Sucking it up....

i'm really not sure what is going on, but my blue water barrel has been a watering hole in the past few days... hoards of bees, several different species, and wasps have been drinking madly...i've observed the bee 'dance' they do to let the rest of the gang in on their findings... odd stuff i say... if anyone can tell me why the odd behaviour please do tell!!!

sooooo more buggy events... did i ever mention how much i love insects ;)
   
this wee jumping spider, species unknown, found lunch on the windowsill... i didn't have my camera handy on viewing the initial pounce but did get it out for the remainder of the 'event'... i must say i did feel badly for the fly... hard way to die...

one has to admire the tenacity of the spider to hang on to his dinner...i removed spider and fly from windowsill to outdoors to take 'better' pics... moved them around several times (for better lighting) and not once did the spider let go... i guess lunch was tasty!  

outside in the garden i didn't have my camera but there was a difficult drama going on, a poor honey bee and one very determined red/black ant...in the hopes of saving the bee i had to detach the ant from the bee several times, mr/ms ant just came coming back for more.. finally with a dry stalk of grass and a good flick the ant went for a flight of his own.... as for the bee.... i put him/her in my garden in what i hoped was a safe spot... at least for a short while!

Island hopping.....

last week a couple of friends and i went island hopping... Salt Spring Island to be exact!  if you've never been and are on the west coast, it's a very 'cute' little island which is what i like to think of as 'artsy fartsy'... i've only been a few times but i think a fall visit will be required for photography... it was extremely hot, humid and smokey from the mainland's forest fires so my shots weren't very good and i didn't take very many... Salt Spring's micro climate is warmer than where i am so they get to have a bit longer seasons, not so cold and have great little farms which they are famous for their lamb...they are famous for the Salt Spring Island Coffee Company and  most famous for some of their art and music inhabitants..

arriving at Vesuvius Bay...

i found this article from the Seattle Post  while i was hunting to see just WHO lived on Salt Spring Island besides Randy Backman and Robert Bateman.. it's a great little article to peruse and gives you an idea of what Salt Spring Island is all about...

the stone building says 1901 on it, so am assuming it was built then.. as perhaps the barn in the next picture... they were on the same property.... 

this was the Morningside Bakery/Cafe that had the most scrumptious goodies... but their fireplace intrigued me more... and their beams for the roof!!

 

on the way home, after we got back on Vancouver Island we went to Cowichan Bay to a little pub with a great view!!!

can you see the Dragon boat?

was a nice afternoon spent snooping around.. next time i go, it will be me and the puppies and i'll be checking out many more places... hopefully passing on some pics your way!

Dog days....

of August.. yikes... already it's here... and what did i see this morning...... Geese flying in formation..... i'm assuming its a practice run but there is a definate pre-fall feel, the temperature has lowered, the humidity is up and the garden has that August frazzled look.... the beans are just starting, i've had a few cucumbers and a lot of tiny tomatoes... it seems that i neglected to plant any bigger tomatoes.. no sandwich size... must remember for next year.. (thats what my blog is good for!!)  i suffer from a cronic case of CRAFT (Can't remember a flipping thing) disease... and no, nothing new either!  anyways... next year i MUST plant at least 1 beefsteak type tomato.. i've even had the first start of my cute little Patty Pan Zucchini... i was beginning to wonder what was going on... flowers flowers and more flowers but nothing would set... i have what looks like crookneck squash and 2 spagetti squashs flowering and even some fruit... wish me luck!!! i've been doing some succession planting of salad greens, a couple of rows of peas and made a spot for my fall brassicas...
my peppers are doing very well and i've had a few in salsa and added them to some dinner things and salads...

this past weekend was a bit of a road trip over to Port Renfrew, which is on the southern west side of Vancouver Island... was a gorgeous day so got a few pics... the bear was on the beach, and thankfully not too close as there have been some 'issues' with bears lately... perhaps they are fed up with us humans!

Sockeye Salmon... this year so far is a decent run of salmon... lets hope more get up the rivers than on the plate!

these guys were setting out a net for fish... one guy swam out and threw in an anchor with a bouy attached, the tide came in and the net stretched out... poor fishies!!

 

Fireweed

Fireweed fields in the mountains

sorry about the placement of the photos, i'm having some issues with the editing... i'm not sure if it's me, puter or blog site.. but woteva.... you still get to see them ... cheers....

Adoptive 'children'...

even in the wild there are adoptions going on....i'm not sure whether the baby is a Brown Headed Cowbird ( Molothrus ater)   or a Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) .... both are Brood Parasite birds.... a very interesting but world wide phenomenon, there are a few different species but in my world the Cowbird and Starling are the parasites... they will find a host 'nest' lay their egg or eggs and leave..... the unsuspecting parents will hatch and raise the baby as their own.. BUT in most cases the alien baby will 'dispose' of the other eggs or hatchlings and have the parents to themselves... there are some excellent sites if your interested in reading more about the parasitic birds... for a more detailed study on the parasitism of Starlings here is a great site
i've been trying to get a shot of the parent Junco feeding the baby but as of yet, this is the best i've come up with... as for this 'family' there are no other babies, just this one, so am assuming the junco babies were destroyed either as eggs or as hatchlings.... 'ain't' life grand ....

i've been busy in the garden, finally got a few ripe tomatoes, some budding cucumbers are coming along nicely and yesterday i planted some containers with a mixed bag of arugula, lettuce, onions and beet greens... they are in a cool shady spot and hopefully if the temperature doesn't skyrocket i'll have some tasty new greens in a few weeks...

this is what happens to a leek flower when it doesn't open correctly!

this red cabbage is from last year... it came up so beautifully i decided to leave it.. it's not flowered yet, just keeps growing and growing... i keep thinking the leaves would be good for cabbage rolls but since it's from last year and doing so well, i just don't have the heart to pluck it's leaves..... 

 

this hoverfly was pollenating my parsley plant..i guess some people would call me 'odd' but i find wings fascinating.. how such a delicate appendage doesn't rip, tear or fall off is amazing...  

the Daddy Longlegs had it's one leg stretched out... thats some gams!  i noted that something black was on it's back.. i'm not sure what it was, parasites perhaps?

Blues and Babies.....

Blues

been awhile since i last posted.. since the last depressing post, i've been kind of in a funk... i hadn't realized how much the death of ms cougar affected me... mr bear i've heard also joined ms cougar in heaven... i really just don't get it... if you live in the country, one should meld with the country and that includes our wild life...'townies' as my children call them... come out to the country, spot the most beautiful site... say " this is the most beautiful spot' promptly bulldoze and build a McMansion right on 'the most beautiful spot'... then when a wild critter does wander forth, promptly phone the 'conservation officer' who comes out and if the animal is deemed a 'threat' then disposes of the 'problem'..... when all along the 'problem' was the human..... my son in law stated this recently... ' you know, the best thing we could do for the wildlife is drive it away, then our neighbours won't have anything to shoot at, complain about or generally 'hate'..... how sad is that....

anyways... enough 'funk'.... i'm trying to be cheery and happy about the fact that the deer arrived and ate a goodly portion of the leaves off my apple tree..... daughter says 'mom, they gotta eat too'...

arrrumphhhh just not MY apple tree!!! that poor apple tree has been delicious for too many things this year... aphids, apple caterpillars and now deer.... it still has apples tho... at least for now....

Babies

Baby Finches that is.... i've been watching this family come and go from my feeder... i've been debating whether or not i should leave it up as momma is teaching babies to come to the feeder and not go scrounge for goodies in the wild...yesterday i noticed she had them on the ground and they were busy pecking about soooo.....
i also have an enormous amount of kale seeds just about ready to burst forth give any self respecting bird a tasty treat... for the birds i've always left any last bits of kale, mustard, or any types of greens to go to seed  but kale is definitely the most prolific ...  anyways i'm thinking momma finch is going to do the proper thing and teach babies that seeds are on the plants and on the ground... not just in my feeder!!

R.I.P Ms Cougar......

today was a very sad day on the farm.. not only for myself but my daughter and her hubby... we've always stated that this is sacred ground for God's creatures.. small and large.. unfortunately due to some very irresponsible 'farmer neighbours'' earth is minus one very beautiful creature... and it was especially sad because that beautiful creature's life was snuffed out here on the farm..... her crime - the death of sheep... sheep who's owners didn't put in the barn at night... negligence on the part of the owner as far as i'm concerned... not only did they 'murder' the cougar, they murdered the sheep who's lives were shortened because someone couldn't be bothered to make sure they were safe... unfortunately ms. cougar couldn't read the no trespassing sign, or read a manual that told her what she could and could not eat... i'm know there are plenty of people who would disagree with me.. you know 'sheep killer' etc., but when one puts dinner in front of them... hmmmmmmmm......

my daughter and son -in-law did a very valiant effort to save the cougar and i wish more than anything that they could have saved her...  the 'conservation officer' stated he'd try to save the cougar, but we all know.. relocation doesn't happen often, rarely if ever.. for bears or cougars.... we asked how many cougars on the island.. he stated 400-600 animals... in my estimation that is getting down to the extinction wire... (our island is large..... Area: 31, 284 square kilometres (12,076 square miles).   i have to say i'm ashamed to be human today...we as a group have raped, pillaged and destroyed everything in our path.....   

anyways... R.I.P    Ms Cougar

she's in the tree... look just above the centre of the picture and you'll see her hiding in branches...

after she was 'tranquilized', she fell into the creek below....
words can't express how i feel about seeing her lifeless body being dragged up the hill ...

From beasts we scorn as soulless,

In forest, field and den,

The cry goes up to witness

The soullessness of men.

~M. Frida Hartley

p.s. as for the bear that is wandering around we will not call the conservation officer, but we WILL continue to make sure our garbage is clean and tidy, our compost is buried deeply, our dogs in check, in the fall our fruit will be picked or composted properly and hopefully he will wander the land in peace.....

The Good, Bad and the Ugly....

was a great movie.. but Momma Nature's movie is even better...so sorry i don't have a movie.. BUT .. IF i had oodles and oodles of 'dough' perhaps i'd have one of those fancy dancy video cameras that does Macro/micro what-have-yous.... but i don't.. so still it is.... and ONE day i'll have a better lense... but in the meantime i'm happy to you show you the good.... bad and (not so) ugly....

the good.....

Nasturtiums...an all purpose plant... great to ward off some of those 'evil' aphids... tasty flowers and seeds to eat... the flowers can be just eaten in a salad or maybe dipped in some batter and deep fried, make a vinegarette, stuffed...the list goes on.... and the seeds are a poor man's capers... not so bad huh!!! apparently the earwigs have found my nasturtium leaf delicious, but not quite as delicious as my marigolds which now have the appearance of a tree who's leaves have fallen off in september.... 

in my previous post is a picture of two very frisky little ladybird beetles...they have long since flown away... BUT....  

'ladybird ladybird fly away home, your house is on fire and your children are alone. (eating those BAD aphids!!)

you can see this baby ladybird beetle larva is having a 'tasty' aphid meal... yummy yummy in my tummy....

and below, i believe this is an 'older' sibling of the above ladybird larva

a brand new hatching of babies... woohoo....

the bad.......

i'm really not so sure what this is... BUT i suspect that it's something come to eat more of my apple tree...

just a note * the apple tent caterpillars i seem to have under control... whew!!!

and the ugly....

a LOT of folks really really don't like snakes, think they are ugly and are terrified of them or just plain annoyed by their existance... pity because they do so much good...as for me i love to see them in the garden and this year is a great year for the garter snakes, at least here on the farm.. i've spotted quite a few... the large amount of slugs i had are no longer.. haven't seen one in awhile....

this snake was 'visiting' another snake.. but unfortunately i disturbed them before the 'dance' ... so sorry mr and mrs snake..  

all the critters were found in, on or under my apple tree that was infested with aphids... as for the aphids, they seem to have died down to a dull roar... so i'll leave them and see what transpires... so far... 'full circle'...

Oh My!!!!.......

after i sprayed the one apple branch with the lemon juice and water i thought i'd better go have a lookie-loo and see if i'd killed any of the dastardly aphids.. and look what i found!!!  not only those 2 frisky ladybird beetles but some other multiple legged critters...

below is a rather hairy little fellow, don't you think!!

and this wee spider seemed to mimic the wee honey ants that were tending to the aphids.....

this larger ladybird beetle had tucked himself/herself into this leaf...nothing like nature's own 'fly-in restaurant' !!!

while i was shooting pictures of the other critters these two little ladybugs wandered all over the one branch and ended up in this coiled aphid filled  leaf... i'm hoping that copious amounts of eggs will be deposited here...and my aphid issue will be eaten away...  i'm not going to spray the apple tree branch again but will keep a watchful eye for more tent caterpillars and carefully dispose of them....

as for the aphids which i'd sprayed earlier, they did seem to be less but the ants were busy busy milking them so we shall see....

i found this great short video on aphid farming...

and in my hunt for ladybug 'stuff' i found this very cute website page, with a poem i like.. i'm not sure who wrote the poem but it so fits my thoughts on Ladybugs... 

Lovely little ladybug,

sent from heaven above,

please watch over my garden,

and fill it up with love.