I have an interesting little guy living near my compost pile. He looks a
little like this:
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/pseudotriton/p._ruber$narrati
ve.html
only he is pinker, twice as large and his grey spots are larger. His skin
looks velvety rather than slimy too. He gave me a start the first time I
saw him. I was moving a rock that my two year old was using to climb on to
unlatch our gate :) (She is quite an escape artist! )
I think my guy is so big and fat because he's eating my slugs...
really I think so.... so I'm trying to be very careful to not disturb him
again. There is one very large (four foot tall) yellow squash coming up in
the compost and its completely squash bug free even though its the only
squash in the yard without a cover. He might be munching on these too!
My two year old garden buddy and I planted pumpkins today. I hope its
not too late for them! I decided to use the arsenic fence side of the
garden for some of these pumpkins and when they come up I'll mark them so as
to be sure not to eat them. We'll just use them for decorations. I've
decided to plant Indian corn and gourds along that 180 feet of garden too
and only use them for fall outdoor decorations.
The good beds are all full and I think I'm finally finished planting
for a while! The excessive rain caused part of my seeds to rot in the
ground but I've replanted and am very hopeful that this latest tropical
storm passes quickly so the new seeds won't rot as well!
My potatoes are looking great. I had to resort to a very shady part of
the yard to plant them in but they don't seem to mind even a little. I
bought hay today and mulched them heavily. I called around to find straw
but could only find one place 30 miles away that had it. Maybe the weather
has affected its availability but that one place wanted twice as much for
straw as for hay. I know I'm going to get weeds but the spot is so shady I
doubt if much will germinate anyway :) The good thing about that stupid
arsenic fence is that I'm learning more about what I can grow in the shady
parts of the yard and I"m utilizing more space than ever.
Happy gardening,
Laura
Hi Laura,
Salamanders are not at all slimy!!! They are the most beautiful creatures alive, I think (although I am very partial to turtles, I don't find them beautiful).
Carol
Tony wrote:
> Moira had an unpleasant experience this morning.
Indeed, a sad tale, both for Moira and the mouse.
I'm happy to report that about a week ago I discovered a turtle resting
comfortably among the daylilies and today a frog hopped out from the bean
plants. After last year's drought, I wondered when I'd see such creatures
again in our yard. We had tried to keep water for them in the veg garden
but it was too difficult a task. Now they seem to have found conditions
more to their liking.
Pat
I have been jealous for a while now for all you guys and galls that can
share your lives with the wonderfull creatures that snakes are.
Sometimes though we here in Ireland have compensations.
I was unblocking our water pipe with my son this morning when an otter came
shooting out of the stream on the bank and came to a stand still not two
inches away from my feet. It looked me in the eye for a second, turned
around and disappeared in the raging current going hell for leather upstream
without a splash.
John
John D'hondt wrote:
What a delightful experience!
We don't have any snakes in NZ - and no otters either. We do have some
unique birds, and - unfortunately - all too many introduced species,
almost all of them deliberately introduced "with the best of intentions"
but almost invariably with dreadful results!
Moira had an unpleasant experience this morning. She was heading for the
door to go into the garden, when she experienced a sort of "soft crunch"
under her foot. Looking down, she found she had just trodden on a mouse
which - clearly - was already almost expired anyway, Moira's foot
finished it off!
Tony
--
Tony & Moira Ryan,
Wainuiomata, North Island, NZ. Pictures of our garden at:-
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/cherie1/Garden/TonyandMoira/index.htm
John, don't you feel privileged. I think I'd rather be startled by an otter
than a snake. I've had similar experiences with a pair of beavers who
weren't in any hurry to leave and a bobcat who was. We have otters in my
state but I've never been lucky enough to come across any.
Sydney
Oklahoma
came
> shooting out of the stream on the bank and came to a stand still not two
> inches away from my feet. It looked me in the eye for a second, turned
> around and disappeared in the raging current going hell for leather
upstream
