I was out working in the garden this afternoon when I was happily driven back inside by RAIN!
I stopped to do my happy rain dance, then I figured I might as well take a moment to finish the blog post I started yesterday. So…
I grew artichokes… again. I didn’t manage to eat them… again. I missed that window between “not ready to be harvested” and “you blew it, the ideal picking time is over.” I can’t remember what was going on– maybe Earth Week (busy at my son’s school) — but whatever it was, the artichokes declined to postpone their harvest date for me. However, sometimes such vegetable garden tragedies can lead to something good.
In this case, I discovered that artichokes left to flower produce a gigantic lavender bloom worthy of their prehistoric-looking foliage.
It’s giant, it’s purple, it’s spectacular, and it’s in my garden! The bees love it. They dig deep past the petals to reach the pollen, and their cute little bee butts stick out. I wish I’d caught a picture.
A lone male monarch stopped by — I was glad to be able to offer it nectar beverages, as its wings were not in the best of shape. It looked like the wings had been that way since emerging from the chrysalis. Poor thing, that must make flying long distances a challenge.
Above, the monarch rests on Purple Coneflower, which are the tallest they ever been, not that you can tell from the picture. But I know this to be true — third year’s a charm!
The hummingbirds are busy, busy. They are in full feisty mode, with the males going at each other to lay claim on the feeders, while the females sneak in for a drink.
We hung a new feeder on the patio — it’s so pleasant to sit and relax and have the hummers come hang out with us.
We’ve had numerous fledglings visiting the feeders. This young male cardinal is rather mottled-looking as it transitions to its bright red colors.
See its dark beak? Baby cardinals’ beaks start out dark, then become orange as they get a little older.
Our baby owl has fledged, by the way. We knew that Screech Owls fledge soon after they appear at a cavity’s entrance, but that didn’t stop us from hoping our little cutie would hang around for awhile. Here’s the last picture I took of it on the day it fledged.
Fly well, little Screech Owl!
Wonderful entry, I love the amount of animals you have around you. I must say I envy you produce a sound, seeing a hummingbird at the feeder, or the monarch butterfly as close to your camera, and the most incredible thing is the little owl that rears its head at home. Congratulations to live so pretty.
The artichoke flower looks much like the cardoon flowers — they’re related. I’m surprised you didn’t get a photo of bees on the flower, since when my cardoon overwintered one rare year and flowered it was *never* without bees on it! I love these huge flowers!
Hummingbird feeder on the patio/deck is the *best*! The sound of them zooming in to chase away other hummers is startling at first, especially when they miss your head by what seems like inches, but I’ve learned not to jump.
Gorgeous photos! I like the surprise artichoke blooms. And the hummingbird photos. I wonder why the monarch’s wings are folded?
So happy to hear you got some rain. We were discussing at work in SC that it is too bad the US Army Corps of Engineers could not have found a way to direct some of the flood waters from the Mississippi over to Texas. The news has reported many TX cattle ranchers selling off cattle they have no way to feed with the drought. I hope your latest shower is a sign of more to come.
That artichoke flower is gorgeous.
I love the artichoke flowers and have considered them forever just for the flowers. Will have to find a spot. I’ve been glad to welcome Monarchs for a drink too. The eupatorium is going just mad! I always put up the hummingbird feeder when they start coming to the patio; they remember the spot. But I’ve also got turks cap lining the patio so we can see them in two spots up close. LOVE your baby cardinal picture and all your pictures!
How gorgeous is that flower and you have monarchs…the hummers have just returned but they are scarce and refuse my feeder…spoiled with flowers they are…such cute pics of the young birds
Holy moley gorgeous thistle! Totally makes up for the disappointment of missing the harvest.