The garden, a mud dauber, and Helga Strikes Again

[rebeccmeister]

You can't really tell in this photo, but this morning I transplanted four sets of sunflower plants into the wildflower garden patch, along the fence:



I read that sunflower plants don't actually transplant very well, but in this case I wasn't really sure whether these sunflower seeds would germinate, so I wanted to start them in pots to be sure.

They germinated.

The patch on the lower right is where I worked the soil and then sowed a whole bunch of wildflower / cut flower seeds from a couple of seed packets. I didn't touch the section to the left because there are already things in the soil there and I want to see what comes up. I love this little patch of the garden for being disheveled and good insect habitat.

Speaking of insects, here's what I encountered this morning, trying to hide under a flowerpot:





How could I not take 400 pictures of a shiny blue wasp? I believe this is a mud dauber. The internet suggests it is Chalybion californicum and informs me that these ladies eat black widows. And probably other spiders, too. She's in the right spot, as best I can tell. I have been seeing tiny, cute jumping spiders all over the place over the last week or so. They haven't been in times/places for me to take pictures of them, though.



-

I am doing a fantastic job of avoiding working on academic writing. For example, this morning I steam cleaned the living room carpet:



The carpet needed it.

At least, that's what I keep telling myself.

Slightly more seriously, I am grateful to be able to allocate some time and space to keeping the house reasonably tidy. Poor miss Emma keeps barfing on this rug, so the steam clean was necessary. I remain very glad that I gave this steam cleaner to scrottie a couple years ago. It has come in handy on multiple occasions.

I will eventually settle in and get to work on the important things.

Comments

[cmcmck]

Interesting to see a wasp that isn't yellow and black!

[twoeleven]

I am doing a fantastic job of avoiding working on academic writing. For example, this morning I steam cleaned the living room carpet:
I'm doing about as well on a grant application. :P

[sparklysky]

About a month and a half ago I planted sunflower seeds in my balcony, and they got really huge and tall during the past days! I see a flower growing at the center of the plant, finally.

[rebeccmeister]

Yay! I was noticing them in the picture you posted the other day. The ones I planted are getting fairly tall, but I think they still have a little ways to go before they will start to flower. The seed packet was a variety mix and I'm excited to see what they look like!

[sparklysky]

I always find it very exciting to grow flowers/plants from the seed, it makes me so proud when they finally grow and you can enjoy them.

[mallorys_camera]

I will eventually settle in and get to work on the important things.

Now, now. Let's not get hasty! I'm sure the grout in your bathroom could benefit from a nice toothbrush scrubbing!

[rebeccmeister]

Well! Now that you mention it...

:^)

[annikusrex]

made me laugh. the floor looks lovely.

[rebeccmeister]

And I feel so much better with the carpet clean(er).

I am currently actively ignoring the dust and dirt in other parts of the house.

:^)

[myka]

I've never had any luck with sunflowers, but someone recently gave me some seeds, so maybe I'll try again.

[rebeccmeister]

Yes! Join the Sunflower Club!

With not having luck: do they not germinate? Or do squirrels eat them first? I have an aunt and uncle who have a farmhouse in the countryside outside Seattle, and they were saying that the crows have been coming along and pulling out all of the baby seedling plants they were transplanting...so it seems there are lots of ways for things to go wrong. But we must keep trying!

[myka]

The problem was slugs. The last time I tried to grow them I surrounded their pots with jagged plastic cutouts from 2 litre bottles sprayed with WD40 and the slugs still ate them.

At the moment one of my 3 sunflower seeds has germinated...

[rebeccmeister]

Curse you, slugs!

I just went out to check sunflower plants this morning, and it looks like a critter has eaten one of the four sets of plants, argh!

To be continued, I suppose. Maybe it's time for you to make some slug saloons?

[myka]

Clearly I need to learn about slug saloons!

[rebeccmeister]

Yes, you do!

You can make your own, but here was the original idea:

https://www.planetnatural.com/product/slug-saloon-trap/

I believe they work well when filled with stale beer as a bait. They're basically a shallow pan filled with enough liquid that the slugs drown when they're attracted in and try to take a drink.

[bluepapercup]

I have been considering a small steam cleaner that can be used on both carpets and furniture. The couch cushions are a microfiber fabric that really holds hair and odor, and sometimes they have a big of a cat-butt smell that results in my having to unzip the cushions and wash the covers, which is quite a process.

[rebeccmeister]

I highly recommend it! Ours is a Hoover PowerScrub Deluxe. I think every time we have ever rented a steam vac, it costs at least $50 if not more, plus you have to go somewhere to pick it up and haul it home, and back again.

[bluepapercup]

Yeah, the rental price has been quite a deterrent! Do you use a cleaning solution in the tank, or just water?

[rebeccmeister]

We've been using a carpet shampoo in the tank, most of the time, except when using it for spills. If I had to guess, I would guess there are probably perfectly good DIY recipes one could work with, with a bit of Googlin' around.

I wound up figuring that hey, we're using the thing on carpets, which are gross and made of plastic and full of all kinds of grime, so I haven't really cared all that much about what I've been using, figuring that anything is better than nothing!

Kind of funny, considering that for almost every other cleaning application I've gone the DIY route.