Mammatus clouds

They can be harbingers of coming storms or extreme weather. They are uncommon (my husband was excited to spot them) and are shaped by shear forces and sharp gradients. This evening though I think they made a beautiful contrast in the fading orange light, after the violent showers and lightning of the day. During the afternoon tornado watches I was glad to be snug at work deep inside a large hospital. Once I was home (slogging through waterlogged roads) I was grateful to gather my family around me, safe and sound. 

What a Memorial Day- memories of the 1981 flood (we'd barely moved to a smaller Austin back then) mixed with hopes and worries for those in the larger community that have been affected by the current rains. With a background of thanks for those who served and still serve..

I hope everyone stays safe out there!

What's growing in the rain?

Fungi.. taking their break from drought to propagate in the moisture. I spotted multiple inkcap mushrooms (parasola plicatilis) in the grass and took them for granted. It was only when I read up on them that I learned that they are short-lived grassland fungi that appear overnight following rain; the fruitbodies develop, expand, shed their spores and decay within 24 hours and by the next morning there is usually no evidence of them ever having existed. So.. no pictures until maybe tomorrow. Or the next rain :)

But I have many other mushrooms pooping up to say hello. It's fun to learn about them since they seldom get such moist weather.

My agave is hosting a collection of Leucoprinus birnbaumii (aka Yellow flowerpot parasol mushrooms). They are not edible, but are widely distributed and must have hitched a ride on some potting soil..

My tree stumps may be hosting a variety of Pycnopuros mushrooms (along with some lichen!). They are apparently used in industry as a source of powerful lignolytic enzymes that degrade paper and plastics. I think they remind me of coral...  

These guys may be Gymnopilus.. or not. One type is called Laughing gym (and may contain a neurotoxin). The chickens have left all of the mushrooms alone happily.

Hope everyone is enjoying the rain!

May flowers!

It might be rainy, but you can still get outside! The color pallette this week seems to be pinks, purples and yellows in my garden.

Pinks:

My echinaceas are happily reseeding through the front yard. I love their fractal-like pattern. I think they like the clay soil where they are- they refuse to grow in the caliche in the back. I have micro-ecosystems within micro-ecosystems..

New this year- Monarda (Peter's Purple, recommended by many other Austin gardeners) has grown tall (and fairly chicken resistant). I hope it will draw many bees and butterflies. It apparently does well with the Texas summer humidity which is a plus.

Right next to it is a gomphrena 'Fireworks' spared from the chickens by a fence. I lost half the plants to my ladies' incessant appetite. I wish I had more since it has lovely pompom flowers and should make lovely cut flowers!

This rock rose survived getting pulled up and transplanted in the fall- it needed the room. Individual rock rose plants apparently don't last too long but they reseed in my garden easily. They do well in the heat.

My newer red yucca (hesperaloe parviflora) is blooming already. It is in part shade but seems quite happy.

Last of the evening primrose blooms- I want them to re-seed and come back next year..

Purples...

Henry Duelberg salvia, uneaten by the hens. The other one I planted was devoured. If they didn't give me yummy eggs I'd hold it against them!

Smaller gomphrena (globe amaranth) next to blackfoot daisies..

Winecups are my favorite wildflower and I am happy that this one is spreading far and wide..

Tis the time that my lamb's ears put out their small blooms. They have been remarkably tough in the dry back that gets little to no supplemental water- and the chickens leave them alone!

Yellows

Well, kinda orange. This orange bulbine is not native (it comes from South Africa I believe), but it does so well in sunny, dry, hot, xeric spaces that I'm happy to use it.

This St Johns Wort (hypericum) has resided next to my driveway (in partial shade) for the last ten years and has been a trooper. It gets absolutely no extra water, has been sprayed with fence stain and run over by cars and it still puts out gorgeous delicate flowers every year.

Mystery plant (small, bushy, kinda like a small lantana in growth and size) in the back. It has slightly sticky leaves and promises yellow blooms.. but they never really open up. I have left it next to my milkweed and Copper canyon daisy since it volunteered itself and looks fairly handsome but.. I'd love to know what it is and if it is a friend of the native bees and butterflies..

I hope everyone is enjoying the wonderful rain (and the brief fantasy that we live in Seattle with lush greenery everywhere!).

Wildlife.. sometimes in focus..

Enjoying that honeymoon period where it's warm enough for everything to get lush and not boilingly dry yet. I'm taking my cue from Tina at http://mygardenersays.com who hosts Wildlife Wednesday to get outside and look at the wildlife that surrounds me...

I have to look up most of the creatures I find. I was delighted to discover that I snapped pictures of the same species in caterpillar AND moth form in the same day (in different locations of course).

Below is an Eight Spotted Forester caterpillar chomping on volunteer Virginia Creeper in my yard. Lucky guy, the chickens haven't found him yet.

Below is an adult Eight Spotted Forester moth (I think!) on some daisies at the Natural Gardener. These guys are native to Texas and feed on wild grapes (the tree above my Virginia creeper has Mustang grape vines growing in it) too.

I also spotted a Painted Lady on the same plant. They are a common sight (also known as the Cosmopolitan since they are so widely distributed), but they hold still less often in my yard! 

Less welcome is this Saltmarsh (Estigmene acrea) caterpillar feasting on my chard. They are also common in the Southwest. He gave me the motivation to harvest the last of my cool season greens, pock marks and all!

After careful washing..

This year I am letting my volunteer passionflower vines become groundcovers, since no one walks in the far back area except me and the chickens. They are the host plants to the Gulf Fritillary caterpillar (which grows into a very common butterfly in my ecosystem). I was happy to see some caterpillars munching away on the undersides of the leaves.

Also in the back, far from the house (thankfully!) I saw these teeny beetles enjoying pollen from a parsley plant. I was looking for swallowtail caterpillars, but found varied carpet beetles instead. They can be pests in houses, so I'm glad to keep them outside where they belong instead. I wanted to call them Charlie Brown beetles since their pattern reminds me of his sweater..

Lots of other beetles in the garden. Below is a Lady Beetle juvenile I think.. Hopefully she's a local one.

At first I thought the shiny gal below was a Polished lady beetle (Cycloneda munda) but they don't appear to be endemic to Texas. When I paid attention to the dots on her head I realized she's an Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia Axyridis)- an unfortunately invasive species introduced to control aphids. I guess my milkweeds will be pleased.. but I hope she doesn't eat the locals!

My red autumn sage keeps attracting the fuzzies: Big like a bumblebee (Common Eastern Bumblebee vs Carpenter bee- those stripes are stumping me!)

And a fascinated cat..

The wisteria in the back provides great shelter for the bird feeder, but makes all my pictures back lit. We have the usual doves and house sparrows, but have a pair of cardinals (female on the right) as well. The dove flying up is .. white wing of course!

We also have some curious blue jays hopping around. This guy investigated both sides of the fence for 30 minutes one morning. He hasn't seemed particularly aggressive, though I remember other blue jays dive bombing my cats before.

Happy Wildlife day!

A day outside..

I love completing projects. New beds carved out of dead grass areas satisfy me on so many levels- I get to reduce the turf in my yard, they provide new places to try new plants, and I get a chance to dig deep and examine the layers in my soil- silty brown sand, whitish clay and occasional spots of decent soil. 

Here's a before spot from last month:

And this is the after- I created a new circular raised bed with waterwise plants and a lower curvy bed planted with silver ponyfoot that should be walkable for the boys.

The side view looked great.. until the chickens started digging it up. I've temporarily covered the low silver ponyfoot bed with chicken wire until the plants get established. I actually layered chicken wire under the mulch in the raised bed to keep them out permanently. The wire bothers their feet so they stay away.

The circular bed has a Blue Nolina (Nolina Nelsonii), silver ponyfoot, Mexican bush sage and an orange Desert globe mallow inspired by all the recent beautiful pictures I've seen posted. When it fills in it should be a grey/purple/orange palette which should blend with the Mexican honeysuckle, flame acanthus and purple sage I have nearby.

Other projects for the week have included planting a few succulent pots. It was too hard to resist the variety at the Natural Gardener, so I got a baby squid agave in addition to two Manfreda that are close to blooming. I also finally potted a small Queen Victoria agave I got last year- I think it was happy to leave my kitchen windowsill. I filled in bits of sedums from other pots to add more color. I picked these plants (and gave them gravel mulch) because they should be tough enough to fight off marauding birds and chickens..

I finally realized that my late season broccoli seed plants were too small and too late to produce anything big enough for me to eat- so I offered them to the ladies to distract them from the new plants. They demolished them within 45 minutes..

Now I have room for something new. I would love to find another Shishito pepper plant since the one I had last year produced delicious peppers.

And finally, I cannot keep my bird feeders full. I have sparrows, doves, cardinals, and blue jays eating the seed. Plus this plump guy, who can hang on to bark with his toes- what a superpower!

Busted...

Blossom

Yesterday this was a hint of a promise..

Today I got a lovely surprise.

So glad I bought new irises, but a little irked that (as usual) I threw out the tags in a fit of house cleaning. I want this one to grow and grow and grow..


My Americauna Walnut had been giving me beautiful blue eggs.. until about a week ago. She's a sneaky one, laying all over the garden in hose pots, garden waste bags and bench cushions. I looked in her previous spots to no avail. But when I looked in the gross lint ridden space under the AC vent- voila:

Ignore the neglected organic playdoh container that rolled under there last summer!

It is now blocked off. Let's see where she decides to lay them now!

And finally I had a small epiphany tonight as I looked at the ENORMOUS brown spot in the middle of the back yard. Why do I spend hours (and risk/incur back muscle spasms) removing grass in some areas and spend time waiting for grass to grow back in others? It makes no sense at all. Luckily I have some half days off next week.. I sense a project in the making. I think I'll put in a curvy rounded berm-ish bed, but it will have to be fairly chicken proof and tolerate afternoon sun and drought/neglect once established. I sense crushed granite, maybe some euphorbia, bamboo muhly (contasts of textures) and... not sure. I may have to leave room for a mud pit for my youngest (see below).

Ideas are welcome!