Hic.... Hic....

It is utterly forbidden to be half-hearted about gardening. You have got to love your garden whether you like it or not. ~W.C. Sellar & R.J. Yeatman, Garden Rubbish, 1936

I woke up with the hiccups. I hate hiccups. I get hiccups when I eat if I don't have something to drink. And once I have hiccups once in a day, I'll get them over and over and over during the day, for no apparent reason.

Today I'm going to do some gardening. I'm moving a few things around, doing some pruning, etc. It's a good day to move things because next week we're expecting several days of overcast with some rain -- so not as warm and dry and the plants will have time to establish roots without having to struggle in the heat.

I was going to dead head my echinacea, but yesterday I saw little goldfinches all over them, eating. So ... I'll leave them for now, even though they're a little on the ugly side. Next year, since I can't have birdfeeders out in the summer (bad, BAD bear) I'm going to plant a bunch of sunflowers as well.

I may not plant tomatoes, however. This is the second year in a row where I've had virtually no tomato crop for one reason or another. I went out yesterday, and discovered that we clearly have MANY tomato worms because I have piles and piles of stripped branches. I looked for them but couldn't find them (darn their camouflage) and am disgusted. I also found three more half eaten tomatoes still on the vine, and a few more on the ground -- thank you chipmunks.

The tomatoes take up a LOT of room in my garden. Room I could be using for stuff that actually produces food I can eat. I'm giving a lot of thought to planting more beans next year as well as more eggplant and possibly potatoes instead. We'll see how I feel next year, but this has been ridiculous.

What are your plans for the day?

=====================

You Are Pie

You are sweet, but there's more to the story than that. You're quite complicated. Sometimes people don't appreciate you as much as they should. You are really quite special. You are deep, thoughtful, and get better with time. You are subtle but powerful. You are very traditional, and that's a good thing. You remind people of simpler and happier times.

Are You Cake or Pie?

About 50/50

===========================

Monarchs!

Let no one think that real gardening is a bucolic and meditative occupation. It is an insatiable passion, like everything else to which a man gives his heart. ~Karel Čapek, The Gardener's Year, translated by M. and R. Weatherall, 1931

Pillar Place 2010: Monarch has begun!

Yesterday, DD and I grabbed some containers and went on a monarch egg hunt behind the library. I really didn't expect to find any because it's a bit early, but since spring started early here, and since we found the swallowtails two weeks earlier than usual, I decided to give it a try.

We didn't find very many, so that was a little sad, BUT we did find a itty bitty already hatched pillar. He's probably only a few days old (if that) and DD named him Xi.

We have three eggs (hopefully they hatch this year) who will be: Omicron, Rho and Pi.

We'll go back and check the next time we're at the library -- probably on Tuesday.

A funny about our hunt: I found this little hidden parking area behind the condos that are next to the library and pulled in there. It's actually where we found all the eggs. When we came out of the woods area, there was a lady on the phone standing next to my car.

I walked toward her and she said, "Is this your car?"

"Yes. I'm here looking for monarch eggs." I showed her a milkweed leaf. Pointed to the nearly microscopic dot. "That's an egg."

"Oh." Then she spoke into the phone. "Never mind." Back to me. "I saw you drive up here and didn't know who you were or why you were here."

Do you suppose she was calling the cops? Can you see it? My one phone call from jail. "Honey, come bail me out -- I was arrested while looking for Monarch eggs."

Anyway, we had a long talk about monarchs and conservation and their nearly endangered status, so that was good.

No eggs on our milkweed that we've found though. At least not monarch eggs. We're fairly certain we found Milkweed Tussock Moth eggs. Those are the coolest critters! Here's a tidbit I found on the Tussock Moth caterpillar on how they protect themselves from their main predator, the brown bat:

FAVORITE GAMBIT: Sounding gross. Literally. They don't taste gross, at least not to bats. But they deter their predators, which hunt by sonar, by imitating the high-pitched clicking sounds of certain other moths that taste so bad that bats steer clear.

Isn't that funny?

===================

We saw our first squash vine borer moth yesterday. My SIL came by in the afternoon and said, "Is a squash moth red and black?" So, she has them, too. Of all my garden pests, I hate those the worst because I can't pick them. I have no problem going into my garden every day and picking bugs. I can pick cucumber bugs, tomato worms, potato bugs ... the squash borer? Once the worms hatch, pretty much your plant is going to die. Period. End of story.

So ... I've resorted to pesticide, which breaks my heart. But every few days, I'm going to spray the base of my squash plants, which is where they lay the eggs, and hope that I kill the eggs before they hatch. I really need the squash. Not only do I love it and use it to eat and bake with, but I use it in Dakota's food -- which is why I planted so much. I want to freeze it and hope that I will have enough until next year.

Unless my plants all die an early death from bugs. :::grumble, grumble:::

================

I woke up around 3 a.m. feeling really dizzy. I'm hoping it's just because I'm so tired (I haven't been able to sleep well for some reason the past few days) and not because I'm getting an ear infection. I seem to be prone to them -- have had three the past ten years -- and I HATE them. They make me dizzy and nauseous, and for a day or two, if I move at all I throw up (on those days I literally sleep on the bathroom floor, lol). I can't be down for two days ... especially not over this weekend, because DD and DH have huge plans for the Fourth which don't include staying home and taking care of me and the dog.

So, I hope I'm just really tired. But if I don't blog for a day or two, don't be worried.

==================

Butterflies and Ash

And the case of butterflies so rich it looks, As if all summer settled there and died. ~Philip Larkin, "Autumn"

I wish I could sleep in. I gave it the old college try the last couple of nights -- even locked up the cat -- but only made it until 5:30 both mornings, which is sleeping in for me, not not SLEEPING IN. Yanno?

Oh well.

In Pillar Place, we had two hatchings yesterday: Hercules and Kappa.

Hercules gave me a scare. He fell from his pupa when he emerged, butt huge, wings crumpled. He hurried to the side and climbed the mesh to hang, but his wings took forever to straighten, and the bottom little whoosies that make him a swallowtail never did go completely straight.

Regardless, he managed. Here he is:



Kappa followed a couple of hours later. Even with her wings crumpled, I could tell she was female. YAY! We needed a female. She did everything right and had no mishaps. Here she is:



See how much more blue she has on her wings? Kappa also had one of the biggest chrysalides. We're trying to pay attention to those things to see if it helps us sex them before they are butterflies.

=======================

Otherwise my day was uneventful. I did more weeding (it never ends), moved some of my annuals (turns out it's too hot in front of my house for portulaca, despite the fact they love heat ... they were dying a slow death) and raked the clippings from the grass to use in my garden.

DH dumped ashes into my garden when I wasn't looking... I came home from the store and it looked like my eggplants had survived a volcanic eruption. Because ... he didn't toss it into an empty spot, he dumped a big pail right on top of my plants.

Oh yes he did.

So I had to shovel away a bunch (a little ash = good, too much ash = kills plants) and then give my poor eggplants a bath. There's still quite a bit of ash there. Hopefully it doesn't kill them.

First the deer. Now I have to figure out how to protect the garden against husbands.

*sigh*

======================

Rain Makes You Sleepy

You tend to move extremely slowly. It takes you a long time to adjust to change. You tend to have your head in the clouds. You are a bit absent minded, and you're often lost in your thoughts. You are naturally content and happy. You can adapt to your environment easily. You prefer to be around a wide variety of people. You believe that you learn a little something from everyone. You find peace when you are alone. You know how to balance your emotions well.

The Rainy Day Test

Except for the end, it's completely wrong, lol...

====================

Doggie Daycare, Garden Pests and Hardwood Floors

The dog was created specially for children. He is the god of frolic. ~Henry Ward Beecher

Another stunningly clever title, wouldn't you say?

I took Dakota to doggy daycare yesterday, for the first time. I wasn't sure how she'd do because she's incredibly timid around new things and people. But, I knew her friend (a 4 month-old puppy named Star) would be there because I was dog-sitting him in the evening, so I figured she'd at least have someone familiar.

I got a report card when I picked her and Star up at 3:30. It read --

I had a great time while: socializing with my new friends. I was pretty shy this morning, but as soon as Star saw me, he gave me lots of kisses and I started to relax.

Some of my new friends are: Star, of course :-), as well as Dakota the chocolate Lab, Riley the Golden Retriever pup, Nala the black Lab, Roxy the Golden Retriever, Mollie the yellow Lab, Mojo the Boxer and Bledsoe the yellow Lab.

This is what the staff has to say about me: Dakota is a big sweetheart! She was pretty shy today and preferred to watch the other dogs get rowdy, but she was very curious about everything. Daycare will help her build confidence and relax around groups of dogs.

Isn't that cute?

We'll be taking her in once a week, or once every other week, just for a break. She may be quiet and shy THERE, but she sure isn't HERE.

=============

Dena, you mentioned you had green bugs on your roses. You didn't give a description, but there's a good chance they are aphids (because the really LOVE roses). Don't be mislead by the brown aphids in this picture... scroll down a bit to find the green ones. They are protected by ants who "milk" them, and the ants will attack predators (like the aphids worst enemy: the ladybug). If you're an organic gardener, you can try cleaning them off with a damp rag (maybe with a bit of soap or rubbing alcohol), or you can buy ladybugs. If you aren't , there are plenty of poisons that will kill them. Good luck!

===============

Speaking of pests... it seems it's not a chipmunk or a mole I'm fighting with in my garden -- it's a VOLE. I went in to my local Agway today and asked about my problem, and they said since it's eating the tubers and bulbs and based on the small size of the holes, etc., I had a vole. Dang it. They suggested traps -- but I balked at that. First: I don't believe in randomly killing other critters to get the one I want. If I put out traps, I'm going to catch all kinds of rodents who AREN'T eating my bulbs. That's not fair. Second: I don't want to see it's little corpse. I'm considering a live trap. Is that silly? I can catch him and take him many miles away to a lake area where he can live out his life without eating my plants. Of course, I wonder what else I'll catch?

=================

I can't believe I have all of my edits finished for "Kitchen Matches" and haven't even seen a possible cover yet. Dang, my editor and I are quick! LOL... I hope it's a fun cover. Liv was so serious. Guess we'll see someday soon.

==================

Ahh... hardwood floor installation. It was so much fun the first time around, it seems DH and I are helping my SIL install it at HER house today. Oh. Whee. I've been given permission to only participate part of the day because of Dakota and the DD... thank heavens. I have too much stuff on my plate to lose an entire day.

===================


More Fun Quizzes at QuizPox.com


Too bad the puddles are all frozen solid in January... lol...