The inaugural St. Louis Native Plant Garden Tour was a tremendous success!  The committee did an outstanding job and it was heartening to have so many wonderful gardens, enthusiastic hosts and volunteers welcoming really interested participants. After 7.51" of rain during the week prior, the day was sunny and warm with some active butterflies and pollinators. I took some photos of the garden before and after the tour.

The wet Water Garden...

Water Garden 6/17/15

Pickerel Weed and Lizard's Tail in bloom...

Pickerel Weed (Pontederia cordata) in the Water Garden 6/18/15

The Songbird and Butterfly Garden with Purple Coneflower blooming...

Overview of the Songbird and Butterfly Garden on the Summer Solstice - June 21, 2015

The Leopold Bench in the Garden...

Leopold Bench in the Songbird and Butterfly Garden 6/21/15

Well, the American Mink has certainly been making its presence known.  You know those large goldfish we adopted?  They didn't last much more than 24 hours.  The mink must be feeding young because it has been very active throughout the daytime hours. I added more photos in the Wildlife gallery, but this one is my favorite. It looked right up at me with a bit of attitude. I would expect no less.

American Mink pauses and looks up at me

On Sunday, the Summer Solstice, we were recovering from the big event and enjoying a visit with Dan's sister, Helen. I could hear the birds outside really making a fuss and turned to see the mink climbing up the small oak tree by the bubbler! It came back down and disappeared into the ground cover. Later, I studied the bubbler cam videos. The mink is an opportunistic hunter and seemed to be trying to cause confusion, racing through the woodland. It did finally come up with a prize for dinner, a young rabbit. I have such respect for this animal! It is really hard work to be a predator!

Note:  I have slowed down the motion in parts of this movie, but you may even need to watch it more than once to keep up with the mink!

6-21-15 American Mink