I wasn’t sure any of the school house lilies survived the freeze and the rearrangement of my container garden. They live outside the tired rosemary, which did not survive the Texas deep freeze in February. Since it didn’t survive, and I didn’t replant, I haven’t been watering that area. I was rather surprised to see some bright red blooms amongst the dead stems.
The bugs found the ripe melon. I’m not sure if the earwig dug the hole, or the caterpillars dug it and the earwig was hiding out, but the chickens really enjoyed both the insect and the fruit. I sprayed the remaining melons with diluted Neem oil and Castille soap. Maybe we will get another melon before the bugs do; there are currently two melon candidates for bug roulette.
I made the rookie mistake of letting my artemisia get too tall. The tops got too heavy and the limbs laid down on the ground in protest, ruining the pleasant full look. I’ve read that severe pruning will kill the plants, so the plan it to replace the leggy Artemisia with new Artemisia, then keep it trimmed low so it doesn’t get so large as to lay over.
Rather than buy new plants, I’m rooting out some cuttings. I’ve read that other gardeners have had success with this method, and it doesn’t hurt to try! I cut six healthy looking ends and placed them in a test tube rack (because I had it). I was thrilled to see roots starting to form after two weeks! I will keep changing out the water daily, and attempt a replant when the roots have filled in more.
A ladybug thought the cuttings were a good place to hang out, so I’m going to take that as a good sign.
We are getting a lovely cool stretch here in Texas, meaning the night temperatures are reaching down into the 60s, and the highs barely touch into the 90s. Cool enough in the morning that I was inspired to get out and clear some of my woodland paths with the trimmer earlier this week. I was able to reclaim the already established paths fairly readily, but I’ll need clippers and more time to open up more avenues.
I did find some surprising nasturtium patches in the middle of the lot. They are leggy, but the area is mostly shaded, so that isn’t surprising. They are in an area where I did not plant nasturtiums. Hm. Apparently they found a better location. Go flowers go.
The poison ivy and chiggers are thick in the woods and meadow, so a thorough shower and hot water wash of the clothes I wore was in order.
My tapestry loom has been sitting on the kitchen counter, idle, for months, with a partial project strung on the bars. I’m determined to get the project finished so I can reclaim the counter space, but it is slow going. Originally I intended to make a scarf as long as I could on the loom, but in the interests of finishing, ever, I think I shall shorten those aspirations and aim for material for a bag. Current optimism suggests a spindle bag, but even that might prove too much as we cycle into fall and it is much nicer to be outside.
My current ranking of fiber crafts has spinning on a drop spindle in firm first place, followed by nålbinding, which is slow going but very satisfying. Crochet probably comes next as I can make projects quite quickly with a hook, but I’m not as thrilled with the texture. Knitting makes a nice fabric, but ranks below crochet for me because it is so easy to drop stitches, and too hard to stop mid-row. Weaving currently occupies the bottom rung. I have the hardest time getting to work on these projects, both because it is stationary and it has a similar feel to color-by-number projects, even when I have full design control. I’m glad I live in a place and age where I can try all these things, and not be stuck in a single craft.
Critters and Craft 