Who is waiting patiently for breakfast this morning?? Why a funnel weaver spider of course! Funnel web spiders are reclusive not-so-little arachnids, that build tunnel webs which connect to their spider burrows. When an insect steps on the web the spider can feel the vibration down the tunnel and will rush out to welcome its dinner with a good jot of venom. Yum!

What’s left of the dragonfly larvae is just the shell. They usually crawl out of the water at night and attach themselves to a sturdy surface and break out of their old exoskeleton. It takes several hours for their wings to dry. It’s a vulnerable time for them. It’s sometimes still hard to believe that these creatures turn into the jewels of the pond skies. 🙂

My, how the time has gone by. When I last blogged we were in a 4 month rainless drought event and the grass and most of my plants were just plain struggling. Lack of water and a very cold late winter snap really left everything in dormancy and looking positively pitiful!

There were some plants however, that did not mind the drought – the very reason I planted them in the first place. This cactus for instance. Yes it might be a tad dangerous to garden around, especially if you accidentally lean into it and have to ask a close friend to remove the stickers from your butt…, but even so – it’s almost all worth it when the little sucker blooms!

It’s also a good pollinator plant.

The bees are really able to get down there into those buttery blooms!

The red yucca was also performing beautifully for the slow spring start. This plant has not let me down. Every year since I’ve planted it, it seems to just get better and better.

And the hummingbirds absolutely love it’s blooms.

Moving along to the pond area, the garden around it was seriously struggling. Not to mention the grass. Bi-weekly waterings of plants did not help at all, what with the nearby tree roots sucking up the only available moisture around. I didn’t mind though. Trees this old are precious resources and impossible to replace.

I was begining to fear that we had another 2011 drought event on our hands. That year it did not rain until October. But thankfully the rains started falling in May and after several welcome showers, things slowly started perking up around here. These photos were taken the morning after a lovely sprinkle. I just love the morning light here in my back yard.

The water lilies finally decided to look more enthusiastic too. Even though they obviously did not care about the drought, they had become seriously pot-bound and I had to repot several of them this year. They were literally jumping ship – err I mean planter. Their roots and tubers were so little, I thought they would never set root and grow large enough to flower this year. How wrong I was! Within 3 weeks they were up and blooming!

Having thought that it had died last year in the strong sunlight, the lotus made a surprisingly strong comeback and was catching and holding onto the raindrops with its finely haired leaves.Oh and its blooms! Just lovely as can be…

In the back garden, the lambs ears were virtually smiling with the welcome moisture.

The grass has been looking so much greener too. So soothing to the eyes.And back yard plants filled in vigorously with all that welcome precipitation!

Local birds are happy too. Newly fledged cardinals have been checking out my back patio and trying to find the courage to jump into the fountain. You can practically see the innocence in its little eyes. So sweet.And lesser goldfinches are enjoying the new avian jacuzzi.

The things I do for those little critters. 🙂

More rain has just fallen. Time to get outside and deadhead all the fading blooms for another spell of summer color.