Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Duck yard...

From my deck and sliding doors, you can see the duck yard. Verbena bonariensis has reseeded out there, near a compost pile, and I think it is pretty to see its flowers against all the other greens.




I went in the duck yard to photograph it and was promptly attack by Henry. Lest you be concerned, Henry is our male duck. This time of year, he becomes rather aggressive, so he was intent on nibbling me to death while I took pictures of the Verbena. He tickles more than anything, although sometimes he can pinch. And I have to be careful not to step on him.




Lily, the female duck, just looked on from a few feet away. She is funny because she "hen-pecks" Henry, but if Henry is upset in any way for any reason, she becomes very concerned. Yes, I am talking about ducks. Even though she has a curled tail feather, usually a male trait, she is female.




Well, back to the volunteer Verbena. Look what I found when I got close to the stalks of flowers. What a wonderful contrast, the yellow of the small crab spider with the purple of the Verbena. Click on the picture for a larger view. So many cool things live in my garden.


Have a beautiful day!

1 comment:

sweetbay said...

I love Verbena bonariensis. I know what you mean about the ducks. I grew up on a lake with wild-tame-mallards and they had distinct personalities. They were a lot of fun to watch and some were very interactive with people. One female used to hop on the trash cans and look in the kitchen window when she wanted to be fed.