Fall is finally here and Im ready for the cool weather!
Here is a picture of the beautiful Moon tonight:
...taken with the Pentax K-x
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Houston Arboretum
Hello! How are you today? Today Tink, my Parents (visiting from FL), and I went to the Houston Arboretum for a short hike. It was such a nice day today. The temperature was warm, cloudy, and not too humid, which is really nice compared to the usual blazing heat this time of the year. I love the Houston Arboretum because you can really get the feel of what Houston, TX looked like before it was settled. I also always see something interesting and unexpected (today was a good one, see below!). There is an abundance of wildflowers which is great if you want some inspiration for a native plant garden. Lots of different species of birds live here too.
Beautyberry -Callicarpa americana
Buttonbush - Cephalanthus occidentalis
Missouri Ironweed - Vernonia missurica
Ruby-throated Hummingbird, there were a lot of them zooming around.
Sneezeweed - Helenium amarum
Gerardia - Agalinis heterophylla
A pond in the middle of the arboretum.
Prairie Blazingstars - Liatris pycnostachya, thriving!
Sharp-pod Morning Glory - Ipomoea trichocarpa
Scarlet Sage - Salvia coccinea
Leafy Elephant Foot - Elephantopus carolinianus
Blue Waterleaf - Hydrolea ovata
Rose-mallow, Hibiscus sp.
Bumble Bee visting Aligator Flag - Thalia dealbata
Surprise!! A Broad-banded Water Snake - Nerodia fasciata confluens. This was the first time I have seen a snake in Houston after more than four years of living here and we saw two! My Mom spotted both, she has a good eye! :D This one looks like its going to be shedding its skin soon as its eye is looking a little milky. Supposedly, a common snake in Houston. Its very pretty and non-venomous so please let them be if you see one.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
Giant Swallowtail Caterpillar
Look what I found on my potted Lime tree this morning!
Its not a huge bird dropping!! Its a Giant Swallowtail (Papilio cresphontes) caterpillar! I think it had just found its way from one of the neighboring Citrus trees because not a leaf had been nibbled on my tree and it is in its last molt before it becomes a chrysalis. That would be pretty amazing because the other Citrus trees are in my neighbors yards (closest one being about 30ft away. No worries though, Im going to allow this caterpillar to eat as much as it likes on my lime before it becomes a chrysalis (hopefully on the lime tree itself). :)
