A Welcomed Caterpillar

A Black Swallowtail caterpillar enjoying and dining on a Queen Anne's Lace, a.k.a. and "Uncle Tommy", plant.

Always a treat to come across one of these jewels.

Hoping it finds a safe, protected place to make it's chrysalis, as it's one that will not hatch until next spring.  

Common Sense? Common Courtesy, What's That?!

That's my car on the left, parked perfectly within the lines of the parking spot.  The car on the right, more precisely the drive, is a jackass!

Sadly, this is another sad example of what and how people are today, in my opinion.  

I went out of my way to park at the back of the parking lot to avoid just this sort of thing.  However, I come out of the restaurant to find this where I can barely open my car door to get inside.  This entitled prick, in his own world, didn't see the need to park as you're supposed too or to think of anyone else but himself. 

Needless to say the jackass left with a permanent reminder, one that will require a professional to remove, infuriating!

Pest of Pests

Here's a really good illustration of insect damage to our Kale.

This was done by the caterpillar of the Cabbage moth. Seemingly over night too.

  The caterpillars are so tiny, at first, they're hard to notice, especially with the curly leaves and as the plant gets larger, they blend in well.

I read that the female cabbage moth is very territorial, so I put our stakes with cut-out pictures of female cabbage moths. Clearly this doesn't work in the long run.  Perhaps, early on but as the summer moves along more and more moths visit.  For this, I keep an old tennis rack nearby and do my best John McEnroe on their asses, which I suspect is more comical for the neighbors than it is successful at killing the SOBs.

The Honey Is Flowing This Season I'm Sure

We have tons and tons of Honey Bees visiting this summer, which is good news. Bumble Bees and Hummingbirds too!

They're loving most of the flowers that have been and are currently blooming.

A young lady sucking the dew off a lambs ear plant -

Another young lady busily bee-bopping (pun intended) from one flower to the next on our Joe Pye weed flowers -

Now if we could just keep them from falling into the pool and drowing...

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the picture below?!

Garden Uniqueness

The Platycodon grandiflorus or balloon flower is another easy perennial to grow.  They self-seed with seeds from spent bosoms and take very little care.  They do get quite tall and tend to flop and fall all over, so staking or planting in self masses to support themselves is a good idea.

The bees go cuckoo over the flowers and busily hop from one to the other to another.

Our solid whites and purples seem to have mixed over the years and we now are interesting mixed colors and fashions. 

Balloon flower before opening - 

Balloon flower opened -

Had to keep the kids from squeezing and popping the balloons when they were younger.  Like bubble wrap, they found some weird enjoyment from squeezing and popping.

The Will To Survive

For the person who's "plant challenged" when it comes to planting and raising flower, might I recommend the Hosta?!

There's just no killing this plant, as proof of the above hosta plant growing up and through our driveway.

Now that takes a green thumb!

"Hoppers"

I'm not sure why this summer we are\were inundated with an incredible amounts of Leafhoppers but it's safe to say never have we had some many on all the years living here.

They are literally all over the yard and seemingly on every plant there is.

In hindsight I should have done my homework on these pest, as they're not the beneficial kind.  Apparently, both the adults and nymphs feed by puncturing the underside of leaves and sucking out plant juice, and that can't be good for the plants.

I found the following trap solution online, which sounds like a good idea, although a lot of work - "Hang glue traps on the plants or place tapes on both sides of the leaves. Shake the plant or trees to make the leafhoppers fly. When they fly the leafhopper gets stuck on the trap upon landing."  They certainly take off when you shake a plant, in all directions.

If it's not one challenging pest, it's another.

Take A Little Off The Top!

Well, it's that time of year again, pruning time!

In an effort to keep our weeping cherry tree in check so it doesn't get too squirrelie and out of control, I spend several hours trimming and pruning, from top to bottom and everything in between.  When done it always looks nice and neat, ready for the fall.

Before -

After -

TA-DA!

We're Protected!

A red warning to all, we're protected.

Consider yourself warned!

A Local Boston Favorite To Die For!!

Just saying, BURP!

Almost as good as Brigham's Just Jimmies ice cream

In The Boston Office For The Day!

The view from the 22nd floor, Boston looking out over the Charles River!

You can see for miles on a clear day.

Looking South you can see traffic on the Expressway, almost always moving at a crawl.  Thank goodness for the MBTA commuter rail.  No driving, just sit back, relax and enjoy the train ride in and out of the city.

Summer in the city is great.  Endless lunch options all within walking distance, then dining in the park.  A nice change of pace.

The Northshore (Massachusetts)

We took a day trip north to Gloucester and Rockport.  We had a delicious lunch in Gloucester, then onto Rockport to walk the sidewalks, window shop and visit the many stores along the way.

Here is a picture of the famous Gloucester Fisherman's memorial, which commemorate Gloucester's 300th anniversary and to permanently memorialize the thousands of fishermen lost at sea in the first three centuries of Gloucester's history. 

Here's a pic of Motif No.1, Rockport's famous little red shack; the famous icon of Rockport -

A rainbow of colorful kayaks, all moored together -

Always a great take!

Red Couch Chair, Free!

I belong to a local yardsale-type Facebook group.  Most are Franklin or neighboring town residents that sell stuff.  This particular posting grabbed my attention immediately.  Nope, not because it was listed as "FREE".  Nope again, not because it was listed as "very comfy", although tempting.  Rather, what caught my attention was the visible condition of the item! The listing says, "some cosmetic damage", but good lord what I see is NOT cosmetic damage, c'mon man.  Seems a lion or tiger was sharpening their claws on this jewel.

Not surprising, I passed on this freebie...

The Dreaded Tomato Hornworm...

Our Sweet California Wonder Peppers are doing tremendous this year!  Just about ready to be picked, with many more on the way too.  Already salivating about the stuff peppers JoAnne makes - moms recipe, YUM!

When watering them the other evening I was taken aback by what I noticed lying beneath one of the plants, FRASS!  I new immediately what produced this poop, the dreaded tomato hornworm, and was NOT happy.  In years past we'd find these caterpillars dinning on our tomato plants, however, this is the first time I recall finding one on our peppers.

And here's the culprit!  A good sized one too.

I inspected the rest of the plants with no signs of additional pests.  However, that doesn't mean I didn't miss one or two.  I'll keep a close eye from now on.

I sure do miss my chickens, generally speaking, but even more so when a delicious treat like this has to go to waste without them...

Rubus Occidentalis or Black Raspberry

Our thorn-less Black Raspberries are ripening like gang busters and tasty as ever!

Always stopping to grab a handful each time I pass, delicious!

Dearly Beloved

Oodles and oodles of Praying Mantis out and about in our yard this Summer and I've lovin' it!

Seems they pick a location, that's their territory, and where they typical stay.

I"m sure there are many more out there too, I just haven't stumbled upon them yet.

"No Life Left Behind"

 Another American Red Cross blood donation in the books.

A Power Red donation too!

Up to 45 units, which apparently puts me in the 5-Gallon club and 135 Lives impacted by my donations over the years!