A Danger Free Zone!

  There are some things that I just flat out refuse to do.  One being, I will not under any circumstances spray, douse, dust, powder, or otherwise dump a lot of harmful chemicals on my garden.  It just ain't happenin', folks.  Tomato worms will be handpicked, squash bugs cut out of stems and smashed and most other plant devouring critters will be coated with vinegar.  (For some reason, bugs do not like the stuff and while it may burn the plants a bit, it is otherwise harmless.)  By my figuring, if a chemical kills a critter, it cannot be to all powerfully good for my body.  So, that said, the critters do indeed eat their share of my fruits and vegetables.  That is ok, too, since they have to live as well.  

  Other than the fact that insecticides are terrible for us, they are not species specific.  By this I mean, what I spray on the tomatoes for stinkbugs will also kill honeybees and butterflies.  This is not good, by my standards.  I like critters...for the most part.  In fact, I like them so much that I do allow a good many to just munch away to their hearts' content.  The "Fennel Munchers" fall into that category.  Fennel Munchers is a nickname that I applied to the caterpillars of the black swallowtail butterflies.  They do some major munching on the fennel but it is only temporary damage and the end result is gorgeous butterflies that flit about the garden.

  Before the rain this morning, I watched as dozens of fat caterpillars searched for places to attach themselves for the duration of their morphs into their adult stage.  The caterpillars left the fennel and made their way across the ground to the posts surrounding the small garden.  A few attached themselves to the posts but others kept on their journey until they reached the deutzia bush. These climbed and climbed until they each chose a special spot to cling.  This trek to find the perfect spot to morph had to be the most exercise that any of the caterpillars have gotten since they hatched from their eggs.  Other than moving on the leaves they were eating, their entire life up to this point was spent on one plant.  Soon, however, they will spend the days endlessly flying about hunting nectar and laying the eggs on my fennel. After a few days, a hundred or more baby caterpillars will hatch and start eating again.  It is certainly a good thing that fennel is prolific and fast growing!  And it is a good thing that I like butterflies!