Every time we have a rainy stretch the networks of mycelia in the ground put forth an abundance of fungal fruit – mushrooms, boletes, puffballs, earthballs, toadstools, slime, stinkhorns and other forms of which we have yet to become acquainted. Though most are not edible for us, it makes a plentiful ongoing buffet for small animals. I’m only seeing a couple of squirrels on the land and with some kind of mushroom in their mouths when I do. Probably building up a stash when they’re not scarfing them down. When we get around to cultivating edible mushrooms it will be done with several kit options and protected in a mesh…

The coolest jumping spider I have ever seen awaited me last week as I added compost material to the rapidly growing blue facheiro next to the driveway. The Apache jumping spider, Phidippus Apacheanus, fit in perfectly like a color-complimentary orange jewel on a turquoise medallion. It’s metallic green chelicerae (beefy fang appendages near mouth) put it over the top for my viewing pleasure. This tiny stalking cougar with eight legs and lots of eyes is harmless to people but ambushes the bugs that land on our cacti to feed, so it is most welcome here. They occur in most U.S. states and Cuba. Pleasant surprises are always welcome as I…

This week’s work gave me plenty of image material for the blog, as is so often the case while tending the different stations on the land. I’ve never seen so many species of swallowtail, and this pipevine swallowtail on a zinnia was striking. Sometimes what I see isn’t so good, namely the grasshopper eyeing the bean leaves, but then our handy egg hens never turn down a snack – there’s a cordless power tool for everything. The orb weaver spider I found one morning on the hard nursery shade cloth created it’s own patterned weave at the center of its web. These always get a break for the insect control…