Re: Butterfly Junction

ralitaco 4/9/2019, 5:33 pm

Wow, that last one has some amazing detail.

countrynaturals 4/9/2019, 6:12 pm

ralitaco wrote:Wow, that last one has some amazing detail.

Thanks, Ralitaco. I think that was one I raised a few years ago. Yhe blur was a happy wild one I chased all over the yard this morning. Rolling Eyes

countrynaturals 4/9/2019, 8:45 pm

Good news/bad news. I went over to check on the Salad Bar for the first time in a week. Half of my milkweed is gone and half of my kale is gone, too, but MY ASPARAGUS IS FINALLY STARTING TO SPROUT. It's never been this late before. I was afraid it was dead. I will definitely have to do some research on that. I will replant the kale and milkweed tomorrow. Luckily I started with enough that I could afford to lose a few.

countrynaturals 4/10/2019, 6:41 pm

Yesterday, Katie and I were working in the Salad Bar, when Katie discovered that some critter had jumped the walls and left a nasty pile right in the middle of the bed. Butterfly Junction - Page 25 671790

Today I dropped everything and hopefully put an end to unwanted critters in my beloved garden.

All through the fall and winter, I have been collecting pinecones, without a plan for what to do with them. I carefully dumped them all into the Salad Bar and arranged them as mulch around my little kale and pea plants. Fingers crossed the pinecones will act as a deterrent to any cats, raccoons, or anything else that might want to use my garden as an outhouse. Butterfly Junction - Page 25 950477

Also, got the Yukon Gold potatoes planted and the sugar snap peas transplanted.

**sanderson** 4/14/2019, 4:25 pm

Good thinking, Suz.

ralitaco 4/14/2019, 11:08 pm

sanderson wrote:Good thinking, Suz.

+1

Don't squirrels eat the nuts out of the pine cones

countrynaturals 4/15/2019, 12:32 am

ralitaco wrote:
sanderson wrote:Good thinking, Suz.
+1

Don't squirrels eat the nuts out of the pine cones

No squirrels -- too many cats.

countrynaturals 4/17/2019, 7:21 pm

Half my milkweed is gone along with more than half of my kale. Butterfly Junction - Page 25 671790

Note to self: from now on, anything that doesn't mind being transplanted will get up-potted until it's too big for rollies and slugs.

countrynaturals 4/23/2019, 1:57 pm

80-90% of my seedlings have failed. Either too much water, too little water, too much sun, too little sun, or planted them out too soon and the rollies/slugs got them. Next year I will either not bother or get a professional system that will get me started right. Butterfly Junction - Page 25 671790

My favorite crop -- Armenian cukes -- is gone. I think I drowned them in their little beds. I am not a happy camper. Sad

**AtlantaMarie** 4/24/2019, 7:13 am

You know... I'm hearing this from all over the fb sites as well.... SUCH a strange year so far!

Sorry, Suz!

countrynaturals 4/24/2019, 2:44 pm

AtlantaMarie wrote:You know... I'm hearing this from all over the fb sites as well.... SUCH a strange year so far!

Sorry, Suz!

Yup. Our farmers market has no produce at all. Maybe I need to build a wailing wall. Sad

**sanderson** 4/25/2019, 3:51 pm

Anyone seeing them along the CA-OR-WA pathway?

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/03/18/butterflies-migration-california

countrynaturals 4/25/2019, 7:09 pm

sanderson wrote:Anyone seeing them along the CA-OR-WA pathway?

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2019/03/18/butterflies-migration-california

I've never seen so many Painted Ladies, here. I see more every day than I used to see in a whole season. We're also seeing more Tiger Swallowtails, but they seem to be smaller than usual. Pipevine Swallowtails are big, beautiful, and plentiful. I'm really worried about the Monarchs, however. Luckily, they're easy to grow in captivity, but the wild populations are in serious trouble. Sad

countrynaturals 4/25/2019, 11:43 pm

2 baby pears on our 3rd year tree. happy turtle

countrynaturals 4/28/2019, 6:12 pm

countrynaturals wrote:2 baby pears on our 3rd year tree.

3 actually. Very Happy

countrynaturals 4/28/2019, 6:14 pm

I've been griping about the hot weather for a week, but today I checked the pool temp -- 74 degrees. I'M GOING IN! happy turtle

**sanderson** 5/1/2019, 3:58 am

countrynaturals 5/1/2019, 5:20 pm

My balcony is ugly and I'm tired of it. Butterfly Junction - Page 25 950477

I have more yarn than any one human has a right to, and just about the same number of ugly nursery pots. I'm also cheap. blush

Sooo, today I started beautifying my balcony nursery pots by wrapping them with yarn. Here's the B4.

Here's the after.

I also wanted to raise everything up to make it easier to tend, so I added "feet" under the plate and about 1 1/2" of rocks on top of the plate (which will also keep the yarn away from any standing water). An extra 3" makes a difference to this old back. And -- the yarn will help insulate the plants from the heat and help retain moisture.

**sanderson** 5/1/2019, 6:13 pm

Pretty and should help with keeping the black plastic from warming up.

countrynaturals 5/1/2019, 7:00 pm

sanderson wrote:Pretty and should help with keeping the black plastic from warming up.

Also big. I should have known better than to use any 1 gal. or equivalent containers in our climate. I'd be watering 3 times a day all summer and be constantly down on the floor crawling around.

These are all 3-5 gal. containers (and one even larger), and I'll be putting them on some kind of risers, too. The little ones are all going bye-bye. Here's the B4. The after will take at least a week. Then it will be time to tackle the irrigation system.

This side is more of a "during" since the one pot is already wrapped.

OhioGardener 5/5/2019, 6:19 pm

Love the Fountain Butterfly Bush, so do the butterflies.

countrynaturals 5/5/2019, 9:56 pm

OhioGardener wrote:Love the Fountain Butterfly Bush, so do the butterflies.

**AtlantaMarie** 5/6/2019, 6:45 am

Bet the hummers like it too, OG!

countrynaturals 5/9/2019, 5:30 pm

I'm Back!

My laptop keyboard died a few days ago. I was too hardheaded to spend $300-$500 on a new one or $150+ to get it fixed (and do without it for a month) so I've been limping along with just the mouse. I could read and navigate, but not enter anything. Grrrr! Hubby came up with the $20 answer -- buy a wireless USB keyboard. DUH! So, I ordered it from Walmart -- free delivery (cuz I bought him some games to bring up the purchase to $50 or whatever) and now I'm back in business! YEE-HAH! The deal came with a wireless mouse that I like much better than the pad that comes with the laptop, so I'm in better shape than I was. Very Happy

Now to get caught up.

**donnainzone5** 5/10/2019, 1:00 pm

Hey, Suz!

Pardon me for asking such a dumb question, but how does one set up wireless connections? I ask because I know that eventually my keyboard and mouse will pass away, and I like the idea of two fewer cords getting in my way.

Happy gardening!

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