We went down to the park with a friend, and found these giant schools of baby catfish. They would move much like the school of fish in Finding Nemo. Fun to watch.
Insects
Gardens don’t just grow plants. Here’s a look at some insects I found in my garden the other day:
Ick. I could use a lot less of these grasshoppers. I still don’t have any control methods I’m comfortable with, so I just give these guys glares and kill as many as I can.
Much better. This was a good sized praying mantis, we left him alone.
This guy is (as far as I can tell) a locus borer beetle. We have a lot of locust trees around for the juveniles, but this adult has taken up residence on one of the sunflowers.
Soap box moment: I don’t use insecticides at all, I think it can cause more problems that solutions. It is much more interesting to let insects fight it out. And please, don’t ever spray because you want to prevent an unknown problem. Spray only for known pest as a last result.
Prayer
My husband heard PB say a very interesting prayer in the bathroom:
“Heavenly Father, bless that I won’t have germs on my hands”
Joe went in to remind PB to wash his hands. He said he didn’t have to because he said a prayer instead.
Living Room
So this is my living room right now:
If you have been to my house, you will notice I recently acquired a black cabinet and new couch. I’m excited about it. I went into the store with an extreme low amount in mind, and I was actually able to find something in the price range that was perfect. Very awesome. The futon has been retired to the playroom, and the cabinet has made it possible to prevent Mr. C messing with all the cords and actually scan/print without losing my sanity. Although I might be picking up cushions all day from the pillow backed couch, it does make for good pillow fights.
Rain
We had a rainstorm! It actually rain enough to get everything wet and make streams run down the gutters. Utah tends to have a pathetic amount of good summer thunderstorms. So I enjoyed this one. I went outside and got wet. And I threw my kids outside too. Not for long, just enough to lighten my mood and have a very happy day. The kids were a little less enthused about it. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t get some good pictures of them.
If it rains, the best thing to do is enjoy it.
Golden Spike
PB kept covering his ears from the loud train whistle. But he enjoyed this day trip, and even got his Junior Ranger badge.
Cross-Purpose Varieties
Many current garden trends involve pushing away from a firm dividing line between the ornamental and functional. So instead of having a dedicated kitchen garden separated from the formal front yard, plants are combined for maximum use. A front yard specimen tree can also bear fruit, annual flower beds contain a variety of vegetables and herbs, a shrub border provided habitat for birds and screening. I like this ideal. Mixing uses is more interesting, challenging and economical.
I’m working on an old project, a plant list spread sheet regarding plants in this area. I’m on the tree section, and one thing I’ve noticed is the division of ornamental and functional trees. Plant varieties have been commonly bred for only one purpose. For instance, plums are either bred for a specific fruit variety, or they are bred to not have fruit and look pretty. I can buy fruit that tastes great, or that have unique form or foliage, but hardly ever both. There are ornamental kale, peppers and herbs that blend the boundaries, but I would like to see more. How about a weeping apple tree, that still produces a good fall crop? Or grapes that are bred as much to be an ornamental vine as produce a good crop.
Do you know any good cross-purpose varieties, and what would you like to see?
Playing Garden
The weeds, pests and I have reached a bit of a compromise in the garden. I am not longer to weed or treat (I’ve give up), but they also promise not to get any worse. Well, all except the zucchini are dying. Zucchini are not impenetrable. I’ve actually had quite a few die to wilt disease.
The kids love to play out there. I’ve lost my toddler as he sat in the back of the garden, picking unripe vegetables.
The giant sunflowers are a big hit. I’m still not sure if I’m actually going to harvest the seeds: I might leave the heads out as a natural bird feeder instead.
Right now, I’m getting plenty of cucumbers, tomatoes, beans, and cantaloupe. A few weeks back, I used a batch of cucs to make fermented dill pickles. They were doing great: smelled wonderful. But one day I opened up the bucket and discovered a foul smelling bacteria growing over everything. So the pickles ended up in the compost pile. I did try one: it was crisp and tasted amazing, except of the hint of foul bacteria growth. (I didn’t eat more than one, and I didn’t get sick off of it.) It give me motivation to try again, and I was pleasantly surprised the striped armenianas remained crisp. Next time, I’ll need to check them more, and probably can or refrigerator them earlier.
Here’s another shot of the sunflowers. I love them.
Wasps
PB came up to me and asked me if there was a beehive in the tree. I said no, and he then proceeded to walk me over and show me this:
It still isn’t a beehive. It’s a bald face hornet nest. I think most regular people would take a step back, or maybe even some more dramatic freak out. I am too much a biologist. I got closer and investigated.
I’m still trying to decide what to do about it. Options include letting it be, spraying it, duct taping and dumping it, or calling the landlord. Right now, I’ve mostly just let it be. It might be a hazard for stings: when these hornets sting it hurts, and they can do it over and over again. But they also are not going to sting unprovoked. I can see a failed removal attempt causing a lot more damage than just letting it be.
I do want the nest. It could be both educational, and something to incorporate into the home decor. It is gorgeous. This link even has directions…
What would you do?
Update: I collected it in late fall.
Conversations with the Kids
PB likes to carry on long conversations that involve a lot of asking, “Why?” Sometimes I am hard pressed to answer.
And Mr. C likes to get into things. I tell him no and shake my finger at him…and he smiles and does it back to me. Today it made me laugh. But I am often exasperated because my wandering boy does not understand limits. I am sorry to my mom who had to deal with all my wanderings too. (One time I was following C and became curious as well…so I came along. We probably went where we weren’t supposed to be, but we did enjoy ourselves.)
My children remind me of Mindy from Animaniacs. At least they do call me Mom.
Liz Braithwaite 