Six on Saturday – Spiders and Things

We had a lot of rain this past Monday, which was a relief, but since then it’s been dry and pleasant, until today, when the humidity shot up again.  But, given how much rain, this weekend,  is falling further south thanks to Hurricane Florence, or in the far east thanks to Typhoon Mangkhut, I’m not going to complain about the lack of precipitation any more.

Instead I’ll talk about spiders and bees, and cherry tomatoes.  If you’re interested in seeing Six photos from around the world, check out the comments on The Propagator’s site.

1 – here is what a ripe Amethyst Jewell cherry tomato looks like.  So sweet and tender.  The photo at the top of the blog is what they look like when they are NOT ripe – they start out a shiny deep purple before fading to this orangey shade then to a near white.  I started two plants from seed four years ago and now I have them all over the place – they spring up as volunteers year to year, either from where they’ve fallen the previous summer or from the compost.

2 – I don’t generally but chrysanthemums but couldn’t resist this one because the price was definitely right.  It’s been in the ground nearly two weeks and has just started to open – I’m glad I like this colour!

3a – there’s a lot of these large garden spiders out and about this time of year.  This one was amongst my cherry tomatoes!  I’m glad I spotted it before plunging my hand in to pluck an early morning snack!

3b – This one was in the back amongst some milkweed stalks  – found it enjoying its own snack!

4 – I’ve long forgotten the name of this Aster — it’s a native variety and shows up in the fields, at the edges of the gardens and alongside roads and ditches too.  I love it because the tiny white flowers are so tightly packed together and, of course, the pollinators love them too!

5a – Two of my giant sunflowers toppled over in the storm last Monday.  I cut off the seed heads and stuck some of them in this old twisted iron patio torch holder,  The yellow finches seem to appreciate it!

5b – Of course, the finches appreciate any seed – including Echinacea purpurea.

6 – Another bee shot – sorry!  I always wonder, when I go out early in the morning, when the dew is still shimmering, and not much is stirring, what these early bees are doing.  They aren’t moving, their wings aren’t furiously flapping…have they been there all night?  Are they in a pollen stupor?  Did they get caught out after dark forcing their bodies to shut down until the sun hits them and warms their tiny muscles?  I see bees like this frequently.  Any ideas???