My Bug Babies

I have been excitedly looking forward to some impending babies at the Red House Garden.

See all those eggs hanging down from those threads?  Those precious eggs hold what will be Green Lacewing babies.  They are hung on threads to keep them from predators.  The threads are made of mucus that has hardened in the air.
(Nothing like good 'ole mucus to do the job, huh?)

Green Lacewing eggs

The Momma Lacewing bug has carefully chosen her site for her eggs - on my milkweed plant, right next to lots of available food... Maybe you can see the reason why I am so anxious for the eggs to hatch?  (Hint:  the food is bright yellow and moving.)

Yay, they've hatched!  It's now a beautiful bouncing Lacewing larvae!!  

Okay, so maybe it's a face only a mother could love, but I'm still rejoicing:

The Lacewing babies are eating all the aphids that were attacking my milkweed plant.

Lacewing larvae eating aphid

Yum, yum..

Now you can see why the Green Lacewing mother chose my milkweed plant to lay her eggs on - it has lots and lots of baby food on it!

One lacewing egg and lots of yellow aphids
I sense a feast coming..

The only problem is that Lacewing larvae will sometimes show bad manners and eat all the nice butterfly eggs and little caterpillars that might also be sharing a leaf with it - they really don't care what it is, as long as they can eat it.  

I don't know what kind of caterpillar you are, but now might be a good time to exit the milkweed.

The Lacewing babies will eat lots of yummy aphids (around 200 a week) for two to three weeks and then spin a cocoon and pupate, finally emerging as an adult Green Lacewing.

Adult Green Lacewing

In which case the cycle will start again, hopefully until all of my aphids are gone!

A Year in the Life of a Garden Blog

One year ago, I started the Red House Garden blog.

I had no idea what I was getting into.

Red House Garden - 1 year ago

Having only built the Red House a couple years before, I was having the time of my life planning and planting gardens around it.  Since I don't have many friends who like gardening, lucky Mr. Red House got to hear all about the gardening in excruciating detail.  He is the one who begged suggested that I start a blog.

Red House front garden in fall

When I started, I had no idea what a wonderful garden blogging community I would find online.  I have enjoyed 'meeting' all of you other garden bloggers tremendously.  I have learned so much and been so inspired by reading your blogs and seeing your gardens.  It has been so great to find people who get as much joy as I do out of gardening and even just being out in nature.

Red House front garden during the very mild winter we had

I have learned so much this year just by writing this blog and taking photos for it.  Taking photos lets me go back and look at a plant or animal in detail, which has been very useful in identifying some plants and quite a few critters.  And the teacher in me makes me want to learn as much as I can about something before writing about it.

Red House front garden in spring
(Why in the world don't I have more pictures of such a glorious time of year?)

Another unexpected blessing of writing a blog - I have a terrible memory, and this blog has been a great way to document what is going on in my garden.  (What was the name of that cultivar?  Oh, I think I did a blog on that - let me look it up...)

Red House front garden full of blooms in summer

I can't believe it's already been a year since I started blogging.  It's been a fabulous adventure, going from just needing an outlet to channel my excitement about gardening to being part of a garden blogging community that continuously inspires me.  I wonder what the next year will hold.

Red House Garden now

So what have you other bloggers gained from creating your own blog?

Bright Yellow Camouflage?

At first glance, one would not think that the bright yellow feathers of the male Goldfinch blend in with anything.

American Goldfinch

After all, he relies on his bright plumage to woo the ladies and win a mate.

Hey, good lookin'!

However, the Goldfinch is surprisingly hard to see in the garden!

Goldfinch and Cosmos sulphureus

I find it interesting that the yellow Goldfinch seems to enjoy the seeds of so many yellow flowers:  sunflowers, cosmos, coreopsis, goldenrod, dandelion, and black-eyed susan, to name a few.  Blending in while eating is good, I assume - less chance of becoming lunch yourself!

Goldfinch eating the seeds of a Black-eyed Susan

Of course Goldfinches do eat other seeds - they are notorious in their love of the seeds that come from the usually purple-flowering thistle. (In fact, the Genus name for Goldfinches, Carduelis, comes from the Latin word for 'thistle').

Here a Goldfinch is enjoying a sock of Nyjer seed.  Many people call Nyjer seeds 'thistle seeds' because the goldfinches love them so much, but Nyjer seeds actually come from a completely different plant (an African yellow daisy Guizotia abyssinica)

I know I often have these beautiful finches in my yard even when I can't see them on the bird feeders.  The little birds hide surprisingly well!  Goldfinches even blend in fairly effectively with my plants that have golden-toned leaves.

The Goldfinches often hide among the branches of my gold variegated-leafed 'Santana' Butterfly bush

Just don't blend in too well, little Goldfinch - you may not want me to see you, but your lady friend might be another story..

Hey, where'd he go?