I finally managed to get a photo of him, before the cats scared him off.
Those are my poor tomato plants in the background. I had to cut them down because it was just too dry. Even watering them every day wasn’t enough. But then, despite there being no rain for weeks and weeks and weeks, they somehow managed to put out new growth.
The tiny sprig of butterfly bush that my neighbor gave me has settled in and flourished, despite the dry weather.
It’s been a brutally dry summer, so there’s not much growing in my garden. The sedum seems to be pretty happy, though.
As if the tomato hornworms and their parasitic wasps weren’t bad enough, Mr. Groundhog has also been stealing tomatoes.
Remember those disgusting tomato hornworms that tried to kill my plants awhile back?
Well this is what happens to them when parasitic wasps lay their eggs inside the worms. The eggs hatch and feed on the worm, which kills it. Then, they burrow out of the worm, turn into pupae, spin cocoons, and hang out until they’re ready to hatch.
Each of those little cocoons is about the size of a grain of rice.
These little guys haven’t hatched yet, but they should soon. I’ve found other infested hornworms with empty cocoons. This is a revolting but Very Good Thing. It means that there are now lots of these wasps around, so they will hopefully keep future tomato hornworms populations in check.
If the weather doesn’t cool off soon, my brain is going to melt. At the very least, some rain would be nice for my poor little garden.
You can eat amaranth. I don’t. The birds love the dried seeds in the fall, though, so I plant it and leave it for them. It’s pretty, too, so it’s not like it’s a hardship to watch it grow.
I picked four ripe little romas this morning. I haven’t had a chance to taste them yet, but I think supper is going to include a tomato sandwich.
In other news, I finished the page for “X” and am half finished with “Y.” I need to start thinking about what I’m going to do with the front and back covers, because they’re bare Davey board at this point. That clearly won’t do.
Orinoco Daisy
My supervisor’s retirement party was yesterday, and she was given several bouquets of flowers. This one was kind of unusual.
The grounds crew mowed today, so the lilies are a little beaten up. At least they didn’t cut them down, this time, so I guess it could be worse. I also have a few red tomatoes, which is exciting!
red paper boat 