Last night, with the deep gray of storm clouds overhead, the front garden experienced the golden glow of a failing sun…
June 21, 2010
Flowers of the Summer Solstice
From our garden. Hover the pointy thing over each picture for ID, click to enbiggen:
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June 15, 2010
The Bee’s Trees
Last year I noted that most of the bees I observed in the garden were wild bees and not the domestic honey bee that we were so used to seeing. But was I looking in the wrong places? This last Sunday, while working in the garden I noticed the distinct vuvuzela hum of bees. I looked over the perennial beds, trying to see what flowers were receiving all the attention. It took me a moment to realize that the sound was coming from above, from the 3 to 5 m (9 to 15 ft.) height of the canopy of our Amur Maple (Acer ginnala). The flower clusters were active with bees of all sizes, as well as some wasps and flies. By far the greatest number of visitors were domestic honeybees. It was good to see their activity and the stuffed pollen sacs, a good indicator that at least one hive was thriving and homing in on this major food source.
June 13, 2010
A Garden Surprise
Way back in 2005 I introduced some frog eggs into the garden pond. It was 2007 before we saw the fruits of that introduction – a single frog calling in the evening, with occasional sightings near the pond. Today, as I walked past the pond I noticed a little movement on one of the rocks, and, surprisingly, another wood frog in the pond! Whether this is a survivor from the first introduction or if some eggs slipped in unnoticed with other introductions to the pond in following years, I don’t know. It is possible it is a visitor from another garden pond nearby, but that is unlikely as we have no immediate neighbors with ponds. Regardless, it is a welcome addition to an urban pond and a good indicator of a healthy environment.
Dweller at the pond - Rana sylvatica
