Fresh Herbs

Despite a low of 10° last weekend, it didn't faze our oregano plant. Sheldon just picked some for our chili mac dish tonight.

There's also some rosemary in that shot.

A Cure for the Dark & Wet Winter Day Blues

Bright yellow orbs bring joy.

Jami Ward brought these over freshly-picked from her trees near Houston. We have some delicious juice on hand.

Frankentater

This is for real, just as txrad removed it from the bag!

A Large Praying Mantis

Ready for Lemonade

txrad Squeezes His Balls...

...in the kitchen now making hamburger buns.

Flowers & Taters

Friday Critter Blogging

We've been seeing these frequently. I never gave them much thought because I just thought they were a piece of wood that fell off the rotting patio table, or a piece of tree bark.

One day txrad said he saw one move and thought it was some kind of bug. I went out to look and it was completely stationary. I even flipped it over and nothing happened. Then a few minutes later we went out and it was a couple of inches from where we had seen it earlier. txrad insisted it had moved and I said it might have just been moved by the wind.

Then this week I walked outside and saw one in motion. And what's really freaky is that it actually has a head like a tiny little snake that emerges from that piece of "wood" and drags itself around I suppose.

Texas might get the award for the most interesting critters I've ever observed.

Anyone have any idea what this is called?

How Sick Is This?

Giving basil some water prior to going on top of a pizza is like that sterile swab they do on the death row inmates' arms prior to the lethal injection, is it not? Wouldn't want to give them an infection moments before we kill them!

Last meal for the deceased!

Hibiscus Leaf Spider

A Pair of Walking Sticks

I saw these two on the patio wall this morning. They stayed there all day. I don't recall ever seeing two together.

A Spectacular Moth

There's much to love about Texas if you take people and politics out of the equation. Like the moths.

I awoke one morning this week and walked outside on the patio to find this beauty on the door with its wing very near where the door would close on it.

I moved it down to the patio where it stayed throughout the day without moving. txrad finally discovered it there late in the afternoon and started snapping pictures, not realizing I'd already snapped a few in the wee morning hours.

Actually, I thought it had died until Sweet Pea decided to play with it and I heard wings flapping. I rescued it and put it on a tree in the yard and it promptly fell to the ground with wings flapping. So I just figured it was dying.

Later on I noticed it on the side of the house, several feet away from the tree where I had placed it. I decided they must be very lazy during the day and that it was just waiting for night to fall. I haven't seen it since then.

this is us at night

I was digging out some LPs to play last night and found a Deep Purple Machine Head picture disk with a poster. txrad decided it needed to be displayed.

Red and Green

The broccoli and red bell pepper prior to becoming a casserole this week.

Texas Sage In Bloom

These plants can look quite awful and then suddenly, after a good rain, they put on an amazing show. I've decided I want to put several more of these around the yard later in the fall. Spectacular!