Staying Connected

Though I feel like I have walked away from so many contacts I have made here at Blogger, I am committed to staying connected and will use blogspot as a stepping stone to my new website and blog.

I am taking a break due to burn-out from working so hard on the new site. I hope you might check it out by clicking here. There you can see the story that goes with the photo above. It was a precious encounter and there are more photos if you click on the link. Best Wishes for now. 

A Bestiary - At Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens PART TWO

White-tailed Deer

Doe Communicating with Her Hoof . . . Stomping Her Authority 

Please join me over at Native Plants and Wildlife Gardens for my monthly post. 

This month I share stories and photos of magical and enchanting encounters with White-tailed Deer in our gardens and fields.

A Silent Focus On White

Porcupine in Apple Tree

Common Yellow-throat

Red-eyed Vireo 

Yucca

The day has bright light

a silent focus on white

nature in balance

Wild Visitors for Blooming Friday

Actias luna

One morning in July I found this lovely pale male Luna Moth sleeping on the clapboards next to the front door of my house. I carefully lift and carry this beauty into the studio, for he would surely have become lunch for a Chickadee had I not eyed the moth myself. He can continue dreaming of a mate more safely indoors on this plant. (If you have time here is a great video of the Luna Moth life cycle.) He continues dozing until dusk, then I hold him out into the night and watch as he awakes, quakes and using my hand as a flight pad . . .  takes off . . . his ghostly wings uniquely flapping side to side rather than up and down like most other moths and butterflies. I have only ever encounter them in May never seen one this late in the summer. I felt like I was given a gift. 

What a life . . . having no mouth . . . no need for food . . . a Luna Moth simply sleeps all day and  flies about all night, with one goal . . .  finding a mate. They have one full week of life in this manner. In my garden, the female may lay her eggs in groups on leaves in the Shagbark Hickory tree.

Male Luna Moth . . . the wide full antennae are the giveaway. 

Luna Moths are so incredibly beautiful. Someday I will post about a spring, when nearly thirty come to visit over a period of a couple weeks. I imagine my human visitors may have left their outside light on during the night, which attracted this moth. Birds appreciate the mistake and feast on sleeping Saturniidaes. I have seen the hunt and try to wake the moths, but mostly they just fall to the ground . . . this is why I began bringing them inside to have a safe place to sleep. I try to remind guests to turn off their outside lights. I will not deny that in this case I am not upset about the remiss. 

White-tailed Deer  Odocoileus virginianus

Oh, I see you little one! I have often called my farm 'Flower Hill Fawn Care'  for sometimes a doe will leave her babies to sleep in the flower borders or hidden within the shrubberies, while they roam further to forage. I was lucky once to see one doe at pick-up time. Remarkably the Deer do very little damage to my gardens. We have an understanding most of the time.

This Virginia Opossum Didelphis virginiana

This creature cannot seem to make up its mind . . . going up . . . or going down?

Bobcat Lynx rufus

One of my most amazing visitors . . . you can see my earlier post on this Bobcat along the side bar. He takes my breath away!

Coyote Canis latrans

I am happy to finally see this fellow in the light of day. We have known each other in the garden at night . . . he or she growling at me, when suddenly realizing I was nearby. The frightful sound pierces my solitude and I do not feel quite welcome, as I jump out of the hammock . . .  from my quiet moon watching meditation . . .  shouting towards him while clapping my hands. I can see a form running away, but that night I did not have my flashlight. 

I would like to think that my presence just makes her uneasy, as I am so quiet and the wind may be blowing in the wrong direction for my scent to be detected. We have another encounter the next night in a different part of the garden. Perhaps she is just caught off guard and her growl is more from fear. Equipped with my light this time . . . I can see her form more clearly . . .  with those eyes lit up staring back at me. Wild creatures such as Coyotes and Bear run away when frightened then stop and turn around . . . looking back at what it was that scared them off. Finding this rather disconcerting I always walk with a quick step . . . not running. . . back towards the safety of my house. Alas, I have given over the night garden to the wildlife. Most likely this Coyote would not harm me, but it is a wild creature and I respect its right to be here too. Often there is a pack howling and carrying on in the garden. Their chilling calls are thrilling. This one seems to be a loner. This gardener/farmer greatly appreciates their skills at hunting rabbits and voles. I worry for the little fawns and yearlings, while knowing there is a balance at work here. Coyotes are native and have been wandering the land for millions of years.

 Least Weasel

I am very grateful for this little critter too. I only wish he or she would not raid bird nests. Weasels do enjoy dining on rabbits and voles as well. There is the danger with all these predators . . . for the larger ones to kill the smaller predators. I think Weasels and Ferrets might be better at controlling Rabbits. I hope they are more clever than the Coyotes. 

Catbirds are rather brazen at times . . . here they challenge the Least Weasel. 

I love that my gardens and land are home to so many different wild creatures. I do sometimes wonder just who is the visitor here. It is Blooming Friday over at Katarina's  Roses and Stuff  be sure to visit to see other garden visitors from around the world. 

Thank YOU! "Giving Gardens!"

I want to Thank You All so much for your kind words of support on my previous Anniversary post. I am so deeply touched and moved by your generosity and truly sweetest of hearts! Today I am sharing a great old/new idea of giving. A "Giving Garden" . . .  old in that back during both World Wars I and II citizens across the world planted Victory Gardens to help out with public food shortages.  

New in that Andria Post Ergun of The Alternative Gardener  contacted me yesterday with a similar idea and asked me to join her in spreading the word of creating a "Giving Garden" within our gardens to donate to Food Pantries, Shelters for the Homeless, Survival Centers and Food Banks in our areas the world over. People are struggling here in our country and in all lands across this planet.

I plant my veggies in with flowering shrubs, perennials and annuals to try to camouflage my food from rabbits mostly! Many years it works out fine, but not last year so it seems I need fencing. I planted enough to share with the rabbits but it is unfortunate they do not care to share with me! 

I will be planting extra vegetables this year to share with others,

 who might be caught in the net of economic troubles. I feel so outraged and disappointed with how our "leaders" have dealt with this economic downfall . . .  though I will continue to call my representatives in congress and my president pleading for them to act justly, I will not wait but will act according to my conscience. I love sharing fruit with the wildlife that coexist on this land with me.

Apples fall and accommodate other creatures reach. 

These little guys are more than welcome to the fallen apples.

There is always more than enough to go around and I will share my harvests with others in need this year too. Instead of just feeling angry about what is not being done I will feel better just doing something myself.

I will be offering some of my freshest and juiciest apples.

Native Blueberries too!

Leaving plenty for my feathered friends such as this Rose-breasted Grosbeak. 

They pick with their beaks while my fingers gingerly gather these perfect berries.

I will share one quarter of each container I harvest. They are tiny berries that take a good amount of time to pick... and I do so covet them! Just last week I finished my last bottle of frozen berries. They are so delicious in smoothies. What a luxury!

Every meal is not treated as a celebration, but maybe they should be in our hearts and minds considered so. During the growing season I feel so blessed with plentiful harvests and beauty all around me, that a dear friend and I get together once a month or more, for champagne luncheons to celebrate and be thankful. Though I struggle as an artist and farmer, I am so lucky to live in a paradise and have a warm cozy shelter to call home. In the summer I love to make large salads in big bowls filled with goodies like beans, local goat's cheese, nuts, grated carrots, beets and some sort of fruit . . .  maybe dried apricots all mixed with herbs, gardens greens, virgin olive oil and lemon! The variety changes with what happens to be in the garden and refrigerator. I can not recall the saying that goes something like . . . civilizations will evolve to higher planes, when they can no longer lift a morsel of food to their mouths, while others are hungry or starving. I am in no way trying to say that we should feel guilty for what we have . . . in fact I think . . . if we have abundance then we should rejoice. Here is to sharing our abundance . . . joyfully growing and giving. Please check out The Alternative Gardener and consider planting a "Giving Garden" of your own. I know that many share in so many ways with those less fortunate . . . or neighbors and friends struggling with illness or losses. I know of the generous spirit that lives in this gardening community . . . I see and read it in your posts, your comments and your worlds. Andria and I would love to hear what you think of this project . . .  be sure to visit her site and let her know what you think.