the good, the bad and the ugly

I'm talking bugs, of course.  We've waged war against the bad guys, but it's a long road.  Over the past couple of years (since Carson came along) we've switched almost completely to organic gardening methods.  It's tough.  Sometimes I REALLY want to grab a bottle of Spectracide insect killer.  But, the organic method is a battle that I'm determined to win.

I've got my go-to methods for all my different pests.  We've got BT for the caterpillars, beer (and salt) for the slugs and snails, diatomaceous earth for the ants and earwigs and ladybugs for the aphids.

But, this summer brought an unwelcome invader that had me completely stumped.  Something was feasting on our ivy.
Nothing eats ivy, right?
Wrong.

One night, I took our dog out for a late walk (10pm) and something in the ivy caught my eye.   Upon closer inspection, I found hundreds of...
walking stick bugs!

one of our walking stick bugs (the bad guys)

They're actually kind of cute and apparently they make good pets.  In fact, they aren't native to Southern California but there have been quite a few reports of infestations here.  Sounds like they were originally someone's pets, they got tired of them, released them and that caused a BIG problem.  I've been studying up on these little terrors and it turns out San Diego has a major stick bug problem.

Long story short, the only recommended way to get rid of them is Orthene (a broad spectrum insect killer) and I just wasn't willing to go that route.  So, I've spent a lot of nights with my flashlight and my clippers snipping walking sticks in half (sorry, I know it's gruesome).

But, I've also got a secret weapon (that's the helpful part of this post), praying mantids.   They sell them at our local nursery (or you can order them online!) and they eat LOTS of other bugs, including walking sticks!  We started raising (?) them months ago and now we've got quite a few of them hanging around.  To raise them you simple hang a little nest (looks like a tiny beehive) in the yard and wait for it to hatch).

one of our praying mantids (the good guys)

They are amazing!  My yard has never looked better!  I don't have aphids.  No caterpillars.  Haven't seen an earwig in weeks.  I still have a few stick bugs, but it's SO much better.

So, my suggestion for all my gardening friends: GET PRAYING MANTIDS.  I know many people are bug shy, but do it anyway.   They're completely harmless to people and they don't eat plants at all, only bugs.  I promise you'll learn to love 'em!

country livin'

We're back from a perfect couple of weeks in the beautiful northwest.  I've always loved visiting the christmas tree farm where I grew up.  Reminiscing about the good times we had as kids sure is good for the soul.  But, there's something even better about watching your own little one enjoy those very same things.

Farm life sure is fun...

 4 wheelin',

farm animals,

 

peach pickin',

and plenty of time just enjoying the great outdoors.

 Here's to even better memories next time!

give that guy a haircut!

I apologize for the lack of posts lately!  We've got a lot of summertime fun goin' on around our house and no time for working!

We're busy gardening (always) and finally harvesting, we've got some construction underway in the office, and of course, we're working on a few smaller projects here and there.

Here's a cute, quick and easy little craft project that provides for a bit of daily entertainment. 

All you need to create this cute little fella is:
an empty yogurt container (I used Yo Baby)
a few small pieces of felt (two colors is ideal)
googly eyes
glue
dirt
and
some sort of seeds

 

First, we cleaned our yogurt container, removed the paper,

 and cut off the top ledge.

I measured one piece of felt to cover the whole yogurt container.  Then I sketched a few more pieces for ears and a trunk.  I did this super quickly.  Elephants with two different sized ears have more character, right?

 We stuck the pieces together with a little craft glue and added our dirt and grass seed. 

 Then we waited...and waited...and waited...

5 whole days, 

until we saw teeny tiny pieces of "hair"!  Carson LOVED checking elephant's hair every morning.  The grass grows so fast that it's a great change from day to day.  Now he loves telling me when it's time for a haircut!

Looks like it's time for a trim!

a healthy summer treat

It's been HOT at our house!  That means lots of time in the sprinklers and plenty of frozen treats.  This is one of our favorite treats on a summer day (and it just happens to be healthy)!
If you're a banana fan you must give this a try.  It's perfect for kids.  Carson just loves it!

All you need is ripe bananas and a Cuisinart (or blender).

 First, freeze the bananas in slices.  We usually leave them over night but a couple of hours would probably do the trick.

 Throw the frozen slices in the Cuisinart and blend.

You can always get creative and throw in an extra treat.  We like a little nutella.

It makes perfect soft serve ice cream (or keep it in the freezer for a harder ice cream).

It couldn't be simpler...or tastier!

let freedom ring!

Happy 4th of July!
We just love this holiday and we are thoroughly enjoying ourselves today.

Riding around in town in style

Racing in the "Independence Day Diaper Derby"

Daddy is so proud...

of his 2nd place finisher!

I hope everyone is enjoying this beautiful day.
Here's to the land of the free!

the shirt says it all...

Carson has been the lucky recipient of some new hand painted shirts thanks to my new Silhouette Cameo.  We're having a blast putting anything and everything on T-shirt.

I had seen this cute saying somewhere and remembered it.  Here's my little super hero making his very best "BATMAN" face!

I've found freezer paper to be THE way to go when making stencils for fabric.  The best part, you can buy a whole 75 ft roll at Ralph's for $3.99!

I used my new cameo for this project, but you can certainly use an exacto knife on freezer paper and create the same type of project.  This one might be a little too intricate for the exacto (if you're dying for a shirt like this you better just get in touch with me and I'll make you one!).

Here's how to use freezer paper as a stencil.  It couldn't be easier.

~ Cut your freezer paper to size.  Lay it plastic side down and cut out your design.

~ Remove the letters/design to create your stencil.

~ Iron the design onto your shirt (pillow, etc) using medium heat.

~ Use your favorite fabric paint to fill in your stencil.  I LOVE to use Annie Sloane's chalk paint on fabric.  It acts more like a fabric stain and lightens only slightly in the wash.  It doesn't have that stiff fabric paint feeling at all.

~ Allow the paint to dry and peel off the freezer paper.

~ Heat set the fabric paint once you're sure it's completely dry.

~ Show off your new shirt!

edible garden favorites ~ part 2

My last post featured all my favorite goodies planted in my raised bed.  We also have plenty of edible plants scattered around the yard.

If you don't have the space for a raised bed, just put a couple of these in pots.  They're pretty and delicious!  Remember not all plants are created equal.  I think I've got some winners this year...

{1} thompson seedless grapes ~ vigorous climber for a fence or trellis ~ we've got these all over an ugly fence back by our garage
{2} seascape strawberry ~ everbearing ~ produces fruit spring, summer and fall ~ these love hanging pots
{3} peach sorbet blueberry ~ a dwarf variety perfect for a pot
{4} raspberry shortcake ~ a dwarf variety with no thorns ~ this is the only variety I would go with if you have kids ~ regular raspberries can be pretty painful
{5} meyer lemon ~ so sweet + the blossoms smell amazing
{6} stevia and mint ~ muddle the leaves of these two in hot water for the perfect sweet mint tea
{7} a potted herb garden ~ basil, cilantro, chives, rosemary, thyme, parsley and garlic

I hope you enjoy these as much as we do!