March 30 – April 4, 2014
I spent a work week in Chicago for work.April 6, 2014
Oak catkins were all over the roof, back patio, driveway, and both yards.The ferns behind my house had all regrown from winter and looked healthy.
The seed capules on my geraniums had turned black.
A few cantaloupe seedlings had emerged from their mounds.
Two healthy rows of black-eyed pea seedlings had emerged on my mini Hügelkultur mound.
The C bed was now connected with the triangle bed, and contained collards, lettuce, a broccoli plant with many seed pods, red russian kale, winter kale, toscano kale, which was very tall and flowering, giant mustard, chard, tomatoes, peppers, and basil.
The tomato plants were still small with small geren tomatoes.
The larger ‘Hot Banana’ pepper plant had multiple flowers and a few young peppers.
One of the collards and the smaller dinosaur kale are in full bloom.
The leaves on the cucumber seedlings are growing larger. The plants still haven’t produced tendrils or reached the trellis near the back fence. The trellis mounds were very close to the star jasmine.
Four okra seedlings emerged on either side of the mound within the last week.
Three squash seedlings emerged on the south side of the mound. They were the last sowed seeds to emerge from the mound.
While two coral honeysuckle stems had downy mildew on their leaves, a third one was growing well and sprawling along the ground. I had put logs around them so I wouldn't accidentally smash them, but many forbs were inside the area.
An iris bloom began to appear in the west yard, against the garage.
The smaller ‘Hot Banana’ plant was starting to blossom.
The Venus Looking Glass on and by the driveway had some flowers.
I found an Asteraceae that could be a kind of prickly lettuce.
Only a few azalea blossoms remained.
The recently planted milkweed began to form flower buds.
The more recently transplanted, much larger milkweed cluster started to recover from the shock of transplantation.
The American beautyberry looked healthy.
The shrimp plant was starting to flower.
April 7, 2014
A couple flower buds appeared on the Texas lantana.I saw a fully bloomed Venus looking glass flower for the first time.
April 9, 2014
The string beans on the east side of the arbor have almost reached the trellis lines with their tendrils. The beans on the west side are stunted.The squash seedlings are starting to form their first true leaves.
A few irises in the west side yard flowered.
The bean seedlings on the big mound are growing quickly.
The cucumber mounds have a large percentage of native gumbo dirt, and the seedlings are growing well.
I had planted some kind of basil at the west end of the cucumber trellises.
A store-bought milkweed plant is growing near the back fence and the west side of the trellises.
The hummingbird bush looks very unhealthy.
Prickly lettuce and American nightsade are now about 8 inches tall.
April 10, 2014
I swept my roof, removing the oak catkins and filling three garbage bags with them.I took a picture of a Harlequin ladybeetle larva.
I took a fuzzy picture of a ghost spider I saw on the pot I was using to collect greens in the back yard.
April 13, 2014
I bought a plug-in lawnmower and a weed whacker at Home Depot.I mowed and edged my front lawn, bagging the grass clippings, along with the leaves and oak catkins that came with them.
I found southern dewberry in the back yard for the first time.
I found a young vine that was either wild muscadine or something like Boston Ivy.
The first lantana florets of the year are opening.
April 15, 2014
A couple of the string beans are climbing up their lines.I discovered a young Eastern redbud growing out of my hedges in the front yard by the garage.
The American nightshade has formed some flower buds. It has several leaves and is about half a foot tall.
I discovered a new Asteraceae with long, narrow leaves.
I identified a Chinese tallow seedling.
At least one small, 1" diameter, tomato had formed.
The outer rings of the lantana florets have bloomed.
Prickly lettuce is about six inches tall.
A raccoon or possum has dug a hole in the ground.
The tuscano kale seed pods are well developed.
I found a white, unripe strawberry. That plant was growing in dirt that was only slightly improved and covered with a very thin layer of leaves.
Some lettuce was growing well.
I found a water elm gowing amidst the nandina behind my bedroom.
The Carolina geranium's seed pods and bracts (?) have turned red.
The irises are in full bloom.
Venus looking glass is growing and flowering in driveway cracks.
April 18, 2014
I identified a long-legged fly, family Dolichopodidae.Some of my cucumber leaves have signs of too much water, namely, a thin shriveled area along the edges.
I saw the first beginnings of flower buds on the cucumber plants.
I started taking pictures with my new SLR camera.
A patch of yellow woodsorrell has seeds.
A couple of inflorescences on the Texas lantana are mostly blooming
Small carrot tops were rising from the bed.
Young carolina geranium was starting to flower.
A tomato plant in the C bed has a few small unripe tomatoes.
A pepper plant has at least one flower and the beginnings of peppers.
A cucumber seedling has small true leaves.
I found a small dewberry plant near the northwest corner of the back yard.
The two outside rings of florets in lantana inflorescences are blooming.
Common woodland sedge is fruiting.
The loropetalum has seeds.
American nightshade is about to flower.
Some of the irises are shriveling.
The yellow woodsorrel still has some seed pods.
I photographed the long-legged fly Condylostylus nigrofemoratus.
Venus looking glass was forming fruits.
I photographed some dichondra.
Fennel and some kind of basil (lemon?) were growing in the herb bed.
I had bags of leaves in the garage.
April 19, 2014
The hugelkulture mound had some seedlings with true leaves.Canteloupe and cucumber trellisses had mounds in front of them. The star jasmine wasn't yet completely cleared in the area around the cucumber trellises.
I had replaced a few pickets at the eastern end of the back fence.
The greens in the C bed were fully grown, and some tomato plants were about half the fully grown size.
The eastern fence was mostly clear of star jasmine, but most of the eastern half of the back fence was still covered with it.
The back yard was still mostly covered with St. Augustine grass.
I shredded a lot of my bagged leaves with my lawn mower. At the time, I shredded one or two bags at a time, and when I finished all the bags and put the leaves in a pile, I went back and vacuumed the shredding area with my wet/dry vac.
Common Sowthistle is growing in my herb garden, amongst the lemon balm and mint.
I photographed a Chinese tallow seedling, of which there are many every spring.
A young basil plant is emerging through some leaves on the ground. Its leaf margins hold water droplets.
Milkweed is about to flower.
A small hackberry tree is by the back fence.
Oriental false hawksbeard is flowering.
A sweet autumn clematis vine is rising out of the grass.
Great plains flatsedge is flowering in the back yard.
Prickly sow thistle is flowering.
Flat-top mille graines is flowering in the front yard by the driveway.
Flat-top mille graines is flowering in the front yard by the driveway.
Bristle mallow is starting to form flowers in the front yard. Many of the leaves are covered with tiny light spots.
Lawnflower is flowering.
I saw some ruellia leaves rising in the back yard near the gate.
I first noticed Pennsylvania cudweed in the back yard.
I spotted a large crane fly (Tipula colei) in the back yard grass.
I found one of the ‘Bloody Butcher’ tomatoes on the ground with a small portion eaten.
The first flower buds appeared on my string beans.
The first flowers bloomed on American nightshade.
The pecan tree next door is covered with catkins, some of which fall into my yard.
Flower buds appeared on the salad burnet.
I photographed an orchard spider.
Some violet woodsorrel is still flowering.
A wedgling moth was on the ground near a fence.
A cucumber plant has two true leaves and is starting a third one.
A female longlegged fly (Condylostylus flavipes) was on a cucumber leaf.
A male longlegged fly of a different species (Condylostylus longicornis) was on an American nightshade leaf.
A tropical milkweed has flower buds that are about to bloom.
A celery leaftier is resting on a decaying violet woodsorrel leaf.
I took photos of a four-spotted bird dropping moth in the backyard grass.
At night, a young possum came in to the breezeway between my kitchen and garage. The kitchen door was open, and Max (the cat) got to the possum before I did. After putting Max inside and taking pictures, I turned off the lights and left the possum alone. When I checked back a few minutes later, the possum was gone.
Salad Burnet produced an early-stage flower head in the herb garden.
Oriental false hawksbeard is flowering.
I photographed the underside of an orchard spider.
I discovered white sweet clover in the herb garden.
A female longlegged fly, Condylostylus nigrofemoratus, was on a leaf.
I took a picture of a Celery leaftier moth.
The aroma of star jasmine fills the air in its area. Some vines dangle down from the Chinese privet that supports it.
I photographed a stout light-colored orbweaver spider.
The first cucumber flower appeared.
I saw a male house sparrow gathering straw for a nest.
A twin-flagged jumping spider came into my kitchen.
The watermelon seedlings produced their first leaves.
I photographed a male and female orchard orbweaver together on the same web.
I found a hacklemesh weaver spider in a pot in the garage. I took the pot out into the sun and harassed the poor spider until it came out of the pot for me to photograph.
I found some small flies on the orange peels I had just added to the compost the day before.
I found a long vine among the ferns. A person on Reddit identified it as Lygodium japonicum.
I photographed a little brown moth on my kitchen window. This window has become as great place to find moths. I see them when I’m in the kitchen at night, then go outside and take their pictures with a flash.
I found a frilly grass tubeworm moth in my kitchen.
I photographed a little brown moth.
The American nightshade has fruit.
Lawnflower is flowering.
I saw some ruellia leaves rising in the back yard near the gate.
I first noticed Pennsylvania cudweed in the back yard.
I spotted a large crane fly (Tipula colei) in the back yard grass.
April 20, 2014
A fungus gnat (Leia oblectabilis) was resting on a piece of paper in my study.
The coral honeysuckle was crawling along the grass, and small spots of powdery mildew were appearing on its leaves.
Prickly sow thistle is growing by a fence among young carolina geranium.
Some of the lantana inflorescences were almost fully bloomed.
The shrimp plant against the back fence did not have any flowers, and it was still surrounded by star jasmine.
April 23, 2014
Watermelon seedlings emerged.I found one of the ‘Bloody Butcher’ tomatoes on the ground with a small portion eaten.
The first flower buds appeared on my string beans.
The first flowers bloomed on American nightshade.
The pecan tree next door is covered with catkins, some of which fall into my yard.
Flower buds appeared on the salad burnet.
I photographed an orchard spider.
Some violet woodsorrel is still flowering.
A wedgling moth was on the ground near a fence.
A cucumber plant has two true leaves and is starting a third one.
A female longlegged fly (Condylostylus flavipes) was on a cucumber leaf.
A male longlegged fly of a different species (Condylostylus longicornis) was on an American nightshade leaf.
A tropical milkweed has flower buds that are about to bloom.
A celery leaftier is resting on a decaying violet woodsorrel leaf.
April 24, 2014
The first flower on my Kentucky Wonder beans started to bloom.I took photos of a four-spotted bird dropping moth in the backyard grass.
At night, a young possum came in to the breezeway between my kitchen and garage. The kitchen door was open, and Max (the cat) got to the possum before I did. After putting Max inside and taking pictures, I turned off the lights and left the possum alone. When I checked back a few minutes later, the possum was gone.
Salad Burnet produced an early-stage flower head in the herb garden.
Oriental false hawksbeard is flowering.
I photographed the underside of an orchard spider.
I discovered white sweet clover in the herb garden.
A female longlegged fly, Condylostylus nigrofemoratus, was on a leaf.
April 25,2014
I discovered some great plains flatsedge .I took a picture of a Celery leaftier moth.
The aroma of star jasmine fills the air in its area. Some vines dangle down from the Chinese privet that supports it.
I photographed a stout light-colored orbweaver spider.
April 26,2014
I took a picture of a bumble bee flying up against the fence in the northeast corner of the backyard.The first cucumber flower appeared.
I saw a male house sparrow gathering straw for a nest.
A twin-flagged jumping spider came into my kitchen.
April 27, 2014
I sawed off branches from the golden rain tree and Chinese privet behind the back fence to give more light to the plants beneath them and to curtail the growth of these invasive trees.The watermelon seedlings produced their first leaves.
I photographed a male and female orchard orbweaver together on the same web.
I found a hacklemesh weaver spider in a pot in the garage. I took the pot out into the sun and harassed the poor spider until it came out of the pot for me to photograph.
April 28, 2014
Having increased the sharpness settings in my camera the night before, my photos this day were much sharper.I found some small flies on the orange peels I had just added to the compost the day before.
I found a long vine among the ferns. A person on Reddit identified it as Lygodium japonicum.
I photographed a little brown moth on my kitchen window. This window has become as great place to find moths. I see them when I’m in the kitchen at night, then go outside and take their pictures with a flash.
I found a frilly grass tubeworm moth in my kitchen.
I photographed a little brown moth.
April 29,2014
The salad burnet is flowering.The American nightshade has fruit.
