What did you do in the garden today?

[WthrLady]

Picked another box load of peaches. Saw a GIANT bug that looked like a wasp but was easily 3 inches long! I swear you never saw a person move as fast as I did. It wasn't aggressive though. Just flew off like it was minding it's own business.

DH also picked up a load of sweet corn. I gave up on mine. Between the ocean of rain and multiple flash floods, mine has suffered greatly. Last I looked at it, it wasn't even 3 ft high and tasseling.
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Cicada killer???? Love those!

 

[WthrLady]

Well, they do what they say. Wick away sweat for evaporative cooling. I think they are worth the money. My regular clothes just get soggy in this heat.

Ya, I agree. I don't drip sweat. DH does. I just am all of a sudden soaked, like I OOZE moisture all over. I never get beady sweaty. I have some water wicking clothing that I swear is the HOTTEST crap out there. I toss it.
I like the stuff from duluth trading too. Their AK line.

 

[CatInTheHenHouse]

Looked closer to a cicada killer. I didn't see white on it but then I was more concerned with moving away quickly

I had that same reaction when I saw a Golden Digger Wasp last year. But it’s apparently a good bug, and only stings when provoked, which I was in no way interested in doing!

Speaking of good bugs, I need to have some words with the hover flies. They’re slacking; I saw some aphids on my pea plants today.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Picked another box load of peaches. Saw a GIANT bug that looked like a wasp but was easily 3 inches long! I swear you never saw a person move as fast as I did. It wasn't aggressive though. Just flew off like it was minding it's own business.

DH also picked up a load of sweet corn. I gave up on mine. Between the ocean of rain and multiple flash floods, mine has suffered greatly. Last I looked at it, it wasn't even 3 ft high and tasseling.
View attachment 4154078

Sphecius speciosus, the eastern cicada-killer wasp?

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Argh I'm in the sweat belt
View attachment 4154171

Yeah, no kidding. I have been having to change my clothes several times a day.

 

[TJAnonymous]

View attachment 4154398
Sphecius speciosus, the eastern cicada-killer wasp?

Yep... Pretty sure that's what it was. I've never seen that before. Freaked me out... My first thought was MURDER HORNET. I'm honestly surprised I didn't fall off the back of the truck in my rush for distance.

 

[cj2024]

DH copied your recipe to try after his chili peppers mature.

Adjust with water if it's too salty. I put it in a pint mason jar and can't remember if it was a cup or I just filled the jar up.

 

[cj2024]

I got a decent number of Molokai sweet potatoes from my 5-gallon wicking bucket, but I won't be using 5-gallon buckets for sweet potatoes ever again. I had a hard time taking them out and ended up destroying the buckets.

 

[Sylvester017]

It rained another 3/8" today and everything in the garden looks deep, deep green. Funny how "wild" water makes the garden happier than the garden hose does.

Spent a few hours improving the chickens' day run, making it little chicken escape proof. Then I tried letting the little 7 week old chicks move out with the big girls, but it didn't work. Too much agression and scared the little chicks. I'll try again in a couple weeks.

Hoping for good luck in your chick introduction

We never hatched chicks or had broody mama hens ~ we're only zoned for 5 hens/no roos, so we mostly acquired our birds from 2 months to 6 months old from private breeders or a feed store. A couple times we tried chicks.

Whenever we got new birds we always kept the newbies separate from the older hens till the newbies were 4 months or older at their almost potential adult size before introducing them to established adults w/a fence between them.

After the getting-acquainted period of a week or so then we opened up the fence. The usual pecking order takes place but at almost/actual adult size the new birds are better equipped to defend themselves or smart enough to learn quickly around the older hens. & all breeds, all birds, are individuals so some get along great while some are stinkers all their lives. We once had a large heavy hen almost 8 lbs that picked on 2.5-lb Silkies & would not stop so we finally rehomed her to a large flock where there were no little birds for her to thump! Hated to rehome her but it was the best thing to maintain flock harmony & she went to a great new owner w/ a big flock.

 

[Sylvester017]

DH found a cuke hiding under a leaf & took a pic of it next to our dinner zucchini. The cuke was just named "Burpless" & have no idea how it will taste. We loved our Sweeter Success cuke w/the smaller seeds & less water content. Not sure I like the look of this spikey cuke

Burpless cuke & a Black Beauty zucchini.