I am thankful to be able to dig in the dirt.
When the weather permits, I've been trying to uncover a couple of flower beds around my house. Both are covered with invasive weeds and this has been the first step in determining if the beds can be saved or need to be totally reworked. As I've been pulling and digging weeds, I have been enjoying some of nature's curiosities that I am finding. So for the chance to dig in the dirt and discover bits of nature, I am thankful.
Below are pictures of some of the things I found.
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| I was totally fascinated by this white thing that looked a like bean sprouting. I left it to see what was going to happen with it. |
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| Five days later, this is what I found. Then it dawned on me. It was a violet seed pod. It was ghostly white when I found it because it had been so covered with weeds and no exposure to the sun. All of these seeds from one pod helps to explain why there are violets everywhere. |
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| In the same bed, I found these marble-sized white balls with root-like ends. I was pretty sure they were some kind of fungus and an internet search confirmed that. They were immature fruit bodies of the stinkhorn fungus. |
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| If there was any doubt about the identification, it was validated a week later when I found these mature stinkhorn fungi growing in the same place. They were supposed to be really stinky, but I didn't notice anything. |
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| I first noticed some cicada skeletons on the underside of some leave that were trimmed. Then I started to notice them everywhere. Apparently we've had an unexpected emergence of cicadas here this year. |
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| In another bed, I found this sluggish woolly bear. Soon we should be seeing a lot more of them traveling to find a place to hibernate for the winter. |
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| A few minutes later, I found this virgin tiger moth which is what a woolly bear caterpillar grows into. I'm not sure if there's a relationship between the two I saw, but it was a pretty cool association. |
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| This little leaf hopper was hiding among the leaves. I uncovered it with my weeding. |
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| When I stood back to view my progress, I noticed this piece of bark that had wrapped itself around a branch. It had literally exploded off a nearby tree that was hit by lightning recently. |
Today I hope I get a chance to enjoy the nice weather and do a little more digging. Just hope my back holds out. :)
You really could also have titled this post "A Second Look"! I enjoyed the pictures, thanks for sharing. Have fun digging in the dirt!
ReplyDeleteI was debating about the title. I decided to put this one here because I really did enjoy learning about all of these new things. I'm going to do a Second Look soon.
DeleteIt's probably like going on a treasure hunt in your own yard, isn't it? How fun!
ReplyDeleteIt is like a treasure hunt. I don't always expect to find something, but there always seems to be something that captures my fascination. Now if only my knees and back held out as long as my curiosity.
DeleteNice finds! I have not been digging much this year, but Mom has a laundry list of things she wants me to do in her yard.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure she does. Has it cooled off enough there to do much yard work?
DeleteYou found a lot of interesting things! Loved seeing all what you found, especially the violet seed pod!
ReplyDeleteThe seed pod made no sense to me at all when I found it and only a little more when I saw it opened. However, when I looked the pictures before doing this post, it hit me all at once what it was. Funny how that happens sometimes.
DeleteJune - Mrs. H and I spoke with Bob and Sharie S. yesterday for quite a bit yesterday. They live in the Meyerland area, SW of Bellaire; Bray's Bayou is about a mile away. Mid-afternoon yesterday, they were still doing OK. Water was running through their street (Edith, near Beachnut and Renwick) but was not over their curb yet, after the latest heavy band of rain had come through. They were just waiting and watching. I saw that another heavy band of rain came through their last night and I haven't had an update from them since. They had moved higher as many of their valuable as they could. It was going to be a waiting game and would depend on how much more rain they get through there. I'm hoping they make it OK, but there's still a lot of water out there.
ReplyDeleteI used to enjoy digging in the dirt but I don't do this so much anymore. Our east Tennessee soil is horrible to work with. It's red clay and it's hard as rock! When I did dig in the dirt, I'd mix in potting soil with my my plants but the problem is that's just not enough to help my flowers to return yearly. So...I've given up for now. Maybe someday when I'm in my dream home if the previous owner hasn't left behind beautiful flower beds then we can haul in some top soil so that I can build some or at the very least have a nice place to develop a garden spot to enjoy the blooms. I enjoyed your discoveries and certainly understand your thanksgivings for playing in the dirt. Have a good day!
ReplyDeleteThere have been several gardening projects I have put a tremendous effort into that haven't work out. After I while, I just give up because to me, it's not worth the effort any more. So I certainly understand the idea that you don't dig much any more.
DeleteWhile the soil here in my new house is not quite as bad as you're describing, it is very rocky and not particularly good. I'm not sure how we're going to handle that yet. As we see what's coming up, we'll eventually make a plan. Right now, we're still in the discovery stage.
We've just started to spot wooly bears too. Little Guy loves them. I too have been playing in the dirt this week as we finally had a bit of break from the rain, although it's back today. My work hasn't been so much about finding things as it's been about amending soil and getting the beds ready for winter.
ReplyDelete