Random Musings and Idle Chit Chat

I feel like someone kicked me in the ass.

I spent yesterday afternoon and most of today working in the garden. Mostly on my hands and knees. Everything aches.

I've been planting since the first week of May and an excess of rain followed-on by temperatures in the mid-thirties put an end to my developing radishes, spinach. beets and lettuces.

First they were drowned and then mother nature gave them the cold shoulder.

They have been replanted.

The onions, cabbages, green beans and peas are all doing fine. The potatoes too. The red Pontiac and Yukon gold spuds are doing so well that I had to mound them already.

The first two rows of sweet corn are just beginning to peek thru.

Yesterday and today I planted four each of Early Girl, beefsteak and Roma tomatoes along with one cherry tomato plant. Green peppers, kale, Brussels sprouts and broccoli plants all went in. Two additional rows of green beans and sweet corn were planted along with a row of pickles, cukes and cantaloupe.

I've run out of gas and it is starting to rain so I'm in for the duration.

Girlfriend and I went out for a long walk this morning and we retrieved the memory chip from the game camera.

The entire interior of the camera was infested with little red ants and their eggs.

Blech.

Here's a tip. If you attempt to shake a game camera of its ant colony the little red ants will swarm all over you.

Anyway, here are some pictures. The trail is flush with a couple of types of clover and the deer have been feasting on it.

I've also been on the lookout for sign of gypsy moth and the results have been discouraging. The nasty little caterpillars are everywhere.

We've done a reasonably good job of oiling egg masses over the winter so the question is where are these caterpillars coming from?

Early on, when still small and lightweight, the caterpillars drop down from tree branches on silk-like threads and are blown by the wind to other trees.

These are probably my neighbor's.

You can see in he picture below how quickly and efficiently they'll devour an oak leaf. If there are enough of them they'll strip the tree of its leaves.

So, Swamp Gas, you actually brought those furry little buggers into the house? Are you nuts?

Hardly. I just wanted to take their picture. After which I put that leaf in the microwave so I could nuke those nasty guys.

I immediately felt better.

I counted 27 goldfinches on the thistle feeders this morning. There is a pair of nesting blue birds in a nest box within view of the house. And last night a pair of cranes were putting on a show in the big pond.

Tonight I am preparing venison loin skewers marinated in harissa and yogurt.

If it's any good I'll post the recipe.

Edit - The recipe was good but not excellent. Thus it will not be posted. The cucumber salad component was very good but it needs a yogurt dressing upgrade. Once I get it perfected I will post my recipe for loin of venison gyros.