Speaking of wild life, this woodchuck moved into a culvert under my road into the property. I realize they are vegetarians but Woody ate two rows of green beans, one row of yellow beans, all my winter squash, and all my Swiss chard. Cute maybe but not loved. My neighbor kills them which is probably why he lives here instead of there. Clicking on photos enlarges them.
The goldfinch young have found the juicy young seeds of my Cupplant and Rudbeckia. They eat most but also scatter a few seeds; several new plants have appeared in my un-mowed meadow.
I noticed some "dirt" on Hosta leaves, looked up and found carpenter ants had made a home in the trunk of this poplar (big toothed aspen). I had noticed earlier that some wounds on that tree had appeared and the tree was showing signs of decay. It is rather close to the house; I lose several trees every year in my north forest from Lake Huron winds, so when Detroit Edison was trimming nearby trees in power lines I asked the men if they could take the tree partly down - which they did. I like to leave about thirty feet of trunk standing for woodpeckers, chickadees, nuthatches, brown creepers, flickers, etc. so they could feed on insects and construct nests as the trees weather. I think I dodged a bullet on this one. If you look closely at the second photo below you might be able to see the ant nest entrances.
I love this rare fall blooming species Hosta from Japan. The flower scapes are so elegant when budding and the flowers are great later. Last winter I started a new plant from seeds I gathered in late January. Viability was poor because I waited too long to harvest the small seeds which have very little endosperm. So this year I'll start some seeds earlier while they are more viable.
Concord Grapes
Concord Grapes
Favorite Sculpture
Viburnum
Viburnum
Sweet Autumn Clematis with Volunteer Cosmos
The House from Nordmark
I rescued a wild sunflower from a field nearby three years ago. It actually does better out in my field where the soil is not as "good". Here near my house it grows too tall and flops. There it is a better height and remains upright.
Woodland Sunflower
Helianthus strumosus
Woodland Sunflower
Helianthus strumosus
Woodland Sunflower
Helianthus strumosus
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