View from my studio

Drew and I hung up this basket of flowers out side and put a tiny little humming bird feeder inside. You see them perched on there all they time. The hummers go between the feeder and the flowers to eat. Below you can see the "discount" wild flowers we planted too. They are a bit crazy but very pretty.


Mary and Maddie picked out this bird bath for the front. It has a little brown bunny on the front that is sitting in flowers. Fitting since there is a tiny gray bunny that lives in the bush right behind.

View from my office chair. I can watch the birds- you'll know when I am slow to answer emails and get design work done. Its a perfect place to day dream...Best of all I can watch the girls school from the window.

Awesome Bright Green Frog in Lucas

One of the things I like best about organic gardening are all the visitors we get- this frog was just too cool. We need to look it up and find out the name and info. It was a bright green with webbed feet and big eyes. Not at all afraid of us, at one point while I was taking photos, I swear it turned to face me and pose. What a ham!

Amazing Flowers Lucas Texas after the rain

When the girls got home from school today we ventured out into the nice cool weather to see how our flower beds were doing. For some reason today- not sure if its all the rain or the cool weather but the flowers all seemed to be extra colorful and bright.

The humming birds are loving it. A perfect time for them all to bloom so the hummers can fatten up for their long journey.

The orange and white flowers were planted last month from wildflower seeds we picked up at Walgreens in Allen for 10 cents a package during their remodeling sale.

Tomatoes there yesterday- gone today-hornworms

It rained here in Lucas, Texas for over a week straight. Not that I am complaining- I happen to love the rain.

No gardening was done during that week so when it stopped raining and I went out to check on the tomato "crop" it was gone...literally nothing left but stems.

Seems that while the rain came in so did the Horn worms- After putting on gloves and carefully taking off each one- last count was 18- they were all placed into a bucket covered in netting until research could be done....

Come to find out they are the caterpillars for the hummingbird butterfly. I found a great site for how to collect the caterpillars, feed them, then leave them alone to turn into the butterflies (moths) in about two weeks. The caterpillars are HUGE- they can get up to 4 inches long.- Very Cool! So now instead of growing tomatoes...we are growing butterflies

September Lucas Texas Organic Garden Photos

Photos I took today of the flowers and plants in our garden- they loved that rain!

Lucas Texas Hummingbirds Fattening Up

I took this photo a few days ago. It was on a rainy day in September. The rain has stopped for a while- it rained here in Lucas, Texas for about a week and half.
You can tell the hummingbirds are getting ready to fly south for the winter- look how fat they are getting.

First year daisy ceremony

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9-ASx7BHV8

Sent from my iPhone

He's back

Texas Toad Makes a home in Lucas

Every morning for about a month now when I go out to water my patio garden there is a hole inside one of the flower pots. It is a good sized hole so I have been really curious about what was making it.

Yesterday we found out...

The toad is still there today in the pot- in a new position today and I did see it out of the pot around 5am this morning.

For some reason this toad has decided that our patio is its new home. "Freddie" or "Fredina" is welcome to say for as long as it wants too. The kids love to look at it but are under strict orders not to go near the pot and under no circumstances are they to touch the toad. From what I have read online the Texas Toad breeds in September and sometimes uses man made ditches. And that they are know for burrowing and flattening themselves out to not be seen. The toad is quite large my best guess is between 2 1/2 to 3 inches.

Pray Mantis Living on Hummingbird Feeder

When we got up this morning this huge pray mantis that has been living on our orange tree has taken over the hummingbird feeder. It is so large that it is literally swinging the feeder and has almost emptied out all the nectar. A little concerned about the impact for the hummingbirds- need to google if they play nice together.

More about this later.

Crazy bug in my pattio garden

Found out it is a pray mantis- eats bugs so he's welcome...

Baby birds

One of the things we love best about our new house in Lucas is all the wild life- Especially the birds. Since everything is on clearance now for the fall/winter Mary and Maddie picked out an adorable bird bath at home depot. It sits out front of my studio window.

The most adorable little baby birds visited today. They can barely fly. They have a dark brownish blue back with rusty-red chest and bellies. They are covered in the really fluffy baby feathers- they look like little fat cotton balls.

Banana Peppers Lucas Texas

Our first harvest of banana peppers. We harvested a lot. Planning on pickling them.

Baby bunnies in my garden

The babies are so tiny tiny that look like hamsters with ears.

Help in my garden- Texas Toad

While gardening yesterday I could hear something moving around in my
wagon. I was afraid one of the baby birds landed in there and could not get out. How cool is that?

Huge green garden guest

Not sure what type of worm this is it is really huge.

Mailbox sunflowers

Sunflowers growing at our mail box. They are beautiful- wish I had planted them in the back yard too.

Beautiful purple flower beds

My august garden

Flower at dads house