Well, I am at home and stinky (shoulda seen the looks I got on the elevator!), with dirt under my nails and mosquito bites on my butt. I've planted and played caterpillar "bad guy" and then did a jekyll and hide and now I'm a caterpillar "good guy". They don't know whether to love me or hate me right now. I'll be slaving away in the kitchen for the rest of the night so I'm not going to even bother to de-stink myself till 2 am this morning (about when my 18 POUNDS of pulled pork can come out of the oven)!
April, yes, those are horn worms. CJ, you're going to scold me for this.....I used to pick them off my tomatoes and give them to the little boy down the street for his chameleon. It was a gourmet meal for the lizard.
Vines and Creepers
hahaha! What do they turn into? something unpleasant I suspect!
I throw them in the trash. Sorry CeeJay, I am not a caterpillar fan- ugh
Kristi you are a good sister throwing your sister that party! Good for her, Congrats!
A great big ugly moth!
I'm VERY proud of her. We have quite the age difference between us (almost 13 years) and strangers have always thought she was my daughter. She practically was..... I used to take her EVERYWHERE with me (even on dates). Hehehehehe! She's following my brothers footsteps, he's a detective. And look at me! Just a stinky, grubby, dirty, filthy fun lovin' gardener!
You should be proud! I say give credit where do and encouragement when ever you can. 13 years is a big age difference. there is 8 between my 1st and 2nd child and 10 between the 1st and 3rd- needless to say the 2 youngest were closest of the 3 and the oldest didn't like the 2nd much at all. I have no sisters, but was smack dab in the middle of my 2 brothers 3 yrs this side of one and 3 yrs this side of the other.
The tomato hornworm turns into a hummingbird moth - those things you see feeding on nectar that looks a lot like a hummingbird, but is really a moth. I discriminate. Hornworms are picked off by moi and thrown on the driveway for the birds to eat. I'm not crazy!! They'll eat your tomato plant to the ground over night!! And tomato plants don't recoup like PASSION VINES!! If they ate something else out there - oh, say, like bindweed, or dollar weed, I'd keep them around.
Kristi - get to work!! And don't wear yourself out. You need to enjoy too. See you after the party!
CJ
CeeJay I am so glad that you aren't crazy! But tell me, do you actually touch them w/ your bare hands?
Yep. It's a power thing.
Huuuuh???? CJ, I thought for sure I would get in trouble. Those things devoured 2 tomato plants in a day the first year I planted them.
And you looked and looked and looked and couldn't find the critter. Then you finally found one, maybe two or three, dispensed with them and thought you were done. The next day - wowzee, more of the tomato plant gone. And you look and look and finally find more of those big ugly things. I don't see how we can miss them when they are so big, but I sure do!!!
I've learned to look for the poop. They're usually nearby....LOL
You all just don't know me at all....
CJ ;-)
I just have not been able to bring myself to touch them- not sure that I can. How on earth did you get past the ICK factor? My skin is crawling just thinking about it.
I'd rather pick them off and give them to the birds, than cut them in half with my pruners. Now THAT is ICK!
Yes, they have big poop.
I read somewhere that you will see them after a specific phase of the moon. Can't remember which phase though. Do you think that's true?
Kristi - Get to work! You're gonna be up all night, girl!
And I sure wish you were all on one thread. This skipping back and forth and trying to figure out which is which is driving me CRAZY!!! It's like playing peek-a-boo!
Yeah! it's hard to keep up w/ all of you!
I'm going, I'm going.
Ditto on the thread hopping.
OK. Here's what you do. Just post a "knolan" thread, and we'll all check in on it whenever something happens - whatever it is! And it can just take us wherever it takes us....
Excellent Idea!
I'm with ya. Knolan----have a good party.
Kristi, I just read throught the posts here in the last few days and got weird deja-vu. You and I are very similar - weird. I will only go into one of the interesting similarities...
I also work in an office of just two people with nothing to do 90% of the time. Casual work dress and a 8:30 to 4:30 job. Occasionally, I have to drop what I am doing (surfing Dave's, doing homework for a class) and do what my boss needs me to do. That's probably the hardest part - switching gears at the drop of a hat.
I had to say "Hallelujah!" to your comment about boredom not being fun. My mom and husband give me such a hard time about my job. It's the perfect job for a mom and wife who goes to school part time and acts as her husband's business assistant too. Plus, quitting is not an option because someone has to carry insurance and the pay and benefits are just too darn good. :) I have been there for 9 years and will stay until my daughter is at least 16 and I have my degree.
Hi Sweezel, it's really nice to meet someone who can "relate"....keep chugging for that degree. I never finished, probably a year and a half to go....Art History.
Isn't it crazy trying to keep yourself amuzed all day? By the time I get home each night I'm about to bounce off the walls. Literally. I'm not kidding when I say I will be out planting and working in the garden at 1:00 am. It's MY time.
Please don't tell me you work for a rich oil investor.....if you do, we are mirrors. Too many kudos to leave, for my family's sake, but if I were to think of myself for a moment, I'd go CRAZY!
Aahhh, a kindred spirit.
Glad to know you're out there.
Kristi
LOL No Rich Oil Investor. We are actually in a satellite office with the company being based in New York. The yankees take care of their employees (great insurance and other benefits)!
The stressful part of my job is actually the traffic since I work in Downtown, 35 miles from home. And yes, I often come home and work into the yard until at least dusk. And I have to come in sometime and make dinner for my daughter (who is 12) and my husband, and then there is cleaning. Of course winding down is hard and I need more sleep than I usually get. Winter is easier on my body because I am forced to wind down sooner.
As far as the degree, I just started back last semester, after four years off. It's all been 2 or 3 classes at a time and I still have a long way to go. It was originally Electrical Engineering, but now I am looking into Statistics with a minor in Psychology/Neuroscience. I still have some basics to go though so nothing is set in stone.
Good luck today. I hope the party goes well! I am off to finish getting my daughter ready for camp - she leaves today. :-(
Wow Sweezel. We really do seem to have mirror lives. My little one just got back from camp (which one did yours go to?) and now she has started Kids College. Don't be too sad. She'll have a blast and make lots of memories. I missed mine too but enjoyed the snuggle time with hubby and the quietness (our house is the "hangout" for every kid on the block. They know I keep popsicles in the garage freezer and the garage is open most of the time so.....) School will end after this week and we're off to vacation on the 12th.....YEAH!!!!!!
What kind of plants are you working with in your yard? I have quite a different mix.
Kristi
Well, I did not tell you about the fact that I am also 5 ft. short and I have a sister who is 14 years younger than I am. LOL
She's at one in Oklahoma (I'll D-mail you the name) and this is her second year there. She actually left today. Pretty embarasing, but I had the date all wrong and did not realize it yesterday until I was on my way to the meeting spot for the bus. LOL My friend and I are driving up there to pick her up on Saturday and then we are staying in Oklahoma at a the same friend's through the 5th. That's my vacation for the year! My husband started his own business 2 years ago and won't take me anywhere. No more paid vacation so he can only think about what he could be money that is not being made. :/ Luckily he'll join me for a couple of the days in Oklahoma.
Not much in the actual plants in the yard yet just lots of grass. Most of the sun stuff is in pots, transferred from our old house. We have been here since the end of February and I have made a shade bed under the big elm trees. That was easy since there was not any grass to pull up. I have 2 J. Maples, hostas, heucheras, violets, Elephant Ears, Hydrangeas and a few other things. Most of it's suffering with the lack of rain. I have lots of daylilies and other perennials, vines in pots, and herbs waiting for me to get rid of the grass.
Staci
You're 5' also....that's just almost eerie! Is McKinney by Dallas?
Sounds like you have a lot of work to do. It's fun to start with a new slate.
Hope your daughter enjoys camp and you don't miss her too much.