Flowers and wild things

We have seen so many different creatures this summer, but I wasn't really sure which of them was responsible for nipping off my strawberries. One day last week all was revealed. I was sorting through a stack of books, looking for the one I planned to send Easton for his birthday, when something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye.

I looked up to see a small doe up in the raised bed munching on strawberry leaves. I went to the door to shoo her away and I saw she was traveling with a friend.

This is one of the three young bucks we've been seeing on a regular basis. From the width and height of their racks, we are pretty sure they are all related to the huge deer we saw a few years back (who has since been poached by some ruffians in our neighborhood).

Butterflies and hummingbirds have also been frequent visitors this summer, especially in the last few weeks. We see the hummingbirds nearly every day and I can't even count the butterflies. They don't call the plants below butterfly bushes for no reason!

I think this is a Black swallowtail

Eastern tiger swallowtail

Another Eastern tiger swallowtail

 

 

 The yard is full of lots of color in addition to the dahlias, sunflowers and butterfly bushes you can see in the pictures above. There are still many black-eyed susan blooming, the four o'clocks and angels trumpets light up the evening hours, and the sedum and warm season grasses are just beginning to put on their show. A few of the daylilies are re-blooming as well.

The crepe myrtle finally bloomed! After seeing these blooming everywhere, ours finally caught up.

The delicate purple spikes of the obedient plant, which one of the ladies Brian used to work with dug up and gave to us.

Mammoth sunflower that has mostly finished blooming, but now is the time the gold finches have started hovering, waiting for the first delicious seeds.

The other sunflowers are still going strong!