Photo of the Month of March 2023

You’re going to have to look closely, but this guy is an inchworm. He thinks he’s a stick, and the best I can figure is that he is a moth in waiting. I didn’t move him or dissuade him from hanging on the front porch, and I don’t know where he wandered off to, but he left. At first I thought he was a larva stage walking stick, but finally found him in the geometer moth family. They like to eat plants and leaves, so hopefully, he will stay on his side of the house and out of my garden. I already had two beautiful red tomatoes with little squirrel bites out of them.

Photo of the Month of February 2023

New monarch butterfly ready to come out of his chrysalis and flit about my milkweed. This is what they look like about 24 hours before they emerge. He is hanging on the side of my milkweed box since I didn’t try to capture any more caterpillars and put them in my cat box. It seemed late in the season, and I was trying to discourage them from laying eggs. They ignored me and 20 or so more butterflies took off in February.

Photo of the Month of January 2023

I fancy myself a gardener now. These are my baby beans just sprouting up from the ground. I have done a lot of things wrong with my first serious gardening attempt, but having enthusiasm isn’t one of them.

I planted beans, peas, carrots, radishes, lettuce, onions, potatoes, spinach, peppers, tomatoes, basil, parsley and dill. I am either going to have a great harvest, or I am going to find out I am a terrible gardener.

Photo of the Month of December 2022

My Christmas cactus is in full bloom this year. Last year was my first year with it, and it bloomed around February instead of December, so I guess we’re all on the same month now. It hangs on my front porch in a macramĂ© hanger. I haven’t had one of those since the 1970s!

According to the Farmer’s Almanac, this is not a dry desert cactus, but a rainforest cactus. So, it’s a succulent that likes its humidity and grows in trees. Maybe I should move it? It seems to be happy where it is, and with me, the less I fuss with something, the less likely it is to die.