More veggies and other updates

I decided that for Mother's Day I would give my mother a potted okra. She likes okra, and like me has been growing a few veggies.


I am now growing an assortment of herbs, peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, cucumbers and melons.

I also noticed the other day that one of my Plumeria (Frangipan) seems to have died.



Perhaps it took a bad hit from a lawn mower or weedeater. I was told by a nursery person that these are especially sensitive to damage caused by weedeaters and bumps from mowers.

I also bought a plant at an arts and crafts show Saturday. I don't know what it's called, but it looks like a colorful version of a Hens and Chicks succulent.


I thought that it might be pretty in front of the house, where I have no hose to water potted plants.

Not bad!

Unfortunately I uncovered a carpenter ant nest when I moved a pot yesterday. Well, unfortunate for me. The lizards were all very excited! They all came running when they saw what was going on! I had three of them vying for the buffet. I learned that the adults ants must have a fierce bite, so they are avoided by the lizards. The lizards seemed to be concentrating mostly on the winged ants, and occasionally an egg.






Grody! But I found both the ant and lizard behavior fascinating!

Dueling Lizards

This morning I went out to check my garden and see what needed watering. As I walked over to check the new veggies, I saw movement out of the corner of my eye and heard a *thunk* on the deck. Startled, I turned to look and saw two lizards on the deck, one on its back and the other one had a hold of it by the throat. I watched for a minute or two, and other than occasionally clawing at one another, they didn't move. I wanted to get video of the match, but I feared that the minute I turned my back they would depart, and I wouldn't know where they went or what happened next. I sprayed the hose in their direction, and it barely fazed them. So I decided to risk running for my camera, and sure enough as soon as I turned my back and stepped away, they broke apart. However there was no need for concern-- they weren't going anywhere. I ran and got my camera, and got a few shots of the lizards...


Then I watched in fascination as they kept at it, maneuvering around one another, looking for the tactical advantage. Then they started sparring again.



And again...



Did you see the way that he flipped the other one right off the strawberry pot?! Awesome move! I could watch that over and over!

It was very interesting to watch! The "thought" that would go into their maneuvering around, looking for the advantage, was really fascinating. I'll be looking for these big boys in the future!

Little By Little

Well, Woodrow and I found a few moments to work on the yard a little yesterday, before company came over for Christmas.

We finally created a compost bin, using inexpensive wooden stakes, hardware cloth and a staple gun and lined with cardboard. It may not be the prettiest thing, but it should do the job, and it is "portable", which is important. I don't know where I may want to relocate it in the future.




I've already filled it with some debris from the yard work that we've done since I moved in, and I've been collecting kitchen scraps from the preparation of Christmas dinner (we did a Mexican-themed Christmas this year).



Woodrow and I also cleaned up some of the debris piled up in the yard. Some of it went into the compost, but a lot of the pile consists of tree branches and other woody material to fibrous to go into the compost bin. So we piled that debris onto a tarp and dragged it around to the front of the house for horticulture pickup. Now I have to get a shovel, so that we can get up the last of the leaves in the debris pile.



Speaking of the tarp: Last Sunday I decided to use a tarp to help get debris around to the street for pickup, and remembered having seen one on a shelf in the shed, apparently left behind by the last tenant. I pulled it out of the shed and tossed it onto the lawn. A little while later, I decided to open up the tarp to check for creepy crawlies (I get a little freaked out over just about all bugs, but am trying to get over it). When I tossed it open, I found what looked like little white balls. Upon closer inspection I realized that I was looking at eggs-- lizard eggs presumably. After a thorough accounting of the eggs in front of me, I found that I had three broken eggs and four unbroken eggs.



I felt bad about having disturbed the eggs and that some had been broken in the process. So I decided to try to place them in a new sheltered nest site, so they will at least have a chance.



We'll see what happens with them, if anything.

Lots more work to do!