Butterflies and Pumpkins and Kitties, Oh My!

It's been a beautiful day, and I spent the greater part of it working in the wild garden.  I was on a mission to eradicate a plant called Dicliptera.

I bought it at a reputable nursery, and I knew it was native and shade tolerant, but I didn't know it could be so invasive.  The soil moisture was really good after all the rains, so the weeding went well, but there was a LOT of it!  This is a 10 x 10 foot tarp piled high with Dicliptera.  Chiquita is taking it easy.

I also took some pictures of a dainty little wild four o'clock that's native here.  The blooms are only about 1/2 inch across, but the color is very bright and pretty in the fall.  I've tried transplanting them but haven't had much success.  They apparently love where they grow in the wild garden, with good drainage and good afternoon sun.

The bees and butterflies were just buzzing and fluttering all over the fragrant white mistflower.

Tried my best to get good photos of them, but they don't like having a photographer so close by!  You can see the pollen sacs on the busy bee.

The monarch wouldn't pose with its wings spread out.  It was just too intent on getting its nectar.  The monarchs are migrating to Mexico, and most of them have already passed through.  The mistflower is so smart that it times its bloom for the migration.   :-))

Last but not least, Happy Halloween, everyone!  These are pumpkins from past Halloweens, and I had to look through old photos and scan them.  Digital cameras rock!

My Wild Garden

I have an area in the back that I call my wild garden. I don't water or groom the plants there. A couple of times a year I'll mow a path or edit out some unwanted species. More than 10 years ago, I planted some native species to complement what was already there.

The wild garden looked dried up and dead earlier this year, but it's come back in a big way. We're having the third wettest October on record for Bell County. The weeds were held back severely by the drought, so that's a good benefit! And now the flowers are taking center stage!

We normally get our first hard frost around Thanksgiving, so I'm going to enjoy the blooms for all they're worth now, and let them settle into my memory to carry me through the cold, wet winter. Well, after this year of driest August and wettest October, who knows what the winter will bring? Go smell the flowers while you can!

Texas aster

Golden-eye

Golden-eye

Wild pink lantana

Wild pink lantana bush covered with flowers

Poison ivy, gotta watch out for this!

Texas lantana

Texas lantana

Seed pods, fragrant mimosa

Sotol

Horse nettle fruits. Nightshade (potato) family, poisonous

My gardening helper!

Agave that grew under the fence from the neighbors

Agave leaf print

Salvia farinacea, white form of mealy cup sage

Spineless prickly pear with bug

Horseherb with tiny 1/8 inch flowers

Horseherb as a nice native groundcover

Zexmenia

Frostweed

Pigeon-berry, much loved by birds

Pigeonberry flower

Fragrant white mistflower, loved by butterflies

Perennial morning glory

Morning glory foliage

Chili pequin, also a member of the nightshade family

Peruvian Pavonia

Click click hisssss . . .

I have officially succumbed to late night infomercials. Insomnia coupled with an insatiable thirst for knowledge leads to television viewing at odd hours of the morning, when reading doesn't work. When I saw the infomercial for the Shark steam mop several months ago, it made sense to me and I actually thought about buying it. But then I read mixed reviews online, so that killed the idea for me. Some users complained about the lack of quality in the build of the steam mop, and others complained that it didn't steam enough, or made puddles. I didn't really want to buy it over the internet, anyway. What if it didn't work right and I had to return it?

Fast forward, and lo and behold, there it was in Sam's Club yesterday. I'll admit I'm a bit of a sucker for Sam's Club. There's not a lot of selection, but the items they DO have seem to be top quality. Somehow, the Shark steam mop gained back its credibility with me. I very carefully studied the package and read about the new, improved version, and decided it was going home with me.

Now, before you think I'm crazy for spending $100 on a mop, picture this. I've been cleaning the hard floors on my hands and knees for over 30 years. Armed with clean towels and a spray bottle of water and a spray bottle of window cleaner, I've detailed my tile and vinyl floors to spotless perfection. I have to wear knee pads or use a foam kneeler cushion. The last couple of years, not only my knees but the heels of my hands hurt from cleaning my floors like this (not to mention my back). I've been given various "mops" that use icky chemicals and don't result in a CLEAN, dry and shiny floor. So I've tried the alternatives. And I've always gone back to doing it the good old-fashioned way.

Well . . . I must admit that the steam mop did a very good job on the vinyl and tile floors. I did have to fill it with water every time I changed rooms, but that was alright. It came with four reversible, washable mop pockets, so I used both pockets of the rectangular shape. I could have changed to the triangular head for the tile bathroom, but I was on a roll. Every time I pushed forward, it would click, and on the backstroke it would click again, all the while hissing with a goodly amount of steam. There's something SO satisfying about the click, click, hisssss. Somehow it reinforces the notion that I'm really getting the floors clean and even sanitized with all natural steam! I even tried the carpet glider tray on my bedroom carpet. The owner's manual states that the steam doesn't clean the carpet, but helps deodorize and freshen it. I think it actually worked as described.

My doggy Chiquita can't help leaving doggy prints and doggy drool everywhere. I've been known to leave a muddy footprint here and there myself, and Lord knows, the CHILDREN who don't live here anymore will be back! The steam mop did a great job cleaning the hard floors, plus it helped with doggy smell on the carpet. I could have done a wee bit better on my hands and knees, but hey, I'm giving myself a break! I deserve a break today!!! Besides, a $100 mop is much cheaper than knee surgery!!! Just ask my son who lives in Berkeley. :)

Shark Steam Mop and doggy in the window

October Flower Garden

All the rains we've had for the past six weeks not only alleviated the drought stress, but seemed to spur my plants into a heightened state of floriferousness!  Blooms are bursting out all over, the weather has cooled down, the skies are tinted that incredible shade of crystalline blue, and the sun's rays are slanting down in a painterly manner that seems to bathe everything in a golden glow.  The air is crisp, and it's finally time to open up the house to fresh air.  Ahhhh, I love fall.

Turk's cap showing turban-shaped flower

Hummingbirds love shade-tolerant Turk's cap!

'Pink Caprice' lantana

Pink Salvia greggii

Salvia guaranitica 'Black and Blue'

Four o'clock with color breaks

Epiphyllum (orchid cactus)

Epiphyllum buds

Aster oblongifolius, fall aster

Dime-size Aster ericoides (heath aster) with Oxalis leaves

Fall aster and heath aster

Pigeonberry

Purple heart

Salvia regla