Garden Invaders

So this morning I got up and began my usual routine, a cup of coffee, feed kids, flip the toons on to occupy said children while I go water/weed my garden.  It is probably important to mention at this point that it has been raining quite a bit lately. 

Anyway back to the what was going on....I went outside, new watering can in hand with some tomato booster/water.  I was desperate to get my tomatoes to fully develop and ripen.  They seem to either just drop off (blossom drop) or seem to sit at that green stage and never ripen.  Florida may have awesome weather for gardening year round but the soil is rather pathetic (super salty sand).  Next year I am going to do raised beds to circumvent this soil problem.  Dang, I keep getting sidetracked....so there I was admiring one of those green tomatoes wishing it would get the balls to ripen up...I was starting to feel like it knew how much I wanted to eat it and was just trying to delay the inevitable or at least I am hoping the inevitable when what did I spot on one of the leaves but a giant caterpillar (tomato horn-worn). 

Now normally I would be all "Cool! Remi come check out the caterpillar." but not this time.  It made me start examining the plants.  Damn that 'pillar for eating my 'mato plants.  I hurried inside, grabbed a plastic bag and sharp scissors and went to work picking off caterpillars and cleaning up the foliage.  The tomato plants really hadn't suffered much but those caterpillars would.

Sadly although my tomato plants seemed like they would be fine my other plants unfortunately met their demise.  After being so focused on the tomatoes it was a shock to see nothing but frilly looking leaves and green naked stalks of the other plants just pathetically clinging on.
 

 This here is one of my Kale leaves.  I was so mad....

Okay so this isn't the best pic but whatever...it is early yet, I was pulling weeds in my garden dressed in my workout clothes and it's like 90 with high humidity.  I'm sure my face might have looked something like this.

These are the caterpillars I pulled off of two leaves of Kale before I realized how futile the effort would be and just ripped out everything but the tomato plants and two struggling carrot plants.  They are different from the horn-worn caterpillars and seemed to be more prolific.  These guys met the disposal with a lot of whining from Remi about killing baby butterflies.

 

She wasn't very happy with me when I told her she could do it if she was going to whine about it.
 

The garden after the purge...oh my leeks seem scrawny but untouched too.  What is really annoying about this entire thing is that my radishes apparently decided it was time to start being more than just green plants.  I am so sad that there were no leaves to further support development but Remi and I salvaged two for a mini taste test. 

Those were some pretty spicy little radishes.  Well, all in all, the experience isn't by far a wasted one.  Remi learned that not all caterpillars are good and I learned first hand what a good rain, bug season and green plants mean.  I know there is always the next garden to improve on and I also learned that amending Florida soil is more work than just putting up raised beds with new mix.





 

I've been working on crocheting Remi's afghan on and off for almost two years...mostly because it is just too warm to keep it on my lap for any real length of time.

My baby cheesing for the camera.

Me hard at work.

A close up view showing the two stitches I am using.  

I don't hold my crochet hook at all like the books show.  I find I expend less energy and have less strain on my wrist in this position. 

I have no real set color theme or anything.  Remi just wanted a bunch of colors, so I am using what I've got and trying to put it together as I go.  So far she really likes it and keeps asking when it will be done so she can put it on her bed.  I just want to get this one done soon so that I can start on one for Tate.  I'm not sure if I will be working on my monster dolls this year or not.  What I would really like to be working on are some of my scarf ideas but I need a serger and a new sewing machine.  Guess that will just have to wait.  In the mean time I have my yarn and crochet hooks to keep my creative hands busy.

BH and G French Bread

I love experimenting and trying new recipes.  In my Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book there is a basic french bread recipe that I decided to try this morning.  The resulting bread has a very dense chewy interior and crunchy exterior.  Not quite as airy as I would have liked, the density seemed all wrong.  I wasn't impressed with the crunchy, hard crust either.

Next time I plan to put a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven and have a bottle of water that I can spritz the bread with about every seven to ten minutes while it bakes to improve on the crusts texture (commercial baking ovens have a misting system that helps create steam while the breads bake to create a more pleasing crust).  As for the interior it could use some more rising time to allow for the development of some real air pockets.

It really is just a very basic french bread and would make some pretty tasty garlic bread but I can be a snob about my food and will keep making something until I get it the way I want it.  I am not really a fan of BHandG recipes, though they are a good starting point.  I often find myself tinkering with the recipes to the point that I end up changing so much of the recipe that it becomes an entirely new one.  It is a great starting cook book if you're new in the kitchen but seems to lack that final polish that I am often looking for.

I planned on taking pictures as I worked on my bread but forgot until I actually had eaten some.  Next time around I guess.

Spiny Orb Weaver

The other day I came across this Spiny Orb Weaver spider constructing a web between the fence and the shed in our back yard.