It's a Labor of Love

 

"Following my morning garden chores, I sat on a bench for a rest. Sitting there less than 30 minutes, I observed several black swallowtails, a couple of Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, a few Monarchs, a couple of goldfinches, a pair of cardinals, a few hummingbirds, in addition to lots of white cabbage butterflies and tons of bees and moths. For this, my friend, is what I toil 10 months of the year." 

                                                            CBJ (aka ABN.)

Our little backyard Butterfly, Bird and Bee habitat has been quite lively these past couple of months. We documented a record number of butterfly species, surpassing the previously recorded maximum by four species.   

After a recent influx of Monarchs and hummingbirds on their journey to a warmer venue, and as other butterflies prepare for their winter hibernation the activity has noticeably decreased.

While the goldfinch population has tapered off to a pair or two, the Robin family has returned from their summer hiatus. And there is an increase of  red flashes as the cardinals dart through the garden.

The buzz of the bees remains constant.

Apparently word of our little habitat has spread. While we are all for diversity, there is not enough room for opossums and raccoons. We understand they are looking for water sources, but honestly, they are not considerate guests. Feeling they would thrive better, Captain has initiated an Urban Mammal Relocation Program to a wooded area near the Ohio River. 

One might think it would be the beginning of a slower pace for the gardeners. Not so, as the rush to prepare for the next season begins. Beds must be prepared for fall planting as well as for early spring planting. Repairs must be made, spent flowers removed, leaf mulch applied, pots washed, all before the cold, short days of winter.

Since the gardeners are also the home maintenance crew, our work is never slow. You may recall our post from April 2024 about the re-plastering of our vintage home. It was completed in August! 

For about a week, we lived in our bedroom, kitchen and back porch as four rooms, plus the bath and hall on the main level were painted.

The painting is now completed! Fortunately the painters moved the heavy furniture and we worked diligently to clean and return order to our home. It is now company ready.

A much needed reprieve for the gardeners and home maintenance crew is next on the agenda. Perhaps now is the time to explore a little in our home state and have a taste of bourbon.

 

Let us tell you about the birds and the bees,

 (and the butterflies) in our backyard habitat. It’s August and that means there is a lot of activity! 

More than the usual number of Goldfinches have graced our space this past year. It is their mating season and they are very hungry or maybe it is the demand from their offspring. 

If you didn’t know, the young are fed with regurgitated seeds from their parents. This year the favorite seeds tend to be zinnias and Black-eyed Susans and they visit the fast-food options (bird feeders with thistle seed) pretty often.

Cannas

The hummingbirds are stopping on their way south for a bit of refreshment and a brief rest.  In addition to the fast food feeders, they prefer to dine mostly on Major Wheeler honeysuckle, lantanas, zinnias and the cannas nest door.

One couple took up residence here in the spring and raised a family. It is difficult to count the offsprings as they flit around so quickly. Being suspicious and camera shy, there is no photo to share.

The Cardinal Family and the Doves have weathered the oppressive summer heat and remain a part of the community. The cardinals dine mostly on sunflower seeds and insects including caterpillars which they probably steal from the butterfly host plants. The ground feeding doves come along and clean up the mess under the feeders, (as do the uninvited squirrels.)

                                              

The robins have left. Rumor has it they are on a retreat to a nearby woodland resort. 

The bees, big or small, we accept them all, even the ones dominating the vitex (Chaste Tree.)

as well as those feasting on African Blue basil. Thanks to our Texas friend, Anne, for the basil.

Butterflies are also migrating, stopping by to sample the various nectars and hopefully lay a few eggs. Their nourishment of choice is zinnias, Mexican sunflowers and lantanas. So far this season four different species have paid a visit.

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail on Mexican Sunflower

Black Swallowtail on Zinnia

Fritillary on Zinnia

Monarch on Zinnia

Two monarchs made a stop-over on July 29 followed by a couple of caterpillars who disappeared.

Monarch Caterpillar on Common Milkweed

What happened to them, we can only guess. It could be wasps, spiders or even those coveted lady bugs. It could be the cardinals, but the jury is out as we have no evidence. The solution, according to Monarch Watch is to plant more milkweed to encourage monarchs to lay more eggs. According to Monarch Watch, a habitat should include at least 10 milkweeds of 3 different species in addition to a variety of nectar plants. Our habitat currently has 8 including swamp milkweed, common milkweed and butterfly weed. Plans are being made to add more milkweed in the fall. And there might be an experiment or two on the horizon. Stay tuned.

As we strive to have a healthy and fulfilling life in retirement, we feel it is important to engage in a purpose, to keep active, and to continue to gain knowledge. For ABN, creating a backyard habitat fulfills these needs. And it keeps Captain active as he checks off the to-do list.

 

 

Prague

 

where Medieval meets modern.

A lovely city rich with beautiful ancient architecture and cobblestone streets, it has photo ops around every corner. Our hotel was conveniently located in Old Town and within walking distance of most tourist attractions. According to AI, it is one of the most visited cities in the world. According to our tour guide, 60% of the city’s revenue comes from tourists. As we maneuvered around other tourists, we believe that to be true.

Like most tourists, we took tons of photos. However we will spare you and share only a few of what we consider the highlights of our experience. If you want details on the Romanesque, Gothic, and Baroque architecture, they are readily available online.

The Astronomical clock drew the attention of the engineer (aka, Captain.) Tourists flock to the Old Town Hall to watch the twelve apostles appear, the skeleton ring the bell and a rooster crow on the hour. An amazing 15^th century engineering feat.

Proudy

is a humorous, bronze representation of two men programmed to move their hips and write messages with their urine. There is no accounting for diverse art appreciation.

A surprise find was the Lennon Wall on a side street off the main square.

Originally it was a tribute to John Lennon following his murder in 1980. It became a place to protest the communist government. It continues to be a place where one can post political messages and global concerns like climate change. (No, we did not see any anti-U.S. messages.)

Having gained an appreciation of the communist era from folks who actually experienced it, we decided to visit the Communism Museum. As western media were not allowed in the country during that period, we had not realized the severity of oppression. It was eye opening. As one tour guide expressed it, the KGB just changed uniforms with the Gestapo.

How was the food? As a tourist city Prague offers a diverse cuisine from around the world. The traditional food we sampled was pretty much what we expected, brats and kraut, schnitzel (much like country fried steak), and seafood. We found the elegant restaurant adjacent to our hotel to be exceptionally good and about 2/3 the price of what we would pay for a similar meal in the U.S. The desserts were the best, especially the Chocolate Dome with Sour Cherry filling and the Pavlova with Lemon filling and Cherries.

Our very favorite Prague experience was the beer spa! In a very private room, we immersed ourselves in oak tubs filled with unfermented beer. Each of our tubs had a beer spigot with a choice of light or dark beer, (the best we had in Prague.) After the 30 minute soak, we relaxed on an organic wheat straw bed covered with a sheet. Our legs, tired from walking about 5 miles a day the past 17 days, thanked us for it.

Prague is a very large city. Our three day visit gave us just a small glimpse.

With the exception of one restaurant waiter and a few airport personnel, all the folks we encountered on our European excursion were extremely nice. This included our tour guides, shop clerks, restaurant servers, fellow passengers (from Canada, Australia and from every region in the U.S.) and especially the Viking staff from Romania, the UK, the Philippians and other countries.) 

It is worth noting, we concluded our 3-week European excursion without turning on a TV and, believe it or not, we did not hear our president’s name mentioned once. What a reprieve!

Not expected but not surprised, we did bring home a respiratory virus that kicked our butts for about a week. Fortunately we picked it up on the return home portion of our trip.

All is well now and we are glad to be home.