Tuesday 15 September 2020

Wasps, and fishies and frogs

Thank you for comments on my header. It is from 2009, when we lived in Bala, Ontario. I haven't been in my canoe all summer. I be sad. 

Winter is headed our way. We had a frost warning.




I still haven't brought them in, Yam! We had 10 mm rain, and the pond filled up. This is discouraging for getting the fishies out. I usually have to drain the pond some to find the most skittish fish. They have too many places to hide.

I stopped at the end of the driveway to remove some of the weeds. There was a large leopard frog!
As I said, the new blogger still uploads a group of photos, but in reverse order. This is what I saw as I left the house for my 'beer run!'

The monarchs and hummingbirds have fled the cold. We still have quite a few tufted milkweed caterpillars feeding on the milkweed.
Then, there are the wasps. They built a nest in this bird house. The spider spun a web around the outside of the box, presumably to capture the wasps.
I particularly liked this photo!

There are discussions about how many wasps are about, but it's really not the case. Apparently, breeding season is over. In summer, they build a nest, feed the larva meat, eat the poop from the larva, and life is good. The queen wasps are settling in for winter, and they aren't laying eggs any more. This is why the wasps are out and about. They are hungry. 

This is the time of year to clean windows prior to freeze up. You can see, in the setting sun, how dirty they are. Most years I make a mistake and leave it too late. You cannot do it in frozen temperatures! I have yet to find the motivation...
My plants are in. My orchid is still doing well. Tiberius guards it all. The plants are still growing out of the terrarium. I guess my thumbs are too green!
I painted the bench, having skootched away the grasshopper and the bird/berry poop.

I am probably going to regret letting the thistle to grow. There are seeds everywhere! You can see them flying in the second photo, below.


This is why I kept the thistle! The birds love the seeds.

10 comments:

Tom said...

...are frogs slower in your neck of the woods? Here they jump so quickly that I never get a shot of them.

Olga said...

I have been waiting for motivation to wash the patio door windows. And waiting and waiting. They missed the spring cleaning so are really in need. But yesterday I noticed a bunch of wasps flying around right near the window so that was a good excuse for me.

Sallie (FullTime-Life) said...

It’s lovely you are growing your own thistle seed for the finches . I know they love it. Can’t believe summer is over already for you , but I wish we could get an early rainy season. That frog is quite a nice addition to your wildlife park ....which is what your backyard always seems like! .....washing windows does not sound fun in any weather.

William Kendall said...

That's a pretty little bird.

RedPat said...

The Goldfinch looks happy!

Red said...

Now I know why the goldfinches don't come to my yard. I don't let thistles grow. We saw lots of goldfinches on Sat.

Angie said...

Jenn - "cleaning windows" has been on my list for a few days too. Strange how I have managed to find other priorities! When we first moved into our house, we had a guy that came to spray for noxious weeds. He asked us if he should spray the thistle, and I said no. I am regretting that now ... it is EVERYWHERE!

Anvilcloud said...

This should be the best time of year weatherise, but ...

Kay said...

Your blog header is perfect for fall. There are no thistles in Hawaii that I know of... so far.

Ontario Wanderer said...

We had our first frost yesterday, the 15th of September, in Brant County and also in Hamilton at the Organic Farm where I do volunteer work.