where is a bull snake

when you need one??  and you know you need one when you find out your "mostly indoors only cat" has lost his mouse hunting 101 skills.  Well, not completely, he DID find the mouse and one step further, he brought it to me (who trains them to do that??) but he sure didn't finish the job.  You should have seen me jump when I saw what he had in his mouth ~ and that's amazing considering the hour of the morning!  See the coffee cup ~ I had been sitting on my front step as I often do first thing in the morning (with my camera in hand) when this whole episode occurred:

Just so you know, while I was photographing said mouse, it escaped because my cat became distracted by a Miller moth!  egads.  How's that for attention span?  I hope the mouse doesn't tell all his nest mates ~ I'll have a house full of mice this winter because they now know my cat isn't much of a threat!

To help me not perseverate on that last thought, let's look instead at what's new in the garden.  Lobelia x 'gerardii' has begun to bloom by the pond:

That's a nice and much more beautiful subject to focus our attention on, right?!   It was bought as a companion to Lobelia cardinalis which you can see in the background of the photo below has not yet begun to bloom:

Close tho.  You might remember I finally had success overwintering several 'cardinalis' plants last year so I'm hoping I have the same luck with 'gerardii' too.  I think it's all about "location, location, location" especially during rough Colorado winters.

The first tomato has also been harvested ~ although I may have jumped the gun by a day or so in my eagerness:

 

I'm very excited about having homegrown tomatoes ~ I hope I can harvest thru September if we don't have an early frost.

The same day I harvested the tomato, I'm happy to tell you I almost stepped on a baby toad.  Wait, that came out wrong.  I SAW a baby toad which made me happy because there have been very few toads in my garden this year ~ I definitely did NOT want to step on him!  Notice how tiny he is (about the size of a quarter) ~ for scale he is nestled in some vinca leaves, which many of you grow, so you know a size comparison:

Cute little fella, isn't he?  I hope he has siblings although I haven't seen (or stepped on) any yet. 

I also managed to work up a sweat in the hot sun trying to snap two butterfly photos for you (and me), one of a tattered Painted Lady:

and the other unknown to me and not the best photo to boot: 

It did not appear to be a Monarch to me although it had an orange and black color combination ~ the markings just seemed different??  Maybe it will return so I can try again for a better image?  or maybe one of you knows off the hand an identification???  That would be fabulous.  Just as I hope your weekend is....

Comments

[wiseacre]

What a great shot of 'death's shadow' watching the mouse.

I've found the best location for Cardinal Flowers - in the wild. Right now they're at their peak blooming along the rivers here. I can't quite keep them going in my garden, I think the soil gets too dry during winter.

[Lona]

Beautiful images Kathleen. That cat is just too well fed. LOL!

[Noelle / azplantlady]

What a wonderful way to spend time drinking your coffee. The little mouse is awfully cute...I am almost happy he got away ;-)

The color of your Lobelia is just so pretty. I love little toads...we used to get them when we lived in Phoenix during the summer months.

[Kala]

Your Lobelia image is gorgeous!

(and mice are ok with me as long as they don't come in my house!)

[RainGardener]

I had a dead mouse in the garden the other day and he was just gross looking since someone didn't finish the job. Maybe the neighbors cat who is apparently slipping in his cat skills too.
All of your flowers look great and some super pics of the butterflies.