Hello mates and welcome to the first Nature Friday post of September. Wilson here to share what I’m seeing in Nature this week. As always, I’m joining those two cute pups from the Adventures of the LLB Gang’s blog hop. Don’t forget to click on the link to see what great posts and pics were shared throughout Blogville.
This week’s temps were warmer than last week’s, but not horrible. Days are warm, nights are crisp and we have a diverse offering for today’s post.
It’s was a crazy week made crazier by Mum. She has been scurrying around swabbing decks and other stuff that probably should have been done in spring and it’s causing me some major heartburn. She keeps saying everything is going to be fine, but seriously, who trusts someone with wielding a mop or pushing a vacuum around. OMD…a dog cannot relax in this kind of environment. I move from one place to another to avoid that noisy soul sucking machine and it’s like she’s stalking me with that vacuum wand. Anyway, please be patient with us as we’ve not had a lot of online time visiting blogs but hope to get reasonably caught up soon. But if anything goes wrong or if you don’t hear from us, be sure to assign blame on her because I’m never at fault…only fabulous. Despite what she may imply with her snide comments about paw prints on the floors and nose art on the front door.
So like I said earlier, it has been a little warmer this week but not overly unpleasant. I have my paws crossed this is summer’s last hurrah and that she’s ready to move aside for our favorite season, autumn, which officially arrives in two weeks and three days, but who’s counting and we’re beginning to notice subtle signs that a new script is in the works. Just take a look at some of a couple of indicators that things are in flux.
This tree is from down the street. Those spots of gold make for a nice contrast with the green leaves, wouldn’t you agree?
While not near as vivid, this Honey Locust is across the street from our house, and we’re seeing little spots of yellow appearing in the upper canopy.
Another sure fire sign that the seasons are beginning to change are oaks trees with their little nuts, i.e. acorns. I’ve always dreamed of noshing on them and just a couple of weeks ago, that tree was covered with them and there were gobs of them on the ground. This week, there were only a couple left on the tree and nothing on the ground. No doubt the hoodlum neighborhood squirrels stocked up before I had a chance to snack on them. Interesting side note…I found out acorns provide food for birds, rodents, beers, even deer, so I ask, why not a Floof? You know, just as a quality control thing. Plus they make some lovely craft items, if one is interested in that sort of thing. I know Mum has collected them in the past for making wreaths and holiday ornaments.
The Mum: Good morning, laddie, how’s it…
Wilson: {interrupting} Oh hiya, finally decided to join us, did you?
The Mum: Well I was trying to find something I misplaced…sorry I’m late. But I see you managed without my help.
Wilson: I can’t believe anything around here is misplaced. You’ve been on a crusade to put things where they belong or even purging it. Did you find what you were looking for yet?
The Mum: No, not yet, but I’m sure it’s gotta be around and I’ll continue to hunt.
Wilson: Just don’t hunt with the vacuum, okay, Mum? That thing scares the devil out of me, not that there’s any devil in me, but you know. That’s just an expression, mind you. I don’t have to remind you that I’m totally fabulous and a very good boy.
The Mum: Yes, you’re a good boy though I’ve notice a certain stubborn streak emerging of late that…
Wilson: {interrupting} GASP!! I am not stubborn, I’m just strongly devoted to keep doing what I’ve been doing. Besides, my clock is on a different wavelength from your artificial time table.
The Mum: Oh, different wavelength, is that what it is? That’s one way of describing it.
Wilson: Oh I’ll admit, I was nice and comfy on the patio a few times watching the world go by while you were in gardening mode and I was merely not ready to come back in the house.
The Mum: I’ve learned it’s not a good idea leaving you to your own devices. While I was trimming the iris leaves, I noticed you ran across the street to give a certain squirrel the what for. Remember? We had a long talk about that.
Wilson: Talk? Harumph…you put me in time out inside the house as I recall.
The Mum: Well you know the saying, if you do the crime, you have to do the time.
Wilson: {ignoring the squirrel transgression} Umm, not to change the subject, but I noticed last week’s showers and this week’s warmer temps sure made for some pretty flowers. I mean, just look at this pretty Morning Glory. Is that some gorgeous color or what?
The Mum: Indeed, nature knows how to showcase its own.
Wilson: Another sign that autumn is upon us is the annual ritual of people planting Chrysanthemums. This cheery yellow one caught my eye. They’re pretty but they don’t smell as great as they look.
The Mum: Yup, you know when mums are planted, autumn can’t be too far away. Being scented isn’t the only reason to plant pretty things in the garden.
Wilson: Yeah, but my own preference is to have both a great scent and pretty blooms. Nothing wrong with that, is there?
The Mum: No, I totally understand. But mums are one of those autumn plants that seem to want to look better than they smell and that’s okay too.
Wilson: Says the person with about a third as many olfactory cells than most dogs have. Suit yourself.
The Mum: Right…what else do you have? Did you see any critters this week?
Wilson: As a matter of fact, I did encounter a crawly thing with huge eyeballs that seemed to be taking in all sorts of scenery. I do know he kinda startled you but then once you overcame the surprise, seemed transfixed by his eyes and the tiny little hairs on all his legs. Didn’t you say you thought that was a harmless wolf spider?
The Mum: Yes, I think that’s what it was. I’ve seen several of them hanging out this summer. The early wet conditions seemed to activate the arachnid population around the garden. I’ve been pulling webs off the water spigot and around the base of pots on a twice-a-week basis. They’re great for keeping harmful insects at bay and are not dangerous. I read that they have 8 eyes but the two prominents ones were the ones I was mesmerized most by them. It was pretty cool. So what else do you have to share today?
Wilson: I noticed a Sorbus tree, known as a mountain-ash in North America and a rowan in the UK. An ornamental, smallish tree is in full berry mode which will keep a lot of birds fed this winter.
The Mum: When my kids were very small, they planted one for me one Mother’s Day and it was a favorite addition. I’ve often wondered how that little guy has fared.
Wilson: Well that’s it for this week. We hope everyone has a great weekend and are able to get out and enjoy nature first hand. Enjoy!
Live, love, bark! 🐾
Happy Friday! Yes, poor you, Wilson! Your mum is doing all the hard work, but you have to keep finding comfy, safe places to lay and stretch out. It’s a hard life!
Love the purple morning glory! Beautiful!
Can’t say the same for the wolf spider! 😱 I zoomed past it to the happy tree 🙂.
Hope you both have a relaxing weekend! Yay, for cooler temps coming! Happy 🍂 Autumn and golden leaves 😉
Thanks, Carolyn. Afraid of spiders, are we? Just remind yourself they eat thousands of mosquitos. We’re counting down the days until autumn officially arrives!
Yes, they may eat the bugs and that is good, as long as they do it FAR away from me! 😅
They typically keep an extremely low profile, I saw this guy and he skedaddled quickly. It wasn’t the best photo but given the nano second he was visible, I felt lucky to even capture him at all.
Love all the flowers. Beautiful. I love seeing Wilson watching the wildlife channel. Adorable.
Thank you for joining the Wordless Wednesday Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous day and rest of the week. Big hug to you and lots of scritches to Wilson. ♥
Many thanks, Sandee. It’s hilarious when he watches Nat Geo or PBS animal specials. He’s very attentive to animal programming. 😂 Enjoy the run up to the weekend.
Ewell I am late to this post, but even though it is still dark o’clock, that morning glory is glorious!
I like mums, and that color is so pretty!
That big spider gave me the creeps…I am very much a lady with big time arachnophobia, ever since I was 12, when I had them in my bed, twice in the same summer…eeekk!!!
My sapling redbuds that planted last year are showing leaf color now too…and the three volunteer oak trees that squirrels planted for us about 30 some years ago are now making lots of their own acorns.
No worries, we’re happy to see you whenever you can drop by. Glad you liked the pics (even if the spider was a tasd creepy-they do so much good in the garden, we try to make allowances). Yesterday my everbearing strawberry had a few leaves that were turning a gorgeous shade of red. After a summer of hell with hot temps, it actually looks like autumn will arrive on schedule in 12 days. OMG…yay! Twelve days isn’t that far off.
Java Bean: “Ayyy, that morning glory is definitely living up to its name! Our Dada looked at it and said, ‘What’s the story?’ like he thought it might answer him.”
Lulu: “Well, Dada is pretty silly sometimes.”
Charlee: “We get spiders like that in the house sometimes! And you can tell that Dada is silly because he tries to rescue them instead of letting us cats play with them.”
Thanks guys. I don’t there’s a story beyond looking good for that morning glory. Wilson would play with spiders if I let him (or they wouldn’t mind being mauled) so we try to let the gardening help do their work unimpeded.
Wilson, my goodness I missed you these past several weeks. My fault and I will look harder to see if I can subscribe.
Sorry you’ve missed our most recently shenanigans. There’s a follow by email button on the right side of the latest post.
Your nature photos are beautiful and I’m so glad you leave the harmless wolf spiders to just do their thing, grabbing and eating lots and lots of the nasty bugs we don’t want around.
Thank you! Yes, spiders are a gardeners best friend. Now if only they’d work on evicting the grasshoppers. 😉
We are also enjoying the little signs of Autumn that are popping up…those acorns are adorable and the purple of the morning glory is beautiful!!
Make sure your Mama gets some rest this weekend!
xoxo,
Rosy & Sunny
Oh…you know what they say, no rest for the wicked and the righteous don’t need it. LOL Here’s to a beautiful New Mexico weekend!
Planting a rowan traditionally kept evil spirits away.
They are such lovely trees and not planted enough around here in my humble opinion. Have a great weekend, Helen and give all the thugs a nice ear rub from me.
The fruit makes a lovely tart jelly to have with cold meat.
Oooh, sounds delish (even if I don’t eat meat 😉 )
So here I am, happily scrolling through your story, enjoying your beautiful nature pics and repartee with Mom…and then…*the wolf spider!* I yelped out loud! And then had to zoom in to check out its eyes. Yup. I’m a glutton for punishment! We’ve cooled off here, too. It’s actually lovely weather, but sadly cut the summer short. The pool has been abandoned for the past two weeks and closes now Tuesday…watch, we’ll get a heatwave then! (Of course). Enjoy the cooler weather!
LOL, aren’t they something else?! A little creepy but boy they do yeoman’s work in the garden for which I’m grateful. Those eyes just had me hypnotized!
This is the best time of year weather wise. It’s good to no longer be suffering from pizza oven temps. It was 47ºF this morning-paradise! The 10-day forecast calls for 80’s during the day and cool at night. We plan to enjoy it every single minute! Have a great weekend with the grands. I’m sure they’ll have lots to share about the first week of school with you.
Temps have cooled down here, thankfully. Not cold but in the 70’s instead of the 90’s, which is sooo much better. Mums abounding here as well. Sure sign of autumn approaching.
The sight of mums definitely give me hope that summer is (even if slowly) fading. Indian summer is a beautiful time of year without the harshness.
I love this time of year as well, and doing my best not to think about winter!! Time to “be here now” and not worry about the future.
You’re so right. I need to be more like Wilson and just live in the moment. Have a great weekend.
Such lovely flowers and early signs of Autumn sweet Wilson 💛🍂 We hope your mum will give you some peace from all the hoovering soon and we wish you both a wonderful weekend! 🤗💖🐾 xxx
Many thanks, Xenia. We’re entering my favorite time of year. Have a lovely weekend.
Nice intro there, Wilson. Mum’s on the cleaning spree, eh? I can’t get motivated because I am entering the two months of hell at work. But those temps, while warmer and just perfect, aren’t they?
That morning glory is spectacular!
You can keep the wolf spider. Harmless or not, it gives me the willies!
Cleaning and purging as I’m planning on moving. I’m sure you remember what that was like. At my age, it’s the hardest work I’ve ever had to do.
I feel for you. Are you moving to the same area?
PM me, it’s a long story.
Let’s use email.
👍🏻
Lucy: Hey Wilson, those aren’t dogs on the TV, those are deer. They’re really fun to chase if you ever get the chance!
Amy: Those wolf spiders may be harmless, but they sure look creepy. And I sure do love that morning glory! Fall cleaning, eh? I should….
Actually they’re elk and their calls were mesmerizing to the House Pony. And definitely not a good thing to chase…they chase back and no one wants to be on the horn end of THAT chase. Wolf spiders are kinda creepy to look at but do such a great job keeping garden pests at bay. I prefer them over Black Widow spiders any day of thew week! Have a great weekend.
It feels like fall is at the door, with cooler nights and shorter days, the writing is on the wall. Have a great weekend, you two!
Yes, and color me ready for it. Summer has been exhausting and it’ll feel good resting in shorter days. Have a lovely weekend.
You found lots of pretty things Wilson, except that spider, I’d run the other way. Have a fun weekend!
Many thanks, Terry. That spider is probably more afraid of us than we are of him. But I get it…they are pretty fearsome looking. Have a great weekend!
Beautiful photos of flowers and trees. Wilson, stay in your own yard unless you’re walking witt mum.
I hope you have a great weekend.
Many thanks, Dan. I should have watched him more closely-I know those naughty squirrels can be hard to resist for him. He just loses his mind. Luckily it was a happy ending with no injuries.
I’m glad it ended well.
WOWZERS! Some beautiful flowers – our oaks have acorns too but they’re much smaller than yours…….that morning glory is GLORY-OUS! The spider is icky (that’s a technical term Mom uses).
Tee Hee, Hugs, Teddy
Thanks, Teddy. Morning glories have such pretty flowers. They will bloom happily until the first frost. Have a great weekend.
P.S. Just remember that spiders keep the real icky critters at bay and are probably more afraid of us than we are of them. It’s not like I’m a superfan mind you, but they are a gardener’s helper and I appreciate their hard work.
Beautiful photos. I like spiders. 🙂 Have a great weekend. XO
Thanks. Spiders are fascinating creatures and I share your like of them. They do some much good in the garden, we’d be lost without their appearance in it. Enjoy a lovely weekend.
OMD my man, you have to watch out for those hoodlum squirrels and the crawly things with the huge eyes . . they’re bad company. I’d definitely be listening to mama on these matters.
As for the temps, it was warmer here too. Not stupid like it was for most of the summer, simply a reminder that it’s not over quite yet. Close . . but not over just yet. Those honey locusts are telling me that summer’s time is dwindling and I ain’t all that upset about the matter.
Have a GREAT weekend ranchers!
Thanks, Marco. We love this time of year where the days are pleasant, not scorching and the evenings crisp. It was a glorious 47°F this morning on the walk. #swoon
Have a great weekend!
It’s SO nice in the mornings when I run. I am now officially getting spoiled to it.
You couldn’t ask for better mornings.
You really couldn’t
We are having gorgeous and cold weather which we all love. Squirrels are also getting busy and active now but we prefer to see rabbits running around and we love to chase them. Around here the stores are all selling pumpkins and mums already. We wish they would wait a few more weeks but everything is early so they can hope to make more money. Have a Grand weekend.
The early mornings have been nice and crisp. It’s all very exciting to get tyo the best part of the year. I axtually saw a couple of houses that were full on decorated for Halloween. Yikes…I’m with you. Could we wait for a couple of weeks before dragging out the skellies!? Enjoy your weekend.
Great tour of the ranch, Wilson and Monika. That morning glory was spectacular. I hope you have a super weekend.
Thank you, John. It had such an intense shade of purple, it actually caught me off guard on our walk yesterday. I turned around and went back to snap a quick pic. Here’s to a fantabulous weekend!
Thanks, I’ve been seeing them frequently this year which means they’re feasting on a ready diet of bugs I’d rather not have. We’ve actually seen more spiders this year than last year including more black widow spiders than I’ve seen in all the years I’ve lived here. It’s been a strange year with tons of webs (though wolf spiders generally don’t weave webs to catch their prey-they are lightning quick). Have a great weekend.
Nice collection. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a wolf spider here.