Random crap with Uno.

[Unorthodox]

(this company, 3rd party program, has tried to hire me a couple times as I can typically run circles around their own IT folks, and write more bug reports than anyone in it's history.  I just can't afford to move to cali. )

Are these reports about software bugs, or the garden variety bugs?

Don't think they'd care for insect reports. 

It always surprises me how few people know how to recognize something in a program as a bug, and give the pertinent information.  Too many years playing beta tester for Blizzard, I guess. 

Anyhow, I walked IT through how to fix the latest problem.  I could do it myself if someone in cali would give me the permissions...but, well, job security and all. 





If you're wanting an insect report, the neighbors sprayed, but were kind enough to not point it over the fence.  It's hard to judge the impact completely.  I'd say a good 50% decline in overall population, it no longer has that ominous buzzing, but they moved their kids' play set back away from the fence just the same.  Fortunately, we have fireflies in the corn, and their boys come over to catch some in jars.  Haven't seen them since Fred went up, though. 

I have a new problem, slugs.  Not quite the horror movie level we had early last year, but no more friendly neighborhood skunk to come eat them.  They LOVE our butterfly bush for some reason.  And the peppers.  So, it's a salsa garden problem, not a pumpkin problem for now.

We also have squirrels...Debating how to handle them.  If they start going after crops, I'll trap.  If they just want to keep eating the birdseed, that's fine. 

The ladybugs released in my trees are winning the war over there vs the aphid plague.  Any luck and they'll start repelling it further and further. 

[Unorthodox]

Unidentified butterfly (90% sure it's a butterfly) in my garden.  Hey, it's new to me, that's saying something.



Underside of wings is white.



Guessing family Lycaenidae...looking through lists for Utah. 

[Unorthodox]

Had the family right, that made identification easy.

Gray Hairstreak.  Apparently here to lay eggs on the beans (no problem).  Bunch of males on my corn and pumpkins looking for mates.   

http://bugguide.net/node/view/579

Utah info says it's most northern location known is about 40 miles south of me.  Hot year, means it come north, will not survive the winter. 

[Rusty Edge]

If you're wanting an insect report, the neighbors sprayed, but were kind enough to not point it over the fence.  It's hard to judge the impact completely.  I'd say a good 50% decline in overall population, it no longer has that ominous buzzing, but they moved their kids' play set back away from the fence just the same.  Fortunately, we have fireflies in the corn, and their boys come over to catch some in jars.  Haven't seen them since Fred went up, though. 

I have a new problem, slugs.  Not quite the horror movie level we had early last year, but no more friendly neighborhood skunk to come eat them.  They LOVE our butterfly bush for some reason.  And the peppers.  So, it's a salsa garden problem, not a pumpkin problem for now.

We also have squirrels...Debating how to handle them.  If they start going after crops, I'll trap.  If they just want to keep eating the birdseed, that's fine. 

The ladybugs released in my trees are winning the war over there vs the aphid plague.  Any luck and they'll start repelling it further and further.

Sure, insect reports are always welcome!

Slugs! I detest them. Lime the --- -------- at night, I say!   I suppose your PH isn't compatible with that approach. Skunks can be a pain in the corn patch, because they are wasteful and destructive. While a raccoon and it's family will consume a lot more, at least a raccoon knows how to check an ear for ripeness without destroying it, and he eats what he husks. Raccoons know their corn. I'm on a slug eating mammal tangent, I guess.  Mixed blessings.

Out there, don't you have lizards and toads to eat the slugs? 

Congratulations on turning the tide in the aphid war so soon!

[Unorthodox]

I got no idea what the PH is to be honest, but this must have been the approach of the former owner of the house.  We had several 50lb bags of lime in the shed when we moved in. 

The skunk didn't touch much of anything other than the slugs last year, and it was HORROR MOVIE LEVELS, as in the ENTIRE SIDE OF THE YARD was a writhing mass early in the mornings, you couldn't walk, slime covered skin crawling sight.  I figure the skunk was just getting his fill on slugs and thus left the garden alone, and the house next door was for sale so his den was safe at the time.  It took me a few weeks to pin down what it was getting into the yard at night, had a few close brushes with it.  Once I got a light on him, I just made sure the kids knew how to handle it if they ran into it, but I'm usually the only one up at the same time.  One or two nights there was an odor, but it was mostly just interesting.  Kinda sad when they trapped it. 

There's no lizards here in the wasatch front.  Out in the desert you might.  Toads are rare thanks to housing developments.  I have some salamanders down by the irrigation ditch, but that doesn't help where the slugs are.  I could bring in some ducks, but would rather not.  Beer traps will be clogged far too quick.  Rather not bait.  vinegar/water was working before the skunk showed up last year. 


Sat watching the garden for about an hour this afternoon.  Lots of those butterflies. 

I've been letting milkweed grow in a corner in the hopes of attracting monarchs for my daughter, but 5 years now and no luck, but we do have red milkweed beetles.  I have a special affection for the longhorn beetles. 

Couple spider species I can't place, but I'm not that good with arachnids, so no surprise there. 

Ants tending aphids in the corn was interesting to watch.  There's not a terrible plague level there, so not too fussed about it.  Interesting...it's only the King Kool corn.  That's the one silking/tasseling now...gotta see if that's coincidence or not later. 

Harvestmen are abundant.  Fitting.  (though more commonly known as daddy longlegs)

[Buster's Uncle]

Couple spider species I can't place, but I'm not that good with arachnids, so no surprise there.

[Unorthodox]

Eh.  Had to limit the collection somehow, and I drew the line at arachnids, mostly because at the time, it was REAL hard to find field guides to arachnids. Hell, I had to special order my insect guides.  I can do a basic family, but to give a specific species, I'd have to run through bugguide, and even then, identification is often difficult without extreme examination (as in capture and magnification). 

[Unorthodox]

Tempted by a macro lens in the local classifieds...

It's a 3rd party, and a kit lens, but would work on Bertha.  I have a new point and shoot coming this weekend, we'll see how it handles things.  String camera took 20 shots to get the 2 usable ones of the butterfly above, thing is dying swiftly. 

[Geo]

Former NSA stuff?

[Unorthodox]

I doubt they use pentax or macro lenses. 

[Rusty Edge]

HORROR Movie levels!
I guess that's right up your alley. Now all you need is that Zombie of the moors statue, a can of beer to spray around,  and you'll have a photo to terrorize  that decorating contest.

I can see as how you'd need a nocturnal predator for that kind of infestation.

Or maybe train your magpies to attack at dawn...

[Unorthodox]

So...

The local fruit stand started erecting their pavilion this weekend. 

I grew up working a farm, and helping run one of these stands.  I earlier had made it a point to support this particular stand as opposed to driving out of my way to get to the ones in Layton. 

2010, that changed. 

Prior to that, we would buy 1-3 pumpkins a year.  It was no big deal to head over to the permanent structure, and buy a couple pumpkins.  Sure, I could get them at walmart for $3, and was paying $5 at the stand, but it was the whole support the local farmer thing. 

2010, we lost most our stuff and the whole idea of the pumpkin party was born.  Meanwhile, the fruit stand had struck hard times of a sort, and had to move out of the permanent building, instead building a temp stand a couple blocks from us.  I hadn't planned on the pumpkin party, it kinda sprang upon me in September, so wasn't growing my own at the time.  I saw them put out their pumpkins soon after, so went to talk.  Surely, me buying 60 would get me some kind of bulk discount.  I've been in the business, know the score.

Nope.  Not only no deal, but those $5 pumpkins were being sold for $10 or more.  "Specialty" pumpkins selling for $15 or more. 

A Layton stand gave me the same story.  I eventually got numberous farmers thrilled to deal with me, and eventually settled on our official nursery.  http://www.countrygardensnursery.co/about/

They fully signed on, and put me in touch with the growers, negotiated at-cost purchase and purchases of smallish sizes, that, while perfectly fine, are more difficult for those farmers to sell, thus CHEAP, and delivered the pumpkins that year.  $5 for pumpkins of the past was made a mockery as I was buying for $1. 

While I've begun growing my own, we do make at least an annual trip out to that nursery.  It's a little out of the way from us. 

Last year, I was happy to provide many of our neighbors with the $1 pumpkin, as much to stiff that damn stand as anything else.  They offered to buy me out before we sold any.  I turned them down.  We easily had as many pumpkins as them the day we had our stand up.  We sold out in an hour.  I'm sure they got replenished through the year, but they filled several dumpsters after halloween. 

Well, they've moved within a block of me this year.  If it weren't around the corner, and thus behind a house, i could see them from my porch.  They'll start selling corn, probably this week.  (my own should be ready for picking by the weekend)

I think it might be interesting if I have pumpkins to sell this year.  Especially if all my 'specialty' ones do well.  Almost makes me wish I could plant enough corn to sell...

[Unorthodox]

Minor insect report. 

The anti-halloween neighbors across the street.  Tried beekeeping last year, wouldn't listen to me, 3 hives perished.  Bought more in the spring, they all swamed over the weekend.  Unusual for a first year colony, probably indicative or poor conditions.  Freaked out the neighbor kids as the swarm took up residence on their tree, near my garden.  Captured,  catching the neighbor in time before he loosed his can o poison.  Stung a few dozen times in the process.  Sans-bee suit. 

The neighbors insist it's not theirs, but a glance at their hives tells me otherwise.  Ah well, donating to a local keeper, honeybees are too much work for me. 

[Unorthodox]

Been having charlie horses in the leg that was stung since it was stung...

The pumpkins are beginning to produce female flowers, mostly the musquee and sugars right now.  Most are shriveling in the heat, but good bee activity in the area. 

Pretty sure we have our first one set, despite the heat, but will take a few days to be sure.  It has me questioning though, as it's on what I had labeled as Musquee, but looks a LOT like the cinderellas of last year.  Interweb searches are inconclusive with musquee pics either looking the same or vastly different.  It's entirely possible we got some hybrid seeds...I mean I was extra careful with the labeling...   


The King Kool corn could be ready for picking any day now, it topped out at 6', so the stalks won't be useless after all.  The Ambrosia is starting to tassle, and is already at the 6' mark, so will make good decor material as well.  The field corn is already waist high after 3 weeks. 

New camera due to arrive any day now. 

[Unorthodox]

String camera replacement is here.  It's the next model of string camera, but they changed from a more familiar (for the old school camera person like me) dial system to a menu driven one.  Going to take me some time to figure out where to find what I need.  I have 3 buttons I can custom assign, but have to program it. 

It also handles ISO settings different than the old one, only allowing it to be manually set in a couple modes instead of universally.  I tried to shoot a couple things right out of the box, and they looked like crap.  The camera had automagically set it's iso to 3200...which is almost never a good thing on digital cameras (in it's defense it was probably 'logical' considering the lighting and no flash set).