She's still on duty

Yes, the green lynx mother is still guarding her brood. Yesterday, I spotted her with a bee so she hasn't quit dining yet either. The spiderlings haven't fledged as well. That's them in the top right of the photo.

Spider updates

Well, ding dong it! Our argiope in the Indigo spires is not a yellow argiope (Argiope aurantia) but a banded argiope (Argiope trifasciata)!! When I shot her October 19, I didn't see her topside, a dead giveaway to the species. However, I should have noticed the difference in leg markings. Oh, well. Now I know! I bet I haven't seen this species in our area for 10 years or more! Typically, I see yellow argiopes, which by this time of year are HUGE on their webs.



Checked on the green lynx children, and they're growing bigger. The mother wasn't around....

Click on the photo and you can see (barely) that the
spiderlings–like adults–have long spines on their legs.

Mandarin time!

Yesterday, we picked our first three mandarins from our Texas satsuma tree (Citrus unshiu 'Miho'). Not a great photo of mine peeled. But it sure tasted good! (For more on the potted tree, see August 2, 2008 post.) There's at least 17 or so yet to be picked.

James was more artistic with arranging his mandarin slices...

House guest

"What's that?" Lindsey asked Tuesday, glancing up at the ceiling in our dining room.

"A crab spider, duh," I replied. Lindsey's lived with me long enough to know a spider when she sees one. She's also pretty good at identifying them herself.

At any rate, we all acknowledged the crab spider's lurking, upside-down presence. I'd wave sometimes when breezing by. No big deal. The species is completely harmless. Except to insect victims.

Speaking of which, today I realized that spider up there on our ceiling has NOT been catching bugs, even though it always perched with its legs ready to spring. So I shot a photo, then gently nudged it onto my finger. You should have seen me twisting into unnatural positions to photograph (one handed) the spider on my finger in the sunlight just right. But I got him! Then I carried him outside, figuring I'd get some environmental shots, too. Nope! As soon as I let him go on a fence post, he was gone!

And yes, our house guest was a male. How do I know? In the bottom photo, you can see his pedipalps (the extra appendages near his mouth). The tips are clubbed. That how you sex a spider.

Wish list

The fall asters in our neighbors' yard across street have been blooming the past couple of weeks. So beautiful! Awhile ago, I strolled over with my camera to see what kinds of insects the flowers attract. Butterflies and bees, of course. In a split second, I caught a clouded sulphur skirmishing with a bee (below). Fortunately, neither one won.


James and I have talked about planting our own fall asters to add more fall colors. So I'm putting them on our wish list, along with agarita and/or possumhaw.

Birth announcements in the esperanza!

Today's the day! The green lynx (Peucetia viridans) on the esperanza is a mom! She's kept a faithful vigil, and now she'll likely die in the next few days or weeks. See the hole in the top right quarter of the eggsac? That's where the spiderlings are emerging...

Click on the photo for a better look!
You can also see four of the mom's eight eyes.

Above, a tiny orange child is right beneath her right legs (our right, not hers). Its abdomen comes fat with reserves so it can survive its first several days without food. Later it'll balloon away (send out a silken thread and float away on the breeze), scramble away or get eaten by a bigger spider or insect. In the photo below, an orange spiderling can barely be seen in the eggsac hole.

Later in the afternoon, more spiderlings are emerging!

Salvia updates

Generally speaking, I don't like to cut plants. Seems harsh and a bit painful if you're on the plant end. But I know many thrive and grow even more beautiful with thoughtful pruning. Like salvias. I've read and been told that it's best to trim salvias back a third after they've bloomed. The payoff: they'll supposedly bloom again.

A couple of weeks ago, I did just that. I took my little pink scissors outside and snipped snipped snipped. Then while I was gone last week, we got nearly 2 inches of rain. Halleluyah! Now look at the salvias! Just as promised, they've bloomed bloomed bloomed! 

On August 22, we planted three Salvia farinacea 'Indigo Spires' in our front yard. I really thought it was too late in the summer to plant anything. Check out my post for that day, "New additions," and look at the photo of one. In the beginning, they looked really scraggly. Now take a look at them......

Ever since we planted them, they haven't stopped growing and blooming. In our Wildscape, the Indigo spires are among my favorite plants. They also attract a lot of insects and spiders, which I photographed a few days ago.