Visitors in the Garden

What kind of visitors have you had in your garden lately?

Sure, it's nice if one of your neighbors/friends drops by and you take a stroll around the garden with a sweating glass filled with iced tea.  Or, maybe one of your adult children stops by and you sit on the deck sharing a glass of wine (you can do that now that they're adults) and catch up with the news.  But what about other visitors?

Are you taking the time to check out the small stuff?  Take a closer look. There is a plethora of Lilliputian folk out and about in your landscape.

Yep, Japanese beetles are out wreaking havoc on all sorts of things (and their behavior is, frankly, just disgusting).  My preferred method of eliminating them is smooshing (with gloved hand) and leaving the remains on the plant to signal a warning (of some sort) to their brethern.  Not sure that they are picking up on my hints though...  Or, you can certainly use the pan of soapy water on them (best in early morning:  tap the branch they are on and they will typically fall into the pan of soapy water and drown).

But there are some others that are actually do-gooders (yeah!).  I spotted this fellow in the Idea Garden by the pond, appearing to prepare himself for a swift ninja-style kick to a bad bug.  He is a bit difficult to spot (I did take this picture on my cell phone camera...he's the small green guy on the top of the blacker rock).  They're becoming more prominent at this time of year. 

Have you or your kids spotted any fun visitors lately?  I'd love to hear about them or see a few pictures!