Patio menagerie

This little orange moth and I are becoming fast friends. I've seen him several days in row on my zinnias. Today when I stepped outside to water my plants, the moth came flying at me in his zig-zagging way before landing abruptly on the edge of my white tank. I looked down at him; he was facing me. His long black proboscis uncoiled and prodded my shirt. Realizing it wasn't a flower, he flitted away.

Back to the task at hand: Watering my potted plants. The Kentucky sun was intense, so I thought I'd use my little watering blue can with the focused spout--to avoid covering the leaves in magnifying glass water drops. I filled it up at the spigot, then tried to pour into the zinnia pot. Water sloshed out from the top, but not the tip.

This has happened to me before. Last time the spout was clogged by a big yucky bug carcass, which I had to extricate with long twig. I started to carry the can over to the grass to dump out the water and begin my task, when I noticed water was coming out of the spout again. Back to watering I went. The heat was causing my glasses to slip down my nose. Just as I adjusted them I felt the presence... eyes of a pale grayish green being were peering up at me from the edge of the watering can. I quickly put it down and backed up ... (yes, I'm a 'fraidy-cat!) But once I realized the fear was mutual I decided to get up close and personal.


After a torturing the frightened amphibian with a photo shoot, I returned the can to the porch and let him hop back into his oasis from the heat wave. Good thing I have two watering cans.




This shot captures a feeling I can relate to... staring into the abyss, hoping for shelter, but unsure of what lurks in the future. Ha ha!

Last I left him, he had crawled back into the base of the spout. Only his tiny frog hieny was sticking out.