Tuesday, June 22, 2021

~Garden Talk The good the bad and the ugly~

 


















So I got up one day last week to find 80-90% of my started from seed tomato plants completely uprooted and left to die.Had we mot been home.I would not have seen them.In my pjs..replanted:( So far so good.Thank heavens.
I don't have a photo..shock and get to it overcame me..Not oh lets take a pic..
But I walked to the potting shed(she shed)..and discovered all the poppies along the side the heads bitten off:(
I did get my camera..

And look who showed up once I was back in the house..
Nope not cute to me at all..

Later..walked around checking the roses..

May I introduce you to rose chafers..next the japanese beetles will arrive.
It's a wonder I garden so much.
Against  the garage at the back once prolific clematis are either not showing up for summer or are wilting and just sad looking..
At the front and on arbors faring far better♥
C'est la vie as one of my signs says.

I bought a potted sunflower because it had eaten all my seedlings..
See that gorgeous bloom? the two flowers I had chewed up..and left..on the deck.

I have to say far less sorrow in baking..
See that Hershey pic?
FABULOUS dessert for a get together.Fabulous.
Ages 11-80.Loved.

Smores shortbread tart..from a great veteran blogger/ food developer..Chris 
You can find the recipe here.
The bread..s..again from T on IG..  Her fab recipe..

She is 2002KCMD on Instagram..type that n the search bar..and her posts will show up.

Excellent White Bread recipe.

She showed me that she had made horns to fill.
I jumped on that bandwagon in a breath.
I mean..♥
Started with egg..crab...faux crab therafter:)
She shares everything and encourages us to try.

Green zone as of Monday..here..
Got my second hot today.
Thank you science.







28 comments:

  1. I never saw a "full frontal" pic of a ground hog standing on its hind legs before. I wonder where all of her babies went. I hope far from your garden.

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    1. Lol I had not either.. this is through the window w/ a zoom lens..not a lot of zoom..Her home is very visible..
      If she has any they must be there.
      They are destructive..don't be fooled..
      I hope they skedaddle away:)

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  2. We had racoons that would wait until my corn was just almost ready to pick, then eat all of the corn. Made me so mad! Your bread and sweets look so good! Glad you have had both shots!

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    1. Me too!I felt a tad joyful🙂🙂🙂critters that destroy 🥺🥺🥺

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  3. Awww, so sorry your plants and flowers have taken a beaten. Perfect capture of the groundhog who looks to be nursing. I hope they move away. I do wonder why we put so much effort into a beautiful garden and then something wipes it away. We have a huge squirrel problem. They dig holes everywhere, eat my flowers and recently chewed a hole in a lovely outdoor chair and took the some stuffing. They demolished my new Rose of Sharon. They practically wiped out my veggie garden.

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    1. Squirrels are very problematic here too..so I hear you.
      Here they chew car wiring too and Christmas light wires apparently one manufacturers wires have an ingredient squirrels love!
      They love nesting in cushions.
      Woe is us Linda🤗🥺

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  4. Well happy first week of summer! :( Your groundhog is definitely nursing from the look of her full frontal photo - LOL. Just what you don't want is groundhog babies. Those rose chafers...OY. What destruction. Soon the Japanese Beetles will be here also. They have the same mating behavior as the chafers. Non stop! Thank heavens they don't eat the clematis. Such a pretty one and I love those ridged petals. What beautiful bread horns! I love how you filled them with egg salad and Mescher. And that shortbread tart is just WOW. I'm sure everyone here would love it too! ♥

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    1. Seeing all my tomato plants uprooted nearly broke my gardening spirit..
      The groundhog is awful the chafers too.Dry year..not the best…Good eye on the lettuce!

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  5. My heart is just breaking for your garden. I know how much care you give it and how hard to work and to see those bugs destroying that rose or hearing about your poppies just makes me want to cry. But I love seeing your shed and oh, those stuffed horns look so delicious! I'm afraid you are going to have little groundhog babies running around the garden soon. She looks very full.

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    1. I know..it’s nature but..she could have picked anywhere else right?😫😫😫😫

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    1. Thank you.Sorry to share the ugly too this time:(

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  7. I am truly sorry for the mess created by the groundhog! We battled their destruction for years, before putting up a tall fence. I really didn't like the looks of the fence, so we moved the garden behind the garden shed. Believe it or not, raccoons were still able to climb that tall fence, but they didn't tear up my plantings like the groundhogs did. One thing we know for sure, there will be many more days of beauty and gifts from your garden. One thing I remembered was being told to clear away any woodpiles and that discourages the woodchucks from staying on your property. Beautiful bread!!

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    1. I read they climb and dig!!WE know where he lives right under my potting shed..thank goodness it's built on concrete or there would be damage.
      My neighbour had raccoons under her porch that she had winterized..they had to dig all around..(no true foundation) and do precautionary things..it was $$$$.
      I love critters..in books.
      In nature I find they are awful..my chickens were always at risk..the coop being dug..we had to make a fort around the nase..I may get some again next yr not sure now that we have The groundhog.
      Thanks for sympathising:)

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  8. Wo-man vs. Nature.
    I once wrote a kid’s book,”Wake Up Groundhog”. Who knew they would torture your beloved jardin?
    I wish I knew some remedy for your greedy invader. Spritzing the flower tops with vinegar? I was had to have a patch of my arm removed because of dead-heading in the sunlight. Looking on the ‘bright side’. :))

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    1. Yes trying different sprays..I am relentless!!Much needed rain today..tomato plants seem re-anchored ..roots have taken again..the deadheaded blooms..and massacred roses I can’t do a thing about👩🏻‍🌾I never knew you wrote that book!

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  9. That's quite some bugs you have there - darn! That's not fun! IN my garden the deer usually bite off the poppies - yes, I have very happy deer here. Your clematis looks great - I seldom get mine look so good.

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    1. Not fun ..so true:) I guess poppy heads taste amazing.
      So grateful we had a good rainfall yesterday.I thought..I should have buckets here and there like you! I'll remedy that.I learned at a site..20 yrs ago..Gardenbuddies..what might work for me..here in my climate concerning clematis from experts..Still so grateful..and yet some still finicky:)They can go away for 1 year..and come back..this year one area w/ usual proven winners..is looking awful.
      I will add more alfalfa pellets..

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  10. All in all, it sounds like a perfect day of summer. Such lovely clematis and lilies (I think). I understand about the critters. We battle them on our acreage too. But they live here too, so that's that in the world of mother nature. I enjoy reading blog posts such as this that you wrote. Can't wait to read more. It brightens my day!
    Ciao,
    Roz

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    1. Roz..thank you so much:) Critters can be oh so cute..but the ones ..that don't really do good..well..I just don't love them:)But MN is BOSS:)

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  11. I'm sorry about your garden....but very happy about your second shot! :) xo

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  12. Sorry about the destruction. We labor in our gardens, then overnight a band of intruders have a feast! 😂😂😂
    We have the squirrels here. They are not cute to me! Well, the decorative ones I like, but the rascals in our trees are definitely pests.

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  13. Oh my those nasties. My heart breaks. That gopher/groundhog or whatever it is looks positively sinister. Also looks like a mom who has babies to feed, probably makes her even more destructive. In England it was the snails we battled and lost to constantly! xoxo

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    1. Lol we have snails and slugs and earwigs too..all creatures great and small except deer.

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  14. You outdid yourself with the baking, dear Monique. Looks amazing.
    Amalia
    xo

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