Melanie / is on Nostr

Avid gardener. Butterfly & dragonfly enthusiast.

Mostly posting gardening & nature photography (see 📌s). The occasional sci-fi/fantasy fiction I'm reading.

⚠️ Please DO NOT use my photos without permission for ANY reason! Boosts on Mastodon are fine. Thank you!

Profile is a Black Swallowtail butterfly. Header is a tree frog clinging to a window pane on a rainy day.

#TexasGarden #Zone9b #VegetableGardening #BackyardHabitat #NativePlants #pollinators #butterflies #dragonflies

Last Notes

2024-07-04 05:09:36

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You definitely do lol. It opens up a whole new aspect to gardening.
In hindsight, I think that's when my perspective started shifting from just growing food to making wildlife habitats. I definitely leveled up w the pond. 😂
There's a gazillion tutorials & vids out there. Google DIY frog pond or something to that effect. You'll be swimming in frogs lol.
(also, happy to answer any questions, altho I'm not an expert by any means - just a dragonfly enthusiast 😊 )

2024-07-04 04:37:29

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You need a water habitat.
Doesn't have to be fancy. I've seen people make mini-ponds out of old basins or tubs. Anything shallow enough that frogs can get in & out of easily. Use rocks & plants (both in & around) to give them cover. Fill w water & they will come lol.
Upside - you can make it temporary & easy to dump out to change water when needed. Downside - will breed mosquitoes if you don't have tadpoles or a water agitator.
Or you can go bigger & dig in a small pond (that's what I've got). My biggest tip - LINE IT WELL & CHOOSE WATER PLANTS WISELY. Two things I am learning the hard way (*snort laughing in exasperation at self*)
Upsides - you'll get a lot more than just frogs & toads. Dragonflies, damselflies, birds, etc. Dragonfly larvae will eat mosquitoes (so no worries there) & water plants will keep it self-sustaining. It's a frog & toad magnet.
Downside - it's a frog & toad magnet. And they are LOUD. Build it & they will come & you will never sleep again 😂

2024-07-04 00:07:58

I think these are my fav flowers from this spring 📷
Summer is full on here (98F yesterday w a feels like temp of 108F) - so it's time to start prepping for extreme heat/drought conditions. A lot of the annuals are on their way out.
But I'm delighted that these little beauties are still going strong!
They're just so charming. Each one comes out slightly different. And I adore the color combo.
A new variety for me this year, and believe you me I will be putting them EVERYWHERE this fall 😂
#gardening #TexasGarden #Zone9b #flowers
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2024-07-03 18:47:18

Need help w butterfly ID 📷
Okay, so what the heck is this? 5 different butterfly guides aren't getting me anywhere & my head is gonna explode (lol).
Ordinarily I would confidently say this is a Spicebush Swallowtail. Double row of orange spots + one missing; large crescent-shaped marginal spots; hindwing shading is right.
Except...
It's way too yellow & there's a double row of forewing spots. I mean, has anyone ever seen a Spicebush this yellow?
And is that top orange spot on the hindwing normal for a Spicebush? I've never seen that & only one of my guides even indicates it.
It can't be a Black Swallowtail. The missing spot on the hindwing is wrong, there's no blue on the dorsal side & the subapical spot is missing.
It can't be a Palamedes. The body & entire ventral hindwing is wrong.
Nothing else even comes close.
I'm out of options. So it's gotta be a Spicebush... right? 🥴
***SE Texas/Gulf Coast region
#butterfly #Swallowtail #Lepidoptera #entomology #NaturePhotography
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2024-07-02 18:21:33

Hummingbird! 📷
The clearest photos I've ever gotten of a hummingbird.
(every other photo was taken thru a dirty window, lol)
This one actually let me step out onto the patio! Usually they take off as soon as the door opens. Sometimes even seeing me thru the window is enough to spook them.
But this one stuck around! 😊
Info & context in alt-text.
#TexasGarden #bird #hummingbird #NaturePhotography #BirdPhotography
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2024-06-26 15:54:24

New butterfly! 📷
A Great Southern White
Absolutely beautiful. I swear it looked like a little swan fluttering across the garden.
(And of course, "the swan butterfly" is now permanently stuck in my brain, lol. I had to actually look up the real name to post this bc I'd already forgotten it. 😂 )
So exciting. The first white butterfly I've ever seen!
*Note: a much happier post! but thank you to anyone who read the previous post about my neighbor & pesticides 💚
#TexasGarden #butterfly #Lepidoptera #NaturePhotography
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2024-06-14 14:51:43

I love that butterflies actually live in my garden. 📷
I mean that in the literal sense. They sleep, eat, hang out & hook up here (lol). And judging by the number of ever-present Gulf fritillaries over the past 2 months, I suspect some of them never even venture beyond the fence.
For this brief little window of time, my garden is quite literally their home.
And that's just so awesome, y'know?
Photo info & context in alt-text.
#TexasGarden #butterflies #Lepidoptera #NaturePhotography
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