This year we have had tons of very big wood frogs. They can be identified by the black mask on either side of their face. Seeing so many frogs makes me happy! They are a sign that my backyard ecosystem is healthy!
Category: CT Backyard
Candy-striped Leafhopper
When I spotted this bug on my fig tree, I was floored. I had never seen a bug that was bright pink and blue! Isn’t nature amazing?
Variegated Lamb’s Ear
The people who owned our house planted lamb’s ear. While it died in its original location, it managed to spawn hundreds more around the property. Out of all those babies I found one with a genetic mutation that caused the leaves to be white and green instead of solid green. So pretty! I’m going to try to clone this one in the spring, probably through division (splitting one plant into two or more plants), but I might try to isolate it and force self-pollination which would most likely produce both normal and variegated babies. Wish me luck!
Aloe emergency!
As you can see my aloe was falling over! It had a long bare stem at the bottom. There were a few pups sticking out so I took a leap of faith and cut off the large top.
Here you can see the tiny pups (aloe babies).
I am hoping to root the top and allow the pups to grow in the original pot. Will it work? We will see I guess.
This is the top. I am going to wait for roots before repotting. The one thing I know you should not do is put the top with no roots in water or wet potting soil. This will induce root/stem rot and kill the plant.
Turn over one rock, find two species of salamander?
I think that the first one is a red-back salamander, with a nice long tail.
The second one seemed stouter, and did not have a red stripe.
However, I think this one is also a red-backed salamander, in a variant of coloration called “lead-back.” On further inspection we noticed that this one had a stubbier tail, and you could see the new tail growing back! It kind of looked like a stinger. But it is true that salamanders can regenerate their tails, and this is how it looks.
What do you think, are they the same species?
Home Grown Edamame
About 1 1/2 cups was was I got from my one edamame from home depot. I may have waited a little too long to harvest (they were bright yellow green), but they tasted great and it was a very low maintenance plant, so I would recommend it.
Raspberry Cane Borer!
Raspberry tips I removed upon seeing “girdling” on wilted tips
I noticed that the tips of some of my raspberry canes were wilting. Upon inspection the cause became clear. Raspberry Cane Borers are beetles that lay their eggs in raspberry canes, close to the tips. The larva then burrow down the canes eventually killing it. The sign of this is two dark rings (see image above of two affected canes). Hopefully if you remove the tip a few inches below the bottom ring you should be able to save the cane.
Note: I was just shocked to find that there is no wikipedia article on Raspberry Cane Borers because they are pretty well known! Not even a link to a more general class of insects.