Peppers and another Mantis sighting

 Not much happening in the weather. Still hot, breezy and insufferable during the day but actually got very cool last night. So desert weather it is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 The best picture I got of Manny since he's in such an awkward position and actually on the move a little. Tried to get a video but by the time I got that set up he was in this position and stopped moving. But he's still there!

As much as I'd like to pick the peppers they are all only about half grown. Same with the tomatoes and still nothing on the tomatillos. I did some flower to flower pollinating and tried to do a  Q tip but couldn't tell if I got any pollen transferred. I also tried a brush to no avail. Also, the flowers close up at night so can't do any pollination in the evening or early morning, have to wait until midday which is another sign that they need winged vector pollination, which I did see but weren't bees or maybe a small bee and a gnat. Certainly are enough tiny ants working the flowers on both the squash and the tomatillos.

 

Trimmed some of the older leaves off the squash so there's more room to water and for the peppers to grow.  The fish pepper is going to be the last one to harvest. The other two peppers will be ready I suspect along with the onions to harvest so I may be able to get a salsa garden after all.

The tomatoes...gods I saw a photo I took of the bounty I had from last year. I'm going to fix that bed and do Romas again, wish I had another bed like this one so I could do another variety. Have to remember to start the seeds earlier in the seed pellets next year. Maybe rig up some plastic on the bakers rack out on the porch for a mini greenhouse.

Peppers in the West bed seem to be doing okay, at least they're flowering and I'm not stopping them either. The small tomato is a bit too close to the tomatillo giant so I had to stake it back a bit so the tomato could get more sun. Still wondering if I'm going to get any potatoes.

So it looks like the gopher is back again, judging by the number of logs that are lodged in the ground. Knock on wood they don't hit the other bed where the cilantro, carrot and possible zinnia are still struggling. 100% shade right now so I might as well get a shovel and try to transplant them.

Doesn't look like anything but, what I thought for the past few months was seeds dropping from the liquidambar pods was actually caterpillar poop. It just dawned on me as l connected the brown stain on the sidewalk and pellets were directly under the branches (see the blurry leaf shadows in the left picture) that were completely naked now due to the feeding.  Leaf stems are completely denuded have dropped in the right picture. I remember the pellets last year but didn't think to look up and notice the signs, not until I saw a dead caterpillar this year did it occur to me to look up. 

Oh! And the parrots have returned on their fall migration route. They go from East to West in the evening now and in the spring they seem to come from the same direction but it always seems like it's the same direction, will have to pay attention next year when I hear the squawks. I also heard one of the hawks again today, sadness they are still coming around looking for their nest.

If I have had to cut down a tree for a house I would feel guilty forever.