Lost Ladybug

Posted on November 19, 2010 by joelignacio

I found this Ladybug circling the rim of the plastic cup what I store my blank plant labels in. She must have hitched a ride when I brought the labels inside the house.

Bugs on the Swiss Chard

Posted on May 21, 2006 by joelignacio

We’ve been having weird weather. Last weekend was sooooo hot, reaching the low 90s on Sunday. Throughout the week it’s been getting cooler and cooler, then this weekend, we got rain again. It’s actually not bad’ it’s kinda nice not having to water outdoors.

Before it rained today, I was cutting down more of our bolting Swiss Chard (in vegetable bed #1), because I want to fix it up and start my vegetable garden. At the same time, Calli was running around exploring the back yard and my oldest brother came to visit and was pulling out the Peach leaves with Peach Leaf Curl.

As I was pulling up the Swiss Chard, I found a whole bunch of bugs. There was a couple of Ladybird Beetle larvae, which I relocated to our aphid stricken Italian Plum tree.

I think the left photo above is a Soldier Fly, but I’m not sure. If you click the photo and view the large version, you can see the details of its purple and blue eyes. It has an interesting pattern.

As for bug on the right… I don’t know what that bug is, but I’ve seen them in our Persimmon Tree. They are slow moving and very very shy. This one was very good at hiding from the camera. I’m surprised I got a photo of it.

I can’t wait to get the lens I ordered on Friday. I also got myself a 10x Macro Lens which I hope will give me more detail with photo like above.

Seeds-a-Beckoning + Dog Walk

Posted on April 27, 2006 by joelignacio

As I was walking from the carpool lot to my car, parked several blocks away, I noticed these seeds scattered here and there as if it was a trail marker. It was beckoning me collect it… so I did.

I have a feeling that some school children were eating “whatever this is” and spitting it out the seeds as they walked home. These may be Loquat seeds, but I’m not sure.

Once I got home, I took our dog Kelly for a walk. We walked all the way along the bay. She’s getting old, but she still enjoyed getting out. We saw these two doin’ it on a bush by the bay.

Finally, the sun began to set… and we headed back home.

Thursday’s trip to Yard Birds…

Posted on June 17, 2005 by joelignacio

Yesterday (Thursday) after work, I stopped by Yard Birds and got the following:

– a box of all natural tomato and vegetable fertilizer
– a gallon bottle of fish emulsion
– a bag of green moss
– a russet terra cotta colored Coleus called “Sedona”

The Coleus “Sedona” had a missing limb and wasn’t very lush, but it was the only one in it’s color. I’ve never seen this color in a garden shop before… So I just had to snatch it up. I’ll take cuttings and try to make more plants.

Which reminds me… I need to do some research and see if there are people who also take unique Coleus cuttings to trade with others.

I was also entertained at Yard Birds. There had these buckets of ladybugs. Tons and tons of them… and I was just fascinated watching them in such a cluster.

A hummingbird also paid a visit at Yard Birds and buzzed around all the fuchsias. It stopped right in front of me and watched me for a little bit, then went back to its business. At one point, it perched on one of the fuchsia branches and looked like it was picking at some bugs.

I saw a plant I really liked called Helichrysum petiolare or Licorice Plant. It’s chartreuse leaves were fuzzy and felt very velvety. If I had the room, I would have bought it. For now I’ll just add it to my wish list.

A Whole Bunch of Garden Photos…

Posted on June 10, 2005 by joelignacio

Today I was able to take a whole bunch of garden photos, including some fruits, vegetables, flowers and other stuff in my garden. So if you have the bandwidth, check behind the cut.

Vegetables

Cucumbers