Waspaholic!

Crazy Lace Agate sphere.

My electric purple sky petunia basket has really exploded with flowers since I first adopted it! 🤩 The first picture is when I first got it, the following pictures are from this evening. The following petunia basket was brought back from death's door. We're not exactly sure what was going on, but the pot/basket was always very heavy, so we thought it was being over watered. My dad had to take the flowers out of the pot/basket and he noticed the roots were super dry. Turns out it was UNDER watered. We're guessing the weight alone was from all the roots? I didn't take a photo when the petunia plant was really sad looking, but it was extremely droopy. I was worried we were going to lose it, but my dad managed to bring it back to life because he's a superhero! He re-potted it, and I watered it thoroughly. It's looking great now! Almost back to how it looked when we first got it. The pale yellow petunias came back first, and now the fuchsia and dark purple petunias are starting to come back in full force! The last two photos are of the Petchoa assortment basket. No updates or backstories pertaining to that one, but it's still doing very well. I deadhead them almost every single day, and they are all quite prolific. I haven't gotten around to taking any photos of the other flowers in the yard that bloomed last month, like the peonies, and other perennials. I feel silly for forgetting, but there's always next year. I will photograph the Monarda and some others tomorrow!

One of the loudest claps of thunder I've ever heard in my life!!! Absolute insanity.

June 42nd. Guess I'll roll with that.

WASP BLAST! I got bored, and crammed together every single wasp drawing I have done so far. A collage, if you will. Enjoy!

Cozy Cotinus coggygria.

June 23rd 2026. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.

So many people LOVE to HATE yellowjackets. It is said that they are Satan's insects, that they are the a$$holes of the insect/wasp world, that they are useless, etc. Here's the thing, it's actually totally possible to coexist with them peacefully when you understand the animal and its behaviour. Most people instinctively swat aggressively and wave their arms violently when a yellowjacket is flying around or close to them. To the wasp, that's perceived as aggression, so of course it will get defensive. I understand that it can be intimidating and a bit scary to have a yellowjacket flying so close to your proximity, but I tend to stay still, not make any sudden movements, and the wasp will eventually lose interest and fly away. If need be, I'll slowly put my hand in front of my face to encourage the wasp to land on my hand and not my face if it ever came to that, but I've never had one actually land on my face. I understand that like any animal, they are showing signs of curiosity and are just checking me out. Yellowjackets are actually very important pest control, and also pollinators. I've seen them on all kinds of different flowers such as: Sedum, Sumac, Solidago, Doellingeria, Diervilla, Asclepias, and the list goes on. Featured above, are several different photos/screenshots of myself interacting with yellowjackets, and in every single one of those instances, I have NEVER been stung. Maybe I'm wrong, but I think a lot of the hatred for these wasps is a lack of understanding. If I can interact with them without getting stung, I'm sure other people can as well, they just need to understand the behaviour and body language of these wasps. I would obviously NEVER approach an entire mature nest of yellowjackets, as that would clearly get me stung. They are very protective of their own kind, and their young. But an individual or several individual yellowjackets flying around in my yard or in the wild, are pretty passive, and will only sting as a very last resort. It would be inefficient to waste venom on something so trivial. In conclusion, I think yellowjackets are very misunderstood. I personally think they can be very sweet and neutral in temperament if treated with respect.

Liriodendron is officially my new favourite tree.

Some people would rather be on their high horse, act like an idiot, and be defensive than to rightfully step down and admit that they were wrong about a certain topic. The most obnoxiously opinionated people are also the most uneducated when it comes to wasps in general.

This was super fun to do! I hope to be able to make these again with less flour and I'm sure they'll turn out even better!

The very bottom image is a concept illustration of our main character getting bullied. Anyway, I'm rambling at this point. It's past 12 am here, and I should probably get to bed. I really want to make the grasshopper story come to fruition, I feel really inspired to illustrate the story, but I'm blocking when it comes to a complete storyline. I hope I will figure something out eventually.

I had no idea, but happy tumblrversary to me I guess! Lol!

Caught this queen blackjacket (Vespula consobrina) this morning for a little photoshoot! Don't worry, I took a few photos of her in a small jar, then released her back outside unharmed! Always a pleasure to see these gals! Such a cutie! 🥰 🖤🤍