Michelangelo

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Two of my favorite muscial artists are Emmylou Harris and Counting Crows. Absolutely wonderful!

One Saturday night, in South Florida, before satellite radio in Fort Doberdale, I was scrolling the dial and caught the local country western station. They said it was the listener request night, so I called in to ask for an Emmylou Harris song. Didn’t matter which, just any. The DJ told me they did not play any Emmylou Harris. I asked if they were country/western or not? Yes, but we do not play Emmylou. Why not? Because we just don’t.

Can you imagine? That’s South Florida for you. I’d worked at two c/w radio stations in So. Calif back when music and the radios that played it were purer of heart and listener popularity – not $$$$ for playtime. One station was AM (KCKC) and one was FM (KNTF). Both played Emmylou and all the solid c/w artists. Emmylou was around singing c/w long before the punk DJ on the South Florida station was listening, and yet…eeegads!

To this day, I am dumbfounded with a c/w station that put such a policy into effect. I do not even know the station because I refused to listen to it after that. I’d rather hear the sound of silence, which is a beautiful sound in and of itself.

Well, back to my revelation. This afternoon, I noted that both Emmylou and Counting Crows recorded songs about Michelangelo. Harris recorded “Michelangelo” and Crows, did “When I Dream of Michelangelo.” Imagine that, will you? How often does anyone think of the man? But he lives through their music. He’s got some heavy duty psychic vibes, Michelangelo does.

Helen

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Fireworks!

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In honor of Independence Day Eve, for the first time ever, I fed the dogs cheese, rice, and beans for dinner.

Helen

Home Depot then Lowe’s

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After work, I went to Home Depot to get Sluggo. They didn’t have Sluggo. They only had chemical warfare for slugs, so I went to Lowe’s where I found more chemical based treatments. Sluggo may be chemical, too, I don’t know because I never found a box to hold and read. But what I did find was Lowe’s has a great section of organic products for the garden. So I found a bag of organic slug killing pellets. And let’s just say that this was meant to be because as I was about to check out with my pellets, I saw a holey vine leaf that looked like my holey squash leaf and I asked the clerk what caused it. He touched it and a moth flew off! I have lawn moths! Not snails.

So the clerk then helped me find a bottle of Neem oil based insect repellant. When I got home, after saying hello to everyone, I got to work mixing the Neem with the water and spraying, and do you know what I found? I found a skinny slinky green worm! Eating one of the squash leaves. I doused it with the Neem solution. What the hey? There were also moths eating those leaves. Maybe that worm was a moth to be? I don’t know, but I’m still highly irritated over this whole situation. I sprayed all my plants. The corn has now gotten holes in it, the sweet potato vines, squash – all the veggie leaves have holes in them! For goodness sakes! Maybe I caught it in time with the Neem. But I’m taking the organic snail pellets back, and also the pump for spraying the “greenery,” which when I opened it smelled like gasoline. Funny enough, reading the bottom of the container, there is a sticker that on it is printed that the product contains ingredients known to cause cancer in California. And to wash your hands after using it. Ewwwkay! I put that lid back on that cancer causing jug, and tidied it up and put it back in the plastic Lowe’s bag as it is going back to Lowe’s. Can you imagine that? I washed my hands, and hope that was enough to detoxify myself. Yikes!

Well, now it’s a waiting game to see if I’ve been directed correctly to get these bugs gone! I’ll tell you what, after reading the Neem oil label and then the old Sevin label I have in the laundry room, well, that Sevin is scary! For one point, it says that it will kill bees. In order for squash to make babies, it has to be pollinated by the bees, so what good would spraying a plant that is going to kill the animals it needs to produce? And they give the OK to spray on veggie plants? Eeegads!

I think I’m obsessed with vegetable gardening. It’s like being a dog parent for the first time, but not as warm and fuzzy. I am trying to plan the next chess move in this game with the insects, fungus, etc. that’s out there. You know what? I think I’m going to call upon my local garden fairies for some help as well. That is something I haven’t done yet. I’ll ask Baby to help me, as I think she’s on a one-to-one relationship with some of them.

No visiting cat tonight. Just an obsessed vegetable gardener and her dogs.

Helen

Holey Trees, Woodpeckers, and the FDSP in action

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Well, one Extension person wrote back and suggested snails are eating my vines. And I have to go on a snail hunt. There is an organic way to catch and kill them. Put a pan of beer out and they go in there and get drunk and drown. But too many of the FDSP like beer, including their fearless leader. That would be a risky thing as I could see a flying Dobie jump over that fence to get that beer. Slulggo was suggested, but is it safe for use around animals? How about salt? That is what my mom used to use. Hmmm. We’ll see.

I used to like snails, but probably I won’t anymore.

Here is a nifty planting guide for people in all of Florida.  It seems I’ve planted my squash and pumpkin at the wrong time of the year.  Woes me.

Meanwhile, I’m looking closer at my tree. See those holes? I’m thinking maybe a woodpecker made them, and that’s who is making that pine tree dandruff! Clues came together when I found these same holes in the other, healthier tree next to this one, and when I remembered the fierce woodpecker vs. squirrel battles of late. I think there is a woodpecker nest in the old utility pole in the video below. You can watch it using Quicktime. You will also see a snippet of members of the FDSP doing their jobs.

Woodpeckers and FDSP against Super Squirrel

Helen