Termite Balls and Fig Trees

   For the past couple of years, I have tended to five fig trees that are in large pots.  I just have not had the space to plant them in the yard.  The trees are doing well and even produce figs!  A couple of days ago, I noticed that one of the large trees looked bad.  When I checked, the tree just flopped over!  It was dead! It appeared to have rotted off just below the dirt level.  I tossed it on the burn pile and thought no more about it.

  Today, I needed a large pot for some ginger roots that I had sprouted.  I remembered the dead fig tree and thought that the pot would be perfect!  So...I emptied out the dirt and found...a ball!  Yep, I found what appeared to be a spherical clump of...something.  Alrighty then.  As I am prone to do, I investigated.  Uh, oh!  Not good!  I never dreamed that termites could be the cause of my fig tree's demise!  Yep, that "ball" was a termite nest!  Now what?  

  The ball was placed in a bucket and all of the surrounding dirt was put back in the large flower pot.  I am happy to say that there are no more termites.  I boiled them.  Since the bug spray did not kill the termites, I took a hint from an uncle.  Boiling water poured on ants kills them so I knew it would work on the termites as well.  Plus, the hot water would get rid of any fungus that might have started growing in the dirt.

  Now, my ginger roots are happily in their new termite-free home!  My next job is to repot those other monstrous trees and check them for critters.  This is something I had not planned on doing but is obviously necessary.  Who would think?  Termites killed my fig tree!

Color in the Garden!

  Have you priced flower pots recently?  My goodness!  All I wanted was some of the cheap, nursery quality black pots so I could plant a few tomatoes and peppers.  It did not matter the style or appearance.  I just needed some one gallon and some two gallon pots.  Cheap pots are not something that stores around here carry.  Mark and I started searching and most places wanted at least $5 a pot!  Nope.  That was not happening!  I would go broke buying flower pots to get enough tomatoes to make sauce!  So...the search was on to find some affordable, one time use flower pots.

  It was early afternoon when an idea struck me!  Why buy flower pots???  If I just wanted something to contain my tomato plants, did it matter if it was a bucket?  I checked bucket prices.  Well, that was some better.  You could buy a bucket for a mere $3.50.   Still at that price, I would be sinking more money than I wanted.  More searching was in order.  Trash cans!  Yeah!....No...$4.63.  Then another brilliant idea!  Ok...a plug here for a business but I have to give a big shout out to Dollar Tree!

  Mark and I headed to the local Dollar Tree and racked up on pots!  One gallon, two gallon and three gallon wonderful pots...uhhh...storage containers were filling the shelves and then our basket!  Mark is one of those shoppers that clears a shelf when he finds what he needs.  I came home with 59 lovely planters for $1 a piece! All that is needed is to drill some small drainage holes and I will be in business planting!  With this many pots, I have enough to, not only grow tomatoes and peppers but lots of flowers!  The assorted colors will add a bit of brightness to even the darkest corners of the garden.  Yep!  Mark came to my rescue and Dollar Tree had just what I needed!  Win!!

Private Pond!

   When is a toad not a toad?  Answer...when it is a frog.  That's right.  As crazy as it may seem, while all toads are frogs, not all frogs are toads. Make sense?  Nope?  Good.  Because it does not to me either. This evening's focus is on the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad...which happens to be a frog and NOT a toad.

  I was sitting in the rocking chair listening to evening fall around me when I heard a strange sound.  (Yes, you really can "hear" evening on the Bayou just like you can hear daybreak. The two sound totally different.)  Like I said, I heard an unusual sound.  Something was calling just to my right.  There was a small deck there with a few potted plants, a bench and a few knickknacks.  Not a one of those could be making that high-pitched "waaaaa!"  There was just enough light left in the day for me to go on a critter search!   It only took a few moments before I realized that the sound was coming from a large pan that held rainwater.  I had put a some of the flowers in the pan to allow them to soak up the life-giving water and, obviously, this tiny critter with the big mouth had decided it was home.  While the Toad Pond is on the other side of the house,swimming around in the pan was an Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad!  The little guy had his own personal-sized pond and we all know what that call was.  Yep, this little guy was letting his ladylove know that he found a suitable puddle for their nursery.  He just needed her to realize that he was the right frog for the job of daddyhood.

  One weird thing about these frogs is that while they have an ear-piercing call, they make that sound while almost completely submerged.  Only their little snouts will be above water.  Now a good thing about my little toad frog (heehee That finally fits!)  Ants and termites are the preferred diet of the Eastern Narrow-mouthed Toad!  This little froggy has suddenly become a favorite of mine.  He can eat all of the ants and termites he can find.  Carry on with your...ummm...business, Little Toad Frog.  Find that wifey!  We need lots of little toad froggies!  Lots of them!