Slug Wars!

Okay, now I'm not finding them so cute anymore. The lovely poppy and toad lily that I bought a few weeks ago have all been eaten down to almost nothing. This is war!

I tried containers of beer but quite frankly what a waste is that? It also doesn't look great, little cut out plastic containers with brown sludge just doesn't have the look I'm going for. It is odd however, that some plants they don't touch and others are just too tempting for them. The Astilbe they don't seem to touch. Maybe I should do the whole yard in Astible? There is a plant in the garden that has been absolutely ravaged by them. I leave it because I figure that they go for that one and leave the rest alone. My mint was chewed to bits and is only now starting to come back. Don't really feel like using it though after it has been slug slimed.

I bit the bullet and bought some organic slug bait. You know the stuff where it only gets the slugs and doesn't hurt anything else. It seems to be working and some of the plants are actually growing back. I have to keep re applying it though as with watering it dilutes somewhat.

We have finally gotten some rain here at last which is lovely for the garden so it is outside for me now to put out some more slug bait!

Beautiful Song

I've discovered that sometimes the most beautiful song comes from the plainest birds. Why should this be a surprise to me?

It got me to thinking about people and how sometimes you overlook the plain or quiet ones in favour of the more social or beautiful ones. Even plain people can have a song to sing. Sometimes you just have to listen for it.

On the other hand sometimes you can
just be beautiful and that's enough.

Kale Pasta

I think I have finally turned the corner with kale. I found a recipe which I just love that I had to share. Of course being me I don't follow recipes exactly but there is a link to the original one.

There is no point in me going through all the steps as Bev Cooks website does a way better job of it. Check it out. It is delicious and a really easy way to eat Kale!

Onions, garlic, red pepper flakes

The basic ingredients

A quick saute

The finished product with angel hair pasta!

Sunday Snaps

Been too busy this weekend to write anything but here are a few pictures from today in the garden.

 

The great potato experiment

Well the jury is in. My bagged potato experiment is over for this year. All in all I don't think it was much of a success. For the amount of work and sea soil that I put in the bags the potato's that I grew were a pretty miserly bunch. With one bag I think I might have got 10 potatoes and pretty small. The other one did quite a bit better but really for the amount of effort I don't think so.

Maybe I planted too early in the year, who knows… Would I do it again, doubt it. I might try and find another use for those bags for next year. At least I'm not too worried that I won't have enough potatoes as I have tons in the big garden but if I planned on feeding a family on these we would all starve. With the cost of the bags and soil it just wasn't worth it.

Guilty

I have to admit that I I am the type of person that can feel guilty over everything. You name it and I feel guilty about it.

The other day while deadheading some ‎Nicotiana I had a surprise twinge of guilt. I saw a teeny little black slug inching toward it with the intent of nibbling on it. I was about to pluck it off and toss it over the fence when I looked closely at it. It wasn't one of those huge yellow things that leaves a trail of slime behind it hell bent on destruction. This one was actually if I must say it, kind of cute. Black with teeny antenna slowly twitching. It stopped me in my tracks and I felt suddenly kind of guilty for trying to get rid of it. I hate to admit it but I tossed the deadheaded flowers directly in it's path and fled the scene of the crime.

My remorse didn't last long however, as all the new plants that I recently purchased have been chewed mercilessly ever since. Slug Bait here I come. I just won't look at the darn things!

Turf wars

 Roger in the rain

We have at our house a very feisty hummingbird. I've named him Roger and he has attached himself to our yard and in his mind it is his, all his.

Last year I noticed a very aggressive hummingbird, dive bombing all the other hummingbirds and there were a lot of them. I got a good look at him as he hovered in front of my face and at first thought that it was a female except I noticed that I could see a bit of red glinting in the sun and speckles like a baby robin. Pretty cheeky baby! He stuck around until October, about a month after the rest of the gang had left and I was worried that he would hang around all winter. I didn't really want to be feeding a hummingbird during the winter here as we get a lot of snow and it is too cold for a little bird. I was very relieved when he left although I did miss him.

In March again came a very early male hummingbird and I like to think that it is the same one. There were no leaves on the trees and it was easy to spot his favorite perches in the yard. He looked like a little red leaf. He was the king of the castle.

Right now he is beside himself. The rest of the flock have returned with a vengeance and he is trying hard to keep the feeder all to himself. I would watch him and he would swoop down from wherever he was and attack. His favorite spot is to sit right on top of the feeder and spread his tail if anyone comes close. Today, however I think it is finally getting too much for him and he can't keep up. He is finally outnumbered. It probably won't stop him but I just hope nobody gets hurt.