Spent an hour or two tackling iris bed that is infested with iris borers. Ever seen an iris borer? I do believe they are the most disgusting insect in the animal kingdom. I'm putting all of the infected material into a trash can. Then, I expect I will add 1/2 c of dish detergent, and give them a soapy baptism. After that, I expect that, just for good measure, I'll drain the water, and haul the plant material to the dump. I'm cutting any not infested little bits off the rhizomes: anything that has some roots and a growing point, and no sign of insect or disease. Those will be planted in the garden, and surrounded with garlic tops that I've saved from my harvest.
this has been the worst pest year in my gardening history.
Hubby and I picked 2 qt. raspberries this evening. While picking, I didn't think much about the fact that a little bird was flitting around, and "chitting" at us. I'm thankful that I was cautious while picking. I found her nest. Tiny little nest, with the tiniest little blue eggs. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some pics tomorrow, and we can continue to harvest the berries w/o disturbing her efforts too much. Robin under the deck is coming and going, with huge gobs of worms in her mouth.
Psalm 127:1-5 (NLT)
Unless the LORD builds a house,
the work of the builders is wasted.
Unless the LORD protects a city,
guarding it with sentries will do no good.
It is useless for you to work so hard
from early morning until late at night,
anxiously working for food to eat;
for God gives rest to his loved ones.
Children are a gift from the LORD;
they are a reward from him.
Children born to a young man are like arrows in a warrior’s hands.
How joyful is the man whose quiver is full of them! He will not be put to shame when he confronts his accusers at the city gates.
Regarding the child trafficking that is being done right now: There are many stories of rape and mutilation by the coyotes/cartels on the way here. They extort life savings of families with promise for better lives for their kids, then... the kids disappear. Vengeance is mine, says the Lord. However, until his day of vengeance, I believe we are obligated to make as much noise as we can about the atrocities in our world.
Started building up the hugel kulture mound for next year's crops. We're picking up used stable bedding from a local hobby farm. I'll be layering that with grass clippings, and weeds, garden debris. Should have a huge build up by the time we're putting the soil to bed for the winter. Each full mowing should give enough clippings to put down a 2 - 4" layer of N.