The fields in my yard are filled with Wild Garlic, in it’s shades of pink and white, 
and Blue-eyed Grass, 
Gaura Lindheimeri waving in the breeze,
Fragrant Mimosa
and blazing Sunflowers!
Salvia ‘Indigo Spires’ reaching for the sky….
It’s Spring and we’ve been blessed with rain, sunshine and abundant, thriving wildlife. So many reasons to be filled with joy and gratitude!
A Four Nerve daisy ready to burst open.
Damianita and Mexican Feather Grass looking good in the rock garden.
Dew droplets on the fresh new Mexican Feather Grass blades always looks so much better in person as the sun reflects off the droplets and shimmers like little diamonds.
Tiny dew droplets on the Woolly Butterflybush.
It’s a quiet, warm Sunday night and we are relaxing in front of the television when I look out the back glass door and find our new neighbor peeking back at us.
We jump up and take a closer look and find a juvenile Great Plains Rat Snake has moved into a little crevice underneath the door sill. What an excellent neighbor. Rat snakes are non-venomous and feed mainly on rodents and birds.
I could be mistaken but it almost looks like he’s already enjoyed some dinner as there seems to be a slight bulge in his belly.
Great Plains Rat Snakes are usually found in forests, rocky hillsides, rural and residential areas and under man-made debris/objects. As I take some picture he starts to climb up the wall (they are excellent climbers) and then seems to change his mind and slither back underneath the door sill. I will have to put the local lizard population on alert since they do enjoy eating those too.
It’s a dew covered Lamb’s Ear. It really loved the mild winder and has made a pretty impressive display for early spring.
I love the way the little hairs on it’s leaves trap the dew.
Meanwhile in the back field the Monarchs are enjoying the blooming Verbena.
A Syrphid fly on a grass stalk. While the adults usually feed on nectar, the larvae of this fly feed on aphids. An excellent beneficial insect!
After some very windy days here, today is just beautiful. The garden seems to agree. The recent 3 inches of rain helped out too!
A passion vine looking beautiful!
Even though we had several inches of rain that has helped all the wildflowers and trees make a spectacular appearance this year, the lakes are still very low at 48% of capacity. This is very concerning going into the hot summer months, so I hope we receive more drenching rains before the heat of summer sets in.