Grasshopper Watch!

   Since the first of April, we have been battling the hoards of Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers.  Millions (yes, millions!) of these things hatch out in the spring.  Each "mound" of hatchlings finds about thirty of the brick red critters seeking sunshine as they dig their way out of the ground.  While they are in this stage, they are relatively easy to get rid of but give them a day and it is a different story.  They turn black with a red stripe and then are fast little buggers!  Like I said, each mound contains about thirty grasshoppers and those mounds are about two feet apart over this whole hillside which should give you the idea why I said millions.  We do what is called the "grasshopper stomp" which was far easier when there were three kids to help.  Now...I am old.  I try.  Thankfully, Mark has found that the cheapest bug spray works on them so he goes around spritzing the critters.  Two months (April and May) of little critters and now (July and August), we fight the three inch long, multicolored adults.  Those we missed months ago are coming "home" to mate and lay eggs.  They would not be so bad if they did not eat everything in sight...so we try to get rid of what we can.  We are constantly on "grasshopper watch", it seems.

  I did find a different grasshopper and allowed this one to live in peace.  I have no problem with the critters that are not trying to take over the world!  On one of the navel orange trees, there was a huge Obscure Bird Grasshopper.  This was a lovely female as she was a good three inches long.  (Males are much, much smaller.)  I was impressed with the gentleness of the critter as she stayed put on the same branch for several days and allowed me to photograph her without being alarmed.  Perhaps she knew that she was safe purely because she only nibbled the leaves and did not strip the entire tree!  

  Have you ever wondered what is behind that name?  Obscure Bird Grasshopper may not seem to be the most logical title to bestow upon an insect but, if you delve into the whys and wherefors of the reason, it is perfect.  First, the obscure part.  Most of the time, we tend to think of obscure as being another word for being kept out of sight or hidden.  Well, in Latin (remember all those hard to pronounce names given to plants and critters?...yeah...those), obscure can also mean dusky or dark.  This critter is pretty brown so the name fits.  Now for the bird part.  If you ever have the opportunity to literally "poke" one so it flies, you will see how the name applies.  The bug is impressive with its flight abilities and does resemble a small bird!  

  It is sad to have to make a decision of what lives and what does not but, purely for the sake of the gardens, the Eastern Lubbers have to go.  If there were only a few, they would be allowed to live in peace just as the Obscure Bird Grasshopper does.  I normally stick with my mantra of "Live and let live." but I depend on my gardens to stock the pantry shelves for our food.  A nibble here and there...no problem!  A complete destruction of the plots?....not happening.

Encouraging Find

   Way back in February, I was surprised to find a beautiful, green lacewing on my front steps.  The small bug had just recently changed from its larvae state to an adult and was a bit sluggish yet.  Of course, I HAD to sit next to the insect to protect it from the (at the time) kitten, Bat.  Bat was at that curious age where everything that moved was a target of interest.  So, I "babysat" the bug until it was strong enough to venture out into the world.  Finding the insect made me happy as they are delightful things to have in the garden.  While in the larvae state, they have voracious appetites for a lot of garden pests.  Most people would rather dump a bunch of chemicals on the plants and call it a day but I am a bit more careful about my gardens.  No chemical sprays are used.  Those kill both the good and the bad.  Personally, I would rather let the lacewings do the job for me.

  I had high hopes that the lacewing would return to the steps to lay her eggs thus starting a new generation of helpers.  Imagine my delight when I found the telltale spiral of tiny, pale green eggs on the underside of the turmeric leaf!  This turmeric plant is in a large pot sitting on the bottom step near where the original lacewing was found.  In a few days, these eggs should hatch and the larva will start their hunt for prey.  This gives me hope that there may be less garden pests in the future.  Carry on, Little Lacewings!  

The Garden Baboon

   It is funny how things work.  The other evening, I was telling Mark that the tomatoes were doing well and I was going to save several large ones for him.  He works away from home and misses so many things from the garden so I thought it would be a nice surprise.  His response was "Thanks!  That will be great as long as some baboon does not come along and eat a bite out of each one."  We both laughed at the idea of a baboon making its way from the other side of the world just to grab a bite of my garden tomatoes.  Still...that did bother me a bit thinking that the squirrels or coons might be likely to raid the garden some evening.

  The next morning, I was surprised...yet a bit heartbroken...to find that something did, indeed, take a bite out of one of the nice sized tomatoes.  That "garden baboon" struck during the night!  Not really a "literal" baboon...more like a grasshopper.  One of the huge Eastern Lubber Grasshoppers had spent the night on a tomato and munched a good bit of it.  Ugh!  I HATE THESE GRASSHOPPERS!  The lubber grasshoppers have been outrageously bad this year.  The huge monsters are everywhere and are eating my gardens to bare stalks.  Obviously, they are not happy just eating leaves and have taken a liking to the fruits. 

  Not much can be done about these critters, though.  Nary a predator will tackle them as they are a bit toxic and sprays (if I did use them in the garden) are just about useless.  The only option is to smash them one by one and when there are thousands about, that is a nigh on impossible task.  Hopefully, they will leave a couple of tomatoes for Mark.  I shall have to be doubly watchful.

A Day Too Late

   Last week, I made a mental note to pick and dehydrate the parsley as it was flourishing.  I put the plant in a hanging basket which seems to be the brightest idea I have had in a while.   The plant was dark green and very lush!  How nice it would be to have a Mason jar full of dehydrated, homegrown parsley!  From the looks of it, I should have gotten nigh on a pint jar full of the dried herb!  From the looks of it last week.  Canning figs got in the way of dealing with the parsley and, now, I am too late!

  Early this morning, I was out picking figs.  This chore has to be done at daybreak before the birds start to feed.  They will clean a fig tree in a matter of minutes!  While I was picking the figs from the small trees on the west side of the house, I checked the herb tower.  This is a large arbor with lots of shelves for pots and lots of space for hanging baskets.  This is where that parsley WAS!  Yep, WAS!  It was gone.  The hanging basket was there but instead of being filled with lovely, curly parsley, it was now filled with caterpillars!  Forty-seven caterpillars to be exact!  

  The black swallowtail butterflies that visit the zinnia bed decided that my parsley was the perfect nursery for their little ones.  In only one day, the critters munched the plant down to little nubs!  Now they are in a fine fix!  There is nothing else to eat!  Even though the critters ate my best plant, I felt sorry for them and tried offering them other herbs.  They are having no part of that and keep wandering around on the stripped parsley.  Thankfully, most are large enough to pupate so perhaps some will survive.  The tiny ones, however, had better get to changing their eating habits and stop being so persnickety!  Yes, it is sad that I did not get to dry my lovely parsley but I am not too upset as I do love my pretty butterflies.

Mother Nature Knows Best

   If you ever check the so-called garden experts, they have many, many ideas about how to keep insect pests from the plants.  Trust me when I say that I have tried hundreds of "natural" methods.  Any time something new hits the gardening grapevine, I pounce on it because I guess I fall into one of two categories.  Either I am a "hardcore green gardener" or I am gullible..maybe both.  I have gone the whole route of spraying with dish soap, misting with diluted mouthwash, grating a bar of soap down the rows, using my sifter to "flour" the plants and doing companion planting.  All of the first methods were pretty much a bust  but but the last one was just pretty.  Planting flowers in the vegetable patch may not do much for keeping the bugs at bay but you do not get as frustrated at them when you have bright flowers bobbing their heads in the breeze.  Flowers for the win!

  The insect pests pretty much ruled the gardens.  Without the aid of chemical sprays and powders, the critters multiplied like crazy and soon outnumbered the plants!  They flourished whereas the plants, well, looked terrible.  It finally came to the point that I was literally growing "green lace".  The bugs chewed holes in every leaf!  

  Mother Nature always knows what is to be done when things get to a breaking point.  She sent in the frogs, toads and lizards with a couple of snakes thrown in for good measure.  It did not take long before the plants looked better and the reptiles and amphibians were fat and happy.  

  All in all, I am ok with having critters in the gardens as long as they do a service.  Having frogs squirm out from underfoot or skinks pouncing on the shoulder from tall plants may be unnerving to some but I look at it as a job well done.  They can stay.

Sneaky Little Fluffbum!

  The squirrels and I continue our battle over the garden plots.  They are determined to eat us out of house and home and I am equally determined to salvage what I can.  This war has waged on ever since my "Big Mama" rat snake has either gone on to other areas or has met her untimely demise.  She kept things in check and I fully appreciated her efforts.  Of course, her hiding spot of the rose arbors has been demolished so perhaps she felt uncomfortable being so exposed. Whatever the cause, I miss her dearly.  The snake had become "one of the family" and fully did her part to help out around here.  Now, the squirrels have free rein to do as they please and that usually means raiding the garden.

  Recently, I decided that perhaps plying the fluffy rodents with an alternate source of food would deter them.  It has somewhat but they still steal figs and tomatoes occasionally.  The free food in the bird feeders has only made the squirrels bolder.  Now, they have no qualms about visiting even when I am in the gardens.  This was not the idea I had in mind as I have birdseed far down the hill where they can eat in peace and leave my garden in peace.  Nope, one glorified rat insists on eating out of the makeshift feeder at the front door. This is an overturned glass tabletop that works well at keeping the seeds from spilling on the ground.  One rascal will come down the oak tree next to the house and sneak to the feeder.  If he fills his belly, he will promptly lie down and take a snooze...ON THE FEEDER!   He keeps birds from eating all of the seeds by covering it with his sprawled out body! Smart but aggravating.

  This afternoon, I was sitting in a chair next to his usual route of the oak tree.  Even before I could see the squirrel, his little feet could be heard scritching along the bark.  The critter did not stop descending the tree until he was just three feet from me.  Then, he sat, looked at me and went no further.  After ten minutes of waiting for me to leave, the fluffbum decided that I needed scolding.  He did!  That did it!  I stood up and shooed the squirrel back up the tree with the water hose!  Silly critter!  I guess until another rat snake takes up residence in the garden, my war shall continue even though this is one cute villain!

Fried Green Tomatoes, Anyone?

  The gardens were doing so well.  You noticed "were"?  Yeah, well, they were doing so well.  The tomato plants had outgrown their crates and were so heavily laden with green tomatoes that it seemed that we were to have a bumper crop.  The squash plants were three feet tall and had dozens of blooms and tiny squash on them.  We were already enjoying daily meals.  The bell peppers were full of blossoms and tiny green peppers.  The key word in all of the statements is "were"...past tense.  Today, Son and I pulled all of the squash plants, cut back our beautiful four o'clock flowers, picked all of the green tomatoes, snipped every leaf off of the bell peppers and literally mowed the sweet potato vines to the ground.  None of these things were to my liking but were necessary.

  Tiny caterpillars first attacked the four o'clock plants and then quickly spread to the tomatoes and bell peppers. Finally, they made their way to the sweet potatoes.  Every leaf on these plants were riddled with holes.  This happened within a span of three days and during those three, I sprayed with numerous "organic" pesticides.  I refuse to put toxic chemicals on my vegetable gardens so found several things that touted to do the job safely.  None worked.  Sadly, the plants had to go.  Since the sprays contained nothing but herbs that are non toxic to fish, the plants (with caterpillars intact) were tossed to the frogs.  They loved them!  Hopefully, that will get rid of a lot of future moths.  The squash plants met a similar fate due to the squash bugs gnawing the stalks.  Nothing works on them other than to eradicate each larva...one by one by slitting the stalk and removing the critter.  Nope. Gone.

  The tomatoes were not only being attacked by caterpillars, the squirrels have taken a liking to them.  Every day, the thieving critters would steal ten or fifteen green tomatoes.  I could have lived with that but when they started knocking off dozens and dozens to get one tomato for one bite, something had to give.  All remaining tomatoes were picked and are in trays in the entryway.  Now, every table, shelf and even the floor is covered with green tomatoes!  Hopefully, the squirrels will not figure out how to open the door!

  Now the gardens look barren.  It saddens me but, at the same time, I am thankful for what we did harvest.  I told Son that I am going to plant flowers for the remainder of the summer then try again with a winter garden.  I am not adverse to spraying insecticides on non-edible flowers and during the winter, there are no caterpillars!  Oh, well.  Things are what they are and we cannot change that.  On the bright side, fried green tomatoes are always tasty!

Oh, so close!

  Today, I headed to the garden to plant okra.  I had one spot left to dig a single row so that was going to have to do for the moment.  A few steps after entering the garden gate, something bright caught my eye.  Of course, I whipped the camera in action and proceeded to photograph a critter in the middle of the pathway.  Since I had broken my glasses a few days back, I thought I had found a lovely moth!  In fact, the colors were so similar to the Scarlet-bodied Wasp Moth, I figured that the thing was another critter that would not do major damage in the garden.  Wow.  Was I wrong!  Without those spectacles, I making a huge mistake.

  The critter that I so patiently photographed was the bane of most gardeners (at least those who refuse to douse their plants with harmful chemicals!).  The "pretty" critter was a moth alright but not the one I thought.  I had just spent ten minutes photographing a Squash Vine Borer Moth!!!!  Yep!  This was one of those critters that insists on laying its eggs inside the stalk of squash plants.  There, the egg hatches and the larva munches on the inside of the stalk while being hidden away from all predators.  Ugh!.  And to think...I just lifted the critter up and put it on the jasmine vine!

Scarlet-bodied Wasp Moth

Squash Vine Borer Moth

  After the photo session, I realized my mistake.  Looking at the photos, I could clearly see the critter was not one that I wanted in the garden.  Out I raced to hunt down that Squash Vine Borer Moth!  I searched and searched the jasmine vine to no avail.  I was just about to resign to the fact that there would be no healthy squash plants after today when I spied that critter on a rose bush!  

  I am happy to say that at least one Squash Vine Borer Moth will not be laying eggs in the garden.  Goodbye, Garden Pest!  Your mimicking trick did not work this time!  Those fuzzy legs gave away your true identity!  (Just so you will know, folks, under those top wings, the Squash Vine Borer Moth has the clear "window-pane" wings like the other moth.  Blue thorax and fuzzy back legs...dead giveaway!....Oh, and make sure to have glasses handy if you wear them!)

 

Smelly but cute!

  Critters are a special interest of mine.  I am not sure why but I want to know what makes them tick.  I want to know how they hunt, how they raise their young and how they survive in a world that is seemingly against them.  Every chance I get, I hike the hillside and marshes to observe whatever I find.  Usually, I am pretty good at identifying them but, every now and again, one throws me.  Now, it has been two in two days.  Yesterday, the slender twig ant was a new name for me.  I knew it was an ant but did not know much about it.  Today, another critter and another mystery became my quest.  This time, a bright green bug was found on the ti plant.  It was about the size of a penny....round and flat.  I had never seen this bug before so I decided to play with it a while to get a good look at it.  The bug was very docile and did not attempt a getaway nor did it "attack".  In fact, it sat calmly on my hand before I let it retreat back into the leaves of the ti plant.

  Now that I found out that this bug is the nymph stage of a stink bug, I may come to regret that decision to let it live.  Come spring, this little rascal's descendents may ruin a good number of my tomatoes!  Yep.  The flat, green bug is in the 4 instar of becoming a full blown stink bug!  Had I known, I probably would have smacked it just to protect the gardens.  Well, maybe I would have.  Look at how cute that little critter is!  Maybe I would not have.

Thankful for Little Friends

  Sometimes, you only have to look in the garden to find a good friend.  Being as my time outside has been strictly curtailed by caring for the old dog, the gardens are literally on their own.  I do little more than spray a bit of water on them every day or so and then hope of a bit of rain on the days when I cannot even get out to do that.  The plants are suffering greatly and it breaks my heart but there is just not enough time (and I do not have the energy) to tend to their needs. I'm running on empty here.

  I did, however, manage to sneak out for about fifteen minutes early this afternoon. Our temperatures were pushing the triple digits again and there was no rain in sight.  It was not the best time to be outside but since Son was not busy elsewhere at the moment, he volunteered to "dog sit" for Mr. PJ.  I hurriedly sprayed everything with a bit of water and then rushed back indoors.  While I was out, I did find one fine friend in amongst the plants. A huge praying mantis crawled from a young poinsettia plant (leftover from last Christmas!) onto a avocado sapling.  I would not have even noticed had my spraying the water hose not sent a small cricket scurrying.  The cricket sought refuge from the water droplets only to be snatched up by the mantis.  This slight movement was enough to make me grab the camera for a few photos before I headed back to check on the dog. 

  A praying mantis (or any of the several species found around here) is a welcome friend to gardeners.  It is beneficial due to its indiscriminate diet.  A mantis will eat just about anything it can overpower which includes a lot of the nuisance insects that attack plants.  The one today ate a cricket but it would not hesitate to eat squash bugs, stinkbugs, any number of caterpillars, moths or whatever wiggles.  The mantis uses stealth to capture the insects.  It will sit almost motionless or will sway a bit like a leaf in the wind until a critter ventures too near.  Then, the critter will call upon its lightning speed to spring forth and grasp the prey. Those folded front legs are used like arms to clutch its dinner. 

  I was happy to see the mantis in the garden this afternoon and equally as happy to see one on the window screen this evening.  In fact, I would love to see dozens upon dozens of the critters living in the gardens which is exactly why I refuse to use insecticides.  Why poison the plants and yourself when there are those who will do the dirty work of ridding the garden of pests for free?  

Ladybug Diner

  This afternoon, I headed out to pick the figs.  This is a twice daily chore as I try to "beat the birds".  No, I do not wallop the thrashers stealing the figs but I try hard to out race them to the ripe ones.  There are only a few more days that this comedy will take place as there are few figs left on the trees.   Between the birds and me, we have picked the trees clean.  After finishing this chore, it is my habit to walk through the garden to check for any remnant veggies.  It was there that a small red dot caught my eye and made me while away a good half hour.

  One of the garden boxes has a mishmash of plants. One volunteer tomato plant, six marigolds, one chrysanthemum, two mints, a few chives, a couple of purple basils and one struggling rose cutting are all growing there.  In the midst of all those leaves, a red dot scampered.  Aha!  A ladybug had found the mother lode of aphids and was a happy camper!  I watched as the ladybug raced around the leaves in search of aphids.  It would then chow down on its prey before starting anew.  The race was on!

  On closer inspection, there were many ants on the same plants.  At first, I assumed the ladybug was merely trying to outrun the ants but it kept coming back to run atop them again and again.  Then I realized that the symbiotic relationship between the ants and aphids was how the ladybug found its meal.  Ants literally "farm" aphids.  As the aphids suck the juices out of my plants, they excrete "honeydew" which the ants love.  The nectar rich resource is food for the ants.  In return, the ants protect the aphids.  (There have been cases known where ants will tote aphids with them if they have to move their nests.)  The ladybug, on the other hand, dines upon the aphids, themselves.  

  Usually, the ants and ladybugs tolerate each other and pretty much ignore one another.  Neither are predators to the other.  They both happen to be interested in the third insect..the aphid.  Personally, I would rather have the ladybugs than either the ants or aphids!  Chow down, Ladybug!

Another Little Frustration

  Back during the winter (or as I call it "lack of winter"), Son needed to use the table saw that was in the back yard by the shed.  Since he had been using it every day or so, he would not move it back into the shed but, rather, would cover it well.  When he went to remove the cover, there were hundreds of leaf-footed bugs hiding beneath the cover.  They were a bit surprised that their overwintering spot had been discovered and scattered about the place before I could douse them with bug spray.  I hate those things!  They ruin more tomatoes than any other critter.  Well, almost.  This year, the squirrels have hauled off about half of my tomatoes but, still, the leaf-footed bugs do their damage, as well.

  This year, I have been fortunate as to not see nearly as many of the bugs as in the past.  Today was the first day that I spied four or five on the tomato plants.  Well, whoopee-doo!  The tomatoes are all gone for the moment so the bugs may be a tad discouraged.  These bugs have piercing, sucking mouth parts that would blotch each tomato before it ripened.  Hopefully, they will be so downhearted that they will move elsewhere!

  The leaf-footed bugs are true bugs.  They are distant kin to those nasty stinkbugs and, like them, do emit a foul odor when squished.  This afternoon, I smacked three of them and the stench was pretty bad.  At least, I managed to get rid of those!  If you look closely at the above photograph, you can see why the bugs are named as such.  They have a flared growth on their hind legs which gives them a leaf-footed appearance.  While I am pleased that I have not seen too many this year, I really could do without them altogether!  Go away, bug!!

The Garden Thief

  Along about noontime, I decided to make another batch of peach jam.  Since I had already picked all of the peaches due to marauding coons, the task was half done.  It was a just a matter of "jamming".  The fruit was all prepared, cooked and jarred within a short time.  There was nothing to do but clean up my mess.  While doing that, I heard a strange sound on the back porch. Hmmm...that was unusual as no one was out there.  I opened the door to come face to face with the Garden Thief!  

  A young raccoon was searching the area for something for lunch.  I eased my way out the backdoor and onto the small porch all the while still holding a pot and dish towel.  The coon slowly made its way down the steps and then turned to look at me.  It seemed to expect me to give it a handout!!  As if I needed to do that after it has raided the garden numerous times!!  Nope, Little One!  You are not getting a handout today!  The little coon edged its way under the shed and I thought all was ended for the day.  

  About five minutes after disappearing under the south side of the shed, a small head popped out of the north side!  The little rascal was exiting there and making its way back to the porch!  Ok, coon!  That is enough!  Get yourself out of here before I hurl this pot at you!  The coon did not stop.  Rather, it kept coming toward me and, once again, appeared to be begging for food.  

  It suddenly dawned on me that this little coon must be the same one that my brother feeds at the end of the lane.  Since he gives it daily handouts, the coon has lost all fear of humans and thinks that every one should do the same. Not me!  I do not mind feeding the critters during bleak times but the garden is in full swing and they are surely getting their bellies full each night.  So...Little Coon...go back down the lane.  You cannot have my plums, peaches or tomatoes!

Not My Tomatoes!

  Ok, so I have done the "live and let live" thing just about long enough with the coons that roam the Bayou. I am trying to hold to that mantra but they are TRYING my patience!  They raided the pear trees and ate every single tiny pear before it had a chance to mature.  They literally tore up the peach trees to only nibble a bite out of each of hundreds of peaches.  They have ripped out flowers seemingly just out of mischief.  Now, however, they have crossed the line.  These varmints have found the tomato patch and pulled half ripe tomatoes from the branches.  The same method as the peaches...one nibble and go to the next one.  Their clumsiness broke branches and knocked off dozens of small, green tomatoes.  Ugh!  The garden is a mess!

  My problem arises from the fact that I do stick with the "live and let live" mantra as much as possible.  It just does not seem fair to kill critters just because they are trying to survive.  The folks who bought the property just west of us have clear cut the twenty plus acres.  This left animals no place to go except to our neck of the woods.  The Bayou is getting to be one of the only places around for animals to go and it is getting mighty crowded.  Too many critters on such a small place does nothing but cause problems for all.  Now that the animals have found my gardens, there will be nightly raids but I am hesitant to harm them in any way, shape or form.  Relocating seems to be the only option.  I guess I had better round up a live trap before I lose all of my garden goodies (and my mind!) 

 
 

One Less Garden Pest

  It is that time of year when the critters that were born (hatched) earlier in the spring have to get accustomed to their new size.  Critters grow fast.  They mature at a greater rate than humans merely because of hardships faced.  There is no mollycoddling of the young.  It is more of a "grow up and move on" type situation.  Even critters that do care for their babies only provide that care for a very short time.  It is also that time where critters of the insect world start molting.  The babies are no longer tiny and they have to shed that exoskeleton so they can grow.  This is much like our changing our clothes as we grow.  The outer part separates from their bodies and then splits.  The critters sort of slither out.  At this point, they are usually soft and have limited movement.  They are also highly vulnerable.  Predators can make an easy meal of them as the insects cannot escape.

  This morning, I headed to the garden.  We had a particularly nice rain last night and I knew the yellow squash should be the perfect size for picking.  Lunch was going to be a delight.  After getting my bowl full of the beauties, I turned to check how the blueberries were doing.  It was there that I found my molting critter.  A eastern lubber grasshopper was in the process of shedding that outer layer.  The grasshopper was almost all the way out of the old outer shell when I happened upon it.  Things like this never cease to interest me so I watched the critter for a while.  This one was well on its way to attaining its adult size of about 3 inches in length. 

  Now, had this been most any other insect, I probably would have left it be but because of the damage these critters do, I did get rid of it.  The process was easy and swift.  There is now one less pair of gnawing jaws to tear down my plants.  Sorry, grasshopper.  You just had to go.  One down....a million to go.

Garden Varmints!

  Well, this is it.  This, my friends, shows the results of time and work.  The picture shows the entirety of green beans in the garden.  No, this is not all of the seeds that I planted.  In fact, the pole bean seeds were overcrowded in the two rows.  This, however, is the whole shebang.  What happened?  Did the seeds just not sprout?  Were they all duds?  Nope.  A fine, little friend decided to help himself to my seeds.  Ugh!  Varmints!  While I adore all of my critter friends, when they start eating my garden, they become varmints! 

  After patiently waiting nigh on two weeks for the seeds to sprout and only getting two plants, I started watching.  Nothing happened during the day.  Nothing happened in the late afternoon.  It was those early hours that found the culprit busy at work.  Even after cleaning the row, the little squirrel still dug frantically to find more seeds.  That rascal cleaned my bean row of every last seed except these two.  Two plants will never make a mess for supper and surely won't provide enough to home can!

  While this is bad news about the beans, it is only a harbinger of what is to come.  I can pretty much count on the same squirrel (and friends) to raid the garden once the tomatoes, peaches and figs ripen.  Since I am not much on killing critters, I will have to find other ways to divert their attention.  None of the scare tactics work.  The flashing, sparkly pans dangling in the tree limbs were ignored and the decoy snakes and owls were used as perches.  In fact, one rubber snake actually was used to line a nest!  I have tried to convince Ms. Nycto, the Bayou Princess (cat), to stay in the garden but she would rather snooze on the sofa.  The old dog, Mr. PJ, has no energy to chase squirrels, so he is not a help.  I am at wit's end searching for a solution.  In the meantime, the seeds will be replanted and perhaps some wire mesh placed over the rows.  Something has to help!

Well, That Stinks!

  I admit it.  I am truly not a fan of stinkbugs of any sort.  They are some of the critters that I find offensive in just about every way possible.  Ugh!  These critters can ruin a good tomato on the vine in just a few minutes flat, they multiple rapidly and smell terrible!  All of those things put them on the "Do Not Like" list.

  More work is being done on the Little Bayou House.  This is required due to another bug (probably the worst of the bunch) called a termite.  Those things are eating my house!  But...back to the stinkbugs.   The critters in question today were none other than Leaf-footed Bugs.  These stinkbugs are true bugs and some of the creepiest ever.  Son had to move the table saw from one side of the yard to the other to make it a tad more convenient.  Since the work is ongoing and since the saw is heavy, we have just been covering it instead of moving it back into the shed.  The black tarp kept the rain out ok but also made the perfect hibernation spot for stinkbugs.  The weather has been quite chilly as of late so the bugs have all been looking for warm spots.  The saw was selected as their haven.  When Son removed the tarp, hundreds of the stinkbugs were found.  Ugh...again. He called for me to get the spray.  All in all, we probably could have filled a half-gallon bucket with stinky critters, if we were so inclined...I was not...not at all!  So instead of filling any bucket, I sprayed them.

  A good spraying eliminated the problem rather quickly.  I should have taken a "before" photograph but it is just not in my nature to think before killing bugs.  I sprayed...bugs started scattering...bugs fell off the saw, into the grass and died.  THEN, I get the idea to photograph the critters for no other reason than to warn others that it is time for the stinkbugs to be hunting warm spots (like black tarps).  Maybe there is a positive outlook to all of the critters in the saw.  Perhaps by killing so many at one time, there will be fewer in the garden come spring.  I doubt it but the thought brought a smile to my face anyway!

Only Nine Hundred and Ninety-nine More to Go!

  As I did chores inside the Little Bayou House, I could hear a familiar che-che-che of a grasshopper through the open windows.  While critter sounds are normally soothing to me, this one irritated me.  I knew what that critter was up to with that raspy noise!  Somewhere out there in amongst the jungle that I call a garden, a female Eastern Lubber Grasshopper was ready to do her thing and lay about a bazillion eggs. Somewhere out there, she was sitting there rubbing her little wings or legs or whatever together as she tried to call to a suitable mate. Somewhere out there trouble was brewing and it irritated me.  This action bothered me because I knew she was getting ready to spew eggs out into the soft soil and make millions of little ones come next spring. (Ok, so maybe not that many but it sure seems like it when they eat entire gardens.)

  I hurried to finish the chores so I could go on a grasshopper hunt.  I needed to get that big, old mama before she laid her eggs.  This would save me a lot of hassle come next April.  These old legs are getting tired of doing that "Grasshopper Stomp" dance for about three weeks come springtime.  Each female will lay about five "pods" that contain around fifty eggs. That is two hundred and fifty or so little plant-eating critters per each female.  Now go figure that there are probably a good thousand (or more) females hopping about the property and you can see why I am adamant about smacking each one I can find.  Problem is....those critters are good at hiding!

  This afternoon while on our hike, Mark and I found one fat female crawling up the side of the shed.  After her photo ops, she sadly (not!) met her demise.  That lessened my work in the spring at least a tad! Now to hunt down about another nine hundred and ninety-nine critters!

Feeling Sluggish

  Mark and I love to take hikes about the hillside early in the morning and then again late in the afternoon.  One would think that we would tire of making the same trip twice daily but this is not the case.  Things change in a matter of minutes and there is always something new to see.  Or, perhaps, I manage to see things that I had overlooked on the previous walk.  Still, we are never bored as we meander and it does give us a bit of relaxation after working about the place all day.  

  On one such hike, I found a beautiful slug.  Yep, beautiful.  Well, at least as beautiful as a slug may be.  This one was quite large and spotted.  The morning sun glittered on the back of the usually nocturnal critter.  That same sun would prove to be ruthless to the animal if it did not have the ability to slide under a piece of bark or down in some moist mulch.  This one was choosing to crawl into a vacated woodborer hole.  There it will spend the heat of the day resting.  At dusk, the critter will crawl out and forage for food. 

  This Carolina Mantleslug was doing what slugs normally do.  It was busying itself with the dead wood of an old Bay Tree.  While most folks despise slugs as garden pests, in the woods they can be beneficial in clearing up debris and sometimes attacking other pests (albeit slow-moving pests such as snails.)  As long as these critters reside in the woods and do not eat my tomatoes, I am fine with them.  They have a place in this old world and they have a certain beauty even if that beauty can only be seen by another slug!  Me?  I see all living things in a different way than most folks...slugs included.

Its a "grubby" job but...

Enough of this crazy weather!   I want my garden!  The winter weather is just going to have to leave since I spent hours upon hours planting my garden!  The coldframe or hotbed has been turned into a beautiful, raised herb garden where most of the seedlings can stay for the remainder of the coming summer.  Other seedlings will be transferred to the regular garden or to more raised beds depending on space.  Squash, radishes and green beans take up the rows in the garden while cantaloupes, watermelons and cucumbers will climb (hopefully!) on fences.  My garden space is severely limited and I am required to make use of any areas I can!  Still, the seeds are in the ground and I can breathe a bit easier now.  Michael is planning to dig some more ground as soon as the weather permits and a few other vegetables will be seeded.  For now, I sit wistfully looking at the seed packets with dreams of a lush garden.

While digging around in the dirt, I came across a fat grubworm!  I hear pros and cons about these critters and do not know whether to eliminate them or not.  Just how many grubworms are too many?  First of all, these are not actually worms but rather the larval stage of a beetle.  Some can do severe damage to lawns and gardens but then others are merely there doing their own thing.  I am hoping my grubs are the latter.  Anyway, I decided it was time to see if and what needed to be done about my grubworms.  The City of Fort Worth website has some great information about the critters!  The pictures there identified my grub as the larva of a June Bug.  Now, I like June Bugs!  Yep, I know they can be a nuisance when they fly into the house in the late evening but at least they do not harm anything.  Well..being a June Bug baby really helped this little guy!  He was already ahead of the game of life!  I read down further and found my answer about how many is too many.  The website said that if you find more than four to ten per square foot of sod..GET HELP!  Four to ten per square foot?  I found one in the entire garden!  I feel I am safe from the dreaded Grub Infestation.  My one lonely grubworm was set free to grow into a wonderful June Bug!  I know I will perhaps regret this action later this summer when I am pelted in the head by a June Bug but for now, I can feel like I did my good deed!  Plus, I know that I feel a bit of smug satisfaction over the fact that I did not dump masses of harmful chemicals in my ground trying to eradicate the grubs..or in this case..the grub.