Winter Rolls In

Mid-December and it's brrr cold here in central NC.  Even more seriously cold in other places.  Frozen citrus in FL, a collapsed stadium dome in Minneapolis.  Changes at my little piece of the world, too.

Some of the herbs in my garden are done for the season, like basil.  Rosemary, oregano and thyme are hanging in there.  Parsley won't last much longer, I'm afraid.  I will be planting garlic by the end of week.  This is a new crop for me.  It seems to be an easy winter crop here in NC.  I will report back on that in the spring!

Rusty the might hunter has been busy.  Just this month, he has brought four recent kills into the house - 2 squirrels, a mole, and a mouse.  I hope the other squirrels learned by watching and stay far away from Rusty.

Last month, we said goodbye to our 16-year old black lab, Jake.  The old guy's hips finally gave up, so we did the hardest thing.  We miss him much and we still hear his phantom barking sometimes.  RIP, Jake.  You were a really great dog.

Hummingbird Moths vs. Rusty, The Mighty Hunter

I guess the presence of a predator put the hummingbird moths' reproductive instincts into full gear!  We now have many of these moths and many of them are babies!  Every evening at about 7:30, the moths begin showing up to feast on the Four O'Clocks and the Rose of Sharon.  It does my heart good to visit with them each evening and to know that Rusty, The Mighty Hunter, will probably not be able to wipe out the entire population of hummingbird moths. :)

Sulphur Moth

This lovely, delicate moth was busily flittering from bloom to bloom on our Rose of Sharon on a recent afternoon.  My daughter, who is being the master photographer, managed to take this picture while it briefly paused to enjoy this particular flower.  I have identified it as a sulphur moth.  There are so many varieties of sulphurs that I left the identification at that.

Why I Have No Parsley

My parsley has not been growing.  I blamed the soil mix at first but all the rest of my herbs are growing like mad.  Then I blamed the plants themselves, but now I know the truth.  


A few days ago, my daughter discovered this Black Swallowtail caterpillar on my parsley.  Parsley is one of their favorite foods.  This caterpillar appeared to be ready to pupate (form a chrysalis).  We planned to take more photos of it as it progressed towards butterfly-hood.  


Unfortunately, we have a lot of hungry baby cardinals in the area and the caterpillar appears to have been a tasty morsel for one of the babies.  Oh, well.  At least my parsley might grow now!

Swallowtails Everyday!

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Black Swallowtail (pic by my daughter)

These swallowtail butterflies are common in the eastern U.S.  As you can see, they both enjoy our Rose of Sharon.  The tiger ones were friendly and didn't mind me getting in close for a photo. The black ones, though, were very shy.  It took several attempts over a few days to finally get a decent photo.


For more info on these summer visitors, go to these links:


Black Swallowtail Butterfly

Eastern Tiger Swallowtail

Grasshoppers Molt?

Did you know that grasshoppers molt several times?  I had no idea until I did a little research after my daughter brought this grasshopper molt to me a few days ago.  My photo isn't terrific but you can see some better photos if you do an image search for "grasshopper molt".

The Squash Bugs Have Won

The final squash-type plant has been taken over by the squash bugs.  I'd like to know how they even know I am growing squash!  Last year was the first year I planted squash and zucchini and the squash bugs showed up right away.  Do they have a website or some other mode of communication to let them know where to go?  It's mind-boggling to me!

Anyway, I am finished with zucchini and squash for this year, and cucumbers, too.  Between the heat and the squash bugs, I am flying the white flag around those particular vegetables.  I think I will plant some fall veggies in those now unused containers...nothing squash related, for sure!

Strikingly Beautiful

Just a short time ago, my daughter, Katie, called me to come outside.  "You've got to see this!" she said.  So, I went, of course!  What she had discovered was a lovely white and black moth, resting on the side of the house.

Katie carefully captured it in a specimen container so she could photograph and identify it.  A few minutes later, she announced it is a Giant Leopard Moth.  This is a common moth in NC, but I don't believe I have ever seen one before.  Katie's photo is on the right.  It was taken outside once she had place the moth back on the bricks.

Here is link that gives more pics and information about this strikingly beautiful moth.

 http://butterflies.heuristron.net/moths/leopard.html













 

Growing Herbs

Today, I will finally get my herbs out of there store containers and into their planters.  It has been so hot here that I kept them inside for the duration of the heat wave.  Today, though, they will be enjoying their expanded environment and I expect they will be growing like mad in a few days!  

I have rosemary and oregano as perennial herbs.  They do well outside all winter, but winters are milder here than in many locations.  My annual herbs this year are basil, thyme, sage, parsley, chives.  Herbs add so much flavor to food and they are easy to grow.  They actually like being neglected a bit which is wonderful for me since I am notorious for forgetting to water plants!  That is why I use self-watering containers for my garden vegetables!

 

A Welcomed Winged Visitor In My Garden

A few days ago, this curious dragonfly followed me from plant to plant as I inspected for bugs and other problems.  Then, it very kindly sat still while I took several photos of it.

 

Atlantic Hurricane Season Fast Approaching

The Atlantic hurricane season is not officially underway for a few more days but the seasonal outlook calls for an active season.  Of course, the outlook could be wrong, which we all hope is the case.  But, it could also be right, too!  

Are you prepared?  Do you have bottled water, non-perishable food, prescription medications, etc?  Go to the link below to learn more about being prepared.

http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/HAW2/english/prepare/family_plan.shtml

Marvel of Peru

Who knew Four O'Clocks are also known as Marvel of Peru?  And that they originated in South America!  Our Four O'Clock bed is again filled with hardy green stems and leaves, all of which seem to be growing right before our eyes.  Any evening now, the flowers will open and fill that part of the garden with bright and bold colors.  Ahh, summer!

The Garden Grows

Everything is growing beautifully, so far.  One of the tomato plants is about to bloom and I think one of the pepper plants may be, as well.  The squash in the bags of soil on the ground are growing like mad!  I will be thinning them this weekend, along with the zucchini and cucumber plants.  

Still have some more to plant this weekend, including herbs.  It's been slow-going here with the drama as of late...human illness, doggie illness, crazy work schedules and other things, too.  

We have seen some squash bugs already and some little caterpillar chewing on one tomato plant.  I think some insecticidal soap may be in order for the caterpillar.  I will talk to my gardening consultant...my sister...she knows everything about growing veggies!   

We're Planting This Week...Are You?

It's that time again.  The frost date has passed and we are prepping the garden for plants and seeds.  This year, I am growing bush zucchini.  The regular ones didn't do very well in 18-gallon containers but the bush ones are supposed to do well in them.  I am using a no-dig method for the yellow squash since they also didn't do well in an 18-gallon container.  Otherwise, I am not growing anything new or using any other new methods.  By the weekend, everything should be planted and I can be watching for seedlings and flowers! 

Farewell to Bloo

     My sister, Joyce, adopted Bloo about 2 and a half years ago.  Someone was giving Bloo away...seems that he 'talked' too much and was keeping them awake at night.  So, 6-month old Bloo came to live with Joyce.  And Bloo did 'talk' a lot but Joyce didn't mind at all.  

     Bloo grew into a handsome, hairy cat who loved to climb trees, bat around golf balls on the nearby driving range and bring many animal 'gifts' to my sister.  Thankfully, he brought them in alive and Joyce was able to get them back out alive, too.  He was personable with visitors, very much unlike any other cat Joyce had ever owned, believe me.  Bloo even liked little kids. 

    Last week, Bloo started acting a little off.  He seemed to get better after a few days but then, one day when Joyce returned home, Bloo was very warm and obviously very sick.  She took him to the vet who diagnosed him with feline AIDS.  He also had a dangerously high fever from a probably bacterial infection.  He was in critical condition and the prognosis was grim and Bloo was suffering.   Joyce knew what had to be done.   Afterward, she brought him to my house and he was buried in my yard.

     Bloo lived a lot of life in his short time here.  And, he brought my sister much joy and companionship.  We are all sorry that he's gone.  We'll miss you, Bloo.

Vole Jerky

    We are dog people.  Or at least we were until last July when this sweet, cream-colored kitten adopted us.  After much discussion, we named the little guy Rusty.  As winter has dragged on, Rusty has become quite the handsome cat.  Now this spring, his hunting instincts have fully kicked in, too!  His current favorite is voles.  I see him through the window, dragging them out of the ground and then tossing them in the air and batting them back and forth on the sidewalk.  Eventually, the 'toy' stops moving and is either consumed or hidden someplace for consumption later.  The circle of life, I suppose.

    But, like squirrels and their hidden stash, Rusty obviously forgets where he has hidden some his treats.  One of our dogs, a black miniature poodle named Cajun, brought something in the house the other day.  It looked like something non-consumable and it was crunching as she chewed it.  This was not a good sign so my daughter, Lara, and I used a beefy dog treat and managed to lure Cajun away from her treasure...the sun-dried remains of a vole...vole jerky!  Gross.

Ants!

As Spring burst out all over last week, the ants reappeared. Little black ants in my kitchen and fire ants in my yard. All up from their winter sleep, set to do their antly jobs.

Oh, how they annoy me and cause me to step carefully in my yard. But they can also fascinate me, how they keep working and working, even changing strategies as needed. Amazing. Still, I don't want them crawling all over my kitchen or making a mine field in my yard.