SPIDER-FEST

Ahh, the decorations are hung, the 'faux' spider webs strung, but does the real thing give you the heebie jeebies?

(click on the pictures to see them up close and personal...did you know spiders had hairy legs?)

I recently witnessed a real-life drama, seeing a match play out in the ring (spider web), between two very different contestants.

On the one hand, here is the contender (below):

And below is the resident cham-peen and owner of the web it has cast:

Let the match begin!

And the winner, and still cham-peen, posing victorious in the center of it's domain, as the contender shuffles out and away to another nook or cranny...

It is one thing to see these events and creatures in the light of day, but imagine this...
You approach the doorbell, poised to request entry by the residents, when you catch a glimpse of something in the dark...

And you jump back as the motion-detector light illuminates the visitor who awaits unsuspecting prey...

Wishing you a fun and spooky Halloween and peaceful All Saint's Day...

~Aerie-el

MYSTERY BIRD IDENTIFIED!

Hooray! The Audubon Society of Seattle is awesome! Rachel emailed me this information about the mystery bird after I sent her the photos posted on October 25, 2008.

"The silhouette is that of a heron, and the bill, leg length, wing shape, and general proportions point to a Green Heron...(they are) mostly birds of freshwater habitats, and are uncommon summer residents of Western Washington...they are rather shy and secretive, and aren't birds you see every day, so you were lucky to have one fly over your yard."
Read more about this shy bird here.

I also sent her the picture below, which sealed the deal on the bird id.


The picture is fuzzy because I saw this funny little bird perched, ran like crazy to grab my camera, and snapped a shot mid-stride, just a second before the heron took off. One second there, the next, gone. So the question that sprung to mind was...
Was that the Green Heron or Green Hornet? And that got me to thinking about Halloween costumes and Halloween being just around the corner...and so it goes...that I plan a creepy, crawly garden post for that spooky day...

~Aerie-el

MYSTERY BIRD

Below are two pictures I managed to quickly snap of the 'mystery bird'. I haven't seen or heard it since that day in mid-July, near sunset. The call was what drew my attention. It was a really hard, loud 'P' which slid into a softer 'hugh'. (Almost sounded like an exaggerated 'pew' as in 'church pew'.)

(left click on each picture to see it larger)

Any ideas on what this cute bird could be?

~Aerie-el

LAKE VISITORS

There have been some interesting visitors to the Lake...

Kingfisher (above)

I think these are trumpeter swans (above).

Here's a snow goose on approach to landing (above).

Female wood duck (near shore) and scaups further out

Male wood duck

And below is the rarest of all...

A surfer??? Now that's a first!

Matthew MacConnahay would be proud of this dude. Right on, right on.

~Aerie-el

LASAGNA AND HOYA

Okay, so these two topics don't really have much to do with each other, but they do have to do with gardening in the big scheme of things. And I have pictures.

Lasagna gardening has grown in popularity over the past few years. I love it because I can get rid of the grass and weeds without having to break a sweat. Check out the simple 'how to' details here.

Below are a couple pictures of the process in one of my border beds. I believe that 'more is better' when it comes to layers of newspaper.




Below are two pictures of my hoya plant in bloom. It is such a fun and easy plant to grow--mine thrives with neglect. Now that's my kind of plant.

























Happy gardening!
~Aerie-el

VEGETABLES

I love having a vegetable garden. I want to expand it. The only issue I have is that a vegetable garden requires regular attention. For that to occur, one needs to be home to do so. Mind you, I'm not complaining about my schedule, but it does affect my gardening.

So this year I put tomatoes into pots, planted some radishes, cabbage, broccoli, lettuce, and garlic in the veggie garden. When I was gone for more than a couple days, family or friends were able to water the plants (thank you!).

Here are some pictures of the fruits of my labor in the garden.











The other night I made salad for dinner. I used freshly cut lettuce from the garden and tomatoes picked ripe off the vines. Aside from the bonus of saving on the food budget, it was so satisfying to be able to make a meal of food grown right at home.

When the timing is right, I will expand the garden and look forward to sharing the produce with friends, family, and food banks.

Happy gardening!
~Aerie-el