Kaseys Korner

Bur Oak Acorns

Yes, I know I'm a little "out of season" here but I feel like shouting ~ I've found an old acorn cap.  So yes, Virginia Gail, there is are a Santa Claus acorns on my Bur Oak afterall.  Maybe I should back up.  Last fall, Gail showed some beautiful acorns she had collected from the Bur Oak in her garden.  They were gorgeous, giant, furry specimens and it perplexed me even more as to why I haven't had any on mine.  It was planted about 12 years ago and my only theory was it had to be a certain size/age to produce them??  Anyway, yesterday, during another one of our (frequent this year) severe storms, which produced wind gusts up to 80 mph, look what blew down:

 

It's an old acorn cap!  That means there must have been at least a few acorns last year that I wasn't aware of.  Maybe this year will be the year for the first real crop??  Here's what they look like on the tree so far:

 

Something seems different about them but I don't know what??  I'm hoping it's a difference that means they will develop into full blown acorns.  In previous years, they get about this big, then turn brown and dry up:

Certainly these are not the beautiful acorns I know they have the potential to be.  All of the sudden, I'm excited for fall.  I am crossing my fingers/toes and everything in-between that my Oak tree will bear fruit this year. 

PS  I know this isn't as exciting for most of you as it is for me.  I hope you'll humor me for posting about it ~ I've been waiting a long time for this to happen! 

hot new hangout

Look who I found enjoying the overspray by the pond:

 

You can't imagine how happy it made me to see him there.  It's exactly what I envisioned the pond doing ~ drawing wildlife to my yard.  He tucked himself between the pond and the terraced garden wall, which was a great spot considering the record heat we experienced yesterday (90 degrees).  You can get a better perspective of his position from this angle:

Do you think he'll attract a lady friend so I can have tadpoles in the pond someday??  I sure hope so!  On another note, in the back garden, under the aspen tree canopy, Primula Vialli is blooming!  I've waited a long time to have this wonderful perennial in my garden:

 

This is one primula I have no problem starting from seed.  I have more tiny seedlings growing right now to add to this clump.  I love the contrasting red flower buds with the pink/purple flowers:

It's one of those plants that is rare in that it isn't seen often and I wonder why???  It's pretty hardy ~ to zone 4 ~ more easy care than other primulas and a lot more attractive than those grocery store varieties.  Don't you think so too??

February thaw

Check out the interesting landscape shot I snapped yesterday while walking my dog:

The weather couldn't make up it's mind.  Cloudy one minute, sunny the next but definitely snowing over the Rocky Mountains.  See that line of clouds concealing their jagged peaks?  What was interesting is how those contrasts were reflected in the lake.  Around the edges, the water is open, but the middle is covered in ice yet.  The blue sky & cloud bank were reflected back in that open water, stopping where the ice begins and making for a very interesting picture.  Don't you think??

the wonder of it all

Many of you may remember how I took the advice of Benjamin (from the Deep Middle blog) and scattered the asclepias seeds along my semi rural county road.  Knowing me as you do now, you would also guess that I'd never do such a thing without taking photos first!  Nature has a way of making you marvel at its intricacies if you even hesitate to think about them.  Seed pods are no exception.  From gorgeous flowers:

 

to fresh green, newly developed seed pods:

 

Culminating with ripened pods, waiting for the wind to finish the disbursement.   I love how carefully the seeds are all stacked (when the pods first crack):

 

It only takes a little puff of wind to disturb the preciseness of how they're layered within the pod:

 

another gust and it's all over:

they are off, on their own:

hopefully landing where they can germinate and repeat the cycle.  Oh, the wonder of it all.  Amazing, isn't it?   

a fine fall day

Combine record setting high temperatures (78 degrees!!!) with cloudless blue skies (no wind either) and you have yourself the post title.  Exactly the kind of day we were privy to yesterday.  It was fabulous.  Perfect weather such as this, makes it nearly impossible to stay inside and get work done.  I finally gave in to temptation, grabbed my camera and went outside to bask in the sunshine.  Being a girl that is practically hopeless at sitting still, I was soon looking around the garden for anything that would catch my eye.  It wasn't long before I caught sight of one lone bee (or fly??) giving the Delosperma a vigorous work over:

I don't recall the Delosperma being that "popular" during the height of summer but now that it's the only plant left blooming, its value can't be quantified.  I snapped one more photo before leaving the bee in peace:

 

The next thing I noticed was the interesting way the sunlight was streaming thru/across the foliage of the Hens & Chicks:

This image (with the stiff, ramrod straight spikes) brought to mind a vision of soldiers standing at attention.  Maybe I'd had too much sun?  But don't you love how you can see all the little hairs outlining each leaf?  Lucky for you, my daughters school bus came around the corner and my aimless meandering came to an abrupt halt.  ;-)  We have one more spectacular day in store then tomorrow the bottom falls out.  We'll enjoy it while we can.

in the space of about 6 weeks

the viburnums that line the north walkway have changed their appearance to reflect three out of our four seasons.  In September, they still looked summerish:

 

By the middle of October, they were ablaze in their fiery fall foliage:

 

This morning however, quite a different story.  After two days of relentless 40 mph winds, the foliage has all been stripped and they are looking decidedly winterish:

 

Bleck.  My least favorite look/season.  Tell me I under appreciate it and you'll be generous.  I think fall has come and gone in my area.  Autumn rarely gets its full share of three months anyway as winter crowds the seasons on both sides of it.  No recourse but to move with it.  At least we're that much closer to spring, right?!! 

buddleia ~ pollinator heaven

In the far back corner of my yard, feeling a little pinched between the purple sand cherry (Prunus cistena) on one side and the Viburnum dentatum (Arrowwood virburnum) on the other, is my butterfly bush (buddleia davidii):

It's the first thing I planted after I moved into my house seven years ago.  That should tell you it's rank on my list of gardening "have to have's."  In my zone 5 garden, it dies completely back to the ground each winter but grows back quickly after the dead foliage has been removed in spring.  I know it's difficult to tell scale on the computer but it reaches a height of 6, 7 or sometimes 8 feet in the summer.  Without it, my collection of butterfly photographs would be severely limited (not that I planted it solely for that selfish purpose).  Below are a few of the winged beauties that found nourishment from it this summer:

This is the same monarch that lost its life to the jagged ambush bug shortly after being photographed.  If you want a refresher on that experience, click here.  Below, a Western Tiger Swallowtail had a much less tragic stopover:

For the first time ever (that I've witnessed), I had a Western Black Swallowtail visit:

 

Sighting him (or her) was exceptionally thrilling for me and makes me even happier that I planted a second buddleia in my front yard ('honeycomb' ~ a yellow/orange variety).  Of course there are many other pollinators that frequent the butterfly bush aside from the showy ones I managed to capture digitally.  From the time the blooms start (early August here) until the first killing frost, it's "abuzz" with activity.  No wonder I planted it first, right?

Edit:  I forgot to add the link above (where I told you to click here) and now typepad is refusing to allow me to go back and insert it.   In case you were interested, that link (about the monarchs demise) is now here.  My apologies.

it's that time of year

When the praying mantis congregate along the front of my house, seeking the protection (from chilly overnight lows) the warm southern exposure offers:

 

Clinging to the beige stucco (in the early AM's and late afternoons ~ during the day they disperse a bit), they are more readily seen then during the summer months.   Prior to the change in seasons, I'm lucky if I flush one out of the vegetation (usually by water spray).  Sometimes we see them climbing the screen doors in the evenings, pursuing bugs attracted by the porch light.

 

My niece frightened us all (praying mantis probably included) one summer night by shrieking loudly upon spying one hanging on the door!  While putting up holiday lights or during spring clean up, I always come across a few egg cases (often attached to grass stalks in my front garden, or tucked amongst the rocks of the retaining wall).  Last year, I found this one right next to the front faucet:

 

A likely place since they spend lots of time here until the cold really sets in and kills them.  For the most part I'm happy to share my garden with them but I was shocked upon reading Robin's blog to find out they also prey on hummingbirds.  I have never witnessed that nor do I see them on my feeders.  Nature is a never ending wonder, isn't it?? 

summer skies

Anyone else a fan of cloud photographs??  I wish I could master the art of taking them but I never seem to capture on camera what I actually see above me.  I love thunderheads but haven't gotten any of those either.  It seemed a storm might be brewing yesterday evening but it never materialized, instead these clouds dissipated away about as quickly as they formed.  Darn.  We haven't had rain in a looooooonnnng time and it would be SO refreshing.

 

Another shot looking up ~ I like the sun peeking around the edges and the rays shooting up in this one.   Okay, back to work for me.  Sorry for the short post, it's a busy day here.

mack daddy

 

This, my friends, is the mack daddy of all toads.  OMG!  When I spotted him yesterday in my newly revamped front garden, I think my mouth literally fell open.  He's the biggest toad I've ever had in my yard and/or ever seen.  I don't think this photo does him justice (as far as scale, etc.).  I'd say he was at least the size of half a grapefruit.  A small toad *had* happily taken up residence there until yesterday that is.  I'm sure he was run off, (terrified, of his own accord) or maybe even eaten???  I'll have to see how long "mack daddy" hangs out.  I hope for a while since I'm in awe just looking at him.