The Formal Corn

The formal corn wears tassels and silk

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to an elegant affair. Would you care to have this dance? A pollination waltz, perhaps?

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Four honeybees partake in the jitterbug, flitting about from cantaloupe flower to cantaloupe flower. Their heavy pollen sacs don’t slow them down.  

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Just a few feet away, male sugar pumpkin flowers have finally opened up in the cooler temperatures, but their pollen grains have yet to entice the busy little bees.

malepumpkinflower09-01-09.jpgPerhaps when the females start to open, the bees will move over to help the pumpkins along.

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The cantaloupe grows big, and a ladybug kindly pauses to give a size comparison.

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It won’t be much longer before the melon is ripe, and there are more cantaloupes waiting their turn.

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Meanwhile, other ladybugs are busy… (gasp) Avert your eyes!

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The assassin bug nymph doesn’t notice. He’s too busy waiting for a tasty dinner companion.

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Would that it might be this black bug, the larger version of the unknown little red bug

blackbug09-01-09.jpgTheir numbers are dwindling, thanks to the ever-watchful predators and (perhaps more so) quick little fingers.

The trellised garden nears the top.

trellis09-01-09.jpgWith the promise of a harvest, one hopes that the squirrels that ate their way into the birdseed container won’t turn their little black eyes toward the veggies and fruit.

squirreldmg09-01-09.jpgThe jack-o-lantern pumpkin plants get bigger and bigger. The male flowers come and go, but the cooler temperatures bring promises that females will bloom soon. 

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A checkered garter snake leads the way to another discovery…

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that a pumpkin plant is trying to do the great escape…

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behind the air conditioner, which broke just last night, thankfully timed with the cooler temperatures.

The “dwarf” papyrus continues on its world conquest, one pond at a time. Its sheer size and weight helped it shift off its support and into deeper waters. Its plan to quickly send out new growth and roots was soon foiled, however. It’s been raised back out of the water depths and is marked for major division very, very soon.

dwpapyrus09-01-09.jpgIs that a ghost haunting the house?

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  It’s too early for Halloween, so it must be tricksy little pole bean seedlings.

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An easy move to a planter,

polebeanseedling09-01-09.jpgand then nestled in bed…

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for another busy day in the garden.

5 thoughts on “The Formal Corn

  1. you are so much further on the veggies than me. that is my greatest learning curve right now, to be honest! i am getting the raised beds ready and will be sowing seeds to transplant. i have one pumpkin vine left, but i spied with my little eye 4 female cantaloupe flowers that are just about to open… hoping they do their thing! and my peppers are finally blooming..woohoo! we’ll see how it goes..;)
    great job meredith!!!

  2. Your sense of humor is a breath of fresh air. Each time I come to your blog I not only get graced with your beautiful photos, but I can always anticipate a laugh. I got a big laugh out of your hanky-panky lady bugs! But I certainly cringed at the snake…I’m not a snake lover. Your plants and veggies look really beautiful and healthy. I wish I had a camera like yours that could take such clear, vivid, macro pictures like you take. You must have a fabulous camera! Lucky you!

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