Signs of the big change are starting to appear on the block, and one of the first trees in the yard to turn is this redbud, which has been full of seed pods all summer after its first really showy spring blooming season. The tree was given to the former owners of our house, the Chambless' by their daughter. I hope they access my blog from their new home in Kansas City and see what Nature hath wrought!
A couple of weeks ago I posted a picture of the cardinal vine blooming on our back fence. It has since gotten more glorious, and it hasalso attracted a species of yellow butterfly that I can't quite identify. These guys are quick movers...they drink nectar with their wings folded, and then really jump faster than the camera can catch them when they flutter to the next flower. However, at one point today, two of these winged wonders fluttered away at each other and rose in a spiral, higher and higher over the driveway, until one gave up the chase and dived back to the cardinal vines for another round of feasting.
On our rounds of the neighborhood a few years ago we discovered that a gardener down the street has this bunch of autumn crocus tucked into a bed of creeping phlox beside her driveway. These bulbs are like surprise lilies...they have foliage in the spring that dies down. Then at some point in October, flower buds emerge and produce these lovely purple flowers with bright yellow stamens. The prized spice saffron is harvested from a certain species of autumn crocus, although probably not this one. We haven't gone sneaking down the street after dark with a popsicle stick and plastic bag to try sampling the golden stuff, not yet.
1 comment:
wow ... that tree in the front yard is getting so big. I remember it being so much smaller when you arrived, which I guess makes sense since you've been there five years or so now. wow. I'm almost sentimental enough about it to name it. :) -d
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