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Post by ahntjudy on Jul 4, 2016 18:45:38 GMT -5
I love to watch for the Mantis hatchlings in the spring every year... And then observe them here and there as they grow up... This youngster appeared yesterday...he jumped toward, but not on, my hand, as I was attending a nearby plant...we just stopped and stared at each other... I gently held out a small twig to him...he climbed right aboard and walked up to my wrist... We stared and chatted... I laid him back to the azalea...he kept going... Then he headed over to the edge of the brick planter... He went to the brick edge and was kinda waving around his outstretched arms...(across the path from there is the veg garden)... Then he made the leap down from the brick edge to the flower pot below... He walked over to the edge of that flowerpot and did the same thing...reach for and wave at the garden... Again, he took the offered twig and took the ride to garden... Fun interaction with my little garden pets...
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Post by meatburner on Jul 4, 2016 22:11:51 GMT -5
Very cool!
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 5, 2016 4:22:17 GMT -5
I have something going on too. Was mowing late yesterday. Stepped on a soft spot. It's a bunny nest with babies in it, maybe a day old. Mama rabbits can hide a nest in plain sight! It is where The Princess can't get to it.
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Post by desertwoman on Jul 5, 2016 8:40:59 GMT -5
Don't ya love Mother Nature!
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 5, 2016 8:56:32 GMT -5
Fun interaction with my little garden pets... This is a major difference between us organic gardeners and conventional gardeners. We really watch our insects and enjoy their activities. I watch insects in my gardens all of the time and I especially enjoy seeing all of the different kinds of bees and which flowers they prefer. I respect all life, even the ones that cause me trouble. I have to admit that I even feel bad about squishing the CPB larvae. Sometimes they rear their heads as I am about to squish them. I wish I didn't have to do it but I need my potatoes more than I feel sorry for them. restless I even find it fascinating that the 3 lined potato beetle larvae in your garden carry their poop on their backs. What an interesting adaptation to deter predators. Disgusting - yes, but fascinating nonetheless.
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Post by gianna on Jul 5, 2016 14:17:03 GMT -5
I noticed this morning that something had eaten two of my newly set out chilies. Looks like snail activity, and it is near a place where they could hide. I don't mind killing them, but do kill them as fast as possible. It's not their fault they like garden goodies. It's also a good thing that I have replacement plants.
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Post by Mumsey on Jul 5, 2016 17:37:19 GMT -5
There is a blue wasp that particularly likes leek blooms. I don't see them anywhere else. I think I have successfully removed the squash bug for the moment.
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Post by ahntjudy on Jul 6, 2016 8:00:43 GMT -5
I thought it was cool how the morning dew collected at the rim of the zucchini leaf...
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Post by octave1 on Jul 6, 2016 9:51:52 GMT -5
I am with you here brownrexx . I love all that is life out there. I hardly ever kill any pest because I think that it is there for a reason. If my plants make it, good, if they don't it's not the pests' fault, for those plants weren't strong enough to withstand an attack. I think nature tests us all the time, and the answer should not be the eradication of what we cannot control, but the strengthening of our ability to heal and recover.
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Post by gianna on Jul 6, 2016 11:01:47 GMT -5
I thought it was cool how the morning dew collected at the rim of the zucchini leaf... I love to see that in the morning. But it's not dew, it's a phenomenon called guttation. Dew is from atmospheric water condensing. Guttation is the result of water the roots are absorbing that is 'forced out' usually at the edges of leaves when the regular leaf pores are closed for the night.
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 6, 2016 11:09:44 GMT -5
Guttation is the result of water the roots are absorbing that is 'forced out' usually at the edges of leaves when the regular leaf pores are closed for the night. Yes, that is a good pic of it. That happens to corn plants too and the poor honeybees drink the droplets and get poisoned by the roundup that is sprayed on the corn.
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Post by gianna on Jul 6, 2016 11:48:55 GMT -5
Yes, that is a good pic of it. That happens to corn plants too and the poor honeybees drink the droplets and get poisoned by the roundup that is sprayed on the corn. I knew roundup was sprayed on some crops pre-harvest to desiccate them, but had no idea how widespread the practice has become. All the more reason to grow as much food as possible. An article from March: ecowatch.com/2016/03/05/glyphosate-sprayed-crops-before-harvest/2/
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Post by ahntjudy on Jul 6, 2016 12:08:16 GMT -5
But it's not dew, it's a phenomenon called guttation. Interesting! I had never heard of that! Thank you for the education!!
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Post by brownrexx on Jul 6, 2016 12:31:38 GMT -5
I knew roundup was sprayed on some crops pre-harvest to desiccate them, but had no idea how widespread the practice has become. All the more reason to grow as much food as possible. Farmers plant that GMO corn called "Roundup Ready". The farmers spray Roundup on the fields to kill weeds instead of tilling and then they plant their corn seeds among the dead weeds. Later in the season when weeds have sprung up again, they re-spray with Roundup. The corn has been genetically modified to live through the Roundup spraying so the weeds die but the corn doesn't.
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Post by ahntjudy on Jul 6, 2016 12:33:28 GMT -5
In the Japanese Maple near the front sidewalk... Mom's been on the nest for some time now... Hope to be a Grandparent soon.
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