Summer moth

A moth rests on bark that surrounds my small pond.

This swallowtail caterpillar found a spot to make his/her chysallis. This is what it looked like after a few hours of being immobile. Note the silk that holds it up and the discarded head. The butterfly is the result.

Swallowtail caterpillars

I managed to nuture 23 swallowtail caterpillars this summer in my screen-in porch. Above: a cat makes his/her way between two that have already metamorphosed on the screen. Below: cats feed on fennel.

Heat Index 110--What Survived In the Garden?

The temperature is 102 degrees and the heat index is 110. I ventured out to water some wilted plants and decided to see what might still be viable in the garden. I found a quite a bit: cucumbers seem to thrive no matter how hot it is; the spaghetti squashes looked fine even though their vines are brown and wilted (I pulled them out); the cherry-sized tomatoes are still going strong although some of the larger ones have split. The corn is also pretty healthy.

Spaghetti squash

I think I may have over planted. Here are three of the dozens of spaghetti squashes in the garden today. You can easily make a low-cal and tasty side dish with these--see my recipe for spaghetti squash

Potato Harvest

This morning I dug up a nice crop of potatoes. If you are interested in growing potatoes, see my web page on Potato Gardening. After these potatoes are washed and dried, I'll store them in boxes in the basement where they will remain edible for months (provided we don't eat them in the next few weeks). I'll start a new fall crop in about a month.

Don't bother me

This swallowtail caterpillar reacts to being touched

by rearing up and sticking out his antennae.