Dog Days Of Summer Are Upon Us

July 28, 2010

Probably thought I disappeared, didn’t ya?

Nope, haven’t disappeared, just taking a small break. I’ve also been getting home later than normal during the week, and working hard on maintaining the yard on the weekends.

Here’s what new or changed as of July 27, 2010.

The Purple Martins have all fled the nest. They come by and sing in the mornings, but they no longer stay over night.
Lots of the young Cardinals and starting to get in their colored feathers, so they look a little ratty right now.
The Aphids and Milkweed bugs are really making their presence known on all the Milkweed. I’m spraying them off all the time.
We occasionally see a Giant Swallowtail laying eggs by the fruit trees.
We also have just barely seen any Gulf Fritilliaries.
A few Skipper Butterflies stop briefly on the nectar flowers from time to time.
Doves, Cardinals, and Bluejay’s spend the most time at the feeders.
Starting to see a few Frogs, but not as much as I would expect with all this rain. No sign of Michael Jane, the big Bullfrog in many months.
Lots of Dragonflies, all day and evening. Some are getting huge.
Hummingbirds. We have 3, two female and 1 male
Last, but not least Mosquitoes. They are all over the place with these rains and moist ground we’ve been having

I really need to get out somewhere and go shoot for a day. Everything seems to be non-stop lately. Perhaps I’ll revisit Houston Arboretum, or the park in Kingwood, or some place entirely new. Just need to get out somewhere with the camera and some time.

How about some of you reading the blog. Seeing lots of butterflies where you are?

Posted in Aphids * Butterflies * Butterfly Gardening In Houston * Dragon and Damselflies * Insects * Milkweed Bug

by texdr

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Cesar - Hey Lawrence, I notice the same thing you are about the Cardinals. I’m getting quite a few now, with even more house finches. I bought that 20 pound bag of Safflower from Birds Unlimited, I know you said it was expensive over there but at Home Depot the 5 lb bag is 11 bucks, I got this 20 lb bag for 20 bucks and I get a free one after the 10th bag I buy, so that’s a good deal. I haven’t found anything cheaper that’s close by so far.

I also set one part of the garden for just butterflies. I bought more milkweed and some cone flower. Right after I planted the plants in, I noticed my first Queen Butterfly and also another butterfly who was basically all orange, but I don’t know what that butterfly is.

Hopefully I’ll start to get some Hummingbirds early this season. Last season I go them about late August, I have my feeder up and hoping for the best :D July 29, 2010 – 6:20 am

texdr - That’s good news Cesar! The fact that you are getting Queen butterflies is really cool! I’ve hardly seen any butterflies around my yard lately, but I haven’t been getting home until almost after dark.July 29, 2010 – 9:03 pm

Big Ant Hiding In Passionvine

July 18, 2010

This guy looks pretty threatening to me.

Big Ant On Passionvine

Big Ant On Passionvine

It’s some type of Ant (obviously), but I’m not sure what kind.  He was just sitting on one of the Passionvine stems, like waiting to ambush something that would happen to come by.

Notice the little hairs on it’s head?

Posted in Butterfly Gardening In Houston * Canon 7D * Host Plants * Macro Photography * Passion Vine * Photography * Plants

by texdr

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Mystery Eggs On Orange Tree

July 18, 2010

Yesterday when I was strolling around my yard with my Macro lens, I found these interesting things.

Mystery Eggs On Republic Of Texas Orange

Mystery Eggs On Republic Of Texas Orange

I can’t think of a Butterfly that lays eggs like this, but I’m really not sure what they are.

Does anyone have any idea what type of eggs these are?

Posted in Butterfly Gardening In Houston * Fruit Plants * Plants * Republic of Texas Orange

by texdr

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Passing Of Purple Martin Babies

July 13, 2010

Sad day for the 4 remaining Purple Martin Babies.

When I was letting the dogs out I noticed one of the baby Purple Martins on the pool decking just sitting there.  When I scooped him up, it was pretty clear something was wrong.

I called Leecy to come out and help me.  She tried to feed him some crushed, moist fruit, which it did eat, but the bird was really weak.

Leecy Feeding Purple Martin

Leecy Feeding Purple Martin

If you look at the bird’s eye in the picture above, it appears it had some type of disease; we suspect Avian Pox.

I remember seeing this bird in the Martin House the other day.  I remember its eye look closed, but I just attributed it to the heat of the day.

In the two remaining pictures, you can see pretty clearly this bird was sick.

Left Side Of Purple Martin With Avian Pox

Left Side Of Purple Martin With Avian Pox

Right Side Of Purple Martin With Avian Pox

Right Side Of Purple Martin With Avian Pox

Although Leecy tried her best to rehydrate the bird and give it some food, in the end, the bird didn’t make it.

Leecy said a little prayer for the bird on his journey to the heavens.

Unfortunately, this wasn’t the only death today of the Purple Martin babies.

Because this baby likely had avian pox, I wanted to check on the remaining 3 birds.

I opened the one nest, and that bird looked fine and healthy.  I open the next door, and one baby was dead.  The other baby in the same room appeared to be okay.  So of the original 4, two of them passed away today.

On the bright side, this has been the most successful breeding season for the Purple Martins that visit us.  Of the 14 babies that we counted, all survived but 2 so far.  All but the remaining 2 have flying happily for a few weeks now.

Posted in Birds * Butterfly Gardening In Houston * Canon 7D * Photography * Purple Martin * Wildlife

by texdr

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Dog Ate 60 Bucks!

July 12, 2010

It never ends when you have lots of animals.  Here’s the latest saga.

I ask Leecy if she could go by Wabash Antique and Feed to pick up some wild bird food.  I gave her 60 bucks the night before and I said I would give her more money when I got home.

Somehow, Leecy spends $180.00 on bird food.  Okay, it’s for the birds, all is well.

I get home and give Leecy $110.00, two fifties and one ten.

Leecy apparently sets the money on the table and while I’m feeding Coco (African Grey Parrot) I hear a bunch of curse words and Leecy telling me I need to train the dog better.  I ask her what happened.  She shows me a fifty and points at Sascha (German Shepherd).  I ask her where the other fifty and ten are, and she says “your stupid dog just ate it!”

I start laughing.  I said it could have been worse, I could have given her all twenties, or dollar bills.  Leecy is not laughing.

Leecy then tells me I need to go make Sascha poop and get the money back.

I told Leecy I can’t just make Sascha go poop, we’ll have to wait until tomorrow and hope it comes out.

Leecy tells me I need to give Sascha something to make her regurgitate the money.  I said I can’t do that.  “Let’s just wait until tomorrow and see if we can find it.”

I notice Leecy still isn’t seeing the humor in this, so I said I’ll go outside and pick up the dog poop so it will be easier to find tomorrow.

Whereas Leecy may not be feeling too confident she will get the $60 bucks back, I remain hopeful.  Why?

Because Sascha has a fetish.  She likes to eat paper, especially paper towels.  I don’t know why.  Perhaps it’s the fiber content.

Also, that “fiber” content occasionally gets a little stuck and Sascha waddles over to me for help.  I, being the animal lover that I am, always help Sascha when she has these little problems and give the “fiber” a gentle pull, then all is well.  Sascha, for her part, always seems quite appreciative when I help her out.

So, I remain hopeful Leecy will get her $60 bucks back tomorrow, and I also will have my camera ready to photograph the ordeal:-).

In the meantime, if you know Leecy or see her, tell her everything will come out alright.

I’m sure she’ll appreciate the sentiment (after she strangles me for posting this:-)

Posted in Dogs * German Shepherd * Pets

by texdr

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