Just an early morning drive to the transfer station to get rid of recycles and trash, then head to town. There was so much humidity and moisture, the mountains were barely visible.
The female dauber is the architect/builder of this intricate nest. One day I heard a high-pitched whirling sound and followed it to this site on the porch, took a few shots of her nest as she continued to build.
Wanted to get a shot up inside the nest while she was building without annoying her.
Some daubers eat black-widow spiders so will leave these nests intact. Fascinating pipes.



Mornings have been low 60's but very humid. Our highs now are 86/87....much better than the highs some weeks ago of 95. The 5 weeks of no rain and 95 degree temperatures really did a job on the gardens. We've been getting plenty of zucchini and cukes, but the plants are starting to look worn and tired. I picked two cantaloupes a few days ago.............first time I was ever successful with melons. Tried growing them in Florida but no matter what I did, some invading little insects always sucked the life out of the vines. Later today I'll parboil the green and yellow beans to freeze. Have five gallon-size bags of summer squash frozen. The tomato plants are huge, so big they are crushing their cages, but tomatoes are small and still green. Was hoping to get lots of tomatoes so I could try some salsa recipes and other recipes I found online. Have a wheat flour pizza recipe from Vic that would be great with fresh tomatoes and mozzarella cheese.

Hummingbirds are very active right now, like fighter jets......... swooping in and out of the porch. When we sit out, we find ourselves ducking as they zoom down the flight corridor after each other. Then they perch separately on tiny branches and chirp loudly as if shouting out insults to get something started. Suddenly out of the blue, one will dive bomb the other and antagonize any bird that heads for the nectar in the feeders. Sweet water is only last 3-4 days so will brew up more this morning.

Thinking of heading to Blue Ridge, GA today. The old downtown area has great little shops.....my favorite being the fudge shop. There's a quaint restaurant up on the hill where we can eat out on the patio under the trees.

Comments

ralph said…
you have such fascinating wild life. i wish i lived in the woods, too! heeheehee!

i had no idea those things were mud daubers. i've been cleaning off the nests (hives?) and getting rid of them. they sting, yes? well, i guess if you don't bother them, they don't bother you. my kids love insects, but sofia is afraid of bees.

thanks for getting all that fudge for us! (hint, hint) mail it anytime you want! and include some zucchini bread, too!!!! :)
Betsy said…
guess it's time to mail you some fudge and a few 25 lb zucchinis

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