Morning Glories

Someone forgot to tell the Morning Glories on my archway that it is October 26!
There are about a scabillion buds all ready to take their turn. The blue is so intense!

Just as interesting from underneath...

Like blue velvet....

Late October Walk in the Yard

It was a great day for garden work today...overcast and cool enough not to be sweating. Alot of neatening and straightening, readying the yard for a winter's nap that will eventually come.

Put in a pink Dogwood and a purple Flowering Plum tree that were on clearance at the big box store. Pulled out the prior owners mistake, yellow Carolina Jasmine that can't help but grow all over everything, even under the siding on the detached garage! I am usually not big on killing things in the garden, but this pest did not deserve relocation.

Before it got too late, and I got too stiff, I took the macro lens camera and walked the yard...

I just don't have the heart to pull these yellow pear tomatoes out yet...there are several clusters, that may just ripen at the end of the week when the temps will be back in the 70's. Hope springs eternal.

These, hands down, are my favorite Halloween decorations... a square of plastic stamped with faces, a wad of newspaper and a twistie and these little spooks sway in the breeze in various trees along the length of the driveway.

The stem of this pumpkin is cool...and what makes the green stop and the orange begin???

Boo!

Morning Webs and a Flower

A lazy blogger I have been....the late summer garden doesn't always inspire the same enthusiasm in me....until we start to slide into fall.
I walked outside to set in some broccoli plants this morning, but everywhere I looked dew and sunshine made the spider webs a delicate thing of beauty...I ran back in, abandoned the broccoli, and grabbed the camera. The Mandevilla is flowering strong, though the leaves are telling me the season is changing.

Webs of varied architecture were everywhere I looked....

One spider still waiting for a meal.

How does the spider know how to create soemthing so precise....

Like fishermen with nets, they patiently wait to see what meal will come along....

Perfect sparkling beads strung in the air.... almost defying gravity.

Webs are cool.

Quick Walk Around

This Zipper was almost 4 inches long and fierce looking!!

A diminutive volunteer morning glory growing between the bricks.

I cant' stop looking at this spider...

Put this pumpkin on the railing 2 days ago and the morning glory vines have already claimed it as their own!

I just love this basil....

Mexican Bush Sage ...

Attack!!!! Poor Moth made a great lunch.

It's a wild kingdom out there!!

Waiting for Danny

We are officially under a watch....

Public Information Statement as of 5:10 PM EDT on August 27, 2009
... A tropical storm watch has been posted along the North Carolina coast from Cape Lookout to Duck.A tropical storm watch means that tropical storm conditions are possible in the watch area within the next 36 hours.

You wouldn't know anything was brewing from the view of the beach a bit ago...

The surf is laid down, a gentle breeze is blowing...all is calm.

But then the news van appeared!

Not much to report yet...maybe tomorrow night.

Hmmm...Another Brewing??

Keeping a watchful eye on the next storm down south a ways.... Could make Saturday night OBX weather a bit dicey~

From NHC....

The initial motion is a somewhat uncertain 300/10...uncertain
because the storm seems to be decelerating...and the center may be
occasionally re-forming due to convective bursts.  There is no
change to the previous forecast reasoning.  Danny is north of a
mid/upper-level low centered over Hispaniola and southwest of a
mid/upper-level ridge center east of Bermuda.  This pattern should
steer Danny generally northwestward for the next 24 hr or so.
After that...a mid/upper-level trough should develop over the Great
Lakes...with a mid/upper-level low over the Gulf Coast states
moving eastward or northeastward.  This evolution should cause
Danny to turn northward and then recurve into the westerlies.
While the models agree on the scenario...there is still significant
uncertainty as to what land area Danny may affect.  The ECMWF...
UKMET...and Canadian models forecast the center to pass near Cape
Hatteras and then make landfall in New England.  The GFS and GFDL
show the center passing east of Hatteras and then passing near or
over Cape Cod.  The HWRF and NOGAPS...as well as the corrected
consensus models...show the center passing east of Cape Cod and
near or over Nova Scotia.  Overall..the guidance envelope has
shifted slightly to the east since the last advisory.  The new
forecast track is also shifted slightly to the east and lies near
the middle of the guidance envelope.  The forecast track is roughly
parallel to the U. S. East Coast...and any deviation from the track
could make a large difference in what areas get impacted by Danny.
Therefore...it is important not to focus too much on the exact
forecast track.

Things in the Late August Beach Garden

Things in the late August beach garden can sometimes look stressed from prolonged sun, salt, torrential downpours, heat, sun, salt etc.... A few cool things from a walk around the garden.... This zipper is quietly hanging in the middle of a huge clump of Zebra Grass.

The Hydrangea blooms a brilliant clear blue, but fades out during the summer to this interesting purple hue that I like just as much!

I like this lacey leafed variant of Dusty Miller.

The Pampas grass is soft and shimmery in the sun with shades of gold and cream and pink.

Rosemary loves loves loves the beachy climate...the plants that started in 4 inch pots two years ago are HUGE shrubs!!! I love the little blue flowers that it produces and the bees do too!