Patio facelifts

 Most of today, James worked on our three brick and stone patios. He took before and after photos. They look great!

 

Just for fun

I've loved red admirals since I was a teenager. That's when I started holding out my hand so one could land on me. Sunny days work best for this fun little trick.

New additions

Welcome home, friends! Meet our purchases yesterday from the native plant sale at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. (I was very restrained.)

Coastal stonecrop (Lenophyllum texanum)
Copper lily (Habranthus tubispathus)
Gravel-bar brickellbush (Brickellia cylindracea) (sold by NPSOT)
Mexican tulip poppy (Hunnemannia fumariifolia)
White gaura (Oenothera lindheimeri)
Wild shrimp plant (Yeatesia platystegia)

Beautiful bloom, eh?

I saw brickellbush at Meridian State Park in January 2014 the Shinnery Ridge Nature Trail. So pretty! In fact, here's a photo I took of the blooms at the time....

 

Wildflower Center plant sale

The alarm woke us up Friday at 6:30 a.m. "You sure you still wanna go?" James asked. 

Part of me was tempted to stay in bed. The other part reminded me that It's always so much fun to go to a plant sale!

So off we went to another native plant sale at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center! It was members-only Friday, but OH, MAN, was it ever crowded! People everywhere! 

Start 'em out early!

My patient and very supportive husband, James.

I believe these are green milkweed vine plants germinated from seeds that I contributed to the center last year. Hello, kiddos! I knew your mama!

Look who I ran into! Mary Pearl Meuth, assistant program coordinator with the Texas Master Naturalist program. We're buds.

At one point during the morning, the check-out line was LONG. 

So we decided to wait about paying and do some hiking around. This scrub jay didn't mind us at all.

WOW, there are so many new areas to explore now at the center! It's always fun to go there. I'm so glad we did. Plus–OF COURSE–I bought some new friends to take home and plant. Post to follow.

A home for a spider

Now, generally, I don't like to interfere with nature. But today I did. I confess. But it was for the sake of a spider! And we all know how Sheryl feels about spiders, right?

Here's what happened: This morning, James and I decided to visit the "new" Blanco Gardens on Main Street. James and his mom, Mary, are doing a GREAT job there. Meanwhile, I spotted a spider on a web in the cacti area. She was perched in a silken retreat behind her orbweb. I'd never seen that kind of behavior before. Most orbweavers like to hang upside-down on their webs. Intrigued, I borrowed James' phone and snapped a few photos. 

Well, you know me–I just couldn't bear to go off and leave her. What if someone knocked her off? Or a customer buying the adjoining cactus squashed her? Politely, I asked Mary, whom I've known for years, if I could take the spider home. She said yes, of course. Mary even gave me a plastic cup and baggy so I could safely transport her.

At home, I released my eight-legged friend, who's likely an orbweaver in the genus Metepeira, on my mandarin tree. I also suspect that she was transplanted here.

I hope to check on her now and then. Welcome to the Pink House, girl!

Next day: She made a web on the front porch!

 

Lemon balm mystery

Several weeks ago, I noticed some "important" looking plants in the front yard. So I let them be. Then ever curious, I examined them a bit closer. I took a sniff, too. LEMON BALM! Where did THEY come from?! I vaguely remember planting some lemon balm years ago, but I didn't note it on this blog. That's the only thing I can of–seeds from a long-ago plant germinated because of the generous rains we've had in the past six months. Fun and amazing!