Will You Step Into My Parlor?

Goldenrod spider (female)

 (Misumena vatia)

Lovely things, these pages on the trailing edge of July, the cooler mornings with their high, clear light and floating gossamer clouds from here to there.

There are a few cicadas singing in the garden, but there are not as many as there were a week ago. I have been collecting the mortal husks of those who have expired and interring them in a corner of the garden under the John Davis rose. It is something I do every year, saying thanks and wishing them well on their journey as I tuck them gently into the good dark earth with an old teaspoon.

Late July and early August bring heavy dews, and a little after dawn, the roses in the garden are dappled with moisture and glistening. Several, such as the Lambert Closse rose shown in these photos, are being used by crab spiders like this female goldenrod spider to conceal themselves and pounce on unsuspecting beetles and flies. The little dears can have all the Japanese beetles they want.

Will You Step Into My Parlor?

Female goldenrod spider (Misumena vatia)

Lovely things, these middling pages in August, the cooler mornings with their high, clear light and gossamer clouds from here to there.

There are a few cicadas singing in the garden, but there have not been nearly as many about this year. Their numbers may have been diminished by smoke and airborne particles from forest fires in northern Quebec and the Maritimes which hindered their ability to breathe. I collect the mortal husks of those who have expired and inter them in a corner of the garden. It is something I do every year, saying thanks as I tuck them lovingly into the good dark earth with an old teaspoon.

Respiratory issues and the destruction of their habitat by forest fires have also affected butterfly populations this year, particularly Monarchs.

August brings heavy dews, and a little after dawn, our roses are dappled with moisture and glistening. Several blooms are being used by spiders like this female goldenrod spider to hide and pounce on unsuspecting beetles and flies. The little dears can have all the Japanese beetles they want.

Small Wonders and Worlds Within

On a fine morning in late August, a weathered cedar stump along the trail into the deep woods wears a carpet of haircap moss (Polytrichum commune).  The delicate wonders emerging from the thatch are dancing sporophytes, fragile strands topped by seed capsules wearing raindrops and filaments of spider silk. Just beyond the photo, a crab spider waits for a fly to put in an appearance, one fraught with peril.

How often does one wander along a trail and not notice such wonders? I suspect the answer is, most of the time, for this old hen anyway.

My moss colony was a miniature jeweled world, complete within itself, its glistening raindrops holding the whole sunlit forest in their depths, upside down of course. For the life of me, I can't come up with the right words to describe it. A tiny cosmos, teeming with life. Its own history. Its own traditions. Its own stories. Astonishing. Breathtaking. Radiant. Perfect.

Will you step in to my parlor?

Female goldenrod spider (Misumena vatia)

Lovely things, these middling pages in August, the cooler mornings with their high, clear light and gossamer clouds from here to there.

There are a few cicadas singing in the garden, but not as many as a week or two ago. I collect the mortal husks of those who have expired and inter them in a corner of the garden. It is something I do every year, saying thanks as I tuck them lovingly into the good dark earth with an old teaspoon.

August brings heavy dews, and a little after dawn, our roses are dappled with moisture and glistening. Several blooms are being used by spiders like this female goldenrod spider to hide and pounce on unsuspecting beetles and flies. The little dears can have all the Japanese beetles they want.