Nature | November 2025

 Here are my nature photos from November. I don't have many pictures of insects this month. I have very many pictures of Autumn leaf colors. Right before November was over we had a big snow storm and I have some pictures of the snow. 

 My favorite picture must be the Cypress cones. (I would like confirmation that they are indeed cypress cones. Cypress is not a tree that I have learned how to identify.) I had so much fun with those cones. The pieces of the cone break off and inside are little pockets of amber sap sealed in small cells. When the membrane is broken the perfume is intoxicating. I sat on the ground breaking open sap sacks and smelling them for a good 15 minutes. The scent is so refreshing and head clearing. It's piney and resinous and clean. It reminded me of Frankincense essential oil.

Anyway, here are the pictures. Do you have a favorite?

My camera is not doing justice to these beautiful colors. You had to be there to see it!

I saw this beetle at the park.

This close up picture of a Burning Bush is my second favorite.

My favorite picture.

I have a story to go with this picture:
I found this green bug and thinking that our pet jumping spider could eat it I put it in our terrarium.

The spider didn't eat it. Many days later I caught a fly to feed the spider. A few moments after I had put the fly in the terrarium I saw that this green bug had stolen it! I was quite unhappy with this green bug. Do you know how hard I had worked to catch that fly alive for the spider?

Nature This Month | August

 Which picture is your favorite? Mine is the Blond Woolly Bear caterpillar clinging to an Iron Weed stem. 

A beautiful monarch I saw at the end of July.

I had been looking for monarch caterpillar all summer and had only found these moth caterpillars:

My sons brought me these cute little frogs to take pictures of them.

I have been getting some nice sunrise pictures lately.

This large Praying Mantis was perched of our porch eve.

This blond Wooly Bear is my favorite picture in this batch. We were visiting at my parents home when I captured this photo.

I was all excited when I saw this beetle one morning, thinking that I had found a true Ladybug, but alas, it was a Corn Beetle after all.

I learned that Corn Beetles have this M shaped marking and true Ladybugs do not.

And finally, I found a Monarch caterpillar! There were two on this plant. They were so tiny, probably in their 2nd instar.

I set up a habitat inside so that we could watch them grow.

I was a little worried about them at one point when they looked a little droopy after a molt, but there was no need for concern they perked up just fine.

Not everything in nature is beautiful. I saw ants scavenging this dead worm on a sidewalk and decided to capture a picture. Death is part of life. The ants need the nourishment provided by the dead worm and we all benefit from scavengers cleaning up dead carcases in our environment.

This was an interesting flying insect. I never looked it up to see what kind of insect it was.

Another sunrise.

And another.

A beautiful Garden Spider! 

As I gathered milkweed to feed our caterpillars, I ended up bringing in two more caterpillars unexpectedly.

Two of our caterpillars have gone into their chrysalis stage. You can see the final molted skin hanging onto this chrysalis. The butterflies should be emerging any day now!

We saw this beautiful sunset last night on a drive home.

And that is a wrap! Come again next month to see I find on my adventures.

Pumpkin Pie Season!

 

We live in an area where a lot of pumpkins are grown. Most are grown for the Libby's brand. Meaning they are not the decorative type, but the really good for pies type. 

I was able to get my hands on this one a month ago. The consignment store in town had a few of these Libby pumpkins out in front of their building with a free sign. I don't know the story of how they got there. I like to fancy that they fell off the truck. Honestly, that is because I have a very poor imagination and can't come up with a more creative story.

Last week I cut the pumpkin up and processed it. I cooked it until soft and scooped out the pulp. Then I blended the pulp in a food processors until it was smooth. I froze most of the pumpkin puree to use later. With some of it I made a large pumpkin pie. And, I roasted the seeds for a snack.

I am so embarrassed to show this picture because of the aluminum pie pan. Not only is it ugly but someone might think that I used a store bought crust- oh, the shame!

I didn't! I didn't! The crust is homemade and the pie pan is salvaged. I wanted to use this pie pan because it is so big. You can't tell by this picture, but this is a 11.5" pie pan. I multiplied the recipe by a small percentage to fill this pan. 

And to bring this post full circle: I used the Libby's pumpkin pie recipe. It is our family's favorite.

The Wild Geese By Henry Beer | Poem

The Wild Geese

I saw a flock of wild geese fly
Across the somber autumn sky,
In orderly formation!

As to the South they took their flight,

From wing to wing in cloudy height

I gazed in admiration.

A destined course they seem to take,

Their nests and summer haunts forsake,

And fly to sunny regions.

In close formation you can see

Them make the sign of victory

By following their leader.

They take their course high in the air

And thus elude the hunter's snare;

They know the Fowler's tactics.

I thought how much akin to life,

For men, like them, in earthly strife

Must have a guide and leader.

Our God and Father did provide

For us a Captain, shield and guide,

In Christ, the Prince, Emanuel.

If, like these fowls, we ever stay

With Christ, our leader, on the way

We'll find out goal in safety.

Thanks! Thanks to you, my friends on high!

As from my wandering gaze you fly

You've taught a noble lesson.

Chrysanthemums By Henry Beer | Poem

Chrysanthemums

Whene'er I see Chrysanthemums,

Arrayed in colors bright,

I think of Autumn's pageantry,

Each cool and frosty night.

In yellow, bronze, and snowy white

These flowers are displayed 

As lovely as the autumn trees,

In colors bright arrayed.

Chrysanthemums of snow-white bloom

Remind us of the snow

Which soon will cover hill and vale

As wintry winds will blow.

Ye artists henceforth should portray

With Cornucopia's horn

These gorgeous flowers, bright and fair,

With fruit, and grain, and corn.

As flowers in a patient's room,

Chrysanthemums give cheer;

These lovely flowers of varied bloom

Console the dying year.

We praise Him for these lovely things,,

For all that He hath done.

To see His power in humble works,

It makes us truly one.

By Henry Beer 

My Garden of Verse

Page 171

Gardening 2023 The Beginning

 

This is sometimes called, "Winter Sowing." The ideal is to make miniature greenhouses out of milk jugs. 

I used 1 gallon water bottles.

I cut the tops off of the water bottles, poked drainage holes in the bottom, and put 3 inches of steriled soil in the bottles. I then planted seeds and put the tops back onto the bottles.

I left the bottles outside. This was back on March 25th. It was still too cold to plant most seeds in the garden, but the water bottle greenhouses gave these seeds a headstart. 

This method worked out very well for me this year. I was able to keep more seedlings alive and to the point of being transplanted than some years that I start seeds indoors. Having little ones inside that want to play in my potting soil makes it difficult to keep seedlings alive.

My tomatoes are doing very well now that they are transplanted into the garden. The tomato seeds are the ones that I saved from last year's tomato fruits.

How are your gardens growing? Have you heard of, "Winter Sowing," before. Have you tried, "Winter Sowing?" I look forward to reading about it in the comments section.