Or should I say, hello horn worm, to be proper?
Don't live with me if you don't want to find me standing over your bed, very early in the morning (before you have even thought about opening your eyes), dangling this above your head, going...
HEY! Look at this!
Almost gave Lovee a heart attack.
I never saw someone go from fully asleep, to across the bed gasping bad words, that quick ever.
He he he.
Heehee.
It's huge.
More than massive.
Notice the size of my thumb in relation to the size of it?
It's not the first one I have found.
Gobbling at the speed of light.
This morning's pumpkin patch hunt in my garden got a little wacky, you see.
I am sure you could give two hoots about the trials and tribulations of me and, the bugs.
But on the way, we encountered all sorts of little horrors damaging this and that.
As far as bug fear goes...
I think I have become bug immune.
And rodent immune.
I used to run off squealing at the sight of a mouse.
Now I just shrug and go, oh white mouse.
(In my best Eeyore voice)
Oh, giant caterpillar.
Yawn.
Oh, 10 ant hills.
Loveeeeeeeeee!
The only time I cry is when the ants + caterpillars have been eating all the leaves off my citrus trees and rose bushes.
(Update: we just figured it out, the abundance of butterflies this year are creating these caterpillars that are eating all the citrus leaves. We saw a bunch of HUGE yellow and black butterflies, called Giant Swallowtails, in action - laying eggs. Awe man, but I love butterflies, now I want to save them. What to do? Click here and you'll see what I mean)
Like yesterday.
We are having a huge epidemic of something I had never seen.
Huge plants being stripped of their leaves.
I pick off the culprits, if I can find them.
Then I freak out in my mind.
As I feel very plant protective in some sick lady manner.
I take being the guardian of any living thing extremely serious.
No really, I do.
Annoyingly so, probably.
I am very territorial too.
But, that's another tale.
I whine to Mister Lovee about the eaters of my plants.
Then he feels sorry for me, and helps me try to get rid of the pests.
That -
Or he is just sick of me whining.
Both.
Isn't hearing someone whine just awful?
I do it so well.
What about you?
What is your main whine to your significant other?
Do you have a main whine topic?
Tell me, tell me, tell me.
You never think about that part when your heart wants a garden.
The never ending critters and insects who love your garden too.
:)
Ah well, they need to eat also.
I guess, you are doing something good, even if it doesn't make you happy.
This morning the boys and I set off to collect more pumpkins.
We do this a lot lately, but I don't take photos all the time.
Some big punkins needed to be collected.
The stems were already drying, as the vines had died.
Yet, more vines are still growing, gifting lots of babies.
And other big boys are still ripening.
Pumpkin stems are covered with painful spines, so you just gently scrape them off before you dare pick up a pumpkin.
I am in this strange garden daze mode.
My brain won't compute the size of the pumpkin patch.
Or all the pumpkins.
I can't explain it.
I am excited about them.
But, in a way.
I am...
Foggy that I grew them.
It's weird.
Does that make sense?
Do you ever look at your kids in amazement that you grew them?
That they are here.
That you have kids?
(of course, I am not comparing having kids to growing pumpkins)
With these interesting personalities, and ideas all of their own?
I wonder these things.
That is one GIANT fairytale pumpkin above.
I'd say it is about 20 inches across.
They (fairytale pumpkins) turn a sort of caramel orangey light brown when ripe.
They are the most incredible for eating.
Bright orange flesh.
Succulent.
The one above grew stem face down, as most of them do.
So, I flipped it over - ever so carefully, early last month.
That kept it from rotting.
I have had to flip them all often.
Not easy getting into that pumpkin patch, but quite fun.
They rot so much easier than Jack-o-lanterns, if against moist soil.
Some of the vines got gobbled by insects.
So, they are ripening off the vine.
They are turning from greenish to full caramel, so that is good.
I feel like I am babbling in some strange zombified fashion.
I am some boring growing things girl aren't I?
Talking about bugs and the weather.
:)
It rained for 4 days straight.
Cloudy too.
A huge treat.
The weather shifted a little.
I dare say, I tasted a hint of autumn air.
I did.
Window open nights.
Also...
I have been spending countless hours painting.
Packaging some orders too.
And painting some more.
The paint is waiting for me to return, as I type.
But I wanted to pop in because I was in the zone, and losing track of time completely.
Oddness.
I love oddness.
Curious time warps.
And, painting til you drop.
Looooooove, V
ps:
Just Because.
I think I'll go with the guy's arm movements at 1:19
Tell me you aren't moving your shoulders a little?
Maybe you should just stand up and dance?
Just go for it :)
Sooohooo sooohooo soooohoooo...
