Could someone please tell me

just what is the purpose of mosquitoes? I despise the little buggars, but they certainly love me. I think I must have been bit close to a dozen times while trying to do stuff in my tiny garden this morning.
They don't notice garlic so I guess I'll try something else later. I think I read Listerine somewhere. Trying to find a natural deterrent.
I really wish they would all just die, but I'm sure that would bring some unexpected consequences if they did.

On another note, I have a few small pieces of burlap on my porch. I sometimes use them for shading plants, wrapping plants to move them, or for mulch. Apparently they make good nesting material, too, because when I was doing the dishes yesterday I watched a squirrel hard at work trying to shred one of them.

I didn't get a picture of the squirrel, because my camera wanted to focus on the screen. But I took a picture of the burlap this morning while I was being eaten alive by mosquitoes.
Just because. ;-)

Happy Wednesday, everyone! :-)

Questions questions

Those of you who have grown banana peppers. Do you leave them until they turn yellow? Is it the color or the shape that gives them their name? I thought this pepper was ready to pick based on its size (because yes, I am clueless), but based on the color, I'm not sure.

Also. Any idea what is going on with my cherry tomato plant?

It looks bad but it doesn't seem to have affected production.

My other banana pepper plant is going well, too.

Remember I showed you my bell pepper plant here on Wednesday? It was a little pea sized thingy. ;) Well in just 4 days it looks like this now.

It actually looks like a pepper now. :)
Oh, and while looking to see if I was ever going to get any beans, I found this. Sorry for the quality. The camera insisted on focusing on the cucumber tendril instead of what I wanted to take a picture of.

Its got an odd shape. Wider at the ends than in the middle. Is that because it wasn't getting enough water before I started using the drip hose? It's been really hot and I had been mostly watering at night. Now that I've put the drip hose out, I try to water 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the evening. the 2 in the morning has been keeping the dirt moist though, so I don't always water in the evening. I have to set a timer to remind me, lol.
Funny or not, I like my little cucumber. How do I know when it's ready to be picked? Just when I like the size of it?  I'm pretty clueless, sorry.

Oh, you should be able to click all the pictures to see them better.

Hope you all have a great week. And I hope some of us get cooler and some rain!

Updated question. Went out this morning to look at the garden and some of my little cucumbers that I took pictures of to show you, have turned brown or are turning brown. Is it the heat doing that?

July stuff and a spider - you've been warned. ;-)

I am so original on my post titles.
Anyway, I really hate going outside. No matter what time of day it is, I am always getting bit by something. Whatever it was that bit me this morning (one of those blister looking bites) is almost gone now, so I guess it wasn't too bad. I still suspect a spider or ant, but it's not looking too bad right now and it's not itching, so I guess it must have been a mosquito?

Anyway, our next trip to the farm is 12 August. Getting anxious about that.
Oldest boy and family return from England tomorrow. Getting anxious and excited about that.

In an attempt to keep the garden alive the week we are gone, I have dug out an old drip hose the oldest boy got me years ago. I have wrapped it around the raised bed, sort of, and will have one of the boys turn it on for a couple hours a day. Here is what it looks like.

Yes, I tend to bull through things. Hubby offered to cut the hose down to a smaller size, and I considered that; but then decided to not make it shorter for when we go to the farm. It might come in handy full length. I want to get some... Don't know what they are called, but they will help me change the way the center piece lays.

I am hoping this will keep the plants alive while we are gone. If the son will remember to turn it on.

I was quite surprised to find a banana pepper out there today. I've been out several times in particular since Sunday, and when I was running the hose along the buckets, but only saw the pepper today.

Do you see it there behind the leaves? It's pretty well hidden.
I've got some teeny green bells, and I think red bell pepper flowers. I know I bought a red pepper plant, but haven't had any peppers yet.

Another reason I want to use the drip hose is that I had another tomato with blossom end rot. I think I may need a fertilizer just for tomatoes or something. I've done some reading. It seems green house and garden tomatoes can get it. Sometimes it's related to moisture, sometimes not. And some tomatoes are fussy about how they get their water. So I am hoping this will help me with the water, too, by not hosing them once or twice a day.
I know the cherry tomatoes haven't had the same problem.

Still no cucumbers yet. But I have a few little ones that look like this:

Usually I have bumble bees in the cuke flowers. You know, the ones that are all black and round. Today I saw this one.

I think that's your standard honey bee?

Oh, and I saw this buggly on one of my bell pepper plants.

Eww. That's all I have to say.
I hope it's a good spider looking bug.

Happy Wednesday to you all. Stay cool!
P.S. click on the pictures to see them bigger. :)

Poison Ivy

Thought I'd share a few pictures of what I consider to be poison ivy at the farm.

 

This is a fungus on poison ivy. I wish it would just kill it all.

We thought we got all the poison ivy off of the magnolia tree, but as you can see, it is still happily growing on it.

 

This is not poison ivy. There is probably poison ivy there, but this has 5 leaves in a circular pattern I've finally identified it as Virginia Creeper. It likes the same growing conditions as poison ivy and they often grow together.

And all the nice green in this oak tree? You guessed it.

It's a nice healthy batch of poison ivy.
You can click on all of these and should be able to enlarge them.
I had problems with pictures today like a lot of you have had, but I think they'll work.
Anyway. That's just some of the poison ivy we still need to get rid of at the farm. Sometimes I'm not sure we'll ever manage it.

Happy Saturday, everyone! :)

Wednesday

My middle son takes his state certification test tomorrow morning. He's going to be a police officer. After two tours in Iraq he figures not much can bother him any more.
A week after that, my oldest son and his family return from England. I know it's been a hard 3 years for them, but I'm sure he will have many stories to tell, and many happy memories for the rest of his life.

And to finish off Wednesday...

The crepe myrtle my oldest gave me gosh, six years ago? Well, it's doing very well, anyway.
Happy Wednesday to you all!

I am really despising this new blogger. :/

Oh well. Wanted to share some photos with you.
This first one shows the smoke we have been having since a forest fire started last month. We are in no danger yet. The fire is about 2 hours away. Peat bog forest. We need a long rain, and there is none in the future right now.

Fishing spot flowers.

And my bucket / bed garden. Yes, it is pitiful. I do not have my brother's green thumb for sure. But I am working on it. :)

The tomatoes and the cucumber (one of 6 plants my youngest got me for Mother's day) are the only things really growing well.

Happy Sunday to you all! :)

Wacky weekend

No fish. Lots of smoke. No rain, but we did get spritz yesterday.
Another farm picture from our trip in May.

Hubby said he thinks this is some sort of holly. If the berries turn red and there are any there when we go back to mow some more, most likely in August, then we'll know for sure. :)

This, as near as I have been able to research, is something called Peppervine. I thought maybe poison ivy, but I knew it didn't look quite right. Apparently it is often confused with poison ivy (oak, etc.); but the difference is in the paired, or opposite leaves.

It's apparently a native of Texas and related to grapes, though it is a nuisance plant like poison ivy.
Other common names are Buckvine and Cow Itch...

Ah well. Happy Saturday to you all! :)

First Friday

Happy July! Don't forget to change your calendar. ;-)
I have a 59th birthday and a 37th Anniversary this month. I can't believe it's been 37 years!

Thought I'd leave you with a Farm Foto from the last trip.

This one is not a link, so if you click on it, it will get bigger.
Have a Blessed weekend, everyone! :-)