Gone to seed and other things

Gone to seed...that's what many plants are doing now. Like the heartleaf hibiscus (above and below).

(Click on the picture for a better view!)

And the blue mistflowers (above), which are attracting scores of queens and occasionally some monarchs...


The little native butterfly weed didn't bloom much its first season, but it is putting out seeds. I noticed some bugs hanging out on the plant and seed pods, which meant I had to stop and figure out what they were...


Would you believe...small mikweed bugs (Lygaeus kalmii)? Yep. Below is a phot of a group of nymphs, clinging to the inside of a seed pod.


Wondering what an adult looks like? Here's a good close up. And I found an interesting discussion on milkweed bugs here (there are two species–large and small) on a monarch website. Check it out! Hmm, should I knock mine off or let'em stay?

Newborn in the bush

What a wonderful surprise I spotted yesterday when I was watering the mistflower and butterfly bush...a tiny, tiny anole. It was clinging to the butterfly bush and well hidden. You can't really tell from the photos, but I met it measured less than one and a half inches. Its mother is probably the anole that likes to hang out on our Texas Wildscape sign.

Take a closer look

Usenea species and Ramalina celastri (bottom)

Purple thing is just a fungus

Xanthomendoza (yellow)

As part of my work as a freelance writer, I'm always researching something. Like lichens. Just go outside, get up close to a dead tree limb on the ground, and see what you can see: probably several different species of lichens. The colors are amazing, too: gold, purplish, green, off white. I walked outside and spotted four different kinds on one limb. You can also find lichens growing on live branches, rocks, gravestones, and even insects.

Lichens consist of fungus (on top) and alga (underneath) in what's considered to be a symbiotic–not parasitic–relationship. They're divided into three types: foliose (papery), fruticose (hairy or branchy), and crustose (crusty). For more info, check out Lichen Biology.

Just had to share. Get outside and find some!

[Note: Lichen IDs are thanks to Taylor Sultan Quedensley, who's in the Plant Biology Graduate Program at the University of Texas at Austin.]

Snake alive 2

Last night, while watering in the back yard, James spotted a snake crawling near the dayflowers and purple hearts. He ran for a glove while I kept an eye on it. Looked like another rat snake, this one even younger than our nighttime visitor. This one, however, rattled its tail in the leaf litter, which made us think for a split second maybe we DID have a baby rattlesnake on our hands. But, no, closer examination revealed a plain tipped tail, no buttons, nothing fancy at all.

Rat snakes do that, vibrate their tails and act very aggressive so that hopefully you WILL get scared and run the other way. Didn't work on us.

Much to this guy's chagrin, James handed him to me, then I carried him gently inside the house to show Lindsey. Then we let him go in the sanctuary.

He sure was cute.

Snake alive!

Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to hear someone or something pounding on your window screen right by your bed!! That's what happened this morning at 2 a.m. Immediately, we thought CAT. But we'd never heard any of them do THAT before. So James pulled up the blinds and peered outside.

CAT trying to get SNAKE.

Outside we go in our pajamas. I got to our window first and found Gabe, one of the boy cats, perched on the "cat walk" (brick exterior that goes halfway up our house), staring at the corner of our window. I shooed him, and you'd have thought I kicked him 10 feet up in the air! He shot off the wall like a rocket...I evidently startled him a LOT. With a flashlight, we finally located the young snake, curled up between the window and the screen. It'd have to come OUT if we were gonna get any more sleep. Back inside we went.

Armed with gloves and a towel, James opened the window and corralled the snake. I groggily shot some photos, which didn't turn out great. But well enough to tell more about the snake's identity during daylight hours. Looks to me like a Texas rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta lindheimeri), which are aggressive (as you can see by the photos) but non-venomous. I wrote a short article on the species that appeared in the February 2008 issue of Texas Parks and Wildlife magazine.

James carried the guy out to the sanctuary, then we went back to bed.

Magic!

Well, it may look like magic....a spider "flying" in mid air. But it's really not.

Sometimes when you water in the garden, the spray knocks a spider from its perch, and it hangs in the air. Actually, it's still attached by a silken drag line to the plant or some other object.

Above is some species of tiny crab spider that hovered in the air long enough for me to snap some shots. Its back two pairs of legs are curled around its abdomen. Crab spiders lurk on flowers and plants, and wait for a victim to happen by. Then–WHAM!–it GRABS the bug and enjoys a quiet meal.

Sounds like rain...

Stand outside awhile, and you'll hear the thunk thunk of acorns hitting the ground. They're obviously immature and not suppose to be falling this early. I'm guessing it's our lack of substantial rainfall this year, and the live oaks (Quercus virginiana) are stressed. According to the Smithsonian Marine Station, "acorns are produced in abundance in September. Acorns generally fall to the ground during December and are dispersed by animals."

I'll check with some Texas experts and get back on this....

Friday, September 26, 2008–UPDATE– Reply from Pete Smith, Partnership Coordinator Texas Forest Service-Urban Forestry Program: "I think the acorns are fine, and this is just the time of year that they ripen and begin to fall. They might be smaller because of the drought (and likely more bitter to squirrels!), but the ones in your blog looked like they were even trying to sprout from their tips, meaning they are viable and healthy. I've heard that some places in Texas are experiencing a 'bumper crop' this year, which happens about every three or four years, depending on weather patterns."