BLOOM THYME FRIDAY: NOT THE TUNNEL OF LOVE

This week the moles have moved in and are creating havoc with their tunnels! đŸ˜«

We have them from time to time, but they are usually in Mr. G’s “turf” garden (lawn) and not in the mulched areas (my gardens)!!!!  But, this year they are all over the mulched area. Some areas look like a rototiller has gone through!

While I was out in the garden this morning I was a bit overwhelmed by all their damage and then a💡light💡went on! GRUBS. LARVA. JAPANESE BEETLES. Are they going for the Japanese Beetle Larva. We have not had many Japanese Beetles for several years so I am sure that there were more tasty morsels in the “turf” garden. But not this year! We had thousands of Japanese Beetles on the roses and of course they are in the “mulched areas.” While I sent many of the Japanese Beetles off to their heavenly reward via a bubble bath, there were many I did not get 
 so you know what happened. They have been here since the middle of June and while I am no expert on Japanese Beetles and am not quite sure how big the larva are at this stage – I’m sure if I were a hungry mole, size wouldn’t matter — plus we have a ton of red worms.

Even if they might be helping with the JB population, they need to go! I can tell you this 
 Mr. G has that “Rambo” look in his eyes and I am thinking of going to Pet Smart to get the very best kibbles on the market to entice all the neighborhood cats to come help us with this situation. If you have more information, thoughts or tips, leave them in the comment section — please!

On a happier note, since the JBs are are gone there are more blooms!

BLOOM THYME THIS WEEK…

Lady Ashe … She is gorgeous. She is listed as a climber but she doesn’t get too tall for me. I bought her at Chamblee Nursery … you can too https://www.chambleeroses.com/order/Own-Root-Garden-Roses/Lady-Ashe/469
Lady Ashe
Music Box … Easy Elegance Collection
Music Box more open…
Quietness Buck Rose … another purchase from Chamblee
Quietness

 

Bokays from this week…

#allthepink

As I finish this post a storm is moving in and I am grateful for the rain, grateful for blooms and grateful for garden friends.

Happy Bloom Thyme Friday

Bloom Thyme Friday: This One is for the Birds

When words gets out that Mr. G (my resident BirdNerd) has been to Wild Birds Unlimited for the “good stuff”, birds from several counties find their way to us!

This week we’ve had cardinals, crows, grackles, downy woodpeckers, one huge pileated woodpecker, blue jays, house finches, yellow finches and MY FAV … chickadees! Do you have a favorite bird?

It is hard to get really good pictures as no matter how long we feed them, they always run away from us! Here are some of the feathered friends that visited this week…

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Do you feed the birds in winter? Do you have or know anyone who has a bird cam? I think Mr. G would love to have one. Might be fun to see who visits when no one is around!

Garden Critters: On a wing and a prayer…

Friday I was following my husband home from a tire company…. I fell into a pot hole and had to have my tires balanced. Not the first time … in our little town that is a common occurrence right now.

As we were leaving the parking lot, I noticed something “jumped” on the back of my husband’s SUV window. I got as close as I could without hitting his car and saw it was a praying mantis. Yes, a 3” praying mantis.

Our trip home was 5 miles through the country, on curvy roads that pass corn and soy bean fields. The “mantis” was holding on for dear life.

When we pulled into the driveway, I jumped out of my car to see this…

How did he do that? We were not driving slowly! He must have an amazing grip and be ALL PRAYED UP!

Wikipedia says… Mantises have two grasping, spiked forelegs  in which prey items are caught and held securely. Located at the base of the femur are a set of discoidal spines, usually four in number but ranging from zero to as many as five depending on the species. These spines are preceded by a number of tooth-like tubercles, which, along with a similar series of tubercles along the tibia and the apical claw near its tip, give the foreleg of the mantis its grasp on its prey.

That’s how he did it! He was born to hold on for dear life! “Tooth-like spines & apical claws” sounds kinda scary for such a cute, little guy–don’t you think?