Flowers and Bugs

Enough about politics - let's look at some flowers and bugs!

Beauty and the Beast! I leaned in to get a good look at this Iris and jumped back when this big spider emerged.

He lurks inside and comes out when he senses prey. (Click any image to enlarge)

So many textures on a blue Iris!

I love the play of light on these flowers.

Rose petals have a velvety glow.

The Yarrow spread  madly and had to be thinned, but the bugs love it.

This miniature Grasshopper was intriguing, but I wonder if he was the culprit chewing on leaves of the Butterfly Bush.

Ladybug on unopened Yarrow flower buds.

They live! I saw several Praying Mantises for the first time since a landscaper clear-cut some of the garden plots. They were only as big as a staple when they emerged from the egg case, now they are about an inch long.

Sundrops! A fine sight after a few gloomy days.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine ...

Tulips, Irises, Forget-Me-Nots are now gone. Next up, Lilies, Black-Eyed Susans, Purple Coneflowers. Still planting seeds left over from the summer I missed last year while recuperating from surgery. At least this year I can do yard work - bought a new garden vest from Duluth Trading Co. to celebrate being active.

--Bernice