the garden

It seems to be

a year for insects.

This pretty little moth
kept me company an entire day
on the ceiling of my room.

i would love to get closer to
this beauty
dining on the agapanthus 'Elaine' nectar

However
i require a long-ish lens
to capture the gorgeous marbling
in the nest of the bald faced hornet

3 for Lynette

It is my lovely niece's birthday
and for her
i offer up 3 new-to-my-garden favorites.
Actually
it's 3 photos of 2 "double click" cosmos.

The first blooms on 'Snow Puff'
don't look anything like the blooms that

open a couple of weeks later:

i planted 'Cranberries'
the other double click cosmos
by the alcove where i sit to have breakfast

Happy Birthday, Dear Lynette!
If we lived closer
i'd bring you a bouquet of the real things!

a chorus of insects

It's been a year for insects around here
and shame on me for not sharing before now
the amazing cicadas that visited us.

i'm sure that you heard about it on the news
the 17 year visit.
The puzzling thing for us is that here at home
in the northern part of the state
we had none
while down at Greenwood, an hour away
we had quite the crowd of the curious insects
filling the acres and acres of woodland and
neighborhoods.

i noticed first
the empty husks clinging to everything
including the stone walls of the cottages

And then the amazing red-eyed creatures
seemed to be everywhere
especially in the sycamore allée
where the ground was covered in a "mulch" of
crispy abandoned husks.

i will admit it:
i was squeamish at first
and then
while watching their struggle
and looking closely

they became wonderful little marvels
i suddenly cared about.

Individually
they are quite bumbling as they fly
even with those exquisite wings.
And their raspy chatter, up close
is not the least bit charming.

However, as a chorus of millions in the woods
their mating calls were a curiously soothing presence.


If i could have helped this one
i would have

He/she struggled a long time to get free
and stopped, frequently, to rest

All around the grounds
we found evidence that many did not make it

Looking to learn more
i found this wonderful video.
Do watch
they are a marvelous creature
and it is a gorgeous film:

Return of the Cicadas from motionkicker on Vimeo.