We donned another hat

as tour guides by introducing our Colorado friends, Adele and Steve, to our home state and our little corner of the world. 

Picking them up at the Nashville airport, our first stop was Mammoth Cave. The longest known cave system in the world, over 400 miles have been mapped. Volunteers continue to discover additional rooms and passageways. Taking the Historical Tour, we learned the history as well as geological features. Please do not ask us to expound, after all this was just a 1 hour tour.)

Wanting to show them what we consider to be the prettiest part of our state, and with a circle tour in mind, we headed to Bluegrass Country, aka Horse Country. It also happens to be the birthplace of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail. No, we did not visit all 60+ distilleries, but we did taste in four of them.

Looking for Maker's Mark we explored a bit more of the area than we had planned. 

Lesson learned, regardless of what the GPS says, follow the signs. 

We also tasted at Four Roses. For us, it was a bit underwhelming, and we have no photos.

Buffalo Trace was high on our tasting list, but we were unable to get a tour reservation. You can see why we chose not to stand in line for the free tasting.

Taking the Old Frankfurt Pike Historic Scenic Byway to Nicholasville, we enjoyed brunch at one of ABN's favorite spot, Luna's Coffee, Wine and Butterfly Cafe.

We marveled at the many times we have ridden our tandem on this road and other similar narrow, curvy, hilly roads on the Horsey Hundred bike ride; even more so that we lived to tell about it!

The tour of Kentucky continued as we turned west toward our home. With pride we showed our guests around our small town neighborhood. It just happened they were in town on a Tuesday.

Having become close friends with Adele and Steve over the past 7 years, the only perception of us they had was in the context of our RV. Now they know the rest of the story. Looking forward to seeing them again in February!

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.