Do you miss all your summer friends? Please post some pics. I know it's only been a month or so but it seems longer. This little guy had the prettiest blue around his eyes. I liked him hanging around even though he was always eyeballin the butterfly cage.
And these little frogs I had all over the place, they especially liked my Plumie, with those big leaves to sit on.
I had found this Polyphemous Moth cat and planned on letting him pupate in the bf cage, but he kept wandering around the cage so I let him loose on a tree. He was a very slow crawler and I didn't think he would ever make it to the branches without getting eaten. My neck hurt from watching him lol. I hope he made it.
What cute little critters girl!! I hear ya with the neck sore from watching lol.
I miss the Robins with the chicks hiding in the bushes cheeping for the parent to feed them. But spring seems like a year away right now. I miss the frogs too, but mine aren't as cute as that little fellow napping on the leaf.
Sheila, I love to see the robins too, they are here most of the year, but gone right now. They are fun to watch, even though they always seem to find my earthworms. Over the summer one of the babies jumped in the pond to take a bath, it was very brave of him (and risky), I've never seen any other bird jump in there. They take more baths than any other bird it seems, they were always in the birdbath. I definitely know where the term, 'dirty bird' comes from...the water would have to be changed, it would be so dirty, when they were done lol.
Thanks you guys, they must be coming my way.
BB, you only get to have them for part of the year, be sure and send them back lol
You can have the robins back if you send me orioles.
Oh fly, I want little frogs like that 2nd pic! What is it? I have 'ole ugly toads, but I do love them anyways. If I get a Plumie, will they come?
Paige, I think she's a Green Tree Frog and lays her eggs in shallow water, do you have a pond that would attract them? I don't know if a Plumie would help, but I've seen them on other plants with little leaves. They really liked it on my banana tree leaves, those leaves were about 4' long.
BB, I've never seen the Orioles here, wish I did.
I really really want those little frogs! I don't have a pond but might end up making something in a pot, rather than in the ground. I'll have to research what I need to do to attract them.
I really have a LOT to do this winter, but our winter is only about 2 months long!
fly_girl - Your photos are great!!!!!
Love that little frog of yours! What a beautiful green color he is! Mine are more of a white-grey color or brownish color. Not nearly as attractive! lol
Paige - you just need a body of water regardless of how small. Though the wider the rim the better. It attracts not only frogs but dragonflies and all kinds of interesting critters! I just love my two container ponds. I bought a couple ceramic pots that are sealed and I'm gonna try making small water gardens in those containers as well. I just love water gardening. It's the easiest gardening that I do. I am now trying to grow mini cattails and lemon bacopa in it. The bacopa is a host plant for the White Peacock butterfly. Just love those water plants! :-) :-) :-) I also have an Iris (Laevigata) called "Snowdrift" which I am trying to grow in one of the ponds but ........ there is some kind of cat on it that has just about eaten it down to the sand line. Poor little cat. I don't know what to do with it once the plant is all eaten up. He doesn't look like he can swim either. Anyone have any suggestions for my dilemma with this little cat? He kind of plain brown looking. Don't have a clue what butterfly he is.
koncrete: I used to use a large planter saucer and had a hose dripping in it. Right now the frogs here are hibernating but last summer they would sit in the saucer for awhile and them sit under the light and catch bugs. The saucer was only about 1inch deep so they could easily get in and out of it.
Becky~ We would probably need a picture to see what kind of cat that is. :-D.
Yes, Becky, show us a pic, we love the challenge
Here's a pic of the P. moth cat after he finally made it up in the tree, he's way up the there and still looks big, he was huge. Another interesting bit about him is his wing span will be about 6" and he is named after the One-eyed Mythological creature because of his large eye spots on the wings which serve to frighten predators.
I miss my lizards...not very many around these days!! This little guy had lots of attitude!
And my frogs...so sweet...
Well, the cat that was on my water Iris disappeared. Drat! I was definitely going to take a photo of it to see if anyone had any idea what he was. Oh well.
I love all the critter photos!
Got a question ..... I had TONS of anoles in my garden this year. So where did they all go? Seems they kind of vanished after the cold snap several weeks ago. Inquiring minds want to know. Anyone know?
I think the verdict is still out on whether they hibernate. I don't see them if it's cold but, lately I have been seeing them again because it's been so warm. I believe they hide in crevices on our houses or logs and don't really go to sleep maybe just slow down until it warms up. They are so interesting to watch.
My Sharona, he does look like he has some attitude lol
No! It's not the aphids I miss. Look closer. It's the ladybug larve that is eating the aphids! I miss my ladybugs! :-(
I had a baby lizard this morning...sooo cute
Waves @ Roxanne~~
Oh Becky what cool Lady Bugs you have there! I love them! I am planning to establish an army of them next year.
Definatly a cutie there Sharon, probably eyeing a frit cat there on your LadyM..I presume. I still have frits on my PV here too. I found 2 on the cuttings I am rooting. The LadyM I got didn't root, it wasn't new enough growth to take for me, but I tried. I will send you some Maypop seeds by this weekend that I mail ordered. I am looking for them to come tomorrow.
:-D
Waves right back at ya Deb!
Did you get that cold front yet? I can't wait for it....I'm tired of the high 70's, we need some cool brisk air.
MyS, that Passi is so pretty....are the red as good of a host plant as the purple? My sources say no.
Becky sure is a nature lover......she loves her aphids lol
fly_girl - Ya gotta love the good with the bad! LOL Hey, the critters and bugs were here first! There must be a reason for aphids and other bugs. It's a circle of life thing and everything has a purpose. I just don't know what it is for aphids and milkweed bugs. (Which I seem to be "farming" for. Arghhhhhhh!)
Here's a few more photos of my faves ..... Ladybugs of course!
This message was edited Dec 24, 2006 11:06 AM
Ladybug larva that is morphing.
And last, a ladybug in all her glory! :-)
I love ladybugs!
Fly-girl - I had GF's all Spring, Summer, Fall and had a couple until a couple of days ago.
Just took this pic - little guy tucked between the folds of our porch umbrella!
Love the ladybugs too and even the larvae is cute!
MS, is that a little tree frog? What a good hiding place!
Since you posted that I went googling and found that the bfs do like the Lady M, sorry I'm repeating myself. I would love to have a passie but I just don't have the room. That Lady M is so pretty.
MySharona - Cute umbrella pic! Is it a tree frog or a anole/lizard?
When I first saw the ladybug larvae, I didn't know what it was, but I noticed it was eating the aphids! Which made it a creature that I was happy to see on my plants. As time passed, I noticed it morphing and to my surprise... I discovered it was a ladybug! THAT really made my day! :-) :-)
Oh Becky,
I just love that sequence with the ladybug! Ty ty for taking those pics and sharing them...great work!
The lizards I get here are pink spotted Ghekos, they are very cute..we see Chameleons by the hundreds at the property in Villiage Mills, TX. Since we have been here (10 yrs), I haven't seen any of the kind you have Roxanne.. or the one Sharon posted either. I will try to get some picks of some pinkies next spring. I am sure they will love the back yard next year even more.
On another scale of life circles, I am coming to grips with a beautiful S-S Hawk that has found my little feeding place for birds. (the thread http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/679595/ ) I will have to resolve a lot of new things this coming year with regards to the food chain. What I'm aiming for is as true of an ecosystem as possible here in the burbs. I will protect what I can and leave the rest naturally. Of course my main focus Spring through fall will be about Butterflies, but all these other things are important for even them to exist.
My sister got me a really neat little 5x5x6 greenhouse..just in the nick of time to set all the seeds I need to have a head start with. What about her?? DH got me a new Dremmel, lol. We had an amazing time at her house tonight celebrating Christmas. The kids are so happy with all their prizes too. What a night! Even with all the gifts it is still His presence we are most greatful for. That is something to celebrate every day of the year.
I really identify with you guys who love your critters so much, and you missing the lizards Roxanne.. The sun is headed back this way now though, and Spring isn't far off... You will see them soon.:-) We finally got some of that good soaker rain here, thought it might miss us at first. I'm glad all the weatherpeople were wrong. It's been raining steadily since noon today. Had to drive out to the country and back in it tonight, but very thankful for this rain.
o/~ Merry Christmas
Becky - that's a lizard! I think they're so cute!
Very cute Sharon...and a pretty good sized one looks like! I love it!
Deb, what a great pic of the SS hawk, I love to watch the raptors, except when they hunt.
Please show a pic of the pink spotted ghecko, I've never seen one.
Every once in a while, I'll have a murder of crows.....that's such a weird name for a group, land in my yard, which is mostly wooded. They'll just squawk and carry on, it will seem like they are planning something. They are really beautiful, with their have little bloomers on
How lucky to get a greenhouse, show pics when you have it up. I got a Dremmel a few years ago from my dh, love it.
This year dh and I bought a nice digital camera, so I can't wait for spring and subjects for my pictures.
We have a roadrunner that has our yard and the neighbors as his territory. He's really fun to watch. I have tried to get his picture hundreds of times. The problem is he blends in so well with his surroundings, the camera can't zero in on him.
Thx Roxanne,
Those Crows must be a great audio-visual, I don't see many of them up here..yet, lol. Keeping my eyes peeled for them though. I hear ya with the hard to focus camoflague colors, maybe your new camera will get something we can see good enough. This is my 3rd Dremmel, they keep coming out with newer cooler versions..I use it a lot. Can't wait to try out the new one!
I looked all over the web for a pic that closely resembles the Geckos that live around here, and this is the best I could find.. Might not be the exact one, but very similar.
http://www.digimorph.org/specimens/Coleonyx_variegatus/coleonyx.jpg
:>
I don't know what is going on with my computer or internet service. Everytime I try to post someting it disappears. Frustrating to say the least......
MySharona - Love your little anoles! They must be all over Florida! I think your lizard's cousins live at my house! lol
fly_girl - I would love to see a photo of a roadrunner. I hope you are able to get a photo at some point in time to post here. :-)
Deb - That's a pretty cute little gecko that you get in your neck of the woods. I've never seen geckos here except in pet stores. We just get the anoles and lizards!
Had this baby Jack yesterday (I name all lizards "Jack")!
He was about 1 1/2" long!
