Treat Yourself

It is so wonderful to come into the house that smells of fresh baked bread whether you have been working in the garden or not. I buy frozen dough. All you do is put it out, let it rise, bake, and watch it disappear. Maybe you need a cool refreshing drink. Here, cross-cut orange slices have been added to black tea

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Spicebush Swallowtail

The Spicebush Swallowtail favors, among others, the pentas/Penta lanceolata for nectar. Pentas have star shaped flowers in clusters and may be white, pink, lavender, or red. In mild areas they continue to bloom year round.

Late August

We're experiencing drought here in middle Tennessee, but on the few surviving flowers are beautiful butterflies. I noticed a butterfly probing the depths of a pentas who was not much disturbed while I was watering flowers nearby. I tried dipping my fingers in sugar water, a trick I learned while visiting a butterfly house, to entice him to my finger. As expected, it worked.