Sacha wrote:
On 20/7/06 04:10, in article ,
"madgardener" wrote:
I don't know if we have those in UK but they do live in Southern Europe.
Their real name is Lytta vesicatoria. I was curious, so I looked it up! I
will now approach our Japanese anemones with more respect but I must admit I
haven't seen these things on them! They seem to be trouble free and in the
gravelled area where we park our cars, they spread very well in beds facing
north and south, as well.
I didn't mean to say that you had blister beetles, I tend to ramble
on.....sorry honey. didn't mean to mislead you.......(I am sometimes way
too much tangents)
snip
I'm sorry but the LACK of a spider is not going to give me any sleepless
nights. Quite the reverse! We don't get poisonous spiders here - or not
seriously so - but I just detest spiders, fullstop. In this house we do get
some of the large so-called house spiders but we seem to be especially
favoured by those little pin bodied long legged, thready ones. It's my
personal conviction that spiders know I don't like them, so they make a
beeline for me!
ahhh, I understand. But she's a harmless one here. Not a threat to
anything but other insects. and ALL spiders are important in insect
controls. If not for them (and even the hateful wasps and hornets that
hunt for caterpillars and eat half and take the other half back as food
for their larvae). Despite that we have brown recluse spiders whose
bites are flesh dissolving, and black widows, and now apparently there
is another spider introduced called a "Hobo spider" which we don't have
but give them time..........(they are aggressive or so I've heard) they
still don't want to mess with us as much as their biting us is
defensiveness. My cupboards in the kitchen have what I despise as
having "wasted space". It has deep cavities where bowls, etc are shoved
into the darker recessed area that's not easily gotten to. These are
PERFECT for Brown Recluse spiders. Luckily I have a good exterminator.
But I'm not going to reach into there before I shine a strong flash
light into the area before pulling out something because their bite rots
the flesh and doesn't hurt right away. I've seen what their bite will do
up close and personal. No thank you. (the lady behind me who was
elderly had always left her gardening gloves in her old fashioned
greenhouse and slipped them on in the early springtime to work with her
rose canes. This time she got what she thought was a "nick from a stray
thorn" in the middle finger of her left glove, and when she pulled her
hand out of the glove, she saw a small, red place like a little nick
from a thorn. Later, it did the "bullseye" like those bites always do,
which is, red center, white around that and red around THAT. And then
the deterioration set in. Her finger was skeletal, a skin graft was
needed and her middle finger on her left hand was bizarre looking. She
was lucky as these bites at that time were kind of rare, I think. so I
know what they'll do (I was sent a link to a man who had gotten a bite
on his heel of his thumb and it was downright gruesome......)
But saying that, I still think spiders do their jobs and would prefer
being left alone.......g
Reading all this about raccoons and skunks, I must admit I'm quite relieved
we live in boring old England! I can do without those in my life!
well, the skunks are grub eaters. (and worms) and occasionally a little
bit of cat kibbles if you feed puss outside on the porch. Possums and
raccoons love cat food too.....among other things. Possums don't pose
much threat, but raccoons can catch and carry rabies and distemper.
That's my major worry. If I see a raccoon out in the day time (most of
these critters are nocturnal, but lately with the lack of predators,
we've been seeing too many deer, skunks, raccoons, possums and other
nocturnal critters out in the late afternoons and earlier mornings after
sunrise, so that means there's too many of them and nothing to hunt and
eat them) I know it's sick with distemper or rabies. I have a Havahart
live trap that I am about to set with a sweet roll (they ADORE sweets)
not quite unwrapped to capture them, and then I can call animal control
or I can take Rocky over across the lake and into the woods and turn him
loose. One down and about 50 or more to go.
Skunks won't trap. I don't wander down my driveway anymore at night
strictly because the Spinster, Mary Wine is now in the nursing home and
they've shut off the street light she'd had installed at the back of her
house which turned out to be the front of my house at the gate. I
didn't like it, prefer the darkness and ability to see the stars
actually, but since they shut it off, I make sure I make a LOT of noise
if I go down the driveway to scare the skunks away. Sugar my Border
collie/Black Lab has gotten skunked three times this year. I think she
finally learned her lesson about them...I hope. At least I did find out
the recipe for instant skunk odor removal. damn simple and fool proof
and cheap too! (and no, not tomato juice. that's a wives tale)
The possums aren't a threat. Only a nuisance. Rather thick, actually,
just look evil like overgrown rats with a cynical sneer.....
Yes, it hit an all time record high near Gatwick yesterday and the tar was
melting in Plymouth, too, about 30 mins from us. One of the more bizarre
sights was of gritting lorries going around, adding grit to the tarmac to
make it more durable. Normally, they come out when snow is forecast! The
temperatures are truly exceptional. But as to drought, that's not all over
UK. The South East has a drought problem and a hosepipe ban but not our
area, the South West or AFAIK, the north of England.
Oh my gawd! I've called my watering hoses hose pipes for decades!!!!!
is this where I got that???? LOL I mean it.....ALL my life, I've
called them hose pipes! roflmao......(well, probably learned it from
mama and grandmammy.... that's neat!
I don't think
Scotland and Wales are experiencing any problems either. But even then, the
reservoirs aren't as low as they were in 1976 when it didn't rain in Jersey
(where I then lived and that year had my first child!) from May until
October. It was immensely hot but living near the sea certainly had its
compensations in terms of lots of swimming and some cooling sea breezes.
Yesterday and today have been very weird here in Devon. Rain was promised
and we got about a couple of dozen drops but nothing to do any good. It was
hot and humid because of the cloud cover. This morning it's still overcast
but cooler and it's a bit windier which, for once, is welcome because it's
cooling things down a bit.
I think there's a lot of publicity about drought because winters have been
very dry in the SE for a few years so stocks haven't been replenished but
also because that area includes London and most newspapers are
London-centric!
I have a friend who recently returned with his son to Somerset, I think
Cheddar......I wish he'd write to me and let me know he's gotten set up.
He sent me a brief message when he got back home. Said it was wonderful
being close to the sea after six years away...but that Internet cafe's
were a bit expensive and until he got his pc set back up I'd not hear
back for a bit. Quite the music person. Was a disc jockey here in the
states for quite awhile doing jazz and eclectic. Still waiting to hear
from him. Good friends are rare and a treasure.
On the nursery and in the garden, we're still watering like mad and just
doing the nursery takes 3 people about 2 hours each per morning. The garden
has had spray lines on it most evenings.
I go out in the evening lately and just water with the watering wand. I
only have nine raised beds. Lord help me if I'd planted the rest of the
holler and woods......more likely if I ever got a chance I'd do
Xeriscape type plants that could take dry spells. My woods below are
dry, and there are lots and lots of shrubs and perennials and bulbs that
love that kind of environment. I have five story Jack pines below that
tower up past the roof of the house that sits above on the ridge and
other than massive clean out of debris, removal of the hideous poison
ivy and other snarly things, I have quite an opportunity if I can get
some outside help. One woman alone is daunting. Just trying to keep up
with the PATHS around the nine raised beds has proved almost too much
for me. I have so much wild raspberry, wild roses, honeysuckle, P.I.,
pin oak saplings, cedar saplings, holly saplings, hackberry and black
walnut trees to remove. And privet in such an abundance I loathe and
despise it because it's useless and invasive. sigh.....sorry
snip
Things are getting out of control and we all have to do something to try to
redress the balance. There is talk here of tax on lightbulbs that aren't the
long life energy efficient ones. I don't know if that's a political gimmick
but it's certainly true that the atmosphere is filled with the pollution of
hundreds, if not thousands of aeroplanes, chugging back and forth laden with
un-seasonal goodies such as roses and asparagus from Peru.I agree with you there. ALL my light bulbs are the twisted efficient
ones that last a loooong time. I want to replace my windows for energy
efficiency. We already have a heat pump for heat and cooling, but I need
to insulate more and replace the heat pump with a newer model, I'm even
looking into solar capabilities in the roof with those newer flexible
tiles that are awesome and capable of making more electricity than I'd
use (so I could SELL excess electricity!) a solar capability for the
water heater would be awesome, and we already have a well.........(not
near city water, or sewer, we have a septic tank somewhere around here a
ways from the house)
Now, honestly,
who NEEDS asparagus so badly that it has to be flown to England from Peru?
I'm with you. Asparagus deserves to be savored and enjoyed when it's in
season! And a good patch planted in sandy soil in a small spot (square
foot gardening) would last 50 years or so........I remember certain
veggies were only in season a certain time. Strawberries, spring.
Watermelon, summer. Asparagus I never knew until I was a young woman,
but I learned it came around end of March. Yellow squash, beans, etc,
those were spring and summer things like fresh tomato's at every meal.
I think we need to simplify things like it used to be like. My mom grew
up eating really good, basic foods and she's got all her teeth still and
is 86. Now granted, she has Alzheimer's, but this is what I fear is a
newer disease. I don't remember talk with my grandmammy about family
having a senility problem. Occasionally someone's uncle or grandmother
would be a bit daft, but nothing on the scale of Alzheimer's......
I'm making it a policy now not to buy veggies that have come from further
afield than e.g. France, Italy or Holland and of course, wherever possible I
buy stuff that's grown locally in Devon. We have a very large, very good
organic farm near us which sells its produce in its own shop and distributes
it round England and we have a pretty good local greengrocer, too. And our
butcher has his own abbatoir and knows personally all the farmers who supply
him with meat.
I've been doing the same! There's a wonderful fresh market in the local
town 14 miles from me that has all locally grown fresh veggies and
fruits. I adore it. Right now the cantaloupes and watermelon's are
starting to come in. and all sorts of heirloom beans. I bought some
"Turkey neck" green beans that were wonderful. Thick walled, with large
white, tender beans inside. Pop them and throw a little salt pork in and
cook them until just tender.......ahhhhhh, awesome! I found Cranberry
beans, black-eyed, crowder, field peas, asparagus bean which I was
really surprised to find. With the invasion of the Mexican's that are
coming like some infestation, I find there is now a bit more south of
the border flavors available, and I have to admit, I like Mexican foods.
Some of the regular foods are tasty and inexpensive. I've learned to
like Jimica root, and want to ask someone sometime how I can eat it
other than raw in a salad or dipped in Ranch dressing (it is crunchy and
tastes like a sweet water chestnut and has NO calories!) Same with my
appreciation for tomatillo's and milder chili's or peppers.
I cook "Southern" but I'm also quite good at cooking Mexican, some basic
stir fry and Chinese and even some semi-authentic Italian....that's not
too bad. I'd like to do more basic cooking of those same varieties.
I've decided that our ancestors didn't make it this far without knowing
what was better to eat for us! LOL oooops, tangients again. sorry
honey......
Well, I've made a note of the Japanese anemones and also noted that on 17th
January it was warm enough for two of the nursery staff to eat their lunch
in the garden. This is NOT a usual occurrence here, by any means. We've
also noticed that this year the Rosa bracteata is flowering wonderfully for
the second year running, that the Rosa banksia alba is doing the same and
that the Fremontodendron could well have fallen over with the weight of
gorgeous yellow flowers it was carrying.
wow, I had to look that one up. Beautiful!
snip
Very few English houses have air conditioning so our method in this house is
to open windows but close curtains or shutters, keeping the rooms aired but
cooler.
I'm even thinking of getting back to enduring the heat a bit better like
I used to before we became so dependent on air conditioning. Just a fan
placed out on the porch and blowing where the BBQ pit fountain and fish
pond is has shown me the temperatures were almost 30o degrees cooler!
(it's been up in the UPPER 90's for DAYS now........)
again thanks for answering me.
maddie