Giddy Groundhog

The other night I put out a carrot for the groundhog who's a 'regular' in my garden about the same time every evening.  He/she was a very happy camper!!

:-)

Spectacular Sunset

We've had some beautiful sunsets lately, and especially one evening after a thunderstorm rumbled through.  It really poured, but just before dusk it was over and gorgeous clouds and a fantastic sunset was our reward.  Apologies for the photos with the phones lines - the price of technology ruining a perfectly wonderful sky.

“And yet day and night meet fleetingly at twilight and dawn," he said, lowering his voice again and narrowing his eyes and moving his head a quarter of an inch closer to hers. "And their merging sometimes affords the beholder the most enchanted moments of all the twenty-four hours. A sunrise or sunset can be ablaze with brilliance and arouse all the passion, all the yearning, in the soul of the beholder.”
― Mary Balogh, A Summer to Remember

Pint-sized Pademelons

There are kangaroos and wallabies, but have you heard of pademelons?  They are the even smaller sized version of a kangaroo with a shorter, bushier tail.  Looking more like a cross between a squirrel and a rabbit, pademelons are marsupials like kangaroos and females carry their young, also called joeys, in a pouch.

Tasmanian pademelon

The Tasmanian pademelon is nocturnal and hides in thick forest vegetation during the day and comes out in more open areas to feed on plants, herbs, grasses, and flowers at night.  Native to Tasmania, males are much  larger than females and except for breeding and taking care of their young, pademelons are solitary creatures.  Other species of pademelons are also found in Australia, New Guinea and Papua New Guinea.

Red-necked pademelon

Click here for a short video.

Guilty Groundhog

I planted some lupine in my garden this year.  Actually just one plant.  The tag claimed it was red, but when it actually bloomed, it looked more dark pink which was maybe a good thing since I had planted it near some other pink flowers.  I only got one because I could only find one 'red' one and I kept looking for more red but could never find any.  Probably a good thing since once my lupine bloomed, I remembered that I had planted some a few years ago and it never came back and why.  Woodchucks!  They really like lupine!  I had one gorgeous bloom that was almost a foot tall.  Here is what lupine is supposed to look like.

The blossoms really are impressive.  Mine one 'plume' of flowers was gorgeous until one morning I was looking out the kitchen window and noticed it was gone!  Just an empty stem standing where a beautiful stalk of flowers used to be.  There was another bloom coming along but hadn't come out yet so I was hopeful until a couple of days later I noticed that it was gone too along with quite a few leaves.  Here's what my lupine looks like now.

Poor baby!  That's what happens when you have a groundhog living close by.

Who, me???

Yes, you!!  Guilty as charged.

Rainy Reflections

It's been raining nearly all day today.  At times my patio under my awning was flooded.  After I took this picture I had a hard time telling which way was up.  I'm still not totally sure if this is correct or not.

There were two bright spots in the day though.  I was looking out of the kitchen window while doing the breakfast dishes and I saw my first hummingbird of the season.  The hummingbirds love my coral bells and they are in full bloom.

Naturally by the time I got my camera it was gone, so I had to cheat and find a photo of a hummingbird and the coral bells on the Birds and Blooms website!

I'm sure the hummingbirds have been around for a while, but they usually don't come in MY yard until the coral bells and the butterfly bushes are blooming.  I pruned the butterfly bushes somewhat late this spring.  They are on their way, but no blossoms yet.

The second bright spot came at the end the day with a photo op of Romeo and Tang.  Nothing like a snuggle with a friend on a rainy day in a chair that helps keep  you warm and your toes dry...

and another late day visit by a raccoon to end a rather dull day.

Hope you stayed dry wherever you happen to be.