Now, that’s a cheery sight…the calibrachoa is filling out nicely. It’s doing my favorite thing; spilling out over the top of the plant stand and between the wrought iron ‘wires.’ I have some in a planter, as well, but you can’t see it in this photo.
Yesterday, we woke up to an invasion – and I mean INVASION – of large black ants. It was insane. They were in the kitchen and the living room running around on the wood floors. After dealing with them most of the morning, the remaining ants eventually disappeared. In the meantime, we had placed a call to our pest control people and someone is supposed to come out on Friday. We may cancel that if there’s no reappearance. We’ve also had bees, wasps, and hornets appearing inside the house. I’m not sure where they’re coming from, but since it’s been so hot the last few days, I’ve been closing the windows and running the A/C and there were no buzzing intruders yesterday. In the case of the bees, etc., we’ve been able to capture them and release them outside. Sadly, in the case of the ants, there was no way to remove them humanely and that always makes me feel guilty and sad.
I’ve also had to gently remind a few bunnies that the big garden bed is off limits. They’re awfully cute, but there’s plenty to chomp on around here that doesn’t involved the plants in the bed,
And I’ve had a tiny little encounter with poison ivy on my left wrist. It’s clearing up now.
What’s next? Locusts?
It’s awfully beautiful out there this morning. Don mowed the front yard yesterday and will have to mow the corral today. Rain and thunderstorms are predicted for tomorrow. Wild phlox has appeared all over the property. The phlox is so beautiful in subtle shades of white and pink and lavender. I’ll have to take some photos today.
I’m reading Close to Death by Anthony Horowitz. I’m also slowly reading The Cottage Garden by Claus Dalby, a Danish gardener I follow on Instagram. It’s absolutely gorgeous. I rarely buy books these days, but after waiting months for the one copy we had in our library system and being stuck inside because of my hand injury, I treated myself. I’m glad I did because it’s beautifully photographed with lots of helpful information. It’s the kind of book that makes me smile.
Stay safe.
Happy Wednesday.
You have inspired me! I looked up Claus Dalby’s website and I have found a soulmate of style: his gardens … his home !!
Three of his books are in my library system: COTTAGE GARDENS, CONTAINER GARDENS AND GIFT BOXES. I placed all 3 on hold and can’t wait to peruse them.
Isn’t he wonderful? So glad you’ve reserved those books, Vicki. Enjoy!
Stay safe.
oh, so sorry you’ve had to deal with ants inside your home and bees, wasps and hornets, too!!! hopefully they’re all gone, outside, and you’ve figured out where they got in so you can close that entryway and have no more such visitors. bleh!
and poison ivy now, too? so sorry about that, too. hope it and your right hand get completely healed soon.
given all that, i’m especially glad you treated yourself to a new book. it sounds perfectly claudia!
over the past few years, between summer heat and lack of rain, i’ve found a few ants in my apartment before so i’ve already put out several liquid ant traps (terro brand) to hopefully deter them from coming inside. seem to work well. and if they don’t, i have a great, responsive landlord to help.
if our weather becomes your weather soon, please watch out! thankfully there were no tornadoes in the metro area last night, but there were a couple not far from here. and here, there was a good hard rain and horrid winds that, among other things, took out a branch from the october maple tree in my parents’ front yard (grateful it did not hit their home). and if my brother, who lives a bit west of here, said it looks like we’ll all be in our basements yesterday afternoon, then it’s bad. about a half-hour later it was sunny and still outside and we had a big crowd of birds and squirrels squawking and searching on the deck for food (which we gave them).
working on some big and little projects, reading and (most enjoyably) spending time with members of my family.
hope you, don and everyone else are having a good and easy and pest-free day.
kathy
We don’t generally get tornadoes around here, but the forecast does have possible strong winds and hail, so we’ll see what tomorrow holds in store.
We use Terro as well, but it was not enough for the hundreds of ants that were here yesterday.
Stay safe, Kathy.
Hornets, and bees, and wasps, and ants…oh my. And poison ivy? Holy cow…that’s a bit much to handle. I’m trying to figure out whether or not we are in the cicadas emerging area. They’ve appeared in Lake Geneva which is south of us, but I don’t remember any appearance 17 years ago here. So still waiting.
We had horrific storms rattle through here last night, with numerous warnings. Gale force winds, and driving rain….thankfully our power stayed on, and damage was minimal at least in our neighborhood.
Your flowers are gorgeous in your wired planter …love that color. I started following Claus Dalby on Instagram….I’ll have to check his books and website. Always looking for more inspiration.
Hope the storms coming your way are not a redevelopment of ours. Enjoy your day! ;)
I don’t think we are – we had a cicada event several years ago, but I haven’t heard anything about it happening here this year. I’ll have to investigate. It’s pretty amazing when it does happen.
Thanks, Donnamae.
Stay safe.
I get little tiny ants in my microwave. This happens during the heat of the summer. It is installed above the stove and has a stove vent above it. I use peppermint spray. Ants do not like the smell and leave. I also go outside and spray the side of the house the microwave is on. I have had really good luck with this while other sprays did nothing to stop them from returning. Love your plant stand full of flowers.
Yes, I’ve tried peppermint in all its forms and it doesn’t really work – at least in this very old house. But I’m happy it works for you!
Thank you, Olivia.
Stay safe.
Oh, my gosh, you have really had it all but the locusts! I wonder if all the rain this spring has something to do with the ants wanting to be inside.
Our invasion is stink bugs. This is the second year that they’re just awful. We kill 5 or 6 every day. I can’t stand it when they’re crawling all over the kitchen counters or buzzing inside a lamp shade at night. The ones we miss wind up dying everywhere and I seem to be constantly disposing of their bodies. Once it’s hot enough to have the air on and the doors and windows are closed, there’s not quite so many.
Take care,
Kay
We get them as well. I usually try to release them outside.
Stay safe, Kay.
Claudia…..I tried to catch and release a hornet that was taking over my living room window….grabbed a paper towel and got him but not before he stung me . He had a watery grave….flush. I too have bunny overload….but they are so cute…. They are so used to me peering at them from my drawing easel that I have been able to do some quick sketches of one of them as it nibbles away at my few flowers. It is stormy now….a real soaker. The pollen has been awful. My car ….normally a silver grey…..pollen green. Hope it gets some help from this rain. I look forward to summer….but forget some of the “pests”.
Have a great day.
Take my advice, get a plastic cup and trap them when they’re on a window by placing the cup over them. Then slide a piece of paper or card between the cup and the glass and use that as the cover – take the cup outside and release it. That’s what we do with bees, flies, hornets, etc. They remain safe, as do we.
Stay safe, Maria.
P,S. I love old homes….the history of the people who lived there. All the little nooks and crannies. Do you know the history of Mockingbird Hill Cottage? Could you share a little?
I lived in an old house….in Esopus for a year. I was afraid to go to the basement. We found old shoes in a crawl space. Leather , with hooks and eyes. Very tiny ladies shoes. Several old medicine bottles and one for Violet Water (I still have that one).
Maria
No, we really don’t know the history of the house.
Poison ivy, bees, hornets and ants? This is definitely not good! I hope Mr. Pest Man made it out and can get it taken care of. I suspect those black ants (supersize me) will appear this summer at the lake — they always do and we try to be so careful of food and crumbs. Good luck with it all!