GREEN HOUSE OCCUPANTS

Spring is finally here for us.  

I have been traveling and it seems the weekends I am home 

are deluged by rain.  This is the first weekend we've had to do 

anything outside.  So it is hurry up to beat...you guessed it

THE RAIN!  We are mowing the upper and lower pastures.

I sure miss the sheep, goats and cows doing it for me.

When my back gets too tired of riding the mower I graduate

to working in the green house.  It is mundane work, weeding 

and mixing dirt to go in the beds.  The only thing we have 

right now is Chard and Raspberry plants which need to 

find a home outside.  It is already getting too hot for early 

things like lettuce and peas.

This morning while rousting out the weeds I dug up the nicest

nightcrawlers.  Then who should come hoping out from under

a chard leaf, and adorable brown and beige toad.  He was about

the size of a fifty cent piece (do those still exist?).  

I had several Mouse tunnels I had to collapse.  It looks like the 

cats need to get to work.  Either that or we have one very busy mouse.

He seems to have tunneled in every bed.  The good thing,

there doesn't seem to be any moles hiding, waiting to

lunch on the roots of my plants.

  I've come in for some rest and refreshment, and a change of clothes.

It's a necessary thing.  We are also deluged with ticks,   

all kinds and sizes. I detest the little seed ticks! (If you get seed 

ticks on you grab the clear wide packing tape.  

They stick to it real well.

I hope you aren't bored, my mind thinks in prose.

Here is a poem, green house inhabitants inspired.

A toad is hopping in my house,

Perusing tunnels made by a mouse,

He thinks it is a space for him,

Built by humans, on a whim.

Sometimes he lurks beneath the green,

Hoping he is not readily seen,

He watches for the occasional fly,

Hoping one or two, will come by.

If lunch isn't whizzing by,

He ventures out beneath the sky,

Seeking insects which delight,

In eating all the green in sight.

Guarding, protecting, throughout the day,

Quietly waiting with nothing to say,

For the unsuspecting visitor to meet,

To be his dinner, a gourmet treat.

Our green house is a happy home,

Where toads, frogs and snakes do roam,

The mice and sometimes little voles,

Run in and out, through minute holes.

Our little brown toad reigns supreme,

Guarding all around him, which is green,

He knows the cats won’t bother him,

Because he tastes really grim.

We hope your garden is blooming, not a bloomin garden.  BTW,

Gardening is extremely hard in the later years.  

Don't ask me how I know.

Foot Note:  Our Pit Bull, Boychik, dispatched a ground hog for us!

Happy gardening.

Other blogs by me:

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Where I have stories of my cats and other pets

a blog about my courtship with my husband,

and a blog about my most embarrassing moment.

A "Soap box" blog where I do air my opinions.

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting,
cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,
 Tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.
 Check out "A MYSTERY IN THE MAKING"
A mystery quilt designed with the novice in mind. 

 http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/2013/07/a-mystery-in-making.html

http://pitbulladog.blogspot.com/

Blogs about our pair of pitbulls.

All recipes, pictures, and writings are my own.

I give credit for items which belong to other people in my blogs .

Please do not copy without permission 

PROTECT THIS BEETLE

"BURYING BEETLE" RE INTRODUCTION

Each morning the alarm wakes us an hour before our intended waking time.  We do this because we have discovered we get our best sleep after the alarm goes off.  The radio is set on the local PBS channel.  This is fund raiser week.  They have interesting articles not the regular early morning news and stock reports.  Normally I will hear excerpts here and there and dose back off.  This morning I heard what I thought was "Dairying Beetle being re introduced in Missouri"  Googled when I got up and discovered it was "Burying Beetle".



The above picture was copied from the following site:

http://www.rwpzoo.org/143/american-burying-beetle-repopulation-project

I remember seeing this beetle when I was growing up in the boot heel of Missouri.  Dad had a garden in Caruthersville. In fact we were always finding all kinds of beetles under rocks and in leaf piles.  It was difficult to read the information on this beetle knowing mankind is contributing to his demise. 

The following link takes you to the Columbia, Missouri News report:

http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2012/02/09/endangered-beetle-species-will-be-first-endangered-animal-be-reintroduced-missouri/

An indepth article on the beetle:

http://www-museum.unl.edu/research/entomology/endanger.htm

These Beetles only live for a year.  They mate for life.  They co parent.  They farm. 

Makes you stop and think.

"WHAT'S IN STORE FOR US"

For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

New blog, tutorial on how to make 5 panel Boxer Shorts.

New Blog about dolls.

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and mothered.  It is a blog where I voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

 

As always, any pictures or writings are my own. 

Credit has been given to contributions not my own.

Please do not use without permission.

WOOLY BEAR CATERPILLAR

Pyrrharctia isabella, the Isabella tiger moth.

This morning while weeding around the "chicken coop" I lifted a rock, he was hiding under it.  This winter has been extremely mild.  It seems he was a good prognosticator.

The rock he was under is located in front of the old chicken coop which is now my potting shed.

I looked up who his mommy was and I can say I haven't seen many of them around.  I guess that is why I don't see many of the caterpillars. I visited the following site:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrharctia_isabella

I did find out that my garden is not endangered by his presence.  This week the temps are to stay at or above freezing.  We will be very lucky indeed if the St. Louis area gets by without one of their famous ice storms. 

For more blogs by me visit at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com

A blog mostly about quilting, but cooking, poetry, prose and a little gardening,

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

Not a garden blog.  There are articles which have nothing to do with creating or gardening. 

There are blogs on the new born baby kittens we found and are mothering.  It is a blog where I will sometimes voice my opinions which will always be environmentally friendly.

As always, any pictures or writings are my own, if not credit will be given to the contributor. Please do not use without permission.

SEX IN THE CITY

Technically we live in the country, at least it was 25 years ago.  The city has moved to us.  It grew and encroached on the property across the road.  The town, at the intersection of the interstate, annexed a mile of road.  We are at the end of that acquisition.  One hundred and eighty acres of an old mountain across the street was bulldozed and blasted.  They removed the top of the hill and shoved it down into the valley.  Removing all the old forests with the rocks.   The only logging done was the removal of a few large walnut trees.  The oaks and other hardwoods were cut and put through a shredder.  No one was even allowed to come in and harvest them for firewood.  The chips were buried in with the land fill rock.

Our little bit of country sits overlooking the subdivision .  There is a 5 acre pasture which fronts the road.  Since we don't have grazing animals anymore it is no longer cut for hay.  It has been let grow up in native plant species.  We mow around them when we see them bloom hoping they will grow into a larger patch of flowers.  In the middle of our field we have a very large stand of milk weed.  We left it there because of the butterflies it brings.  We never realized how teeming with life it is.  It's its own little community, each life form competing for its own real estate.   

Asclepias syriaca L. common milkweed

We never realized it would also be an attractant for our arch nemesis the Japanese beetle.  They are such exhibitionists.  Actually though they do not seem to like the milk weed.  It is the weeds which grow in between the stalks they seem to be attracted to.  To possibly alleviate this problem we will mow the area when winter comes.  Next spring we will watch for the milk weed to sprout and when it does we will mulch with chips.  (I'm not sure what milk weed seeds requirements are, I don't want to mulch till I see them.  I would hate to suffocate them).  I have never seen milk weed growing around the chip piles, I think they may need light to sprout.

Japanese beetles procreating.



Species Popillia japonica - Japanese Beetle

They are native to East Asia, they were introduced in north america in 1916, with nursery stock. They hatch in June and July.  Larvae feed on roots of plants. Adults feed on foliage and flowers.  The Grubs feed on roots, then  hibernate when cool weather comes. 

Japanese beetles are always the scourge of our gardening.  They are around for an extremely long six weeks; devouring most all vegetation, especially flowers (roses seem to be a favorite).  It seems they hatched earlier this year. 

There is not much you can do about controlling Japanese beetles.  We have used the traps.  It is said they  attract the "bugs" to your area. I don't know if this is actual truth.  They do catch a lot.  I will say they are a very nasty proposition to get rid of.  One year we had so many beetles we were emptying them once each day.  We emptied them because to replace the bags was getting  expensive.  At the same time we hand pick the beetles. 

This is how we dispose of the beetles.  Use a 5 gallon bucket which has a lid; we use Kitty litter pails.  Fill it a fourth full of water, empty the bag into it and clamp the lid on fast (the reason you do it fast is the bugs in the bag are alive and they will fly out).  Shake the bucket around getting the beetles wet.   You can fill it 2/3 full before emptying but I warn you when the bugs die it is the most vile smell.  It takes approximately 3 days for all the bugs to die (3 days after the last addition.)  We empty it a long way from the house.

Hand picking the beetles: we use a plastic 2 cup measuring cup with a handle.  We put a couple of inches water in the bottom and hold the cup under where the beetles are and  tap or shake the branch and they fall into the cup. The year we were emptying the bags each day we were hand picking 3 times a day.  The two cup measure was filled each time.

If you are in a subdivision and have a small yard you can treat with "milky spore ".  The reason I say small lot, Milky spore is very expensive.  It's one plus is; you only have to do it one year.  It lives in the ground after that.  Milky spore attacks the grubs in the earth.  If your neighbors have the grubs then the beetles will also come to visit your garden too.  You need to ask the neighbors to treat their yards too.  We don't use it because we would have to treat 15 acres of pasture with it.  Grubs are the progeny of the beetles (they grow up to be Japanese beetles).

RED MILKWEED BEETLES

ASSURING US OF ANOTHER GENERATION

 Species Tetraopes tetrophthalmus - Red Milkweed Beetle

The larvae feed on  Common Milkweed (A. syriaca). They lay eggs on stems near ground or just below surface. Larvae bore into stems, overwinter in roots, and pupate in spring. Adults emerge in early summer.

From what I read when looking for the identification of this beetle, we will be raking up and cleaning the debris from the area in early fall.  Milk weed is a perrineal, we won't have to worry about removing too many of the seeds and not having a field next year.  This species seems to be only a threat to the milk weed family.  This is the first year we have seen it.

 ADULT GYPSY MOTH

I found this site when looking for the red milkweed beetle.  http://bugguide.net/node/view/15740  It seems to be a very in depth Identification site for insects.

The pictures on this and any of my blogs are my own.  If you would like to use them please contact me for permission.  (If I use a picture from a source not my own I will make note of it with the picture.). 

To see more of my blogs go to:

Check out my kittens at:

http://glosgarden.blogspot.com/

  blogs about My Courtship in 1963 and My most embarrassing moment.

Or my projects at:

http://gloriouscreations.blogspot.com/

Sewing, Quilting, Cooking, Poetry and prose and a little gardening

new blog February 16, 2012 "5 Panel Boxer Shorts: tutorial"

COEXISTING WITH BEASTIES

Some how coexisting is a strange choice of words.  Most of the beasties around here take their quarter measure and my measure too.  We have both beneficial and detrimental insects and amphibians and mammals.  I am going to take time to share with you some pictures of our "Friends" and "Acquaintances".

This mature Mantis is perched on one of my David Austin roses.  This year I have seen baby mantises every where.  They are only an inch long, exact replicas of their Moms and Pops.   I love to watch them when they are stalking their prey.  Swiftly they grab them and give them a crunch.  It's like they are dining on a lobster "Splash" style (remember the Tom hanks movie with Darryl  Hannah".

One day while mowing in the lower pasture I spied a wondrous sight. It was  a "wonder" I saw it at all.  I was edging beside the area where I dump the grass clippings.  Growing along the edge were some Daisies. On one of the petals was a Crab Spider.  I did not own a camera at the time (that has since been rectified). 

I called my husband and told him I wished he was home to take the picture.  I told him to check when he came home to see if the spider was still there.  Wonders of wonders, four hours later the wind had not blown him away and he had not ran off chasing his next meal.  

The next beastie is what got me to thinking about writing this blog and sharing some of our friends.  Yesterday while bent over pulling weeds, I was stung on the posterior.  Our friendly neighborhood wasp decided I was threatening his territory.

This wasp was in the goldenrod last year.   We have found a fix-it for when we do get stung or bit by insects.  It works every time we have tried it.  (We used to raise bees and an old time bee keeper told us about his solution to the painful prospects of getting stung.)

When you get stung, head under your kitchen sink.  Grab your jar of cleaning Ammonia.  It is preferable to have non-sudsing, but the sudsing works too.  Even a product like floor polish with Ammonia "D" worked in an emergency.  (I don't recommend using off products though, LOL.)

Saturate a cotton ball with ammonia.  Hold the cotton ball on the sting or bite for 5 minutes.  Pain relief is usually immediate.  If you get stung on the face wet cotton balls with water and cover your eyes and nose.  The fumes will not be good for them.  Other wise I have never noticed any detrimental effects to the cotton ball saturated with ammonia. This should be done within the first 20 minutes of getting stung. 

This leopard frog travels all over my garden.  He jumps out and startles me at the most inconvenient times. 

He is in one of the many "mini" pools I have around the garden.  We used to have farm animals, their feeders remain.  The round ones are made from recycled tires.  They are about 5 inches deep.  I fill them with rocks and water.  The butterflies, dragon flies and frogs love them (the barn cats do too).  Around eleven in the morning he is usually soaking in the water basking in a sun beam.  He seems to know I wash the pools each day. See the purple reflection in the water.  This pool is under my Beauty Berry Bush.

My Echinacia is on it's last leg.  The horrible Japanese beetles have dined on its petals.  These Hornets don't seem to mind.  They are collecting pollen and nectar for themselves.

One of the most look forward to beasties every year is the orange garden spider.  Usually before I see her I see her web with the zipper like weaving.

She is the spider the story Charlotte's web was written about.

She is wrapping her lunch up for later.

Her sister lives in the green house and she has laid her eggs in a secure nest in a protected environment. 

Coexisting does not even describe our relationship with the ground hog.  We wish there was not a relationship at all.  We have had lots of ground hogs but there has been one who has been around for at least 3 years.  He weighs, we guess from his size, at least 40 lbs (we seldom see him now).  We use a raccoon trap to try to catch him. He is so big, he realizes he can steal the bait and his rump will hold the door open.  He just backs out of the trap (after eating the apples we baited it with).  He seems to know when we are at the barn.  The following is a minute portion of the damage he does every year.

 

While taking a picture of a bean blossom, this pest added insult to injury.  He flew in to taunt the photographer.  We have a large population of these spotted cucumber beetles, although this year it seems there are fewer than in previous years.

This blog would not be complete with out a discussion of mosquitoes and chiggers.  Summer in Missouri is not summer without them.  I grew up in the boot heel and the mosquitoes were rampant, and the chiggers, well this unseen pest made life miserable.  

I have a preventative of the chigger blues.  Do not ever wear clothes that you wore the night before, even if they look perfectly clean.  chiggers hide in the seams and when you put them on the next day the little buggers are starved and come out to dine on your flesh.  When I spend all day in the yard I always change clothes (down to the underwear) halfway though the day.  since I began this I haven't had a single chigger bite. 

To fight off mosquitoes I don't invite them.  I don't wear any lotions or deodorants with fragrance.  For the afternoon change of clothes they are always white or light colored, over sized, very loose.  Dark colors invite them to bite and tight fitting let them get close enough.  If it is humid or your clothes are damp you will for sure get bitten (Have you noticed how around a source of water they are congregated?).  I have to admit there are those people (like my hunny) Who, no matter what they do, are bitten).

Hopefully next gardening season a couple of my hints

will help you coexist with your beaties.