[Cancun78]

Had to dig a trench to divert water during heavy rain away from my home. I've allowed wildflowers to take over and planted a few perennials like tiger Lilly, iris and gladiolas and evening primrose. Far from finished.

[FunkPumpkin]

Originally Posted by Cancun78 ↗

Garden spider. They are what I call my "watchdogs". The only place I've found them are the areas on either side of my front porch. This one is on the side that has hostas and jewel weed.

We have very similar spiders here in Missouri. The biggest difference between yours and ours is the thorax. Yours have a small thorax that is similarly patterned to its legs. Ours have a much larger thorax that is auto-primer gray. They don't come back every year, usually dependent on seasons acting the way they're supposed to, temperature-wise and moisture-wise.

These were very nice pictures. You have a beautiful garden.

[Cancun78]

A northern mockingbird nest.

[Cancun78]

My kids found this fella out front around those spiders and jewel weed.

[Cancun78]

Cosmos flower .

[Cancun78]

Just one of many evening primrose that grows around here. A neighbor gave my mom some more than 20 years ago and she gave some to my g-ma and then I got a few sprouts from her a few years ago and put them all over the place. Love watching them open in the evening.

[Cancun78]

Originally Posted by FunkPumpkin ↗

We have very similar spiders here in Missouri. The biggest difference between yours and ours is the thorax. Yours have a small thorax that is similarly patterned to its legs. Ours have a much larger thorax that is auto-primer gray. They don't come back every year, usually dependent on seasons acting the way they're supposed to, temperature-wise and moisture-wise.

These were very nice pictures. You have a beautiful garden.

Thank you! I'm tryin to eliminate as much lawn as possible and gardening really takes the edge off my depression.

[Cancun78]

Old picture . Had several butterfly bushes (orange and purple ) but that real bad winter a few years back killed those and several small trees in my garden.

[Cancun78]

Several years ago. This is a wheel bug. Largest true bug in north America. It belongs to a group known as "assassin bugs". They are said to have a bite that hurts a little more than a sting from a wasp, bee or hornet but are not (in my experience ) aggressive towards humans. They are a predator and beneficial insect. I read their presence indicates a healthy landscape, because when you have these large predators around all levels of the food web are intact (true?).

I see them every once in awhile. They are common but probably in places pple don't normally go, like tree tops.

[Cancun78]

Another photo of the same wheel bug. They're scary looking but very welcome in my garden.