Another melon ripened on the Aspire vines. An itty bitty melon. It tasted alright, all one bite of it, but it was mostly seed. I gave the rind to the dogs because it was soft and still had some flesh on it. Missy was not impressed, so Griffin ate both halves.
Tiny Aspire melon
I thought this was the last of the melons, but walking by I spotted another on a live vine amongst the dead leaves. Yes, in November from a plant I seeded in spring, that was supposed to set fruit all at once. I put a sling around the developing melon. We’ll see what happens.
My plan to reduce the chance of further moth infestation is to line one side of my craft room with cedar planks. Aromatic cedar is a natural pest deterrent (and it smells really nice). My craft room is really the house’s master closet, but it is a 10×10 room and we don’t have that many clothes, so roughly 2/3 is craft storage with a small tool bench. The plus side of all this is that I was forced to clean out and reorganize the room, which has been on my to-do list for months. Once I had the back wall clear, I installed the planks over the dry wall using panel nails. It wasn’t a difficult job, and I was able to complete it in a few hours over a couple days. I could then get to the rearranging of the space, which took longer!
Aromatic cedar planks installed on the wall
I did pre-drill each nail hole so I didn’t split the wood. I used my favorite pull saw to cut the pieces, which was honestly easier than taking each piece out to the garage to cut with power tools. The planks are thin, and cedar is fairly soft, so cutting was easy. I did buy painted panel nails, which wasn’t necessary, as the paint came off the head of the nail when it was hammered in.
I’m hoping that this will discourage moths from settling in to my fibers and fabrics that are stored in this room.
I went to get a portion of my new gray alpaca fleece, and when I opened the bag, the fibers were crawling with little white moths. Ugh. I immediately took the bag outside, then checked my other bags of fiber. It seems that the infestation is currently only in the one bag.
Clothes moth in alpaca fiber
This is my first experience with a clothes moths infestation, so I did some internet research (I know, internet knowledge, but I read several articles and went to a few different websites). I decided the freeze method was the best route for me, mainly because I have freezer space and don’t want to use chemicals. I put the whole bag in my deep freeze and the plan is to leave it in there for at least two weeks. When I’m up to it, I will take it out of the freezer and wash the lot of it (so it may be longer than two weeks, that is a big job). But I’m all creepy crawly now and concerned for the rest of my fiber stash.
I planted paperwhite in September in the hopes of holiday blooms. Some have decided to bloom now, while others are holding on. Maybe I wasn’t consistent with planting depth. Hm. Still, it is nice to see the delicate white flowers in the front garden.
Paperwhites in bloom in November
The Japanese Honeysuckle is putting out an occasional burst of blooms.
Japanese Honeysuckle in bloom in November
The Shasta daisy also has a handful of flowers to show off.
Well hello there little guy. I don’t suppose I will have occasion to get a picture from this angle very often, so I’m going to snap a shot, OK? Then I’m giving you warning that I’m opening the door to let the dogs out. Don’t run towards the door jam, it is squished death for spiders and geckos, but I promise I will check before I close the door since you were so kind as to let me capture your image this morning. Nice eyelashes, by the way. Very chic.
High Eyelashed Jumping Spider on the other side of the glass
