Bird Brigade

Another favorite of this year's Flower Show was the Bird Brigade.

A collaboration between Bird Safe Philly and a number of Philadelphia schools.

The students drew and painted birds.

The students, from grades 3 to 12, based their work on that of Louis Agassiz Fuertes

Some rather true to life.

Others a bit more artistic.

All quite good.

Another Migrant

And another colorful bird, and one which breeds here.

And which is no stranger to the blog. The Prothonotary Warbler.

This one very interested in the decorative bird house above the fish pond. And outside my office window.

It spent quite a bit of time singing atop the post and inspecting the place. And I got to watch.

We've seen no evidence of nesting in this bird house. But we continue to hear Prothonotaries about the yard.

 

And the other day I saw four together in the yard, and we know they breed here.

We just don't know where.

But that's ok. They are welcome to build their nest wherever they like.

The Matrix

One of my favorite exhibits at the Flower Show was this one on the Matrix.

It didn't use the term "matrix" but that's what it was about.

The exhibit information at the show noted that it was meant to get folks to focus on what is below, the soil that plants grow in.

Represented by the grid supporting the various trees. The views were very different above and below.

The soil is the matrix in which the plants are imbedded. And while the sense of order shown below appealed to me, the natural world is not like that (except maybe for the laws of physics and even then the more we learn ...).

And certainly once at the level of biology things are much messier.

More like this, even as it still reflects the underlying grid order. 

And it is the order that appeals to us in gardens, versus the "hodgepodge" of the natural environment. And it is that order that allows us to discern that it is a garden at all.

🌳  🌳  🌳  🌳  🌳

The last time my Dad visited our place, he referred to our "hodgepodge" gardens. And he was right in that ours was not then a very ordered space. It still quite isn't there yet, albeit a bit by design, with our "no mow" zones just allowed to grow wild. And of course the yard blends seamlessly into the woods, the very thing that contrasts with and allows us to recognize gardens as gardens.

Yard Beetle of the Week

The Horned Passalus, Odontotaenius disjunctus. 

AKA the Patent Leather Beetle, as it is black and shiny.

Bigatfy this image to see the horn. 

Relatively large and fearsome looking, they are apparently docile when handled. I do not have direct experience.

These critters feed on decaying wood. Of which there is no shortage around here. I'm surprised I don't see them more often.

🪲  🪲  🪲  🪲  🪲

You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

Philadelphia Flower Show 2021

In the Before Times, the Philadelphia Flower Show was held in March. Indoors.

In the After Times (is it too soon to call it that?) it was held in June. Outdoors.

It was different. And other than the parking (which sucked big time) different was good.

As I noted in last years post, highlighted by the magnet shown below, this year's theme was "Habitat".

Note the optimistic Before Time dates.

But thanks to Covid, the exhibits were in real 'habitat'. The trees in the first image were not part of the installation but never the less add to it. And Patty and I both thought the actual local 'habitat' enhanced the show in a way the industrial trimmings of the PA Convention Center never could.

This openness also made the show seem less intense, less in your face. Another good thing in my opinion. At the Convention Center, as soon as you walk in the exhibits dominate your field of view.

This years entrance is shown above. There isn't an exhibit in sight. Yet the trees made it inviting.

The show was held at FDR Park, and the structures in the park became part of the show.

'Habitat' was very broadly interpreted. Above we have a exhibit purportedly showing nature reclaiming an abandoned building. It did have some carnivorous plants, so that was cool.

This was a somewhat simple exhibit, extolling the virtues of pollinators, like the queen bee shown.

This was an Australian 'habitat', although I have no idea if these plants are just native to the continent, or if they would really be found together. 

I'm not sure this is the right 'habitat' for a hammerhead shark ...

We've several neighbors going for this look ...

A more traditional garden.

Another difference was that the vendors were spread around the show grounds, unlike at the Convention Center, where there was a designated vendor area. This is our friend Adam amongst a number of his awesome photographs. You can check them out at his website Invisible Lenses. 

This exhibit, in the small space for gardens category, did take the habitat theme seriously. Submitted by the Pinelands Preservation Alliance, it shows how to use a small space to support bird life. It took second place in the category.

The Men's Garden Club of Philadelphia went for bird ancestors in their exhibit, a garden playground for "kids".

This exhibit used flowers, in the form of flowers and a Blue-capped Hummingbird, to highlight the plight of this endangered bird, due to the loss of its mountain forest habitat.

🌺  🌷  🌻  🌸  🥀  💐  🌼

Overall, the PHS pulled it off. A Covid Time Flower Show, outdoors. Patty and I both enjoyed our visit. I suspect the show will be back in the Convention Center next year. And while I like having a winter time extravaganza, I think having it outdoors added a lot to the experience. Now I get the concerns about the weather. This is thunderstorm season. And the temps this week are in the 90s F, not optimal. But indoors seems even more artificial now. It's not clear how to take what made this show special, the space and natural surroundings, and bring that to an indoor space. I hope the figure it out.

Yard Butterfly of the Week

Eastern-tailed Blue, a common visitor to garden flowers. And in this case, a garden hose.

It is a small critter.

And as with any insect, I'm surprised it remained still enough for me to approach and get a close up image.

It is the 'tail' which is diagnostic, that little bit sticking out at the bottom of the wing.

The caterpillars of this species feed on legumes including vetches and clover. And clover we have, if rabbits don't eat it all.

🦋  🦋  🦋  🦋  🦋

You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

Walking Buddy

Weather wise, this Memorial Day weekend was a bust. Lots of rain. And while we needed rain, as Patty said, "Why can't it rain while we are working?".

Yeah, why?

Our mountain climbing trip? Canceled. (Ok, so it was to Baldplate Mountain in NJ, not really a mountain.). Kayaking? Nope.

So Patty and I again went for a walk around the block. And this time my walking buddy was a Burrowing Wolf Spider.

Seen here clinging to my ball cap. Isn't it a cutie?

Surprisingly, I spotted it in the road.

It is pretty well camouflaged. And was well placed to get squished by the next car.

Which is why it was on my hat. I scooped it up to move it to a safer place. 

Although, I did, albeit just for a moment, think about bringing it home.

"Patty, can I keep it? Please!" ...

(Had I actually asked, she no doubt would have said yes. :-) ).