Simple Pleasures

It has been a good, long weekend for reflection and enjoyment at home.  After the fast pace of commitments and meetings, it was time to relax and take in a few simple pleasures of everyday miracles.

Great Blue Lobelia, Lobelia siphilitica 

 The Great Blue Lobelia is blooming next to my newly created "waterfall,"  an attempt to attract a few fall warblers into the yard.  The Great Blue Lobelia has already been a nectar source for both hummingbirds and butterflies.  Don't you love it when your landscape "works" for you?

Jack-in-the-pulpit seeds

 Along the path through the woods, a brilliant, red seed-head awaits transport.  Perhaps a box turtle or bird will distribute those seeds from a Jack-in-the-pulpit, Arisaema triphyllum.  We will have to keep a close eye on its progress this fall. My woods is full of them.

Yellow and Black Garden Spider

Late summer and fall is an opportune time for spider watching.  This is the largest Black and Yellow Garden Spider I have ever seen.  A real-life drama occurred when a hapless bumblebee had the misfortune of flying smack-dab into this web.  Quick as a flash, the spider leaped upon opportunity and gingerly passed a couple of wraps of silk around the wildly buzzing bumbler.

It patiently retreated until the bee had stilled and later, the spider returned to its prey to fully ensconce the bee in a shroud of silk.  Next, it carried the bagged bumblebee to the larder, freeing the web for more activity.

Life and death, beauty and the beasts: it all goes on in your backyard.