A welcome bit of rain and tree frogs

Thunderstorms passed through this afternoon and evening, bringing some welcome moisture.  It's been continually dry for weeks now, warm (and hot) sunny days in succession.

Fortunately, my perennials are pretty tough, but still, the Joe-Pye and Phlox need water after a week and half of heat and no rain. Not to mention the veggies!

The rain today brought out the nocturnal symphony -- tonight, largely the chorus of tree frogs, I think, in the forest ravine behind the house.

Lovely.

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Nocturnal symphony

It's in full swing tonight, accompanied by fireflies. Crickets, tree frogs, and cicadas (or maybe it's the katydids) are LOUD.

I can hear them through the closed windows.

 

Posted with Blogsy

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Late summer heat

I can't really complain.  It's been a quite decent summer.

But the current spell of ~ 94° highs in the humidity of the Piedmont of SC is a bit trying. In a normal summer, we would have been subjected to weeks and weeks of this, so really I'm not complaining.

Oddly, the temperature spread for the highs from the mountains of western NC to the Piedmont has widened to 10° for the next few days, several degrees beyond the "normal" 6 or so.

We never turned on the AC (a mini-split upstairs) in the mountains this summer, and were OK even on the hottest days (hmm, 80°F on the main floor was a bit much in the afternoon, not to mention upstairs in our loft bedroom, but we managed -- and it cooled off at night just fine. We keep the AC set on 77°F in the Piedmont, so it's not so different, I suppose.

My major concern is the humidity -- and the mildew considerations that come along with that, without "conditioned" air!  But that's part of living in a warm and humid climate, too.

It's also lovely to hear the nocturnal symphony and early morning bird songs, too, when the windows are open at night.

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Nocturnal symphony

Coming upstairs to the main floor just now, I was surrounded by the nocturnal symphony, of field crickets and other night-singers.

It's loud, and in full swing now.

A new neighbor, across the street, was marveling last night about her first sighting of fireflies when she came east.  Add to that the night songs, and we have everyday magic.

Bumblebees and other flower visitors are coming to the Liatris and Echinacea that are in flower now, and hummingbirds are visiting the jewelweed (Impatiens) that's just starting to flower.

Nice to be home in the Carolinas (in the mountains).

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Nocturnal symphony and fireflies!

At home in the Southeast after a wonderful trip to Oregon, visiting fabulous gardens during the Garden Bloggers Fling, and having a week prior to explore some of the mountains and the coast -- what's striking me this evening (as I've started looking through my MANY photos of gardens and natural areas) are the night sounds this evening -- out the open windows.

It was quite warm here today, but we're off again in a couple of days, so turning on the mini-split doesn't seem necessary, especially as it's cooling down again tomorrow.

The nocturnal symphony is in full swing.

Field crickets, tree frogs, and cicadas are producing a wonderful "welcome home" night song -- which isn't part of the experience of western states.

The flashes of fireflies are part of the the gallery forest view, too.  Magic.

I've brought back with me so many visual memories of remarkable gardens, big and small, packed with special plants from all over the world.  I love the amazing artistic flair and aesthetic qualities in these gardens.

But I'm really glad to be home, too, in the Southern Appalachians, with the tree frog and cricket seranade.

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Final evening sounds

Coming home from the grocery store this evening, I heard some of the final evening songs of fall -- whether they're crickets or tree frogs, I'm not sure. 

We had a good freeze on Saturday night, so I was surprised to hear them, although the warm temperatures before (and after) have buffered the dip in temperature.

The moon is already luminous in the evening, even though not full until Thursday.  It was low in the sky, so visible -- it would have been a great time to schedule a full moon hike, but who knew it would be so mild?

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A September nocturnal symphony

Coming back from an evening walk just as night was settling in, the nocturnal symphony was cranking up.  The night-singers, especially the crickets, are still melodic (and loud). Katydids and related insects are also part of the nocturnal symphony this time of year, in late summer towards fall and the first frost.

It reminds me that the shrill calls of cicadas have largely dropped out of daytime garden sounds, although perhaps I've missed them, through inattention.  I've tried to learn more about insect songs over the years, and it's been interesting.  Here's a site associated with a great reference that I have: Songs of Insects.

I haven't spent much time recently on bird-watching, but a colleague at the Garden this morning with some friends were noticing warblers behind our visitor center complex first thing this morning.  The warblers are starting to move south, probably following the push of the cold front that's just come through, bringing us lovely temperatures this week.  Highs about 80°F, lows about 60°F with sunny skies.  Delightful (and moderate) for this time of the year.

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