Blogathon's Over and My Plans

Blogathon 2011 has been a wonderful experience and I'm thankful to have made it 31 days in a row blogging!! I really was intimidated at the start and thought maybe I bit off more than I could chew. What in the world would I write about daily for 31 days straight? That was just crazy talk as far as I was concerned. 

31 days later and here I am, finished and still with topics I want to blog about. I guess I should keep the ball rolling and keep going. I will however post daily Monday-Friday. I will only add a weekend blog post if something comes up for that day, like a trip to our 'Saturday Only Farmer's Market' that's opening this weekend. Gotta blog about that ya' know.

Other news is that I'm moving my blog over to Wordpress within the next week and I hope the transition goes smoothly. I will leave my Blogger account up and available until everything is complete. I will keep you updated on the changes as they occur. 

My URL will completely be Gardening-4-Life.com after the change.

 (without the blogspot added) 

You can already use that URL to reach this blog, so you can go ahead and change it now and be fine. The blogathon just made me realize some changes that I wanted and needed to make with my blog.

Until then, here is a picture of a wasp that I think has bitten off more than it could chew, well maybe. I made it over my big hurdle also.

I usually see Mud Dauber Wasps paralyze and pack their mud nest with tiny spiders. They do this and then lay their young in there so they will have food before hatching out. Gross I know, but it does bring about a sense of balance in nature. This particular wasp pulled this giant spider at least 20 feet. The spider was paralyzed and I'm curious if this was just a "big haul" like we would do for a deer or elk. I will not complain so much about wasps anymore, they play their part in keeping things in check around here. No free lunches here.

I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends...

Hey, I take all the help I can get when it comes to gardening. Seeing my precious plants devoured right before my very eyes is quite a traumatic experience. Ever since I've started growing my plants organically, I've taken on a whole new outlook on what I will tolerate in the garden, yes even spiders.

Grasshoppers are a really big problem here. It truly gives you a new perspective of the plague of locusts described in the bible. They can eat nearly any and everything that's growing. I once thought that grasshoppers wouldn't eat tomato or squash plants, well I know now that they will. After they've taken out the rest of your crop, they'll go after them. It's just not their first choice. :)

My best spider friend has been the Black and Yellow Argiope, aka "Zipper Spider". It is named that because of the zipper pattern in makes on it's web. This spider has been such a huge help to me. I've seen them set up their webs throughout my garden plants and catch away. They are truly the fisherman of the air. They go where the food is plenty for them. I'm thankful for their help!

My latest spider friend is one that has just appeared here for us this year or at least that I've noticed. It's the Green Lynx Spider. I was a bit surprised when I first saw this one. It is camouflaged so well and doesn't build a web. It's a hunter rather than a fisherman. Quite a beautiful spider as far as spiders go. They are native to the southern US and Mexico. I think though, the reason I've just noticed them is that this year they have been eating plenty and are really large. I read they were only suppose to get to 5/8 inch, but this one's body is just that, maybe larger. Let me get the ruler...hmmm

One thing I've really noticed about growing organically is that you have to focus on balance in nature. If I want the good insects like honeybees, butterflies and such, then I need to allow other insects that help my garden too such as spiders. If I sprayed to kill some of the bad insects, then I also lose the good ones too. Being selective on what I do is the key. Yes, I am careful and wear gloves when I work with my plants because I am aware I have workers I may disturb, but I sure am thankful for the help. Here's to free labor!