The Bug Yeller

I know she looks sweet, but she is really quite fierce. Well, not fierce, exactly. Her name is Davita, but she goes by various other names that may not be repeated here. She can be quite loving, but what gets her into trouble is chewing on anything that looks like a string. That includes string, iPod earphones, electrical cords, fringe, sweat pants ties, shoestrings, yarn, and more.

Her role in our little homestead is to yell at bugs. She doesn't really catch them, although if they are slow enough and within reach, she might eat one occasionally. Mostly, she just yells at them in this strange, chatty, broken squeak.

The problem is this: the bugs don't listen.

We still have some flying gnats, although I've trapped and drowned most of them with my apple cider vinegar trap. I expect they'll be gone soon. But now, of course, we have the Asian ladybeetles attempting to invade. In fact, our sliding glass door strip is littered with their dead bodies.

I'm still nursing my pepper plants along in what's left of the garden. Each has at least one pepper growing on it, and a couple of them are soooooo close to being large enough to pick! I've had the kitty litter buckets off of them for the last few days, and as long as the temperatures stay in the 40s-60s range day and night, I'll let them breathe. I'm watching carefully for any impending frosts, and will probably simply cut my losses and pick the peppers before then.

Tonight I chopped up 12 peppers--9 green and 3 gypsy peppers--from last weekend's farmer's market. They're in the small freezer in 1/2-cup packs, and tomorrow I'll put the bags in a larger Ziploc in the chest freezer. I also purchased several herbs at this weekend's farmer's market: parsley, sage, rosemary, and lavender (nobody had thyme, so I can't sing the song). The sage is spinning in the dehydrator as I write this; tomorrow, in will go the lavender. I don't like to dehydrate more than one herb at a time; I want to concentrate their oils and scents rather than mix them. I am, however, looking forward to trying some recipes with lavender, perhaps even some lavender sweet tea. Mmmm.

Settling for Seedlings

The ground is still wet and spongy, so I haven't been able to do any planting the last few days. I have searched the house and garage from top to bottom for my leftover heirloom seeds from last year to start, but can't find them. Good thing my life doesn't depend upon it.

I was so frustrated, I finally went to Menard's and purchased some Burpee organic seeds to plant. I started Beefmaster tomatoes (my favorite--I love the rich, meaty tomatoes best for BLTs and just eating off the vine) as well as California Wonder and China Giant peppers. In the herb category, I planted parsley, (no sage--rarely use it), rosemary, thyme, more sweet basil, and oregano. I already have dill in the garden (although it hasn't come up yet), so the only herb I'm really missing at this point that I'd like to have is cilantro for salsas and salads. I started all these today and put them on the plant warmer and under the plant grow light, so hopefully in a few days I'll see some shoots peeking above the soil!

Meanwhile, Mother Nature's grow-juice (read: rain) has resulted in some very healthy veggies: the tomatoes have greened up and have a lot of growth; the zucchini are taking off. Yes, all 12 zucchini plants are doing well, so if anyone needs zucchini...well, I'll have plenty to provide to others as well as plenty to freeze and use! The picture at right shows one of the plants with a stray robin's egg next to it, perfectly positioned by nature to show scale.

So far, the bunnies have stayed out of the garden, even though I have not yet put up the rest of the garden fence. They like to play in the front yard down by the retention pond. The cattails make perfect cover for their bunny hide-and-seek games. David and I watched them last night cavorting around, hopping straight up in the air at times, running into each other, playing leap-bunny, and generally having fun. As long as they stay in the front yard, we will not have to reduce them to bunny stew.

OK, I was just kidding about the stew.