Thursday, September 15, 2011

I am the Lone Locust of the apocalypse. Think of me when you look to the night sky.

DSC_2224_7019Time to start cleaning out the 2nd bed of 3 Sisters.  Most of the corn stalks were yanked out some time ago; but I kept a few in to support beans that really weren’t worth keeping.  As I cleared out the corn stalks and bean vines I kept finding more and more baby pumpkins (Jarrahdale).  Before this evening, I thought that I had maybe 10 pumpkins.  As I kept clearing, I kept finding more and more promising specimens.  There are so many more producing that I’m sure to delight a couple of kids whose pumpkin patch was a dud this summer. I worked beyond sunset and had to use a flash for some of the final photos of the day.  DSC_2233_7027There was only a slight infestation of aphids this summer.  A blast from the hose along with lady bugs gobbling up the beasts seemed to keep the aphids remarkably under control.  I may have only seen 1 or 2 squash bugs.  Now I know why.DSC_2235_7029The more I cleared, the more I disturbed the population of my team of homeland security agents.  There were so many fat, happy, and apparently expecting praying mantises.  This one looked like Lamaze breathing would be necessary any moment.

Even though the 3 Sisters version of gardening was a bust this summer, one item did flourish – Jarrahdale Pumpkins (and praying mantises).

image

species:  Zoranthian

Zorak: My favorite episode of The Golden Girls is the one where they all took contaminated Geritol and died.
Space Ghost: That was never an episode!
Zorak: Well, it should have been.

6 comments:

dorothy said...

Cute pumpkin and cute praying mantis! Your post made me laugh at loud!

Lo said...

Loved Zorak and the photo of the Mantis.

By the way, re your comment on my blog that my lost post might be in draft form....thanks, dear, but no such luck.....that is where it was before I hit publish. thereafter.....nowhere to be found.

Sue said...

Congrats on the pumpkins....and the many pregnant security agents!
:)

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

We occasionally discover the praying mantis egg cases attached to our bushes and once in awhile you get to see mama mantis parading with the teeny tiny youngsters walking all in a row behind her. Cute pumpkins, we got several (small)this year despite the squash bugs which were more focused on the zucchini.

Glennis said...

Mantis!!!

I got a little teeny one, but yours is a big girl!

L said...

ZORAK!!!

(Brak was better.)