I planted three bronze and three green fennel plants this year to attract a few caterpillars.

I got more than I bargained for,

including quite a few inch worms.

After the munching onslaught and overnight caterpillar migration there was not much left of the host plants,

but they will quickly bounce back, ready for the next hungry wave.

My tomato plants are also currently under attack from the large sphinx moth caterpillar or tobacco hornworm.

But by far the strangest critter that has been showing up all over the Patch this past week or two is…

…here is a clue:

You guessed it,

Lacewing larvae, better known as “litterbugs”.

The larvae use velcro-like bristles to cover itself in a variety of mediums including, aphid / insect corpses (oh yes), bark, fungus…basically anything it can get to stick on up there on its back for protection.

This is a remarkable adaption but a hard shell just seems like a lot less work. I am not sure what this one picked up, barley? Sugar Puffs?

It is my belief that lacewing larvae are actually reincarnated hoarders that are being taught to restrict their collecting tendencies to what they can carry on their own backs.

A ludicrous proposition.

Moving Along:

I recently took advantage of the nice weather and took a trip to a local nursery to pick up some filler-plants to replace some dead fountain grasses. Unfortunately for me someone had strategically placed these three Arizona ‘blue ice’ Cypress trees in an unusual place in the parking lot.

I did not stand a chance.

I very rarely happen across the blue-ice, especially this size.

I picked out the one with the thickest and straightest trunk and before you could say

Cuppressus arizonica

 

 it was hanging over my tailgate, heading to its new home.

There was however one obstacle (there always is) and it was slap bang in the middle of the spot where the cypress was to be planted.

It was like:

Only our turnip was an old hackberry stump and just like the storybook turnip, it wasn’t coming out of the ground without a fight.

“Ach, ye canna beat some neeps and tatties.”

Some rugby tackles, wiggling, root severing and general miserableness in the heat ensued. The fact that it was wedged and had partly grown into the fence made it sufficiently more annoying.

With the stump finally removed I set about digging the hole and immediately started to find ‘treasure’.

Our house was built in 1890 and previous owners of the property had buried their trash in the yard so a shovel in the ground anywhere back here turns over something!

These were the best pieces all cleaned up and ready to be added to our expanding collection of artifacts.

[Contemplates being lacewing larvae]

This mug from the 20’s was her favorite find.

Here is the young tree settling in after getting a good soaking of fish emulsion.

Yes I gave it to the tree.

Old yucca spikes make great ‘wizard wands’.

It will be some years before the little tree reaches the height of its opposite kin:

Kumo – his favorite way to travel,

and his favorite ornamental grass to induce vomiting.

On that note:

Stay Tuned For:

“Oh Frass!”

 

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