July is often a quiet summer month for me, but not this year. There were many family activities to attend to, and it kept me going all month. Not to mention, I actually have some light gardening chores to do now that my garden has been installed. Even so, I did make sure to visit all my favorite local parks and gardens to see their summer abundance, when the weather was finally conducive. It took most of the month before the weather decided to settle down! We've had very high temps for a Michigan summer, some areas even hit 100. We made it to 98 one day, and the extreme heat stuck around for days. On top of that, we were hit by wildfire smoke from Canada, making it unsafe to be outdoors for several days running. But here we are at the end of the month, and the weather and air quality are "normal" for the time being.
You may have noticed a monarch butterfly in the photos above. They found my Nest! But I must give most of the credit to this simple plant, Monarch Magic Ageratum. Whoever named this flower was NOT kidding. Once they spotted it, there were frequent visitors, and some of them were practically tame, largely unbothered by our nearby presence. My own smart move was to place a pot of balloon milkweed right next to it, easily grown from seed by me. It didn't take long before I spotted tiny monarch caterpillars on it. But unlike my old days of rearing them indoors, I decided to leave them on the plant, and let nature do its thing.
Soon, they grew into full grown caterpillars, 15 of them, and they were dropping little pellet presents all over the deck! It was comical, but easily swept away, and I knew it would only be for a few days. About two weeks later, they all started to wander off around the deck, and I knew they'd soon be ready to make their chrysalides. One morning they were all here, but by the time I returned hours later, every one of them was gone. I checked everywhere, and spotted a few hanging under my deck. They seem safe there, so that's where they will remain. Perhaps one day soon, I'll see about 15 monarch butterflies hanging around my deck, and I'll know what happened. I did take one chrysalis indoors, since I found it lying on the ground. It might be deformed when it emerges, but I thought I'd give it a chance to survive.
Besides the beloved monarchs, I've had other garden visitors, and a few veggies to harvest. It isn't all bad having a small veggie garden, there's plenty to eat, but much less work involved.
By mid summer container planters can start to fade, so I refreshed those that needed it. One of my favorite planters was tossed over by a storm, but I was able to save the plant itself by moving it to another pot. Other plants just gave out, so I replaced them.
Some of the flowers I planted in the ground have begun to bloom, so it's starting to actually look like a garden. I'm resisting the urge to add more plants until next year, when the current plants will fill in more. I'll have a better idea then of what could be added without making it too cluttered. That's what happened in Ohio, and although I mostly liked it that way, it did tend to overwhelm.
I will freely admit that indoor pursuits are minimal in the summer. Still, I've kept my vases full, and I changed my tray to a lemon theme. I know I baked goodies for company, but was too busy to take pictures of them like I often do. I know there was glazed peach bread, and Rice Krispie treats.
We had a thrilling activity one weekend when the nearby air show was visible right from our deck. It's a small, secondary airport, so it never bothers us, but boy was it a thrill to see these jets zooming right over our house. Seriously, I was in AWE!
Summer is a good time to take visitors to see the more natural areas in our own neighborhood. I so appreciate the way that they left these areas protected from the ever present construction, and even gave us walking paths to enjoy them.
I mentioned my frequent visits to local parks. I hadn't been to them in the summer season yet, and was surprised to see them lush and green and full of wildflowers. I've also been quite pleased to note that Michigan seems to leave roadside wildflowers in place instead of mowing. Give me natural views any day!
I've separated out my visits to Matthaei Botanical Garden, since it's far more than just a park. If I mention a park, I generally mean nature is largely untouched there. Matthaei has areas like that too, but being the flower loving girl that I am, I am especially enamored with their manicured garden areas.
But then I went to the other side of Matthaei to see its natural side. It's just as lovely, in a whole other way. I especially like the metal arch over that path you see below, but once I saw the rattlesnake warning sign, I took my photo and left it as is. They are well known for their rattlesnakes in this area, not something I'd expect in Michigan.
And so it went in July, busy each day! I think August will be a bit quieter. The steamy unstable weather gave us many interesting sunsets to enjoy. I've heard it said that wildfire smoke can give you colorful sunsets, but it went far beyond that level, and often blocked out the sunset completely. Despite the volatile weather, the storms missed us, and it is painfully dry here.
Thanks for stopping by my little Nest! I so appreciate those of you who visit me here. I'd love to show off the place in person, but it's much easier this way. I'll just keep rambling on about Robin's Nest for those who stop by. Besides, it's something I can look back on myself, like a garden journal. I may as well share it with like minded people like yourselves. I do look forward to your comments, and hope you'll come back each month's end. See you then!
