Hey You Down There...

I am super excited and happy to see we have have handful of Praying Mantis scattered around our yard this Summer.  I'm hopeful there are many more out there that I've just not spotted yet.

I thought I was being watched -

Patiently waiting for a meal -

Getting late, best head under cover for the night -

A brief introduction perhaps -

High Ho, High Ho...

Emilie's first job -

A Young Opossum

Here is the latest and last hava-heart capture, a young opossum.

Caught two adults early in the Summer and four young like this one recently.

Some would argue these critters are beneficial as they eat insects, including the dreaded ticks, but also grubs.  I welcome their assistance in keeping the above pests in check, however, they make a terrible mess when digging for the grubs.  Holes dug in the gardens and lawn all over.

It's Peachy!

The come slow but then seemingly overnight they all ripen at once and begin falling.  Seems many a critter enjoy fresh, ripe peaches, as there are more peach pits scattering the ground than actual peaches.

I eat what I can and share others with Jack 2.0 (our mini lop rabbit).  The damaged and eaten ones go into a bucket, which is eventually added to the compost pile.

As of this posting, 9-15-2018, all of the peaches have fallen off; the tree is now bare.

No Spill Ant Kill...

The last couple of weeks we've been inundated with small ants.  They're coming up from under the cabinets and onto the counter tops and stove tops and do most of their scrounging at night.

Squashing them and or washing them down the drain works for the ones that can be nabbed but once the lights come on and you disrupt them they scatter, well, like ants.

However, JoAnne picked up some ant traps on Monday and the ants love them!  There is a line running from the two traps to their holes.  Hoping they're bring the poison to their nest and feeding to their young to take care of this issue.

We're really not dirty...

Front Stair Prep

In anticipation of the new front stairs being built I thought I'd give the kick plate and the couple pieces of clapboard, that were hidden by the old stairs, a fresh coat of paint.  No worry about dripping or splattered paint and with the area opened up it was a no brainer. 

Some scrapping.  Some sanding (with vibrating sander).  Then a couple nice think layers of fresh paint.

Before - 

 After -

I'm not sure how much will be hidden by the new stairs but it looks much better.  Also, hoping the colors will blend and match better once dried.

Tomato Canning 2018 - 1st Batch

I planted 16 tomato plants; 8 Better Boy and 8 Jetstar, and they've survived the heavy rains and extreme humidity and rewarding us with delicious fruit!

We've eaten a lot of BLTs, which can not be beat when using fresh, just picked tomatoes.

This weekend was canning time, not a favorite of JoAnne but rewarding when completed.

I picked the two crates of ripe to over-ripe tomatoes on Saturday - 

 JoAnne was up early to begin the process and we ended up with; 24-quarts and 3-pints -

Hoping to get a couple more canning sessions in before the end of the fruit and the season.  Time will tell but for now, one down!