Dichorda Iridaria

Drumrollllllllllll. . . . .

With a lot of help from friends and family and their friends and family, it appears the strange caterpillar on our sumac has been ID'd:





And, here is the moth it will become:


(These photos courtesy of friendscentral.org.)

This is the showy emerald moth. Now I'll know what to look for as the season goes on.

Keeping a garden that is chemical free leads to such interesting discoveries. Of course, yesterday's big discovery was hoof-prints of a horse! Then, while walking dogs, we stopped to feed Poco the horse and learned from his owner Cathy that Poco had been loose the evening before. Yep, it was his big ol' hoof that squished a tulip. Small loss. We stop and give Poco a carrot every day when dog walking. Buck and Cocoa have learned that this is part of the routine, so they automatically turn in at Poco's place.

Our life here has such a sweet rhythm. We have real seasons, but they aren't terribly extreme, well except for summer heat. Tons and tons of birds have taken to feeding at our feeders, stopping for a drink at the little bubbler, and rewarding us with song. I'm hopeful we'll have nesters this year. Gary the Coopers Hawk isn't here every day like he was for a while, but he still makes an appearance every second or third day for hunting. A few quail are showing up - the leaders of the huge coveys we'll have in the summer. I have a tiny garden this year and big hopes that by late fall I'll have the space created for a much bigger garden next year. It's a challenge. The soil is heavy clay. The gophers are everywhere. Deer stop by to munch. Local dogs pee on everything. There is no rain in summer and 100+ degree heat. And, our lot is quite steep. My plan is to level an area, put down gopher wire topped by a large raised bed, surround that with deer fence, catch rain water in a cystern for irrigation, and possibly put bird netting on the top. Whew! All that so I can enjoy the labor of gardening - - and the taste of fresh veggies of course.

It's March!

I've been derelict about not updating this blog. Life has had it's challenges.
I was sick for over 3 weeks with some sort of intestinal thing that really laid me low. Of course the house got utterly filthy in that time. Good friend Judy's old golden retriever Beau died, and we helped her with the aftermath of that. Now just a couple of days ago another friend's golden retriever had to be put down. Jennifer had cancer and seizures. Way too reminiscent of our challenges with Mousse.

Anyway, I'm back.

I've sent this photo off to Dr. Hannan for an ID. These two caterpillars look exactly like leaves. The plant they are on, a 3 leaf sumac, is one I planted; and I knew that the leaves were not this shape. But, I thought that some other leaf had simply blown onto the plant. When I went to brush them away - lo and behold, they are alive. Is this not an amazing example of camouflage in the natural world?



I've written before about Lucy Cat's facination with any sort of "rag" she can drag around. Socks get brought downstairs. Dish towels get pulled off their hangers and dragged into the living room. We finally decided to give her a small basket and a few rags of her own. Lucy is in rag heaven! One of the rags I gave her is one that she kept dragging out of my studio. It's really ratty, being one I use when painting. Finally I gave it to her. So this morning she drug it UP the stairs and back into my studio. Crazy cat.



This waterfall and pool are on BLM land where I recently went hiking with a friend. Dogs are allowed off leash there so I'll be visiting more often with my two!


Although we could still get a cold snap spring has definitely sprung here. I've got lots of daffodils in bloom and a few buds on tulips. Wildflowers are lovely around the lake. It's a great time to visit if you're so inclined. . . .