Copper lily

 This copper lily (Habranthus tubispathus) popped up so fast that I barely got to see it bloom! I didn’t know if it had survived or not. I think we planted two of them. Happy for one! 

September SURPRISE

Well, not THAT kind of surprise. The September surprise kind, more commonly known as oxblood lilies or schoolhouse lilies. Right on time!

Then came the vultures....

Yesterday at supper time, we happened to notice a black vulture, hopping around in our back yard. About that time, our neighbor dropped by. We showed her the vulture through our dining room window. "Oh, yeah," she said. "You've got a WHOLE BUNCH right now in your meadow!"

That was news to us!

We went outside to investigate. She was right! There had to have been 50 or more of them on the ground and in the live oaks. James got ahead of me and took the video (below). He also took the photos. Sadly, a white-tailed deer (probably a yearling) must have been hit and died in the Meadow. We are letting Mother Nature's cleaner-uppers take care of the carcass.

 

By this evening, they’d nearly picked the entire carcass clean!

O Wise Cenizo rebounds

This is O Wise Cenizo on Friday, August 26. It half-heartedly bloomed a week AFTER our August 19 downpour of 2 inches. Hey, no one's perfect, right? The blooms dropped off within a day or two.

This morning, I looked out a window, and behold! O Wise Cenizo is re-blooming with all its might! I walked over for photos and observed lots of honey bees nectaring all over the flowers. So folks... look out, rains are a-comin'! (See the seven-day forecast below.)

AFTERNOON UPDATE: IT'S BEEN POURING!!! For real! Honest!

  

Ahoy, mate!

We've been collecting condensation water from our air conditioner unit for years in a bucket. The "free" water has been great, especially during our past extremely hot, dry summer months. The downside: Insects and spiders jump or fall into the water and can't get out. We're usually good about checking the bucket every morning for potential drowning victims. But every once and a while, someone ends up lifeless on the bottom (except for Lazarus, which I blogged about several times). So I've been trying to figure out a raft of some sort. Behold my tongue depressor solution! The click beetle climbed right on! The only problem now is that once the sticks absorb water, the raft sinks. Which means I have to remove the raft in the morning so it can dry out. My next idea is to maybe attach some Styrofoam foam pieces on the bottom so it can float indefinitely. We'll see! 

UPDATE:

Styrofoam pieces

 

UPDATE May 6, 2023

Look who stopped by to float! An indomitable graphic moth (Melipotis indomita). It didn't stay long.

 

Blessed rains!

Non-native Jerusalem sage and Gregg's mistflower

Last Friday afternoon, we had a downpour of blessed rain. I was at our local DQ with a dear friend so I missed seeing the show. But all said, we received 2 inches of rain! Since then, we've had 3/4 inches more. I took a few photos the next day after Friday's rain. The plants perked up right away! Faucet water can no where near provide the nourishment that Mother Nature's sky water brings. It's been amazing to see my friends look so happy and GREEN again.

American beautyberry

Fall aster, Turk's cap and 'Eyelash' salvia

Floratam St. Augustine grass, planted by original owners and we NEVER water it.

 

July 2021 vs July 2022 = SAD

If you happen to feel brave, take a look at these comparison photos  from July 2021 and July 2022 photos of our native plant gardens. I tried to shoot photos this evening from the same angle as the 2021 pictures. Since May, this has been the longest periods of hot and dry conditions in recent memory. We'll be losing plants this summer....

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