"Octopus's Garden"

 It is hard to believe that half of 2026 is completed. Time is just flying by and I just keep working in my yard trying to build an Octopus's Garden. And maybe take a few photographs too.

In an earlier post I shared many of the different animals that I see around the home I own in Florida. I have gathered a few more photos of things I like to photograph including wildlife and fauna.

This a Cassius Blue Butterfly. It is about the size of my thumbnail. I almost did not see it but I am glad I got this shot.

Elbow creek has birds and manatees, and I often see a school of mullet. They like to swirl around by my yard. I think there is a leader, I just don't think they know who it is...

My neighbor Rachel's pretty flower with a wasp, I think.

My dad Harold gave me this cat a long time ago. Lately, I have been putting this star-shaped succulent as the tail, but it seems to be getting too long.

I went to Jetty Park to take some photographs and this group of young teenagers ran by. They are training to be lifeguards. It was hot and they were jogging out to the end of the fishing pier.

Where they were jumping off. That are the coaches on the Jet skis. That is the Gambling Boat heading out for the afternoon trip.

Not to be outdone in diving, there were plenty of sea turtles along the rocks by the jetty.

The lifeguard trainees were swimming around the rock Jetty back to Port Canaveral Beach.

One of the Jet skis was making waves and splashes to keep the trainees working on their long swim.

After leaving Jetty Park, I went along SR 528 for lunch. Behind the restaurant was a canal with a scarred manatee swimming along.

Back at home I did some raking. I used the rake that my dad gave me. See the store name that he bought it at...all the way from Middlebury Vermont. And I still use it.

One of the manatees in Elbow Creek behind my house...

Although it looks like a mountain with clouds on top, this is just a thunderstorm that is growing North of my home, the wall heading toward us. It was a good storm but not too long.

With all the rain lately, my bananas are starting to grow back after the freeze. This male lizard liked  using the plant for his mating ritual, puffing out his bright red neck

I then noticed some caterpillars on one of the other plants but it was not  the milkweed. I thought the Monarch had lais eggs on the wrong plant but when I ID's this bug, it was a caterpillar of the Black Swallowtail Butterfly which I have seen around. They were on my Parsley plant, munching away.

Here are three of the four on the parsley.

Blue Jay on the bird feeder.

After just two days, the parsley was all gone but all four were continuing to eat.

They are a beautiful caterpillar.

So I ran down to Publix and bought some more Parsley. As you can see, they have continued to eat that too. I hope they head to the next stage soon...

About Title

"Octopus's Garden" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written and sung by Ringo Starr (credited to his real name Richard Starkey), from their 1969 album Abbey Road. George Harrison, who assisted Starr with the song, commented: "'Octopus's Garden' is Ringo's song. It's only the second song Ringo wrote, and it's lovely." He added that the song gets very deep into the listener's consciousness "because it's so peaceful. I suppose Ringo is writing cosmic songs these days without even realising it." It was the last song released by the Beatles featuring Starr on lead vocals.

The idea for the song came about when Starr was on a boat belonging to comedian Peter Sellers in Sardinia in 1968. He ordered fish and chips for lunch, but instead of fish, he got squid (it was the first time he had eaten squid, and he said, "It was OK. A bit rubbery. Tasted like chicken.") The boat's captain then told Starr about how octopuses travel along the sea bed picking up stones and shiny objects with which to build gardens. Starr's songwriting was further inspired by his desire to escape mounting hostility among the Beatles; he would later admit that he had "just wanted to be under the sea, too".