What is it

It would appear to be the caterpillar stage of the Saddleback Moth

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With each crime and every kindness we birth our future.

If you like bugs and spiders you might have a look at the pix I posted in the Bugs and Insects thread.

If you don't like bugs and spiders, stay away!!! 🕷

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~Sue~

So cute, but deadly now, right. Aren't they carrying the plague or something like that? :-(

From August: Plague-infected prairie dogs have shut down parts of a Denver suburb

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~Sue~

This what it's all about, seeing a child enjoying the wonder of nature. This is Scarlett, my soon to be 5 year old granddaughter, patiently waiting for a robin to jump on her hand to eat a few mealworms .Two months I went through the most traumatic experience a parent can go through...loosing a daughter, Scarlett lost her Auntie, her best friend...

But through Scarlett's eyes I have been able to see life as a precious gift and celebrate the times we had with my daughter, Hayley...

Beautiful photo.

I'm very sorry for your loss.

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~Sue~

That last shot is stunning.

I've been posting insect photos in the Bugs & Insects thread, if you're interested.

https://setiathome.berkeley.edu/forum_thread.php?id=82738

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~Sue~

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May we All have a METAMORPHOSIS. REASON. GOoD JUDGEMENT and LOVE and ORDER!!!!!

A long time ago I think I mentioned that I was working on my yards (both front and back) over the spring and summer. Here are some pix of what has happened in the front yard. It's mostly finished. I will put plants in the two planter boxes. And next spring I'm going to put some landscaping bricks around the mulch. There is a plastic border there now. I will add some more mulch to make it deeper and the bricks will help with that. This first photo is a screen cap from Google street view. It's the best photo of the OLD front of my house that I have. It was taken quite a while ago. I will go outside sometime soon and take a photo of the whole house so you can see what it looks like now. Maybe tomorrow, if it doesn't rain too much.



This is what I spent my summer doing. The big deal was the raised planters, and then I decided to surround them with mulch. (I'm trying to reduce the amount of mowing I have to do!) The round thing in front of the chairs is a butane fire pit. I haven't used it yet.



Here is a shot from the other direction that includes my windmill. I've always wanted a windmill in my yard!



Not bad for a 66-year old woman, huh?!

Edit: I haven't trimmed that bush in front of the window because it has berries that attract cedar waxwings. If I trim it, I'll have to cut off the berries. I'll trim it as soon as the berries have been eaten. Maybe.

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~Sue~

This first photo is a screen cap from Google street view. It's the best photo of the OLD front of my house that I have. It was taken quite a while ago.

That tree certainly dominated the house. Here, with a tree like that every time a storm came through i'd be worried the tree would crush the house, or drop a branch and make a big mess of it.

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Grant
Darwin NT

This first photo is a screen cap from Google street view. It's the best photo of the OLD front of my house that I have. It was taken quite a while ago.

That tree certainly dominated the house. Here, with a tree like that every time a storm came through i'd be worried the tree would crush the house, or drop a branch and make a big mess of it.

My mom worries about that, but I don't. I'm convinced there is enough holding it in place. And I keep an eye on the branches to detect any weak spots. (Thanks for your concern. <3)

Also, when the sun comes back and I'm able to take a new photo, you'll see that the tree, while huge, doesn't overwhelm the house any more.

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~Sue~

I see you have done a lot of work. If you get a self-propelled, walk behind mower with a bagger you could pick up the leaves and other junk on the lawn easily and get some exercise as well.

What are you going to plant in the raised bed ?

I presume that water there is too expensive to keep the lawn green.

I see you have done a lot of work. If you get a self-propelled, walk behind mower with a bagger you could pick up the leaves and other junk on the lawn easily and get some exercise as well.

What are you going to plant in the raised bed ?

I presume that water there is too expensive to keep the lawn green.

I actually have one of those and I never thought about using it to pick up the fallen leaves.

I have plants for the raised beds that are not common. At least, not to me. I could list them but, generally, they are perennials that produce flowers. I want to attract bees and hummingbirds. I think I have a couple that may not produce flowers, but that have interesting coloring. And I want perennials so I don't have to do this every year. I am not a gardening person. I'm just trying to improve curb appeal. :-) My plan is to have the entire surface of the raised bed covered with something. It's also worth noting that the plants I have are fall-planting plants, so they should survive our relatively mild winter.

Water is not a problem until we get into a drought. That happens every few years or so. I'm just not fond of mowing, especially when the temperatures reach the upper 90s, which is quite common in our central Texas summer. I thought about turning my lawn into one of those you see in Arizona that's nothing but rocks/gravel and a xeriscape plant or two, but decided against it for a couple of reasons.

Edit: I've found and uploaded a list of the plants I've got for the raised beds. If you want to see it, click click here. Keep in mind that the "quantity" will be divided between the two planter boxes.

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~Sue~

Here are before and "now" pictures of the front of my house. The before photo is actually a google street view photo, because I don't have any photos of how the front of my house looked before all the changes began. This, technically, violates the rule against posting a photo that someone else took, I know. I hope you can forgive me. I tried to take the "now" photo from the same angle but couldn't get up as high as the camera on the google vehicle. ;-)

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~Sue~

hi Suzie, Looks Beautiful, thank you for sharing. Best Wishes.
Byron.

Do put out a hummingbird feeder or two. Mix your own syrup in a 4 to 1 mix of water to cane sugar. We also put in red food coloring. We had at least 15 birds this year for a few months.

The photo is mine - feeder, birds and background courtesy of my host in the Colorado mountains, this summer.

Do put out a hummingbird feeder or two. Mix your own syrup in a 4 to 1 mix of water to cane sugar. We also put in red food coloring. We had at least 15 birds this year for a few months.

Please do NOT add red food coloring. It can be harmful, and it is not necessary. There is enough red on most hummer feeders to attract hummers.

Read more here: http://www.hummingbirds.net/feeders.html

This is specifically about adding red dye: http://www.hummingbirds.net/dye.html - The first part is what Perky Pet says. Please read beyond that, to the response.

Also, it is too late in the Eastern United States to put out hummingbird feeders. Some species stick around other parts of the US, but the Ruby Throated hummer migrates to Mexico for the winter. So do some research and find out what species of hummer is in your area and when. Here's some help: http://www.hummingbirds.net/states.html

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~Sue~

Does no one have any photos to post? I miss seeing your stuff.

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~Sue~

Okay, I guess I need to keep the thread alive. ;-)
(Apologies to any of you who don't like bugs. I love bugs. Well, most of them.)

This fella was in my backyard in 2015. It's a Giant Green-eyed Robber Fly.





And speaking of bugs, here is my favorite refrigerator magnet.

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~Sue~