We haven't seen the butterflies, but we know they have been here.  

 

Cabbage whites are very noticeable flittering around in the garden, so I don't know how we missed them.  But they lay their eggs on the underside of the leaves of all the Brassicas.  I noticed all the caterpillar poop in the kale, so I started looking for the feeding caterpillars.  And here they are:  GROSS!!!

 

You really can't see any damage yet, but as they get bigger, they eat more, and leave huge holes in the kale leaves.  We have to get rid of them SOON!!!  

 

We use a biological insecticide, Bacillus thuringiensis, we just call it Bt, that disrupts the digestive system of the worms.  It doesn't kill the butterflies, or any other critters, including us, just worms.  Worms have an enzyme in their stomachs that reacts with these bacteria, and they stop eating our kale.  Really, that's a nice way of saying that Bt causes paralysis.  

 

Anyway, Bt is approved for organic gardening.  So we use it.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

When we brought in the cabbages I saw all these snails on this one.  I thought you would like to see them, showing their tentacles.  Did you know that their eyes are on the ends of their tentacles?   Interesting.  

 

Good news, they are so little, I don't think they ate too much of the cabbage.  

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

You know all those catkins from the oak and hickory trees?  Those things that stuff up your gutters, and hang all over everything in the spring?  In actuality, they are the male flowers carrying pollen to make future acorns.  Ok, we get that.

 

Well, I heard a great name for them the other day:  are you ready?  Oak Worms.  Hahaha!!!

 

My friend called them that in passing, and I fell out laughing.  I guess it is a throwback from her childhood.  Funny!!!  Anyway, now you know what to call them...next spring, when you see them again.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Not too subtle.  The deer reach up and pull down the branches of the apple tree to eat the leaves.  If they knock off an apple, they eat that too, but we think they are really after the leaves.  

 

Just about every tree in our neighborhood is pruned (read: browsed) up to about 5 feet.  

 

Oh well, they can't get the ones at the top.  There are enough for us all.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

It is indeed fawn season.  We’ve seen quite a few already.  This baby is INSIDE the blueberry fence.

 

I know she can’t do that much damage, but we chased her out anyway.  

 

Don’t mind seeing them, just not INSIDE the fence.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!! 

 

 

 

Jon was admiring this marigold in the catnip, and noticed our first Praying Mantis of the season.  It was only about 2 inches long, but we know that it will grow a lot more as time goes by.  

 

We love seeing them in the garden.  They eat bugs!!!  And they are pretty.

 

 

HAPPY  GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

As we were walking out into the garden yesterday, I noticed something brown on the fence.  I thought it was a big brown leaf, so I brushed it off the fence.  It started moving!!!!  It was two Polyphemus moths.  One was old, and a bit the worse for wear, and then there was this one:  perfect!!!  

 

I took their pictures, and when we were done for the day, I looked them up.  Actually, I loaded the picture onto my iPad, then put the Seek app on it and this is what I learned:

 

Its real name is Antheraea polyphemus, a member of the family Saturniidae, the giant silk moths. It is a tan-colored moth, with an average wingspan of 15 cm (6 in.) The most notable feature of the moth is its large, purplish eyespots on its two hind wings.  The eyespots give it its name - from the Greek myth of the Cyclops Polyphemus.  The species is widespread in continental North America…

 

I will tell you this:  it took my breath away.  Thought you’d like to see it too.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

 

 

While I was taking pix of the kale yesterday, I saw this Black Swallowtail butterfly.  It was moving slowly, not flying, but kind of staggering.  It was really fresh looking, not old and raggedy, like they sometimes get.

 

We have raised Black Swallowtails before, and when they emerge it takes about 15 minutes for their wings to fill out and dry.

 

So I figure that it lived its life as a caterpillar in my parsley and carrots last summer, cocooned over the winter nearby, and emerged as an adult just before I saw it.  

 

I love my garden;  always something fun to see.

 

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

It just looks like a blob of jelly, but we know that they are frog eggs.  

 

They show up in this holding pond about this time every year.  There was water in the pond last week;  I guess that’s when she laid her eggs.  I am glad it was dry, because I had to climb down into the pond to get the picture, but we love seeing this.

 

There are several blobs like this, but this one is the most impressive.  

 

I thought you might like to see another early sign of spring.

 

 

HAPPY  GARDENING!!!

 

Hi, everybody.  I’m Gizmo, and I would like you to know that today is our third anniversary.

 

Gerry and Jon rescued me three years ago at the Valley River Humane Society.  I was only there for eight days, so I never made any real friends.  But when I met these two humans, I knew that they were just right for me.  

 

When they first brought me home, I was 2 years old, and only weighed 6 pounds, but they started feeding me lots of good food, and I grew into the handsome 12 pound kitty that I am today.

 

We also have a great home here in the mountains.  We live on a very quiet street, with no traffic, so I can be free to sit in the road if it strikes my fancy.  I also have lots of nice woods to patrol every day.  I catch mice and moles, and bugs and stuff.  It is great!!!  I have been so happy here with my new family.

 

Well, thanks for hearing my story, and wishing us happy anniversary.  

 

 

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY GIZMO!!!