Chores - late July 07

Some chores and observations from this weekend:

• pruned back some of the pecan branches scraping on the roof. the pecans are a menace.
• pulled out the tomato plants and put some Natural Gardener "Revitalizer" compost on the beds. i decided to leave the beans (they aren't producing, but i know they are fixing nitrogen, which is good for the soil). getting ready for the fall garden.
  
• buried a stem of the cherry tomatoes to see if we get any resprouting. pulled weeds.
  
• cucumbers are still producing. okra is fruiting. i can't figure out the "fairy eggplant" - probably won't plant that again. peppers have taken a break until the fall? (not clear on that one)
• pruned some hackberry (a constant chore)
  
• did some minor weeding in the perennial beds and noticed that the lyre-leaf sage is spreading by seed in the back.
  
• scarlet sage is blooming again and spreading by seed in the front.
• Brad Blackshear of Black Forest Tree pruned a large limb from the pecan last Thursday
• John Dromgoole (who is extremely nice, knowledgeable and helpful) at Natural Gardener talked to me a little about amending our clay soil. He recommended using expanded shale and "dairy" compost, saying that both would last a long time for a perennial bed. we aren't going to get rid of the clay, but these two things should help open it up a little bit. he advised spreading about 2 inches of shale and 2 inches of compost on the beds and then digging that into the existing soil. sounds like a project for the fall!
  

Bathroom with a View

I love the view that is developing from the bathroom window. There's a nice zen quality to the spacing and materials. The bamboo muhly in the background adds to the aura of tranquility. We just filled this pot we had laying around with "New Mexico Medium" from Custom Stone Supply. It's not the perfect pot, but it does the job quite nicely to catch the rain from the "Zen Loops"rainchain.

Queens of the...

Our two Mexican milkweed plants might not be exactly native, but they are a font of resources for butterflies, other insects and even hummingbirds. This morning, I found the caterpillar of a Queen butterfly, Danaus gilippus, munching away. These "brush-foots" are related to monarchs, and the caterpillars look similar, aside from an extra pair or two of squiggly black horns. The adults also love nectaring on Gregg's mistflower. I should plant some of that...

Rain Rain Go Away

Okay, I know this is heresy and someday I'll regret it, but I'm just going to say it: I'm SICK OF THE RAIN! Good grief!

Okra - One Day at Time

The okra started coming on today, but it looks like we'll only get one fruit at a time. I'll just have to drop them into the freezer as they ripen and save 'em for a fall gumbo...mmmm....

A Nessus Sphinx

This morning after a short rainstorm, I wandered down the driveway on my ritual Libby walk and found this Nessus sphinx moth, Amphion floridensis, resting under a red milkweed flower. (If you look closely, you can also see the requisite bright orange aphids that hang out on milkweed.)

Looks like these moths are fairly common throughout the Eastern U.S. and their caterpillars host on Virginia creeper, which we have growing all over our fences, through the back lawn and up our pecan tree. It turns a beautiful red in fall (which means December here).

Hibiscus flower

Our halberdleaf hibiscus, Hibiscus laevis, has begun to bloom by the front door. These huge blooms open for one day only before dropping and laying spent on the ground. I got the plant at the Wildflower Center, where many of our plants come from.

Today, Lady Bird Johnson was laid to rest in a grave at her ranch outside of Stonewall, Texas. It would be ridiculous for me to attempt to say anything about her other than, "Thank you."

Buffalo Cut

This past weekend, I decided it was time to cut the buffalo-grama lawn circles with the weedwhacker. An experiment. It's about 4-5 inches tall and not too perfect. I think it looks very nice. A little more orderly than the 8 inch unmowed stuff, but just unruly enough to feel punk. Yea, baby. My lawn is punker than yours.

Willow Blooms from the Ashes

Today, our desert willow, Chilopsis linearis, burst forth from near death with beautiful deep purple and pink blossoms. This relative of the catalpa is native to the western parts of Texas, but I'm forcing it to grow here in the Blackland prairie. I couldn't resist its strange wild shape and blooms that come on again and off again throughout the spring, summer and fall. I'm happy that it likes its new home in our backyard.

Horned

I had heard people complaining of the "worms eatin' my tomatoes" at the garden shop, but I've remained blissfully unaware. Until, that is, I saw the plucked stumps of our tomato branches reaching their amputee limbs into the sky. And then I found this plump, juicy tomato hornworm hiding amongst the voracious garden growth.

Can you find it??

It held its head up and sphinx-like, legs pulled tight against its body. For this behavior, these moths earned one of their many nicknames - sphinx moths. Caterpillars of the sphinx moths turn into what I believe to be some of our most fascinating lepidoptera, the Sphingids, also known as hawkmoths and hummingbird moths for their ability to hover in front of flowers like a hummingbird. You can read more about them in a previous blog entry I made here.

Anyway, I couldn't bring myself to remove or squash the thing and now I can't find it again. Their camouflage works. To be honest, I couldn't kill it because it was a first for me in any of my gardens. I felt a sort of reverence for the creature. Plus, it was fat and probably ready to pupate. I wonder if there are more...