Freds, frogs, spinx caterpillar

The Freds   <= tracking data

My faithful readers have been enjoying the Freds. Bless your hearts, you make my day. Our first Fred (RIP) would disappear to her winter burrow in August. Last year Auntie Fred, went down for winter Sept. 12th. I saw her with leaves in her mouth, and the next day no sign. They'll arise in March, according to past history. 

Auntie has a burrow in the flag pole garden. She was out for hours munching nearby. 

You may giggle. I had a great photo last week. Both Freds were out, Auntie at the top X and MiniFred nearer the deck, at the second X. In some computer glitch it disappeared. 

The sun makes a pretty interesting photo on the trailcam!

Then there are two frogs in the goldfish pond. (Soon the fish will have to come in.) The second biggest frog has an issue with its eye. I wanted a closer look. It doesn't seem to be suffering, but I can't help. Those of us with cataracts can empathise. He seems to be able to eat.

Do you come here often?! 

Pandora Sphinx Moth Caterpillar

I've no photos of the adult. You can see one on Wiki. I was fascinated. It was in the front garden. 

A moth... 

Cinnamon and I went walkies to fetch trailcams. Caterpigly was walking across the driveway, towards Cinn! After I fetched the trailcam memory card, I walked back and it was still on the driveway. It was picked up and placed on the grass. 

 

The Dogwood plants have produced fruits...

or flowers. Rose of Sharon with one bloom. There are a couple more to come, but three have been chomped off my someone. Ah, nature.

Bright red berries which we must enjoy. Soon the trees will sleep for winter.

Cool mornings, are you ready?

😷 Our COVID symptoms lessen each day. We are still tired. I did a bit of weeding yesterday without coughing my brains out. I still need the puffer. My prescription ran out, and I am using Joe's, which expired in January. I am going to have to argue with the pharmacy to see if I can get a new one. My health insurance won't pay for one until Aug. 16th. Desperate times... 

🐾 Fred Groundhog

Here we are, Aug. 8th. This morning it was 12 ℃., and Fred groundhog has disappeared. I haven't seen him in a few days (perhaps a week), with the cooler August mornings. In 2023, my last recorded sighting of him was Aug. 21st. I imagine that he has to go work on his winter house. Autumn is approaching! See you next year, Fred! He's left early this year. I'm not sure what he knows that we don't know. Maybe an early Fall, after an early spring? 

 My bell fell over. I need to trim off the bottom, which is rotten and uneven. (Non-mental note.) Here is my precious rehomed Daisy, back in 2017, inspecting the bell. She kept attacking Nutmeg.

 

This is Dogwood I transplanted from beside the driveway. It needed more sun. Last year ,the doe trimmed it! Finally, this year, it seems to be thriving inside the deer fence.

Taking some quiet time to read my book on the back deck – a tussock moth caterpillar distracted me.

I uncovered the BBQ to replace the propane tank. It looks like someone was building a nest! Speaking of getting ready for winter. It's been propaneless and idle since July 13th. This is our COVID BBQ, too big for the two of us, but it was the only one that was preassembled. There was no staff available to assemble a smaller one. 

I cooked these for lunches, and to supplement the pasta dish JB got for me at Boston Pizza. They never have enough stuff with the pasta. 

I worked my way through all these Daniel Kalla books whilst home sick. Ruth Ware's One Perfect Couple is fantastic.