June - November, 2009 - 2 of 2

This growing season was not as good as some of the ones we have had in the past.   Got lots of rain to start things off nicely but then it got too hot for too long and it took its toll.

Don Juan, a new addition this year.	Cl Jeanne LaJoie - another addition.  Supposed to be hardy.
This flower is the Northwest's equivalent of Bee Balm.  Not sure what the name is, but it seems to like a northern exposure and does quite well in Silver Springs.
These are a couple of native sparrows posing unwillingly for a photo shoot.

You can find interesting creatures climbing up the walls in Northern Nevada.  This is a Solfugate, also know as a Camel Spider or sometimes as a sun scorpion.  They are arachnids and belong to the order Solfugae. These critters look venomous but they are not.  They do however have two sets of jaws, rather large jaws at that and the larger ones can ones can deliver quite a pinch. The largest can draw blood. I've seen three distinct kinds in this area. Small -  About the size of a quarter with purplish tones.  East of Fernley. Medium - (This One) - Maybe slightly larger than a silver dollar at maturity.  Throughout Northern Nevada Large  -  Legs and all - about three inches in diameter. East of Reno and down towards Fallon.              I have seen many shred skins of these and only one alive. An impressive sight. Solfugates will eat anything they can capture - spiders, moths, lizards, small mice, you name it. One pair of jaws holds the prey while the other set takes a bit.  The jaws work in  tandem with each other. An interesting tidbit - a drop of water can kill the ones living around here. Put a drop of water in the bottom of a glass or on the floor.  Insert Solfugate.  When the solfugate finds the water they will stop and drink.  If they go through the water and it gets on their abdomen, it will kill them within several minutes. Needless to say, they prefer the arid regions around here.
No, these are not aliens but they sure look like they should be.  These are Cicada Nymphs skeletons.  Kansas
Another inhabitant of Kansas - general pain in the butt.	We should export out a few of these for squirrel control.
Max was not at all thrilled about  getting his first haircut.  He ran into a band or roving pygmies and his reaction was, 'Help! Let me outta here!'
Rufus however, was thrilled to see dogs shorter than he is.  He had a grand time,  peed on everything.  Max got though the haircut ordeal and spent the rest of the afternoon crashed out on the porch.
Clouds building up in early October?  Not unheard of but kind of odd.  The radio said there was an early snowstorm coming  up and over the Sierras and we might get an inch or two down in the valley.
Yep, got an inch or two of snow all right. Killed most of the wild flowers.  Some of the veggies hung in there.  Didn't affect the spices at all. The joys of living in the high desert.
This is the first time the poodle has ever seen snow.	He doesn't look very pleased.
You know, before we decided on a Parti Colored poodle, we actually thought about potential problems associated with partially white dog. I figured that since most of the backyard is sand, dirt would not be much of an issue.   Boy was I wrong. Lake Effect snow, rain and the joys of  playing in same I think..........is going to be an issue.