A week ago or so I was going to post a blog about tomato hornworms eating about 20 tomatoes.. I just
got lazy since it was the last week without classes (school starts Monday)..
So Sheila went outside a little bit ago to check out the hornworm
infestation, and low and behold nature had taken it’s course..
Well to start off let me show you what the little bastards did to the tomato
crops..
You can see the results of the hornworms snacking..
They ruined about 10-15 other tomatoes in the last 4-5 days.. Those bastards!
If you look closer you can see one of the
bastards having a snack on a tomato that was originally destined to be made into salsa or something tasty..
So it turns out the hornworm has a
natural predator.. Some wasp that feeds off of the hornworms.. Sweet sweet parasites..
They will soon use that lovely hornworm as a
snack, kill him off, hatch, and eat the remaining hornworms.. How sweet is that?
On to other garden reporting..
The cantaloupes are
finally growing.. I thought we got dud seeds at first, but about 3 weeks ago they started growing.. They aren’t very large yet, but at least there is
fruit that might be edible.
We also got some Jalepenos growing..
So I had been putting it off for most of the year.. My homeowners insurance wasn’t going to get
renewed if I didn’t get a new breaker panel and get rid of the old fuse panels and assorted ancient electrical crap in the house.. I finally got off my
ass, and hired some contractors to install a new panel, and then once they were done I started replacing the old wiring in the house.. I didn’t feel like
dealing with trying to install a main breaker panel.. It took the 3 guys a day, and if I tried I bet I would have been without power for over a week
considering my pace..
I went from this slew of panels..
To this one new breaker panel inside the
house..
Once the inspector signed off on all of the
contractors work and no more inspectors would be sticking their heads around I started removed the old non grounded wiring and put in new 3 prong outlets
and modern wiring.. I am not sure what a contractor would charge but it’s usually ~100 bucks an outlet and I’ve replaced about 15 so far in the house, not
to mention adding some decent lighting in the basement finally..
If you think it looks messy now you should have seen it before..
Check out the pile of old wiring I have removed in
2 days.. I still have a bit more to remove too..
I still have to install some more outlets in the
basement for when I move the washer/dryer down there, but that can wait..
So work has been slow in the last month.. It’s gotten hot, and well that sucks for working outdoors..
The patio is pretty much at a standstill.. I got more sand the other day since we ran out, but a little bit of time outside and it’s too fucking hot.. I
don’t know if it’ll be done when Tori gets here, but we shall see.. I guess between going to Charlotte to visit my grandmother, the beach trip,
recovering from the beach trip, and then my grandmothers funeral I have a pretty good excuse for doing almost nothing the last 3 weeks.. I mean we all
need a break right?
So the dining room has been completely separated from the rest of the house.. I moved all the furniture out, put plastic
sheeting up, and went to town sanding.. I got quite tired of that and started on putting all the plaster washers up.. I think the plaster repair will be
pretty good, my main problem is going to be matching the bumpy-ness of the plaster texture.. I am thinking sanded paint will be the solution..
Since I like to post photos here goes nothin’..
Major plaster crack in the middle of being repaired..
The washers re-attach the loose plaster to the lathing underneath so I can mud over it and make it match..
It’s quite a messy job.. I have given up on getting
the trim down to wood and staining it, but I still need a smooth surface..
This is what much of the paint in the house is like,
so I have to strip it down to the yellow layer, and then sand it smooth to have a good surface..
I think once I get the dining room done, the rest
of the house will go a bit smoother, but it is hard to find the motivation.. I already don’t know what day it is anymore.. It’s been a month and 2 days
since I last had a job, and well it feels good..
So the garden has been growing like crazy.. Tons of Zucchini, etc.. I have learned some good lessons..
Mostly don’t put your tomatoes so damn close together.. Zucchini take up a shit-ton of space.. I’m going to have to learn how to can veggies really
soon.. There are close to 50-100 tomatoes about to be ripe.. I already have a canning pot I used to use as a lobster pot, and my mom gave me my
grandmothers “how to can anything” book from the 50s, so it shouldn’t be too hard..
Look at that insane growth.. Next time I will give
everything more space
Roma Tomatoes..
Baby Watermelon
This just might be the sweetest most awesome thing ever..
The garden is doing awesome.. So far in about 2 weeks I have gotten a ton of fruit from the plants.. I
think there will be a massive abundance of fruit.. I love fried Zucchini, but does anyone have any awesome recipes that use Zucchini? I am not afraid to
try anything.. I’ll make Zucchini Ice Cream if you can convince me it tastes good..
There are finally fruit growing on everything else except the
cantaloupe (which has flowers).. Peppers, Tons of Tomatoes, Watermelon (They are about the size of a silver/Sacajawea dollar now), and carrots.. Well the
carrots may not make it.. The squash are starving them of sun.. Oh well..
Zucchini and a few Cucumbers – Not everything is
present either.. I ate some squash and cucumbers and left a few at Stacey’s..
I didn’t get many photos but here are the few I got that turned out worth a crap..
to become one with the couch isn’t easy.. It’s hot as balls outside, and the AC is about to die in my
house.. So between being done working, abundant downloaded television, Sheila being far far away, and what not it’s been hard to do much useful
stuff..
I have plenty to do, but alas I screw around watching tv in the morning until it’s too hot to do anything, so I watch more TV to wait until
it cools off.. Maybe spend some time on the internet, blogging about being a bum, and then well it’s evening and it’s time to watch a movie or something..
I can do this for a week or so because it’s my reward for retirement right and it’s OK right? Or am i already slipping very comfortably into my
patchwork shorts.. Maybe I should make a list of shit to do.. It apparently is in my Scorpio nature..
Well I did it.. Today was my last day.. I turned in my badge, laptop, and that’s it.. I am no longer
in the employment pool..
Sorta scary.. Gonna celebrate tonight.. Dave says I’m retiring.. So I am having a retirement party.. We hew!
So the patio on the side of the house.. The weather isn’t cooperating, so since the ground is
saturated it sits again today waiting for dryer times.. So about a month ago Sheila and I found the stone we are going to use.. Fucking beautiful..
So all that is left to do on the patio is to put in the sand, tamp it down like crazy, then start laying down the stones and sweep in some soil..
The digging is all done.. It seemed like it would never end.. So in typical Taylor fashion here are some photos of the progress..
Here is how it started maybe 2-3 months
ago..
Partway through digging..
Digging complete..
Foundation of gravel laid down and tamped
down..
The stone we got.. It’s going to be rockin’
whenever I can get out there and finish it up..
So hopefully in a month or less I can have the whole thing finished up, maybe get some Adirondack
chairs and chill out on the cool side of the house reading a book..