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The extended winter, resulted in late March budding of many trees and plants. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Geese were really plentiful throughout the tri-state this year. These were two walking the shore of the Garvin Park lake. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When trees \u00a0finally did bloom in late March, they were a source of lots of pollen that made for a miserable allergy season for many regional residents. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Bluebells are delicate throughout their relatively short stay each spring. They start out pink before turning blue as they mature. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hyacinths grow close to the ground and come in a variety of colors and styles. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a92014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Bluebells in bloom add a nice contrast to the spring sky. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Irises come in a variety of colors and add to the beauty of May each year. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Not are what these hedge flowers are called but they are pure white and are beautiful in the may sun. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Lilacs just simply smell wonderful and seem to complete spring in many gardens. \u00a0 \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dogwood blooms are visible across much of Indiana and Kentucky, especially when you fly in small planes. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n I call \u00a0these miniature daisies but to most people they are just another weed. This one was host to a young unidentified bug. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Roses were gorgeous all over Evansville this last couple of weeks. Now, they need cut back if they are to bloom again. g 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Catalpa trees are usually volunteers and they grow very larges and dense. They also have some of the most beautiful blooms of any tree I have ever seen. Purple, yellow, white contrasted by the big broad leaves of the Catalpa make it a sight to behold when they bloom. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV.<\/p>\n Canna are majestic and come in a variety 0of colors but the leaves, themselves are something to behold. This one is potted and greets visitors to the Valley Watch office. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hollyhocks are among my favorite flowers. Currently, there are two growing in the Valley Watch garden which are descendants of four that were planted about fifteen years ago. This one served as a cup to gather water from a recent rain. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Hollyhock Weevils are probably the randiest bugs I have come across. When you see one, you see two of them with the male on top. They appear to eat the leaves on the Hollyhock and cause the plant’s\u00a0to appear like lace in the early summer. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Like I said above, you see one, you will likely see two Hollyhock Weevils. This time with an ant. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This nearly transparent tiny bug showed up during a photo expedition with Steve Higg’s Natural Bloomington Eco Tours, \u00a0I conducted in May. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Valley Watch had had its office in the same place since 1994. I all that time, this is the first year that my across the street neighbors Prickly Pear Cactus has bloomed. What a pleasant sight but beware the tiny needles the cactus has. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This year, bees have not been plentiful and in this case I had to go across the street to an overgrown clover field to find the first honeybee. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Green bees and this little yellow perennial seem to go hand in hand in the VW garden. I had never seen a green bee until I began looking closely at thing in this garden. \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Yes, we are fully aware that grasshoppers can wreak havoc on gardens. But we allow nature to take its course in the Valley Watch garden since we relish nature just as it give us, good and not so good. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Red Canna adorn the front entrance of the VW office. This week they finally bloomed. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV Unsure just what this colorful little bug is or will be but I found it really fascinating. May be some kind of beetle since it looks armored . \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This hollyhock seed pod takes on a surreal animal kind of appearance \u00a0when shot close up like we often do on these pages. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n A beautiful\u00a0Hosta bloom is really delicate. look at its edges. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n I call these Stick Bugs because they look like sticks which camouflage them pretty well. They were enjoying the Evening Primrose in the garden. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mayflies invaded Inland Marina in Evansville this weekend (7\/6\/14). They are attracted to anything white and seem to play “possum” since they appear dead as they mate but aren’t but then they seem to die off after mating. They last for a month or two. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Gar are said to be a prehistoric species, looking a little like a cross between an alligator and a fish. They appear around this time nearly every year at Inland Marina and other still water areas along the Ohio River. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV.<\/p>\n Bryozoan look creepy and weird but they are common freshwater organisms that feed on the bottom of still water areas likes lakes, ponds and slack water ports and marinas. Occasionally they will float to the surface. Several of these creatures of the deep, were spotted this week (7\/6\/14) at Inland Marina. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This little yellow and white butterfly drinks its fill fem an echinacea in the Valley Watch garden. Be sure to look deeply into its eyes. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n A Red Velvet ant looks almost surreal in this really up close photo. Hairy little creature for sure. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Those metallic green bees just love the echinacea. Most of them are about a half inch long. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Bumble bees all like the echinacea and dig down deeply to get is sweet pollen. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This is a small grasshopper nymph relaxing on a Black-eyed Susan leaf. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This looks like it may be a baby bumble bee but notice its eyes and how many sections they have on close inspection. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This tiny butterfly enjoyed the little blue flowers in the Valley Watch garden on a recent summer day. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Heavily armored, this bug was feasting on a leaf in the garden. \u00a92014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This looked like some form of lightening bug but never revealed its lightning organ. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV.<\/p>\n A bumble bee gathered pollen from a Morning Glory that adorns the entrance to the Valley Watch office on recent morning. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Lately, it seems that hundreds of grasshoppers have grown to adulthood in the garden. They are eating everything green in their path, leaving lace patterns in plants of all sorts. I would prefer there not be as many grasshoppers as there are but we choose to allow nature to takes its course in the garden. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Lady Bugs always provide a nice contrast to the rich green of garden stems and leaves. This one is no exception. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This little bee found the Mexican Sunflowers to have some good pollen to gather outside the office one recent morn. \u00a9 29014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This Cicada Killer wasp posed for this picture on a rail in the garden at my home one recent day. These wasps can but rarely bother humans and are mainly interested in eating and killing cicadas. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV.<\/p>\n This is probably some sort of aphid that clearly contrasts with its perch on concrete instead of being camouflaged in a greener environment. \u00a9 2014 BLairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This green grasshopper looks far more fragile than it actually is. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This hairy bumble bee just loved the pollen offered by a Mexican Sunflower bloom. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhoto EVV<\/p>\n Two bumble bees work the early shoots of a Golden Rod plant. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This katydid \u00a0seemed a little freaked out by my camera. It was found on my front porch in late September. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n Nearly fully formed, this garden spider is wrapped in a web on a grass seed pod. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n A \u00a0common fly was content to rest on a zinnia bloom in the garden on a recent Autumn day. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV A Cherry Tree in the office front yard is about to burst with excitement from a sap ball. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n A species of bee I had not seen before checked out the Golden Rod in the VW garden on one of the warm Fall days we have enjoyed lately. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n An “Orb Weaver” garden spider posed for a picture on her web built in a patch of Canna in early October. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n This colorful bee liked the plentiful Clematis that adorned our\u00a0fencing this summer and fall. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV <\/p>\n These leaves were found on a recently sealed asphalt parking lot and provided stark contrast with beautiful saturation. \u00a9 2014 BlairPhotoEVV<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This Spring has been been kind of interesting in that it has been drenched wet on many occasions and too dry on others. Bees are missing and many things have been behind normal schedule blooming due to the extended cold. … Continue reading <\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<\/a><\/p>\n