still laugh over that funny.

First a hole, then a turret...

Once upon a time, a tiny princess lived in a tiny turret... Well, not exactly. But yesterday I did spot a tiny hole. When I looked closer, I saw the turret. Out of curiosity, I hung around to see what might be living in it. It wasn't long before an ant carrying a tiny piece of green showed up. She took forever to find the hole. Which she finally crawled into and disappeared. While I watched, squatted down on my haunches (and trying to ignore the bites of teeny-tiny ants), someone peeked her head out. Then she darted back into the hole. I got a couple of videos because she made me chuckle. 

 

With help from iNaturalist, I discovered that my girls are turret fungus-farming ants (Mycetomoellerius turrifex). This was the third time that I've observed this species in our gardens. I just hadn't realized before that they're among the cool ant species that grow their own food. I learned about them while writing a short piece for Texas Parks & Wildlife magazine on Texas leaf-cutter ants. Which is why I know my ants are "girls." Ant queens produce only female workers. Then later they produce male drones, which live only long enough to mate. Some fungus-growing ants can defoliate plants and trees. In our gardens, our colonies are too small do any damage.