racoon bandit

This morning I looked out at the bird feeder, hoping to see a blue jay or a chickadee, and found a much bigger visitor. A big, very fat racoon had his head in the feeder, chomping happily. I am always surprised that they can eat sunflower seeds - the hulls must be pretty dry and hard to swallow, but they manage.

After getting a few shots, I opened the deck door to get a closer look. Mr. Racoon slowly gave me a look, and wandered along the top of the railing, around the corner, and down the deck steps, eventually ambling out of sight among the trees.

He sure took his time, and not one bit scared, just slightly annoyed and resigned to the fact that he's not really welcome anywhere. But I feel lucky he put on a show for me.

Pumpkins popping up

In July, I found a cute little volunteer plant in the garden, no bigger than my thumb.  I went on holidays, and when I got back, pumpkin vines had taken over the whole garden, with leaves as big as my head!  I ended up with 12 big beautiful pumpkins, which did a whole lot better than the tomato volunteers, which bravely produced fruit but then were hit by blight and went rotten.  The parsley volunteers (pictured) are doing just fine.

My theory is that because I make my own compost and put it on the garden each spring, seeds that have over wintered in the warmth of the compost bin are ready to sprout in the spring.  Because I don't cultivate with a rotor tiller, the seedlings don't get mown down. 

The 12 pumpkins made a great display on my front steps.  They did become more yellow, but never achieved that bright orange I was expecting.  And that's the thing about gardening.  You don't always get what you expect, and there's often a surprize.

the colours of fall

The sky might be grey, but it sure makes the colours pop!  Here's my honesuckle.

 autumn crocus

Cosmos always takes a long time to flower from seed, but it sure is bright.

 perenial mallow surrounded by black eyed susans and sedum

Monkshood from Carolyn adds a stunning purple-blue.

Cllimbing rose "Blaze" is still going strong.

This picture doesn't do justice to the fiery colours of sumac.

birds of summer

It's only the middle of August, but it's been a very cold one. Signs of fall are everywhere. Flocks of birds are already meeting and discussing their plans for travelling south. They swoop through our back yard in coordinated manoeuvres and then congregate on the big tree in the back yard.

But the perennials have really loved the cool temperatures and rain showers every second day, and they are doing great.

Icelandic poppy.

I have to keep snipping off the seed heads after the petals fall off to avoid finding hundreds of new plants next year.

I started these hollyhocks from seed a few years ago, and they have rewarded me with dazzling colours over a long season.

This butterfly flower was a mail-order buy this spring, and it's already blooming beautifully.

giving up the fight

The lily beetles have won.
This spring, I had a brain wave. Why not try sprinkling spent coffee grounds on my emerging lilies to kep the beetles at bay? And it worked. Numbers went down about 90 percent.
But then I went away on vacation, and when I got back, this is what I found. The plants were totally devastated. Every green leaf was grey and dry, and the flower buds obviously were never going to open.
So - I give up. Even though I hate punishing the victim, I pulled out all the lilies, and I won't be growing any more in the future. I've been told that everything is cyclical, and that any population will swell and then crash. Let's hope that happens with this red menace.

Wild Hawaiian life

Chickens are everywhere on Hawaii. From a car rental parking lot (like the picture) to the deepest jungle to just outside the hotel room, chickens go about their business. Roosters start to crow at 4 in the morning, and it's common to see hens scurry around with their chicks. These chickens are said to be escapees from back yard chicken coops, and they have spread far and wide. A few years ago, a hurricane blue them even further afield.

A praying mantis entertained us while we were enjoying a shave ice, a most delicious treat we had every day. Finely shaved ice sprinkeled with exotic flavours such as coconut, passion fruit, lichee, "shark's blood" and lots of others I can't pronounce.

Big green sea turtles nibble on algae growing on rocks in shallow water.

While we were hiking along the Wailua River in Kawaii, we lost the trail but found lots of frogs.

The birds are amazingly tame. They come very close, love handouts while we ate outside or in an open-air restaurant. This is a Brazilian Cardinal.

Why would anyone go to Hawaii in the summer? That's a question I get a lot. Since it took 20 hours to get there, you need to stay a while, and I don't have time off work during the winter. Plus, the waves are much higher and rougher in the winter, and it can be dangerous to swim. It was not too hot, there was always a breeze, and every day was an adventure.

flowers from far away

tree hugger

anthurium

I think this is a Ti plant, which was very important to the original Hawaiians





no idea what this is, but the combination of lavender and hot pink caught my eye.

banana flower with tiny new bananas underneath

hibiscus

I haven't posted anything for a while - life got in the way. In July, my husband and I spent 18 glorious days exploring three islands in Hawaii: Oahu, Kawaii, and Maui. The landscape was so dramatic - lush green wrinkled mountains on every horizon. And the flowers were like something beyond my imagination. These pictures are a small sample of paradise.