Inviting The Usual Suspects?

I don't think I'll attend any catered barbecues this summer. Just to be on the safe side.

Instant Identification

.. I don't know if these guys are always this good, but...
Thanks to Bugguide.net I know this is the larva of a lady beetle crawling around on my Hibiscus syriacus. I didn't know what to make of this thing at first: it looked like a caterpillar, but only from the waist down, because it also had six distinctive legs, unlike most caterpillars. I looked around at bug identification sites, registered at http://www.bugguide.net/, posted this photo in the late afternoon, and less than an hour later, I had two responses that allowed me to identify it. Thanks you guys!

New Flowers

Poppy ^


Globe Flower^

Cool, overcast day, the first of a three-day weekend for me, so I went to the garden center and brought home stuff to plant: a globe flower, trollius chinensis "Golden Queen," (which is about four and a half feet tall) and an Icelandic poppy, papaver nudiaule "Champagne Bubbles" are two things I bought which I've never tried to grow. They came home with me because they met the qualifications of being "yellow" and "white" and "something new." Also along for the ride home were the more usual suspects: ageratum, verbena, lobelia, and these little pink-and-green-leaved plants, what are they again? Vinca, I think. Variegated vinca. Whatever it is, I got it and everything else in the ground just before the rain came down and the thunder rolled.

Lemontini

When my sister asks you if you want a drink, just say "yes," because she knows what she's doing. Chilled glasses? Colored sugar? Check, and check. It's not just a drink, it's a cocktail.

The Littlest Predator

At least, it's smaller than the last predator I wrote about. And it has six more legs! I noticed this fierce little guy on the window screen and figured he was so busy with his lunch he wouldn't mind me taking a few pictures. He's a jumping spider. Quite scary-looking now that I get a good squiz. I was letting the lens do all the brave stuff; I was an arm's length away, naturally. A distant appreciation's what I crave here.

Italian Wall Lizards

I have at least three Italian immigrants living in my backyard. At least, that's as many as I've seen at once. They're quick as lightning, so they're hard to count. But as the sun grows stronger, they come out to bask, and although technically they're an invasive species, so far they cause no harm, carry no parasites, and oh, BTW, they eat my aphids so they're ok by me.

As I say, they're quick, and awfully shy, so you'll have to zoom in on these to get a good look.

Cousins