I’d been noticing some red flaking under my pine tree, on the dog wash table, for weeks. I’d been thinking it was from some squirrels eating something that made a mess. Cleaning didn’t help. The specks were always there. Today, I stopped looking up the tree, and instead peeked in front of me.

Sure enough, the trunk itself was full of red fuzzy stuff that turned into Pine Tree Dandruff (PTD) when it fell. I have another pine tree which isn’t exhibiting this strange phenomenon. But that one is healthy. This one is in a weakened state to start off with. Eeegads!

Did I stroll out to see the squash and pumpkin vines this morning? No. I ran. And there was no miracle. The “bug” these plants have is going strong, and to make matters worse, one of my sweet potato vines now has holes in it.

Baby’s pretty much disgusted with this mess, too. She was looking forward to the squash fest we were going to have. Not to mention the Great Pumpkin pumpkin patch for the fall. Shoot! The good news is the T-touching, essential oils, Wobenzym, Platinum Performance Plus, and the massaging I’ve been doing has helped Baby’s old rickety body (don’t tell her I said that) come around. She was back to wanting to stay outside to look for varmints this morning, and last night she sprung on the bed like a kangaroo. I swear! That was a big difference from the previous two nights in which I had to lift her. I wonder if she could smell any lingering cat aroma in the garden from the cat visit from last night.

Meanwhile, I sent pictures of both these problems to some extension departments. For some reason, my local extension department no longer lists e-mail addresses, and only has a form to fill out on the website, which you cannot attach pictures to. However, even before this deterrent, I found that above all, the Lee county extension department rules in South Florida. They are the most responsive and friendly of all that I’ve e-mailed in the past. So now I wait for an answer or two from those I did e-mail.

When I planted my vegetable garden, I was happy for rain storms. Now I’ll have to go back to that dredded, “Oh shoot. This rain just means I’ll have more weeds to mow” state of mind. Yep. The perspective shift has started.

I think I have a toothache, but I’m trying to think otherwise.

Helen