Monarchs

We had a rainy week in central Oklahoma and I had to bring my aloe vera inside for a few days. It is a succulent and doesn’t need to get too much water. My apartment balcony garden is doing well with the cooler temperatures and humidity. The nicotiana, zinnias, and marigolds continue to bloom. The zinnias continue to be the star for attracting the pollinators. I saw my first hummingbird this week and I was quite excited. It was a black chinned hummingbird and it came 3 times this week. I couldn’t get a photo because it was quick. It came to the zinnias each time but didn’t stay long. I think it couldn’t get much food since the zinnias were wet. The scarlet runner bean has been revived since it has cooled off. I have noticed a Chinese forget me not about to flower in a pot on the balcony. The basil is doing good on the balcony as well as at the farm. We went to the farm yesterday and the garden there was quite a mess after the rain. There were lots of mushrooms but I didn’t take photos of them because there were too many beautiful butterflies around to distract me. The late boneset was in bloom and all kinds of pollinators love it. I saw my first monarchs there along with many other species. There were two and one landed on top of the other. I thought they were doing it but it turns out that isn’t how they do that after all. This morning, I saw a third monarch on the zinnias at my apartment. I think it is a little early for hummingbirds, monarchs, and late boneset. I wonder if the early onset of fall has changed these things. In addition to the monarchs, I saw the tiger swallowtail, gulf fritillary, hackberry emperor, tawny emperor, dun skipper and eastern comma. I am trying to photograph as many species as I can in Oklahoma. This is the first time I have seen the tawny emperor and eastern comma as well. Not many of the plants were in bloom this time but I did see some beautiful evening primrose blooming. The lantana was blooming a little bit. The snow queen hydrangea wasn’t doing well where we had planted it so we moved it to a shadier spot. There were a few sunflowers and zinnias blooming. My tiny magnolia tree died but the first vitex was still alive. The vitex hasn’t grown much since last time. I spent a lot of time pulling up vines from undesirable places, mostly morning glories and American hog peanut. The spiders, ladybugs, and grasshoppers were everywhere yesterday. There were tons of tomatoes but I accidentally smashed them so we didn’t eat any. The comfrey has grown back and most of the herbs are doing ok. The peach and fig trees look good. The beautyberry, Russian sage and two pawpaws are struggling. The fennel is blooming. We planted the two vitex and another hydrangea yesterday. We didn’t have time to plant the milkweed but we will do it next week. I saw my turtle friend again yesterday stuck in a fence. It is an ornate box turtle and I think we’ve met before. My cat seems to be doing good. We brought her two new bowls for her water. It has been a busy week so I didn’t do much cooking. I did read and draw a bit. I found out that I can’t enter the county fair because of a schedule conflict. I will try for next year. I am super sore from all the work yesterday. I hope that the next week will be less humid than this. My boyfriend and I like to do blind taste tests and we did two this week. I tested the dollar tree version of my favorite candy and compared it to the original. The original candy was much better. We also tested ribeye vs sirloin. Ribeye definitely won in the taste test. Sometimes it can be worth it to spend more. I am excited to return to the farm again next week.