In the Garden

[rain_gryphon]

An attractive weed growing in the flower garden. In some ways, I fail at decorative gardening, as I tend to avoid uprooting interesting-looking weeds, and let them develop to see how they turn out. On the other paw, stuff like this is often more visually striking than what I actually planted, so...



*****



A young Chipmunk, almost certainly one of the family that was raised under the concrete stairs, sits quietly as I sneak up on her. She's well aware that I'm there, but I think she hopes that I haven't seen her. That probably seems plausible from her perspective, as I'm fiddling with the camera and not really even looking directly at her. ("What's he doing? Is he eating that thing?") I got within about two and a half feet before she bolted.

*****



Late afternoon, and a spider builds her web in the garden. I like how the sun shines through her legs, a warm amber and brown like tortoiseshell.



Now she finishes, and waits, hoping that she'll catch something tonight.

Comments

[cesy]

That chipmunk is so cute.

[rain_gryphon]

Little fuzzball, yeah :) There's a whole family of them.

[shirebound]

That's a very delicate and lovely "weed"!

[rain_gryphon]

Any idea what it is?

[shirebound]

Sorry, no!

[uninvitedcat]

As a weed is effectively any plant growing where you don’t want it, I’d suggest you instead have a happy, self-seeded free plant to enjoy!

[minoanmiss]

I was JUST about to say this but you said it better!

[michelel72]

Chipmunks are great.

The top weed -- possibly a white heath aster, fleabane, or something in those families?

[rain_gryphon]

Thanks! That gives me a starting point. I'm reasonably knowledgeable about birds, not so much about plants.

[marycatelli]

That was not a weed. That was a volunteer

(No, really, that's what they are called.)

[rain_gryphon]

Cool!

[yourlibrarian]

Aw babies! I have yet to see a chipmunk around here (though squirrels are common). I'd love to get a sighting one day.

[rain_gryphon]

Chipmunks and Squirrels seem to be mutually exclusive. I have no Squirrels. Several of my friends with Squirrels have no Chipmunks.

[jesse_the_k]

That chipmunk's fur is so lush--think it's Pantene?

I love the spider's crustacean quality.

[rain_gryphon]

Lovely fur on the Chipmunk, yes! I really ought to have worried more about keeping the eye in focus, but I was just fascinated by the fur. And yeah, in contemplating crab for dinner the other night, I couldn't help but think about the spider.

[turlough]

Aww, that little chipmunk is adorable!

[rain_gryphon]

So cute, yes! They live under the stairs, and help themselves to stuff from the bird feeders when times are hard.