Category Archives: Garden & Yard

Wildlife Wednesday- tomato horn worm

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IMG_3378Last week I was in the garden and spotted signs of a tomato horn-worm on one of our tomato vines. It took me about a minute or so to find the little critter, they blend with the plant so well. I carefully plucked it off the vine and carried it an acre away to where my husband was doing some yard work. He asked me what I was going to do with it? I told him that since I couldn’t kill it, that I was going to leave it for him to do-away-with (since he’s my official bug/creepy crawler exterminator).
I was surprised when my husband replies, “Oh No, you have to take care of this one yourself.”
I looked down at the huge soft pretty caterpillar that was now trying to figure a way off my purple garden glove. It looked like a pet and I knew I couldn’t kill it.
“Well, what are you going to do with it?” my husband ask with a chuckle.
I announced to my husband, “I’m going to put it back in the garden on the tomato vine.”
He just laughed and said, “I’m not a bit surprised.”
I said, “One little caterpillar couldn’t do any more damage to the garden than the rabbits and deer have.” My husband agreed.

IMG_3380I took it back to the garden and left it hanging on the vine where I plucked it from originally. It was still in its sullen-state but hung there without falling. I took a photo of it and went on with my gardening.

IMG_3576Sunday, my gardening didn’t take long. So, I searched around to see if the tomato horn-worm was still on the tomato vine. Sure enough, I found sign that it had feasted on many many leaves and was still happily munching. It is a beauty. I figure it’ll either eat until it’s ready to cocoon or until a bird or creature eats it. Meanwhile, it’s free to be the best big green caterpillar that it can be. 🙂

Happy Wildlife Wednesday!
Wishing you all a pest free day.
🙂

related post: Wordless Wednesday – Horn Worm – 07/23/2014

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Update on bee fan fob nursery

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IMG_3475One of fan fob nurseries has hatched out.

I wanted to see what the bloom of a sweet basil herb looked like so I’ve let one of the plants fully mature. I was looking at the bloom when I saw a little bee on it. I wondered if it may have been the fan-fob-bee since the basil sits on a table under the fans.

I don’t know what kind of bee it is on the bloom or if it’s what hatched out of the fan fob. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a good photo of it, but here’s a couple photos just the same. 😉IMG_3479

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Wishing you all a day of Bee-uaty and smiles.
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Evil Demon Squash Vine Borer Grub

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IMG_3119In mid June I harvested several of my one ball squash. One of my favorite things about these squash are They keep a good long time on the counter with no need of refrigeration.

This 4th of July weekend, I was walking past the counter and looked down and saw Frass piled up on one of the squash I had harvested in mid-June.

I was not happy. Who’d of thought a squash vine borer could be in the stem alive after almost a month of the squash sitting on the counter.

I cut the grub out of the stem, took photos for this post and squished the little devil.IMG_3187IMG_3201

That grub means that my squash vines probably are on borrowed time. In a very short while the main vines in the garden will probably start dying. It makes me so made I could say something very unladylike.

The Squash Vine Borer is one of the most evil bugs in the garden because it’s almost impossible to do anything about them.

Here’s a photo of an adult Squash Vine Borersvb

I hope you all are having productive season
with no major infestations of pests.

Happy Gardening!IMG_2530icon3

 

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Mason Bee Fan Chain Fob Nursery

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IMG_3011This Spring we replaced the ceiling fans on our back porch. One afternoon, I noticed a bee crawling into the holes of the pull chain fob. It kind of looked like a honeybee and I thought it might be out grazing as some bees and wasps do. I thought no more about it.

A couple days later my husband and I was on the back-porch and I mentioned to him about the bee. My husband said, “Well that explains what the mud in the holes are. They were building nest.”

“What mud?” I asked and then looked up saw the fob hole was filled with mud.IMG_3009Both lower chains on both fans have the hole filled with mud. The upper chains don’t have it though, so evidently something about the lower chain fobs was perfect for a nursery.

We left the mud in the holes. We use the chains like normal.
I’m thinking it was Mason Bees that made the mud nurseries.
I suspect one day we’ll go outside and see the mud bored through and HOPEFULLY we’ll probably not see the baby bees.

Has Mason bees ever built a nest in something like this at your home?
Here’s hoping all your bee encounters are friendly ones.
🙂
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First Tomato 2015

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IMG_3214I harvested our first tomato of the year. It was beautiful and delicious. IMG_3300This will probably be the last pretty one we get because the deer are pretty well keeping the redding tomatoes eaten. This tomato was hidden on the vine behind a some green ones.

The resident doe has recently had a fawn. She’s got a huge appetite now that she’s nursing.
My husband saw the fawn the other day he said it was as tiny as Shelibean. Aw, it sounded so cute.  Hopefully, it’ll come out when I’m outside and I can get a photo of it to share on my blog.

Happy Gardening!
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