Garden shots
Our Boston ferns were getting as much traffic as a maternity ward in a major metropolitan area, so we decided this Spring to give them a break. After all, you can't water plants if you have tiny little hatchlings constantly tucked away inside of them. Pretty much we watched the ferns and as soon as we saw prospective bird parents making a home in the plants, we'd either pull each partially completed nest out of the fronds or put a large, white lightbulb in prior to the eggs being laid. In theory, the light bulb would discourage the birds and would be too cumbersome for them to move. As a result, they'd be forced to relocate if they wished to grow their families. Apparently, one bird mama didn't get the memo. She built her nest on top of a bulb.
An Eastern black swallowtail caterpillar--sorry, I identified it wrong at first--munching his way through bronze fennel that has gone to seed. When agitated, threatened or provoked, they stick out orange fork-shaped horns, called osmeterium, that emit a scent and are meant to frighten off predators.
An Eastern black swallowtail caterpillar--sorry, I identified it wrong at first--munching his way through bronze fennel that has gone to seed. When agitated, threatened or provoked, they stick out orange fork-shaped horns, called osmeterium, that emit a scent and are meant to frighten off predators.
