Watching the creek rise

You may have heard on the news that we had record-breaking rain and flooding in San Antonio on Saturday but you probably didn't hear that the whole thing was a big surprise.  As of Thursday we had a 20% chance of rain during the following two days which usually means not a chance of rain.  I think the weather guys sometimes randomly post 20% chance to keep us from getting bored.

Instead it rained so much our rain gauge couldn't keep up.

Wordless Wednesday: Camouflage

Our "Outback"

You've seen the creek that runs along my backyard and might be wondering...what's across the creek?  It's a utility easement with a vacant field beyond.  Boring?  Well, that depends on whether you see native plants as wildflowers or weeds.  This area is surprisingly undisturbed given all the development around here and I enjoy searching for and observing native plants back there.  Commercial development is moving this way and soon this spot will be under a parking lot or building.

Here are a few photos of the plants and butterflies I found on a recent walk to see how the plants are rebounding from our long drought.

Black Swallowtail butterfly heading to a small blue flower I can't identify yet

 
Prairie Phlox which I will try to collect seeds from.  This is the first time I remember seeing the phlox here.

  
This Pink Evening Primrose is interesting because a bug apparently bored through the bud and creating round holes in each petal.  Almost looks as if someone used a hole punch on it.

Gulf Fritillary butterfly on Prairie Verbena, the verbena has been especially beautiful this year.

So far things are looking really good back there this year.  I don't remember seeing any swallowtails or fritillaries last year so it was encouraging to see the wildflowers and butterflies returning to this area after two years of really rough weather.

Garden Visitors - American Redstart

Last spring a flash of orange and unfamiliar song in the trees sent me along the creek in pursuit.  Was it a Baltimore Oriole?  Maybe, but the white underside didn't quite match up to the photos I found.

It took a while, but I found that this was an American Redstart migrating through and confirmed it on a birdwatching forum.

We're busy transplanting and dividing this weekend.  Since it's a bit slow in the garden these days, I've been going through the archives and plan on posting more photos taken before I started blogging.