Larry, I have so many onions--they are all over the place--shop porch, hanging in the utility room, some still lying in the garden where I pulled them last week. I love onions, though. So, yay!

And my swallowtail caterpillars have grown. They're not teeny tiny any longer. I'll come back with a pic.

Oh, and Danny, usually chickens are no trouble. I just seem to be going through a rough patch with them. Normally they take less than 30 minutes of my time and attention each day.

Reading, but too lazy to respond today. Jasper is adorable, Danny!

Squash bugs finally hit my squash and zuchinni hard enough the soapy water & handpicking them didnt deter them. However i do have some new ones started in the other garden,so I will pull the old ones out and let the ground completely dry out before I replant a fall crop of something - probably green beans in that area. I brought in about a gallon bucket of PEPA to shell tonight plus enough okra and tomatoes for a meal. My egg yolk tomatoes have surprised me by being very sweet - i only planted them because they were in the huge basket of seeds my mother left when she passed away several years ago and i couldn’t waste the seed. Most of my large tomatoes have suffered wilt and disease due largely I believe to all the early rain and temperature changes - we have plenty for salads but none to can or share.

I have 2 identification photos to share and hope you can help me with, houzz is deleting half of what I type so will try a separate post for those

This caterpillar and several of the same are eating my passion vine. While i plant a lot of host plants mainly just to share with cats I struggled just to keep this passion vine alive and growing so not willing to let them completely devour it. Can you please identify it so i can decide how many to leave or possibly what other plants I can transfer it to? Also, I decided this tree was not a hackberry as i thought - it sheds tiny yellow blooms right now that bees and butterflies just swarm too - for some unknown reason it has posted sideways - anyway if you can identify either of these I will appreciate it

I think it's a Gulf Fritillary. https://txmn.org/llr/2020/07/15/my-experience-tending-to-passionfruit-vine-inadvertently-raising-gulf-fritillary-caterpillars/

It only eats passion fruit vine.

I'm not ready to post more yet.

We had a bizarre occurrence Friday. . . . a non-delivery by the mail carrier. And the weird thing was that Garry was sitting at the bar catching up on 2 Sudokus, so he sat there from 10-noon. The mail person left a "sorry we missed you" sticker. The carrier didn't "miss" us. We figured he was too lazy and hot to get out of the vehicle and walk across the street. Further, Titan was in the house--and Titan always barks loudly when a delivery person knocks. To make matters worse, it was two button bushes from Etsy--and so they sat in the post office over the weekend. Steam rolling out our ears. I've lived here close to 7 years now and have never had this happen. It has happened twice with UPS, but never with Fed Ex or USPS.

So. Getting ready to drive 18 miles (round trip) to get my plants. #$%^&*(. I hope to catch the carrier soon to straighten him out on where to leave packages if we're not "here."

Well, meanwhile, I have outdone myself on laziness yesterday and today. Garry mowed most of the yard yesterday. We are thrilled with the zero turn mower. I'm anxious to try it out, too.

What a beauty Jasper is, Danny. Sounds like he's doing well, too.

Farmgardener, I grew Egg Yolks the first time last year. Now I will plant them every year--I much prefer them to the Sungolds because of their slightly larger size.

Not much to say otherwise, so we'll make our way into town to the PO. Later, all.

Amy, thanks for the article. Not only did you identify the culprit, but it was a great article on passionvine. I probably will let a few live but I’ve worked too hard to get this plant to grow to let them destroy it.

Nancy, I’m glad you enjoy the zero turn mower - the more experience you get and more comfortable you feel will make you appreciate it even more.

Yes, I will be planting the egg yolk tomatoes more too.

I too have trouble with deliveries too.

Amazon leaves where I request and a picture to prove location. Fed Ex twice lately has left a package in the road near the mailbox and stated ”left by front door” or ”handed to recipient” - once it was only a small envelope that contained several SD cards for game cameras! So frustrating and yes i contacted the company I purchased from and complained about delivery.

One of the bushes was dead. Crispy dead--I expect it was the heat as much as anything, and sitting in that hot box. I'm not sure the other one will survive, either. Meanwhile, come to find out our regular carrier is a terrific guy. We were on our way to town and GDW spotted the vehicle--asked me if we should stop him. Yep, so we did, and met him. The package was "attempted" on Saturday the 24th (not Friday), and he doesn't work on weekends. He was very sympathetic and said he would also tell his supervisor. When we got to town, the manager of the USPS said he'd just gotten off the phone with Troy, the carrier. And said he'd have a talk with the carrier who delivered on Saturday. I guess there's nothing to be done, but I certainly am aggravated. I have a few choice names for her.

Finally contacted an alternate cable company, also, to switch internet. I hope I'm not jumping from the fire into the frying pan, though all my friends at the marina assure me it's a good move.

For sure a fritillary, Amy, but couldn't decide whether Gulf or Variegated. I have had both on my passiflora, but am too lazy to go out there and see if I currently have both. We had a huge wave of them both last year. Not as many butterflies in general this year. And interesting, farmgardener, the passiflora grows rampantly here. I know next to nothing about deciduous trees.

I'm glad you finally got a new computer, Larry; hope you get over the learning curve quickly.

Yes, the passionflowers will be so aggressive that most people consider them a weed (a beautiful weed, but a weed). They grow fast, they spread fast, etc.

I never get frits early enough in the year to mature. They come and are still cats when it freezes and kills the vines.

Here's an old thread about fall gardening with Dawn posting:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2067977/planning-the-fall-garden-it-s-hard

Here's another one:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4018707/summary-of-fall-planting-dates

Rick

Danny, how do you keep those hibiscus apart? They look so much alike :) I did google the images.

Larry, I love your onion mess. I so much prefer not to have straight rows... even though it is easier to weed and water. :)

Nancy good luck with the internet provider!

Rick, you snuck in on me... I will have to go click on those links.

It was a glorious day here. I rode around the lake, at what ended up a great speed.... I got back and had time to fill a third garbage can with branches and brambles... and put it at my neighbors driveway. Earlier I had set one out across the street (where the current renter isn't home at the moment)already, and as soon as the two there got emptied I filled one of them with more, and set a second one at my driveway. We can get two emptied without extra cost... and I try to push that a bit. All the currently cut of branches and stuff are gone, except the stuff in the front yard. For some reason the city isn't picking the bulky waste up this month either. RATS!

Then I thought I wasn't going to wear myself out any more than I already was... but it rained. Thus, I donned a swimsuit, drove the car out, and proceeded to wash it. LOL, now, I have a clean car, and a watered garden. How cool is that?

I got 3/10th of an inch of rain.

This should help, weeding tomorrow.. and I have to mow too.

Moni

Danny, I’ve lived in this area for 65 years and last year was the first passion flower I’ve seen here, so its a rarity instead of a weed for now. Several friends and relatives want a start so hoping it will spread. My nephew moved near Wellston and they are wild there in the fields. Of course i have a lot of wildflowers in my fields and in my flowerbeds so I guess I would be considered a ”weed collector” lol

Moni, you are a wonder. I admire you so so much. Next time you take a trip, stop by here, I want to hear you preach the talk. . . . (of keep moving).

I have the wild passion flower here, I mow and spray them every year.

Moni, I had rather not have my onion mess, but I dont like to throw away anything. My onions this year are the best I have ever grown, but I have given most of them away, It seems as though other people like them also.

It has been hot here and I have been staying inside. My neighbor is more or less looking after the wildlife garden, he is harvesting the produce over there to sell in his produce stand, but he gives me the produce I want. I cant seem to stay out of the doctors office long enough to get anything done.

Nancy, I am learning to use the new computer. We also plan on getting a new internet provider. We are looking at Wave, it is new to the area, but a 3 to 4 mo. waiting list.

Thank you Rick for those threads

Oh, I grow passionflowers (and mine were really late (like everything else) to sprout this year), but certainly not gone ;)

Babysitting today. [[Hugs]].

Unfortunately the rain missed us again.

I drove through many rainy areas all over the metro yesterday, but we didn't get a drop.

The cooler temperature was SO nice, though. Ethan was working so I gave Stella a garden tour and we sat outside until almost 9.

I told her how I wished Ethan was off work so they could be out doing something while it is actually cool. And she said, "this isn't normal (in the evening)"?

Unfortunately, no.

Because we didn't get rain, I watered the KG and ornamental beds today after delivering food to my Mom's friend's 90 BD. And it is HOT. Especially in the sun. The shade, not too horrible.

After Pilates, I'll water Charlotte's Garden.

Oh, and bummer. I picked the cantaloupe too early. The chickens will get a treat.

The swallowtail caterpillars are still eating and growing. I'm about to run out of dill for them. I moved a couple of the larger ones to the carrots. How big do they get until they stop eating and start transforming?

I killed many grasshoppers today. I hate killing things.

So, how did I not know until last night that peppers have skins?!

I made pimento cheese. The recipe called for roasting the peppers and removing the skins. I roasted them in the air fryer btw and it worked really well. I didn't want to heat up the house with the oven.

Anyway...this roasting peppers thing has opened a whole new world for me.

I'm considering a nap. I have a lot to do, but a nap sounds so nice....

Umm, do swallowtails eat carrot foliage (I don't know..I'll google it)?

Edit: Yes, I guess they do...I knew dill and carrot were in the same family, just never occurred to me.

Danny, it's what I have to offer them. The roots are about ready to pull anyways.

There's a bit of parsley and fennel in another bed, but there's also 3 big assassin bugs hanging out there too.

How big till they stop eating?

The black swallowtails here generally prefer the bronze fennel, with parsley coming in second. (I was thinking you have bronze fennel, HJ). I also have dill and ammi majus and visnaga, which are also part of the apiaceae family. I've seen the caterpillars on all of these (none of which are native, BTW), plus carrots. Here is a most interesting article on them. http://www.ecosystemgardening.com/what-did-black-swallowtails-eat-before-we-brought-in-parsley-dill-and-queen-annes-lace.html

The caterpillars will form a "J" shape just when they're getting ready to pupate in their 5th and final instar state--they generally are about 1 1/2-5/8" long, to my best estimate. lol--I've not measured one yet. I'll have to do that.

I'm glad to hear the air fryer approach to roasting peppers, HJ. Thank you.

Jennifer the rain missed me as well. I will have to water this morning. Several things I have covered are doing well. I threw out lots of potatoes going to seed. Covering with dry grass to see what happens.
My niece’s chicken one lonely girl is reducing the grasshoppers so I feed her watermelon treats

Nancy, I do have fennel and parsley in another bed that a few assassin bugs have made their home. So, I'm not moving them to that bed. I put them on the carrots. Haven't looked at them today yet.

I did my kickboxing workout and really need to start tackling my list. It feels nice to sit, though. I only have a couple more weeks of this schedule and should take advantage of it. Soon I'll go back to 5 days a week.

Jen...Rebecca....y'all doing okay?

No new dramas in the chicken yard to report. I do think Blossom lost her eye. Poor little momma. The wounds look better. She didn't have a "pretty" face anyways because of her beak deformity. She does have pretty colors, though. She's a Columbian Wyandotte.

The two remaining broodies are still in the dog kennel. I might leave them until the end of the week and see if they'll stop sitting.

Kim, I ask Madge if she had any sprouting potatoes I could plant, but no luck. I do have some spring potatoes I could plant, but have not had a lot of luck doing that either, a few may come up on time, and some may come up next year.

I am trying to get ground ready to plant something. Jennifer I think I will try carrots again, but I want to try planting on toilet paper. I cant see the little seeds and always get them too thick. I have read that by placing toilet paper in the furrow that you can see where you are dropping the seeds. I also think that placing some irrigation tubes in the garden may be a good idea. I have not used the tubes for several years and can tell that my garden has been less productive.

I have room in the house gardens for a row of peas and a row of carrots, then the rest of the room has to be saved for fall/winter crops.

Hey, I'm around. Just busy with work & all. Oklahoma voted for Medicaid expansion so we've been swamped. Enrollment began last month, so now we're trying to revamp pretty much every report we have to include expansion data.plus it's the end of the fiscal year so all of our annual reports are due. Ah, the glamorous side of data analysis.

Also working on the house. I can't seem to get much done on weekends so I took off tomorrow and Friday, hopefully I'll make some headway in getting decluttered and organized.

Garden's limping along. Tomatoes look horrible but I have a bunch of fruits on them. Peppers are ok but very thin skinned. How do you get the big thick walled peppers?

Jen, could variety make a difference?

Not sure, but it seems like every pepper I've ever grown has thin walls. The only really thick ones ended up getting sunscald so I never got to taste them.

Many peppers (including bells) are so much better when they mature in cooler temperates. That's why bell peppers that survive till frost are loaded with succulent peppers!

Hey, while mowing earlier in the week, I finally encountered a leopard or wood frog (just saw a leaping frog, couldn't tell which it was) in my yard. I mean in Chelsea, I had a yard full of them (and the snakes eating them), but I have never seen one in my yard in Springdale (6 years) till now. That brings me to snakes (only saw garters), toads (saw a baby last week, plus adult earlier in year), terrapin (in flower bed a month or so ago), and now frogs (have had tree frogs before) as a non-insect wildlife in the yard. I'm not counting the armadillos or cats, I consider them both invasive pests. Oh, and I found a Viceroy butterly (monarch mimic) drying it's wings earlier this week! (I used to think they were monarchs..just a bit smaller and maybe darker) *lol*.

Glad you're doing fine, Jen. Sorry you're so busy at work. Have they talked about sending everyone home again? Tom's work is requiring masks again as they've had several cases of C pop up this week...even among the vaccinated.

We're making adjustments at my work too...and preparing for more. Because, we too, have vaccinated people testing positive. Luckily I haven't been physically close to them. I do feel bad for one guy. He's already had C, been vaccinated, and got it again!

Crazy.

I'll be heading home in about an hour and just realized I didn't thaw anything to cook. Maybe E and S will go out tonight and I won't have to worry about it. I'll open a jar of my canned peas and call it good.

I'll need to do a bit of watering, I'm sure. I don't know what else I'll do out there. I still have some flowers that need to be planted. Dumb that I've let them go this long. And, I want to see how the swallowtails are doing.

Rick and I up potted cabbage seedlings last night and gave everything a drink of fish emulsion.

I pulled off most of the noodle beans because of the aphids. I can't remember if I talked about it here or the other place. It was gross. I'm sure the aphids were falling in my hair. If this is what they do--attract aphids--I'm not sure I'll plant them again. They look cool until the buggies show up. It's fascinating to see the "good guys" show up. I'll come back with some pics. For those of you who saw them at the other place, sorry.

We're planning a tomato canning session soon. Still harvesting lots of okra and peppers. Melons are not ripe yet, but there's lots out there.

That is NOT the kind of Covid news I like hearing, HJ! We had antibody testing done last month and were good, but they couldn't know how long we'd be good. Right now, OK is tied with FL for 2nd place in testing positivity and sixth in the nation regarding new cases. Not the top 10s any of us want to be part of. Sadly, I have decided my trip to MN mid August is going to have to be canceled, since I'd have to be driving through OK and Missouri (which is also one of the 10 worst states). MN is good and IA pretty good, but have to get through the other two to get to them.

I've not paid attention to kinds of frogs here, Danny. I will have to do that now. Mostly, I see toads, not frogs (except for tree frogs--we have lots of those). And to date, I've not seen any Viceroys here. Poplars, some fruit trees, willows appear to be hosts. I have spotted Red Admirals twice now--new sightings of those for me. (hosts being members of the nettles family); although I have lots of butterflies in the yard, not near the number of last year--and not near the number of hummingbirds, either.

Nancy, can you just pack some snacks and drinks and only stop for gas as you're going through Oklahoma and Missouri? Wear a mask and clean your hands when you get back into your car? I'm sad that you're cancelling your trip.

And I'm not sure why there's a pic of my messy kitchen on my last post.

Babysitting still, so just a quick note for Jen. Pimento peppers. I had thin walled bells all the time (except in the ONE exceptional year I had for peppers.) I was lucky if I got 2 peppers per plant and the first would have BER. Maybe it was because the garden hadn't reached that point yet where it was "cooking". At any rate pimentos are always thick walled and heavy producers for me. I especially like Ashe County. But my first was Red Cheese pimento (I don't know why, unless they use it in chease spread. Mmmmm I miss pimento cheese. Even liked the cheap stiff, but Reasors makes a homemade one that is fantastic.)

As I watered the garden tonight I am thankful that many things have survived the grasshoppers and are trying to come back.
The pear, peach, and desert Willow are hanging in there. Goji ,spearmint, bee balm, most flowers, moist herbs and several others not sure yet. Sweet potatoes and butternut are jamming as well as my 5 year old mint.
After last weekend I have more optimism for the future gardens than I have had in a long time.

Kim, I love your optimism! I'm so glad you got to visit Jessica and Jeremiah! And so wish I could have gone with you. I don't regret spending time with my girl, though. I would love to do a road trip with you sometime in the future! Maybe South Carolina. LOL

Jen, I agree with Amy on the pimento peppers. You can use them like you would a bell pepper. Their walls are always thick. They produce very well. I am giving some to an old school friend at some point soon. And I gave some to a neighbor too. AND I still have plenty.

Also, they're just pretty to look at in the garden. And that alone counts for something.

My day has been odd and depressing really. I came home--got home around 5:30. I always check the animals first before anything. I dislike being away from my home for 10 hours a day. Things often go wrong.

Anyway...I started feeding everyone and checking waters immediately on arriving home. I noticed that Peg only had one chick near her. Where is Lucy? I look "upstairs", I look under the coop part, circle around and there she is--dead. Poor sweet little thing. I have no idea. No idea. She had no obvious injuries. She was adorable last night. I watched her follow her mommy up the ramp and thought, "why don't I have the video going on this? It's the most adorable thing".

Now, her sibling, Honey, is looking still and lethargic. Is it because she's upset that her sister is dead? They had to all stay in that pen with a dead chick. Peg pecked me hard when I scooped her up. I have a cut on my hand that's how upset she was when she pecked me. Or is Honey sick too? I don't know what's going on!!!

Maybe these are life lessons for me. There's things I need to learn, I guess. I just hate that it is at the expense of little chicks. Honey followed Peg upstairs to the inside part of the coop and I have fans on them.

Dolly's chicks are in the same coop and they all look great.

I got the KG watered. And pulled off the ripe elderberries. That's all I got done in the garden today.

I'm glad I didn't have to cook dinner. I opened up a jar of cowpeas, fried an egg, and baked a small potato from the garden. It was good and easy. Everyone else took care of their own meals.

Two more weeks and then it's back to full time. Summer sure went fast.

I'll have to try pimientos next year. Or maybe it's just the containers. When we move, I can spread out & put everything in the ground. I always have better luck when they're not in containers.

Poor chickie! I'm sorry you're having so much trouble with them this year.

No mention of back to work from home. But I think one deciding factor is so many are still at home. I think 60% of the office is either full time telework or flex 2-3 days in office. Most days I see maybe a dozen people all day. Tuesday when I left the office there were 5 cars in the lot, and pre covid there would be a couple hundred.

Any action on your house hunting, Jen?

Honey made it through the night. She was very thirsty this morning but didn't eat much. She seemed cold this morning. Chicks at 2 weeks have to be kept at around 85 to 90 degrees, but that should be perfect for most of the day. At night/early morning it's cooler though. Maybe that's why she seemed cold. She got under her mom. I hope she's just "off" because she's an only child now.

I watered this morning and grabbed the tomatillos that were ready. I saw 6 swallowtails.

And my first morning glory bloomed.

I love how pretty they are but I hate how invasive mg are. Maybe when I get land I can designate a corner for them

I've let (but not planted or encouraged) a 'Grandpa Ott' (as I recall) to grow in the shadiest corner of the house for several years. This year it didn't appear, but I see a vigorous vine (probably of that) on the fence 40 feet away...I bet *lol*. You'll never be rid of them.

You know what's weird? They didn't reseed or do whatever Morning Glories do. I replanted these. However, they are around the covered chicken pen. Escapees have been known to scratch in this bed...and in the areas of the pen that doesn't have the "small hole" hardware cloth, the chickens will stick their heads through the holes and eat/peck at whatever they can reach. I'm always lucky if I can get one or two plants going. These little beds around the chicken pen are full of invasive/reseeders. The LB petunias are out of control. The coral honeysuckle is too! (only no blooms yet) Scarlet sage, a vinca reseeded there. Sunflowers. It's a wild mess, but I'm not complaining.

I wouldn't plant morning glories near the veggies, though!

Help! I live in se Oklahoma and have never had a fall garden. What can I plant and when should I plant it? Thx for advice!

https://extension.okstate.edu/fact-sheets/fall-gardening.html

Here's an old Dawn thread: https://www.houzz.com/discussions/4018707/summary-of-fall-planting-dates

And another :https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2067977/planning-the-fall-garden-it-s-hard

The heat and the bugs will be your main issues.

Rick

Not much on the house hunting yet. I took yesterday & today off to get some cleaning/organizing/packing/detrashing done. I can't really get anything accomplished on weeknights because as soon as I start I have to fix dinner. Then after dinner I start & then have to get ready for bed. Saturdays weve been busy with meet & greets or dealing with new dogs, Sun is church & groceries. So 2 days of mostly uninterrupted cleaning should help me get some headway. Our bedroom is mostly clear of clutter, garage is organized to start stacking boxes, next is the cat room closet. Once that's done I'll start on the living room & then kitchen. Then we can get photos taken & get this place on the market.

Bumping up another old Dawn thread:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/2046937/oklahoma-garden-planting-guide

Rick

Jen, where are you looking (area? Rural or urban)?

Good luck on the house decluttering and packing, Jen. I remember that so well--and not fondly. But that makes me think I need to spend a good bit of time decluttering, also. Can't imagine trying to do it with dogs under foot.

Thanks for the Dawn links, Rick. Such clear thinking and good advice. I think I'll take a pass this year since hip replacement is coming up Sept 8.

Re Grandpa Ott's morning glories. Yep, I'll never get rid of them. I rue the day I thought it might be fun to plant some so they'd climb up the deck railing. I was out doing a walk-by. Even flowers aren't happy in this heat.

I'm beginning to know how you felt now, Kim. The grasshoppers are a plague here right now. I have never seen such a horrible situation.

I was going to list everything I lost but it happened so fast and I could not keep up. My nieces lone chicken has been over here trying to take them all out. I entice her with watermelon and water

Danny, we're looking for minimum 2 acres, within 30-45 minutes of the OKC capitol. I still have to go in to the office part time, and if they discontinue work from home I'll be going in every day again. Plus any further & we risk losing our dog sitting business. We asked a bunch of our regulars how far they'd drive to drop their pups off, and have started our search off that. I've looked into the USDA rural development mortgages and I think we're going to go that route to hopefully get as much bang for our buck.

Houses (in our area) are literally gone in minutes. In my case, I didn't even get the house listed (for which I'm thankful). Good luck!