Wednesday 26 July 2023

On the deck and down under

You'll recall we visited the Stewart Park Music Festival July 14 - 16th this month. It was sad to read that there have been some reports of COVID breakouts amongst musicians, volunteers and attendees. Maybe a couple dozen cases, but who knows? Our health unit isn't testing anymore, nor tracking cases other than in long-term care. It really is disappointing. We are fine, having just walked around briefly. 

It has been glorious in the safety of the back deck. The foliage is amazing. We were graced by the presence of a Question Mark butterfly. They, and the Eastern Comma, like to lay eggs in the vine, on the yummy leaves.




Look at the size of the leaves! 

It really is wonderful to see who exists in this habitat. These two hung out there all day.

This is, I think, a Tiger Moth caterpillar. They have various colours, so it is tricky to identify them.

This one has morphed. I am way too tired and stressed with all that is going on to do any research. We will be happy to see whomever visits us. There are lots of them on the hops vine.

caterpillar from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It is Tiger Lily season! I have mercilessly picked off the lily bugs, and the plants have survived. They make me so happy.

Then there is Fred. They have dug another entrance hole under the deck. That makes 3 entrances. There is a well-trod path to the lilac tree which provides safety.


Fred July 21 from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

P.S. We're back in the smoke.

🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬 🛬

The Fearsome Foursome Flyers are in Australia. Meanwhile, at home, their kitchen renos are coming along. The other gramma is there, taking photos and monitoring progress for them. They have walls and a new half wall, plumbing and electrical are done!

They headed off to Bondi Beach, but first visited Vinnie's, AKA St. Vincent de Paul. This was their plan, to buy some warmer clothes for the trip, and leave them behind. It makes packing much easier! 



bondi beach from Jennifer Jilks on Vimeo.

It makes me happy seeing them enjoy the beach!

12 comments:

Tom said...

...you and parts of your family have a lot on the plate. Enjoy your day.

eileeninmd said...

Love the family's beach photos. Pretty butterfly and your lilies are lovely.
Take care, have a great day!

Barbara Rogers said...

When do you think we'll see Fredlets? Yep, smoke made it down here yesterday, and maybe today. Don't smell it, but particulates are being counted. Yay for kids enjoying a southern beach in winter!

Divers and Sundry said...

I love tiger lilies!

You have a wonderfully butterfly-friendly habitat. I keep trying to plant for butterflies, but they don't like what I have access to :( I used to have rue, and that was a winner, but it all died. We do have some little white butterflies that like the salvia.

Olga said...

Are the punctuation mark butterflies the actual common names or did you make that up? Just curious. I know monarch and swallowtail and that's pretty much it.

Anvilcloud said...

I think about C19 every time I go out sans mask, but I do it anyway. My biggest crowd is the grocery, and it was pretty empty early yesterday morning.

Elephant's Child said...

Your tiger lilies are spectacular. I do love your garden and wildlife shots.
I hope your family is enjoying Oz. Yay for Vinnies, who will happily take the clothes back when they are done with them.

RedPat said...

I love how the frogs hang out in the hops vine.

Nancy J said...

Warmer gear for NZ is a definite YES. Snow, cold winds, rain, almost sleet at our place, temperature hovered at 4C, so op shop clothes is a good option.Love your summer garden.

Kenneth Cole Schneider said...

The green frogs were nearly successful in hiding from me. That fuzzy caterpillar looks as if it might be a stinger. Fun family photos too. We gave Vinnies practically the entire contents of our second home Illinois condo when we consolidated in Florida. Big strong volunteers carried everything out.

Red said...

I use soap for lily beetles. Seems to work well. I didn't have problems this year.

Patio Postcards said...

That is encouraging to see so many varieties of butterflies. So far this year we have had the yellow Swallowtail ones, little white ones which I think are moths but yesterday I was pleased to see not a Monarch but a smaller orange black one ... could it be Question Mark butterfly???

On the COVID front, I see in the middle east The WHO is keeping a close eye on a case of Mers CovD - IMO we should still be tracking COVID cases.