The Wood's Secret Garden

I have a truly wonderful husband!  I can't imagine another man putting up with me--and I mean that.  Last night, to celebrate our one year wedding anniversary, we decided to take an "anniversary" picture.  Well, that turned into a project.  I wanted to do something "artistic" which kept evolving as the evening progressed.   My sweet husband, not only put up with the many changes of settings and clothing, but he actually seemed to enjoy it!  Once we hit on capturing our wedding picture in the background of the photo, as the theme for the project, we had to do a great deal of kissing as we changed the tripod location.  I was the serious one-task oriented; setting up the tripod, checking the lighting, etc. and Michael was the one who made the entire experience delightful!  I truly cannot imagine another man actually going through this process, let alone, enjoying it! It is hard to believe that a year has...

It's been three weeks now since we sowed the seeds and we had started to see a great deal of growth and promise.  For the first time since we had sown the seeds, I really thought that we might get flowers.  They had survived turkeys scratching, squirrels digging, dogs trampling and maintenance men stomping and even high power blowing  (which Michael was able to stop before they blew all the top soil completely away) and then today it happened.  Something we could have not anticipated.   View from our second-story balcony  A Hale Storm Came Through   As we enjoyed the excitement of the storm, I suddenly realized that our wild flower garden was being pelted.  I glanced through the bug screen to see the garden covered with a blanket of white.  Just yesterday, I had noticed that the tiny little wild flower plants had just started to really grow.  Some where nearly two inches high and looking very st...

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 Upon arriving home today, I spied another one of those little tiny caterpillars (like the one I used to produce the abstract art on a previous blog post). This one was on the front landing at the top of the stairs. It was half the size of the one I photographed on our balcony just a week ago. Just look at this cute little guy! After taking dozens of shots, I stood up only to discover another one crawling on the siding to the left of the door. I decided to explore a bit further. These little caterpillars could be found almost everywhere I looked. The lamp post had one on the side and one crawling along the bottom of the light fixture. The downstairs apartment had three, as well; one on the wall, one on the front porch, and one near the gas meter. I then discovered a few small cocoons in various places. It's now time to do a little research and find out exactly what might pop out of these cocoons. I will let you know what I discover. So much to see, if...

With the change in weather, the dragonflys and damselflys are starting to appear.  I have not yet seen the bright red-orange dragonflys (the ones that would land on the end of my bamboo wand last year).  I did, however, capture an electric blue damsel fly while we were crossing the creek in search of wild cherries. Damselflies are similar to dragonflies , but the adults can be differentiated by the fact that the wings of most damselflies are held along, and parallel to, the body when at rest. Furthermore, the hindwing of the damselfly is essentially similar to the forewing, while the hindwing of the dragonfly broadens near the base. Damselflies are also usually smaller, weaker fliers than dragonflies, and their eyes are separated. Damselflies undergo incomplete metamorphosis , with an aquatic nymph stage. The female lays eggs in water, sometimes in underwater vegetation, or high in trees in bromeliads and other water-filled cavities. Nymphs are carnivorous, fe...

As we were sitting out on the balcony this morning enjoying a cup of coffee, we heard rustling below.  Being very mindful of our wildflower seedlings, Michael looked over the railing to see the culprit--a wild turkey scratching for a morning grub.  As Michael raced to the door to chase him away, we discovered that there was more than just a turkey; in fact, there was at least 10 of them and they were more interested in the female turkeys who were scratching in the dirt just east of the creek bed.  I turned back to the apartment and grabbed my camera. They were actually in parade formation and seemed to be marching in time to music that we could not hear.  It was fascinating to watch, as one would turn to the left; the others would follow-about face; forward march.  As I would call out, "Gobble, gobble" they would respond in perfect unity, "gobble, gobble" almost like bugles blowing.  Needless to say, w...

I had a photo session Saturday morning with a tiny little (3/4 inch) creature.  Can you guess what it is?

So far, our little wildflower seedlings have survived squirrel's digging, flying ants foraging, dogs trampling, and oblivious men stomping!