In the garden I did lots of watering this morning, and a bit of harvesting. Tomatoes, potatoes, beans (bumper crop), a few raspberries, and an apple. The apple smells so good we don't want to eat it. It would be such a shame for it to not taste delicious when smells better than a Yankee Candle.
One of my neighbors was kind enough to ask another neighbor if I could have a fig tree. The next day a fig arrived, and I could not be happier. I have ordered figs twice in the past. The first time they ended up being out of stock. The next year one made it all the way to my house, only to have been destroyed in shipping. It spent the next year trying to come back only to be plucked of any new leaf growth by my beastie dogs. Eventually it gave up. So the irony is that I finally have a fig tree, and came from right across the street. Life can be funny that way.
In other news we have been raising monarchs, here is a picture or two of the critters:
Here is what we like to call "a hanging J"- this was taken last night, and it is the position a caterpillar assumes when getting ready to morph. This morning this caterpillar was shedding its skin to reveal the turquoise coloring of the eventual chrysalis. Below you can see the black bit with the old antennae just about ready to drop from the transforming caterpillar.
It now looks like the chrysalis in the picture below. The caterpillars go through 4 skin sheds before assuming the hanging J position, and some of our little friends have a shed or two still to go.
I have been spending very little time in the garden, or on the blogs of late as I concentrate on getting the new school year running successfully for us here at home. Fall is just around the corner and I am going to do my best to savor the gorgeous, ripe Black Krim tomato I pulled today, who knows? It could be my last.
Happy Gardening!!
11 comments:
Congrats on getting a fig tree. I so want one too. It is hot hot again. Hopefully Earl will stay on the water. I don't want it to hit the East Coast at all. Love the monarch raising!! Did you buy a kit?
We pray for a blessed life, and blessings are in store right across the street. We never know what's going to happen next, with elusive blessings...... hopefully the fig will grow well. Monarch is such a colourful creature. ~bangchik
I've been prepping all day today, we are the direct hit area if it comes ashore. I feel your pain with the well! We fill up the bathtubs and use that as our toilet flushing water, then leave the fridge and freezer plugged into the generator and swap them for a few minutes to plug in the water pump long enough for shower time. We have to do both sides of the duplex so it won't run everything. Word - don't plug electronics into the generator unless you are prepared to buy a new whatever - the power supply flucutates enough to fry sensitive equipment!
Oh, thanks for that tip Erin!! I wonder if there is some kind of power strip that would regulate that- maybe a surge protector??
I hope you don't get hit. They have not ruled out a direct hit where we are, but right now it is projected to pass about 100 miles off the Cape & Islands which would give us wind gusts, and that is about it. I am just preparing for a possible power outage, I hope you don't have to worry about flooding as well.
Bangchik- they are just gorgeous aren't they? The chrysalis looks like a piece of jewelry.
meems- we went on a couple of hikes and gathered the caterpillars from fields with milkweed in them. I distributed a couple homemade 'kits' at birthday parties this past week. The kids get such a kick out of the the caterpillars, and seeing the butterflies emerge is pretty neat too.
Watching a catepillar turn into a butterfly is fun for kids and adults. What a great idea. How do you make your homemade kits?
A medium sized plastic terrarium, a bowl or something similar for water (to stick the cut milkweed in), some sticks, and a paper towel along the bottom for easy cleaning. Often times the caterpillars will hang from the lid when going through their transformation, 2 of mine have decided to not go anywhere, and just hang from the leaf they were on.
OK, you and Erin stay safe! I was lamenting the fact that yesterday's wind broke off several of my pepper branches, and our temps have plummeted to 15 degrees below our normal temperature for this time of the month. Another week of cold, then we're supposed to go back up into the 90s again. Oddest weather I've ever lived through.
I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for your safety from Earl! Looks like you harvested a ton of potatoes, and those beans look nice and healthy.
You and Erin hang in there!
Hopefully, Earl will just be a big rainmaker.
Thanks ladies, we are not in danger of anything but inconvenience here where I live, Erin on the other hand may have something more to worry about. :/
The fig story made me laugh out loud..so funny. So LIFE!
xo
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