Tall weeds and a new toy

Spring is just busting out like crazy now, and I have a new camera which I am still trying to get used to. It's got options for "special effects," which the old camera didn't offer. Here's one used to capture the Bottle Chandelier.

(Note: I put the bug pictures at the bottom of the post so you can bail out if you are phobic. On the positive side for fellow arachnopobes, there are no spiders, just a bee and another insect)

Yellow Columbine gets the "illustration" filter.

Maybe the most interesting filter isolates the color red, and removed color from everything else. It worked really well with the poppies. Another feature kicked in when I took this one - it informed me that it had detected a blinked eye. Ha ha! Very perceptive Ms. Camera, but he's not going to open his eyes any wider than that. Ever.

We got our first sunflower of the year, and it is a perfect beauty, even without this effect that is supposed to make it look like a painting.

No special camera effects on the rest of them, just some close shots of a HUGE black bee that has been visiting the milkweed. It's not a Bumble Bee, but a Carpenter Bee that goes by "Xylocopa micans."


Again, no special effects, but just a shot of a bug that is ALL OVER the milkweed. Turns out it's called a Milkweed Bug. Harmless, except to milkweed, which is a problem for us since the milkweed is much needed for butterflies. We are not going to discourage the MW bugs, but instead are headed out to buy some more milkweed plants - so maybe there will be enough to go around.

It's poppy time!

This zoomed-in view looks almost painted!

Winter beauty

The yard is so full of butterflies!! Mostly Monarchs Queens* but there are a few others I haven't identified by type. It has been very, very dry so there is not a lot for nourishment, so they are ganging up on the Tropical Milkweed. So beautiful.

* [correction] These butterflies pictures are Queens, which I discovered through a comment with this link.

Low Rent Birds

We have a whole lotta birdhouses. We have about 3 of the fiber "hive" style (all unoccupied), store-bought styles made of wood (unoccupied), cutesy store-bought metal ladybug (unoccupied), a couple of ones I made from plastic corrugated yard signs (unoccupied), a couple of multi-unit condo styles on tall poles (probably partially occupied, hard to tell), about 5 plastic "gourd" styles (maybe a couple occupied, not sure)...

...but instead of choosing one of those, some birds have made a nest in this ripped-up party balloon that is lodged in a tree.

Birds.

They do whatever they please.

:-)

Total tourists!

We are back from vacation, as of Sunday actually, and just now getting caught up with sorting pictures, unpacking, doing laundry, working 3 days and catching up on Breaking Bad before it kicks in for another season. Santa Barbara is a beautiful place and it was worth it to postpone a few purchases in order to visit it. The weather was wonderful and cool every day. Overcast every morning and most afternoons. The "No high heels" sign isn't a statement on the importance of being casual, it's a safety warning for anyone thinking of trying to walk on the old wooden pier wearing stupid and dangerous shoes... ... and in this clip form the 1966 Batman movie that was filmed at this very spot (Stearn's Wharf) you can see that there were several violations of the shoe policy, but Batman was still doing his best to keep the place safe.

The whole town of Santa Barbara (California) was like a botanical garden. I don't know how much of the beauty is the result of careful plant-mothering and how much is just from the cool sun and sea breezes, but everything looked healthy and non-distressed. I imagine it's a bit of both. Things seemed to be kept clean and tidy, and I was a bit surprised to have not even seen one stray cat in the whole 4 days.
We got there on the 4th of July in time for one of the longest parades I can remember, followed that night by fireworks at the beach. Here's a group of re-enactors having an opportunity to fire their muskets. Big noise, and the poor dudes seem to get a faceful with every shot.
This excellent sand sculpture was unofficial, and the artist was collecting tips. It was flattened by the next day.

We were the unashamed tourists in getting on the amphibious tour bus/boat. This one is called the Land Shark. Here it is from the pier with pelicans getting a free ride on top.

These were taken from the tour boat, a bunch of sea lions all snuggled and cuted up. They can pretty much guarantee that you'll see sea lions on your voyage, but we didn't see any dolphins, sharks or whales.


This was pointed out to be David Crosby's boat, his "wooden ship," the Mayan.

This is a famous Moreton Bay Fig Tree, supposed to be the largest of its kind in the USA. It was stunningly gorgeous. Trees are magnificent.


Santa Barbara's courthouse is a tourist attraction because of its architecture, tile decor, murals, stained glass, and tower view of the area. This is my "post card" view of one area, and below that is a partial view of the sunken gardens, basically its perfect lawn occupying a corner of the block.


We were back at the same location that night, and here is a night view of one wing of the courthouse, for a free outdoor movie to be shown.

One of my favorites... and a reminder that the peoples of Earth are never going to get their act together and make peace, regardless of all the convincing arguments that they should.

Just for grins, we priced some real estate listings in this area, and were not surprised to see that they are 3 or 4 times more pricey than where we are now. It's a wealthy area, not a good place to be poor... but you can always collect a few pennies on the beach if you have a creative blanket.

Labyrinth at Natural Gardener

This labyrinth update is for Debra. A couple of years ago, the labyrinth was in a transitional state. They had been trying to construct it in plant life, but that plan did not work out. Now it is back, and made of good, old stones. Take a look at the gate for it, which leads into a short path, in this older post.

The Natural Gardener is a nursery, a plant business, but it's such a wonderful place it's worthy of just visiting. We went there to buy some milkweed for the butterflies, and it is doing well in the backyard now.

The labyrinth is surrounded by beautiful wildflowers, a few garden sculptures, and on one side there is a teepee. Here's a nice view facing outward, and at bottom, Google's satellite version.

Night colors

These are called Four O'Clocks (Mirabilis Jalapa), a pic from the backyard.


They are appropriately named because they bloom from late afternoon through the night. A night-blooming flower, what a wonderful thing! So much intense color that is mostly not for the benefit of humans. They are supposed to be fragrant, but I have not experienced that. I tend to not sniff a lot of flowers because of wanting to avoid inhaling pollen and/or bugs.

Spring observations

This is my weird lamp that I made from a rabbit-shaped basket (white metal, but you can't tell), some rope light and an ostrich egg. It's Easter-themed but it's used year-round, and I don't celebrate Easter. It's a weird lamp, and that's why I like it.

Even back when I was a kid and always in Church with my mother, I didn't care for Easter. It was probably mostly because my mother couldn't disguise her negative attitude about Easter (the dressing up part of it was hypocrisy, showing-off and "snootiness" to her, and I've never really disagreed with that). I already ranted about that in a previous post, but it was so long ago that I think it's OK to repost this picture of me at my maximum cuteness.

I do think that the coming of Spring is a thing to celebrate, for most people anyway. We are at maximum wildflower stage here now, and it's going to start feeling like Summer probably in April - and Summer is way too long and too hot here...

The yard is full of sunflowers (which I adore), red poppies, orange crossvine... really pretty... and the bugs, squirrels and birds are just munching away on stuff. That's fine. That's why it's there.
I don't even think of Easter as something associated with Jesus anymore. Eggs? Chocolate? Bunnies? Baskets? Peeps? Fancy hats (Easter bonnets)? It doesn't make any difference to me how people choose to do to commemorate an annual event. Celebrate away, don't hurt people or animals, and be tolerant of those who make a different choice. Here's a lovely song to leave with you, Let it Grow by Eric Clapton.

Spring?

Well, there are actually roses all year, but this one was particularly pretty and perfect in the front yard, so I had to take a picture. There was a robin in the backyard last week, but in this area I don't know what the significance of that event. Birds are abundant but robins seem to be rare. The main sign of Spring's return seems to be the appearance of crane flies. A lot of people think they are "giant mosquitoes" or "mosquito eaters" or some such thing, but they are neither. They are only interested in some old dead wet leaves and mulch, and do not want to nibble on you or your pets in any way. When these guys show up, I think of Spring, and too soon they are gone and replaces with the mosquitoes of Summer. After the hellish Summer we had last year, I am not looking forward to this one.

Red weed

Someone gave MrB this plant awhile back and it's beginning to grow nicely. We just don't know what it is.

Water and Life

This story makes me so sad. It's an NPR piece [audio and article] on the drought here in Texas and how it's affecting... well... all living things. Water sources are drying up, killing food sources for wildlife - plants, bugs, fish. Young animals are malnourished and just waste away in misery. It's a vicious cycle, and heartbreaking.

Our suburban yard is a wildlife habitat, and we provide birdseed, fresh water, and enough uncut brush for a certain amount of shelter - but I don't know what else to do. Animals like rats, opossums and raccoons are welcome to visit us anytime, but there are hazards to putting out dog food or other tasty feed. The danger is to THEM, not us. Other people on the block are not so wildlife friendly as we are, and I am very certain that an increase in the number of these animals would definitely result in an increase in calls to Animal Control Services - or even worse, a DIY version that would be anything but humane.

MSNBC drought photoblog

This will be the hottest summer on record here, and the worst one-year drought. It's expected to continue through the winter so there's no end in sight. I remember reading one of the climate scientist's prediction that this area of Central Texas would become more like a desert over time. That's looking plausible.

Green woman

Wow, I am good at starting projects, but I take forEVer to finish them. Over a year ago, I picked up this mannequin at Goodwill, and intended to paint her and put her in the garden. I had all sorts of fantastic ideas, and with so many ideas I became indecisive - so I painted her a beautiful, solid green!

Was (and still am) considering adding some fake vines from Michael's, maybe some earrings attached with push pins, stencils... but then decided that hats, masks, and other accessories will work just as well. I am also going to keep her indoors.

With this mask and her new color, I dedicate this little photoshop-enhanced image to Ecocatwoman.

...and now, in butterfly news...

Time to push that scary spider further down the page. I try not to be a speciesist but spiders still shake me up. How about a butterfly or two?

We've got a lot of these right now. They are called Bordered Patch, and like Monarchs, they go for the Blue Mist like it's crack.

This is a chrysalis that was formed like an earring hanging from our stone kitty memorial sculpture. It has since broken open, and I hope it's because we have a new butterfly. This chrysalis belonged to a Black Swallowtail, which you can see in all its beauty here.

More flowers and stuff

We are deep into Spring! It's been warm a lot lately, generally in the 80-90° range. Last month's Blackfoot daisies are joined by a bunch of Shasta Daisies.

The emergence of the gorgeous Red Yucca blooms have brought at least one hummingbird back into our little habitat. I had been feeling sad knowing that both store-bought hummingbird feeders had been routinely maintained for some time without any "customers."

 

No hummingbird photographic evidence available (all the birds leave ASAP when we go outside), but here's a weird bug that looked a little like a bee or a wasp - but after looking at those eyes I decided it had to be a fly. Turns out this is some kind of a Hoverfly (a.k.a. Flower Fly), and is beneficial for gardens for pollination and aphid control.

"Don't swat me... please??"