Shepard Lane Garden

  The woolly croton (Croton Capitatus) usually begins to have its odd 'fuzzy blooms'  here in Tennessee right around the time we go back to school.  For that reason, we've done the 'what's that weed!?' before on this one.     However, I did not learn at that time it had so many other names!  It is also called Hogwort (and not the same Hogwart as Harry Potter's school, apparently that was a misremembering of Hogweed!) - and Goatweed (although it is poisonous to goats) and Doveweed, as its seeds can provide an important food source for doves and quail.    Grasshoppers like to eat the plants, too Goatweed or Croton has been a problem for many farmers because it harbors 'pests', like grasshoppers and root that also like to eat cotton, and because it causes illness in goats and cows that consume it with their feed.  However, in non-agricultural forest areas and meadows it is an important part of the life   The croton grows in this silv...

  I was headed up the road to capture the thistles in their pre-opening stage, and a yellow plant that I had seen - and this caught my eye.  I saw him on a piece of grass, just like this above, and was able to manuver around him to get a shot of his backside wings as well.  The fireflies were just beginning to rise and dark was imminent.  I feel like I had a special moment he just sat there quiet and let me take his picture. Find out more about Luna moths at this great resource at the University of Florida