A Note of Thanks

Dear Lydia and Mary,

Thank you for key. I finally used it today, although it was hard to give up time with the Odonates at the lake. I am so glad I did.

Lydia, your garden is beautiful this year. Everything is so neatly arranged: it's  algebra or geometry in earth and plant. And that's not all: you've also fooled those pesky critters interested in the berries. Even this "smart" one nearly fell over when she saw the big snake. Seriously. I didn't notice it when I was photographing the "scarecrow," but when I turned, I caught it out of the corner of my eye and yelped a bit and jumped a bit more. Then I lost it, laughing.

Mary, your garlic heads (is that what those giant balls are?) stunned me. The delicate white blossoms poke out on strikingly pink pencil-like stems, attracting so many pollinators, including this honeybee (from the new University Farm hives, perhaps?), furrowing and fumbling among the blooms. I did not get the picture I wanted, but I know now where to return for the one I still might get.

Gardens like yours bring pleasure to your tables and to those lookers lucky enough to wander by or those even luckier to have earned access.

Best,
Robley

PS Lydia, as soon as I wandered in, I saw a female Common Whitetail, the dragonfly you've been seeing! Here she is for you. She was awfully shy.