Ah! Nature at Work.

And, man at work killing. Yesterday the mister brought in two small wasps that fell out of a hole in the porch post log after he sprayed into the opening. He brought them in to me for identification. They were only about 3/4 inch in size.  He must think I'm magical. I searched for hours and couldn't find the exact one. I hate to loose but did in this case.

Today I made up for it by sitting on the porch and taking pictures of living things. At first I thought the bird on the dam rail was a kingfisher because it kept swooping down into the spillway and then coming back up to the rail. When I uploaded the photos I see it isn't a kingfisher after all. Unidentified and not a good picture with my zoom shot from the porch.

* Thanks to Gail for identifying this bird! EASTERN KINGBIRD

The next thing I saw was a plant I had written about last year - the JoePye weed. 

Last year's pictures were much better because I actually got off of my lazy duff and ventured down the bank at the water's edge. (see below)

I suddenly heard a hum and looked up to see one of our tiny friends at the feeder. There doesn't seem to be the same number of them feeding here this year and I suspect they prefer natural nectar from the multitude of flowers in the area.

THEN! I looked down and see that there is a Japanese Beetle invasion on the 50+ year old ferns! And there is a wasp on my seedum! 

I'm going to get up and off my lazy backside and go indoors now. I've seen enough nature at work for the day.

Don't forget, if you'd like to view any image larger just click on one.

If you would like to learn about the Joe-Pye flower weed, read on. Seeds are actually available and many plant them in their gardens for beauty. The following link gives detailed information.

Eutrochium