It’s still not light enough for me to tell whether we got frost last night or not, but there was a frost warning. Sucks, because I still have stuff in bloom, but I guess it had to happen eventually.

I actually took this on Thursday after work. They didn’t quite get the chance to bloom because they were planted so late, but if these gaillardia survive the winter, I should have some happy flutter-guys next year!

C found this beautiful lady in her bedroom, in the middle of the night…but didn’t kill her! Instead, she trapped her under a shoebox lid, got her into a plastic bag, and brought her to me to find out whether she was dangerous. I think she’s Tigrosa aspersa, and unless you’re a prey insect, she’s not, so I released her over by the pond. Lots of wonderful spider-y shelter amongst the rocks, dead wood, and pine bark mulch over there! I named her Rose-Marie, and she’s huge! Not quite as big as Dolomidaes, but plenty big, and although she shows some browns in the sun, in indoor light, she looks like black velvet!

Since I wasn’t sure whether we’d get frost or not, I went out and cut some flowers to bring inside. I am definitely going to grow Cherry Queen zinnia again, and somehow, I’ll find a place where Mexican sunflowers will behave themselves. Goldfinger, at least…I think Torch is just destined to be 11′ tall in my garden.