An Evening in the Garden

Don't have a lot of time to spare today, but wanted to share some photos I took yesterday evening.

Flexin' the Mighty Micro on Macro Monday

Today, I'm joining in on my first Macro Monday post.  I often check out the meme participants, but I've never actually posted one myself until today.   : )  Macro Mondays are hosted by Lisa's chaos.  This is one of those well-rounded memes that encompass all sorts of blog genres and photo subjects.  Pop on over to check out all the other fascinating photos.

MGB Nov 2010: Bouquet of Thankfulness

Hooray, Thanksgiving week is here!  It is one of our favorite holidays here at PITV...a time to get together with family, enjoy a scrumptious feast, and go out of our way to find reasons to be thankful.  What could be better? 

Nightmares on Oak Street

My walk through the garden today fell a bit short of idyllic and peaceful.  In fact, I witnessed a few outright nightmares!  If you are squeamish or prone to fainting, beware as you enter this post today......

"Silence is Golden"

Wednesday Walkabout

I really have far too much to do this week and am really feeling that Wednesday "hump day," so I have no business spending time in the garden or posting on this blog.  But you know, I must have a quick meander through the garden.  So much is going on! 

Wet 'n' Wild

Three inches of rain in four days!  Woohoo!  Two days in a row with highs below 90!  How great is that!  You certainly won't hear me wishing summer away.  Surely everyone agrees that these long stretches of daylight are awesome.  I'm trying to enjoy every moment I can.  The skin-splitting, bone-throbbing, dim, dark days of winter will be with us soon enough, to be followed by a brutally hot, dry spring.  I'll take a Florida summer anyday!

Into the swamp...

I decided today to head out on a swamp trek to visit my river again.  For those who don't know, Florida's Peace River is just a skip and a holler from my house, and it was the inspiration behind my blog's name.  I really don't get down to the water enough, which is shameful.  Today, I wandered out with high hopes of doing some birdwatching and maybe even some gatorwatching.  Come, walk with me, and visit my little piece of the world.

A Whirlwind Week

The past week has pretty much whizzed by, and I'm afraid I hardly paused long enough to soak it all in. 

Wet Weekend at Six Acres

This past weekend, the family made a mad push to finish the work at son's house/property, which I call Six Acres.  We worked pretty much nonstop through daylight hours from Friday to Monday.   Of course, there's still much to be done.  As my husband always wisely puts it, "It is what it is."    

An Alien and a Predator?

My garden has been visited by an alien! Looking like something straight out of a Star Trek or Doctor Who episode, I can't help but think the Spiny Orb Weaver would be great inspiration for a cinematic alien. Its black-cream-and-red colors and crab-like spines give it a very creepy, unearthly appearance. In fact, it is very earthly and one of the South’s most common spiders. It’s certainly one of the most abundant spiders in my garden. Like many spiders, the female is the larger and more colorful of this species. This spider gets half of its common name from the enormous webs it weaves, usually several feet across. I often smash into these when walking around my garden. And even though I know they’re harmless, I scream like a little girl every time it happens. Like most spiders, spiny orb weavers are great to have around. For not only are they cool-looking garden aliens, they are also terrific predators, helping to control the insect population and keep everything in balance. Yesterday, I encountered one of these alien/predators on a Stromanthe leaf. The red hues in the spider spines and the leaf blend together so beautifully! Jack Frost struck my stromanthes hit-or-miss this year, and I am so glad that this particular one did not get burned. What a fun photo opportunity!

The Spiny Orb Weaver (Gasteracantha cancriformis) is called a "Crab Spider" by most locals because of the hard carapace and protruding spines. This common name can be confusing, as there is a separate, unrelated family of crab spiders. But it does indeed resemble a crab. The spider's legs are usually hidden, curled underneath its body, making it hard to recognize as a spider at first glance. The scientific name of this species, cancriformis, actually means "crab-like" in Latin.

The legs curled up underneath the body.



What pretty colors!