Rad, saved for tomorrow's festivities. Many thanks!
Death Star
Rebel propaganda, probably started by those no good Tooks when they weren't allowed on the Freedom Moon
Yup, been there. I've been getting bitten this week while removing the suspect eggs. Sometimes the girls will get off of them for enough time for me to inspect but sometimes they come back quickly and angry
No judgement for suggesting something that's worked for you, friend! I know a few folks who swear by them too.
I love the dancing idea, but don't think our guy would go for it. Luckily tug is life
I set myself a calendar reminder for the middle of June so I can remind folks who need to order any scripts for their furballs in advance. Sorry for the oversight this year.
We've been counter conditioning for fireworks since our first July in our home - our cats had not grown up being very close to fireworks, but when we moved into a more rural area every neighbor and their cousin set off fireworks for a week. The basic premise of counter conditioning is simple: pair something good with something scary. Think lollipops at the doctor for getting a shot. We'd play clips of fireworks from yt on very low volumes and hand out treats whenever one of them paid attention to the bang, raising the volume every so often to move closer to recreating the actual sound they'd hear. When we got our pup, we started off doing the same with him and now it's just another day, albeit a somewhat noisy one.
Some other things that help us manage their stress: closing windows and doors, playing music or movies at slightly above normal volume levels, and occasionally playing small quick games during the noisiest parts to distract their brains.
Hey folks! Tomorrow is one of those days when planning and preparation can save our furry friends a ton of anxiety and distress, so let's talk about some solutions we can have in place to keep them from stressing over the explosions in the sky.
Here is an article from Patricia McConnell (author of Control Unleashed and other force free training books) that goes over some things we can do or not do to keep our buddies below threshold. While the article is certainly about dogs, many of the guidelines (including about counter conditioning) can be applied to our feline furballs too.
What are your go-to's for making the 4th as comfortable as possible for your animals? Is your companion highly sensitive to noise? Share your tips and tricks for other folks to adopt if they haven't already made a plan.
It's one of my favorite events of the year, seeing all the tiny new frogs and toads everywhere. I'm glad that trail let you share in that joy - sounds like that spot is hopping
[Image description: a frog the size of a US quarter rests on my wrist]
They stuck around just long enough to lecture me about amphibietiquette before leaving abruptly
Hey all, hope your July has started off well! I've been watching rain systems come our way before splitting apart just west of us only to reform just east of us, but our plants are doing okay so far. On Friday my wife and I are having lunch with a friend who insists I take some plants home, and who am I to say no?
I got to hear happy hummingbird chirps at the bee balm today, which is always nice. And our valerian is flowering - I didn't realize how much I would love its flowers...
Harmful? Probably not but I wouldn't eat them. What they are is an indicator of the mix being wetter than peppers generally appreciate, in my experience. I've spread winecap mushrooms throughout our space and they'll come up around some of the veg, but not around the peppers, which (ime) are happiest with damp-ish but not wet soil
Fungus gnats are extra annoying but something you can do in addition to watering a little less is to have some clean sand as a mulch over your potting mix paired with bottom watering your plants. I check my pots by feel on the bottom regularly to help inform when I water. For our inside plants and seeds I'm starting, I have a tray with ridges into which I can place the pots and some water. Seedling trays are widely available and a local greenhouse or nursery may have some headed for recycling rather than having to buy new plastic. If that same place does claim and mulches in bulk they may have sand that's suitable for short money since you only need a little bit.
By watering from the bottom, your potting mix will wick the water upwards through capillary action but the water will have difficulty moving into the sand because of the difference in texture and porosity and this will deprive the fungus gnats of the habitat they need to reproduce and continue to annoy you.
That looks delicious, and well plated to boot - great job!
Hey congrats! That's awesome! Also very happy to hear you've found another outlet for your music and great people to boot
I'd had a few conversations with them before they came to blahaj, and I agree that I feel bad seeing how it's gone since then. I miss their attitude from earlier, in that sort of "I hope my friend is okay but I'm worried we no longer have a relationship where I can help" kind of vibe
Hey great job! I know some folks who struggle to get roses half as beautiful as what you've grown! I'm sure those others will catch up in their own time
This was me all day in the heat, but far less adorable
You're crushing it! Hearing how happy this garden is making you just fills my heart, and these photos make my mouth water
[Image description: a brown and yellow duckling naps in the sun]
This is duckling number two for the year so far, hatched five days after the first. I'm keeping an eye on them because none of the hens seem to be claiming it yet. I would honestly rather not be a duck mom again, so I hope someone takes them under their wing.
I've taken to calling the first duckling "Una" and this one "Niji", but that naming scheme is likely to get dropped quickly since its uses are numbered
*Edit to update: one of the hens has taken little Niji in, I heard them making happy little peeps.
[Image description: the tubular red flowers of Monarda didyma begin to emerge from the flower head]
Let me tell you all how much I love this plant -
The red variety, Monarda didyma, attracts absolute droves of hummingbirds to our gardens, but the native purple flowered variety M. fistulosa does a fair amount of feeding their population as well. We also get scads of hummingbird sphinx moths, which are absolutely powerhouse pollinators.
We harvest leaves for drying and using as a native replacement for oregano flavor in recipes, but they also make a lovely tea. I like to blend them with lemon balm, apple leaves, or raspberry leaves in teas. Additionally, a blend of bergamot and New Jersey Tea (Ceanothus americanus) make a tea that's incredibly similar to an earl gray blend.
We also harvest flowers specifically for teas, as a number of First Nations peoples in our region would use the flowers to make tea for "dispirited hearts". We don't generally begin harvesting flowers until the first set has passed (for the pollinators), but anyone else growing this plant can encourage additional flowering by cutting the stem just above any node where two sets of leaves emerge on either side.
Our peas and beans are really starting to stretch and climb after some recent rains and warm days, which is always very exciting. However, our purple flowering raspberries have started showing off and they took my breath away.
What's growing on with you all?
Hey !greenspace -
Tomorrow (Monday) evening I'll be giving a talk at my local library about biochar; last month I gave one about composting. I record these and post them on my yt channel, in part so the library's website can link to the science talks they've hosted. Are events like these something the community would be interested in?
Please let me know how you all feel about this - I know I sometimes post about aspects of my nursery business but do my best to not self-promote in this space.
More broadly, what are folks' expectations for those posting videos of their gardens or other original works? Are there some guidelines we can agree on as a community so folks feel more encouraged and confident in posting about what's growing on with them outside of the weekly post? Personally, I love watching garden tours of other people's spaces during my lunch breaks and would love to feel that connection with those of you who would like to share in that way.
Thank you for your feedback, whatever it may be, and for letting me post pictures of my plants for you all.
[Image description: a yellow duckling makes its way through violets and dandelions while flanked by two protective hens]
Other images showing them attempting to hide from the camera are here
[Image description: a hand drawn flower with text that reads "Me meeting someone new. Them: I hear you're into native plants. Me: I don't think you're fully prepared for this conversation"]
[Image description: several delicate pink flowers announce that the rest of this common milkweed will bloom soon]
[Image description: water droplets of varying sizes rest on the waxy leaves of a Sedum]
To be specific, it was reclassified to Hylotelephium telephium after genetic sequencing.
[Image description: a yellow duckling shelters itself under a mother duck's wing]
We're crossing our fingers that its peeps will encourage its siblings and cousins out of their shells as well
[Image description: Mugatu meme template with top text that says "These coals" and bottom text that reads "so hot for up to 72 hours"]
I was told my compost puns were moldy after the last talk I gave, so this time I'm going with some memes that are straight 🔥🔥🔥
[Image description: our cat, Maeko, slowly slides off a cushion as the day gets warmer]
She normally sleeps in 'ball' or 'loaf' position but the AC was struggling to keep up and she phased into liquid
[Image description: two Small-eyed Sphinx moths mate while hanging from the underside of a honeysuckle bush]
Paonias myops making more pollinators for my gardens !bee heart eyes emoji
I've really been enjoying our haskaps (Lonicera caerulea) this week while waiting for the strawberries to ripen. The blackberries and raspberries have just been pollinated so there's still some time before those come into season, and the recent warm-but-not-too-warm weather has kicked our beans and tomatoes into gear.
What's growing on with you all?
[Image description: an American Toad rests on my hand, waiting to be put back]
I have no idea how this chonker escaped being noticed by the ducks that were around us, but they were placed into an area with more cover than my vegetable garden when their photoshoot was over.
Happy almost Wednesday my gender-nonspecific dudes
LallyLuckFarm @beehaw.org Small scale permaculture nursery in Maine, education enthusiast, and usually verbose.