Bugs, Weeds, Rabbits and Colors

 

RAIN! WE GOT RAIN LAST NIGHT!

Today we woke up to cloudy skies and MORE RAIN!
We weren't sure if we'd be able to get into the garden or not, but after the last couple of summers we won't complain about rain!

 As it turned out, we did get into the garden. We're getting to the time of year when we're doing basic maintenance care - pulling weeds (nobody's favorite job), continuing to lay newspaper and mulch, and finishing signs in our animal plant space.



We talked about pests in the garden - bugs, weeds, and this year our biggest pest...rabbits.

Next year we'll make little fences around everything to discourage the rabbits who have happily feasted on many tender little plants this year.

As for insects, we talked about beneficial insects and looked at pictures. We recognized some of them, and were surprised that some are insects that we would have thought were harmful to our plants. One of the

favorites, because of the name, is the   Assassin Bug.

Using insecticides will control problem insects, but kills indiscriminately and will also kill beneficial insects. We talked about home-made remedies, knocking the munchers off the plants and the help of insects who prey on the insects who eat the garden.

We also talked about the benefits of bio-diversity in the garden to invite in the helpful insects, and planting to take advantage of plants that help discourage harmful insects.

As for weeds, again we could use a chemical, but are using less lethal methods. We pick weeds, put down newspaper and mulch, and use raised beds.              

Making signs for the catmint and tickseed coreopsis

In our relationship discussion we filled out a personality assessment that     describes personalities by color. It was fun to discover the differences in our personalities, and to guess who in our families fit which color.                                 

Those different traits can "bug" us,  we can be think the other person is a "pest", but understanding the different personality styles can be helpful in building healthy relationships. Instead of reacting in anger we can learn to appreciate the strengths of another.

We're thankful for the rain, and for the varied colors of our personalities that make life full and fun!

Here's a link to a fun website with tons of info on beneficial insects - happy bugging!
http://www.kathimitchell.com/insects.html

Here's some info on personality traits,how your personality can grow/change and how your personality can affect others:

http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-personality-traits.html