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Who are you, and WHY are you eating my corn?
Just the other day I was wondering how to tell when the corn was ready to pick. Well this morning, the ear pictured below looked ready, and when I started shucking it, this juicy caterpillar verified that indeed, it was ready. I pondered whether I should toss him to the birds or smash him. I’d already shaken him off onto a brick, so having the execution block prepared, it seemed that smashing was the proper choice. I held up a…
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Itsy Bitsy & Our Garden Friends
After last week’s downpour, I was a little heartbroken for the Man-child that his friend Itsy Bitsy had vanished. The only evidence of her existence was her shredded, abandoned web. Several days later, I was outside the fence and spied a new writing spider, and we determined that she was Itsty Bitsy’s younger cousin, Little Bitsy. Litty Bitsy This evening (garden walk!) I was picking at the tomato vines and nearly jumped to see Itsy Bitsy had returned and was…
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Video of the Man-child and Itsy Bitsy
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Writing Spider
After a long dry spell in Raleigh, we have finally had several days of good rain. I’m nervous that the tomatoes will start splitting open, but hopefully I kept them well watered before the rains. Many of the tomato varieties have started to set fruit. The “Red Kiss” set fruit fairly early, and now I’m waiting on four luscious tomatoes to ripen. The heat seems to have slowed down fruit setting, but with rain they should get back to producing…
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Squash Talk. Climbing “Trombetta”
This morning, which happens to be the Baby’s first birthday, a female blossom opened on the Climbing “Trombetta” Squash, an Italian summer heirloom from Renee’s Garden. There have been a couple other blossoms that never opened and eventually fell off. I had two squash vines and one gourd vine on this trellis, but I lost my other Trombetta vine to pests. I was beyond thrilled to be greeted by this one. Not wanting to risk it going to waste, I…
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The Last May Morning
We may be another 21 days off from the official first day of summer, but here in Raleigh, NC it will be a balmy 98 degrees today, which tells me that summer is already upon us! Were the air not thick enough to cut with a butter knife, we’d make it a day to fill up the kiddie pool, but all I can handle is a couple snapshots this morning. It was so humid, I had to wipe condensation off…
