EEWW!!! LOOK WHAT'S INVADING OUR TOMATOES!!!

photo by Suzanne at KardKorner Headquarters

Fort Worth, Texas -July 2010

While visiting our tomato plants last week, we discovered that the tops of the plants looked like they had been snipped off with scissors.  Lo and behold!  These creatures that blend perfectly with the leaves were nesting on our plants.  If you look closely you can even see his eyes!  Blah!  A fly was harrassing one of them and it was writhing back and forth while hanging on to the plant as it tried to ward off the fly.  It's none other than the Tomato Hornworm, native of the United States!  Their eggs are deposited onto the leaves of the tomato plant by the "hawk" moth in late spring and hatch in six to eight days later.  They don't mess around!  Later, as the worm matures, it drops off the plant to the ground and then emerges into the moth to repeat the cycle.  But by early fall they will remain in the soil all winter and then emerge again as a moth in the spring.

A common, natural enemy of the hornworm is the wasp.  The wasp kills and feeds upon a large proportion of the larvae and they also attack cabbage looper and other garden caterpillars.  But the most recommended way of controlling the worm is to handpick them from infested plants.  Once tomato season is over, gardeners should be sure to till the soil up to prevent re-infestation.

Somewhere off to the right of the page should be a picture of the "Hawk" moth.

I gathered this information from a site featuring the Department of Entomology, Univ. of Minnesota

***

Well, I had the day off today and I watched The Today show this morning on TV.  They announced that today is "National Hammock Day".  I have never heard of it, but, hey-I can live with it.  This day is celebrated in the middle of the "Dog Days of Summer" (July 3 thru August 11).  It is not a day for work, and cutting the lawn is forbidden.  Well, that pretty much describes how our day went!"

And I decided to give my old standby, Mark Twain a break and leave you with some quotes from Movies on the subject of worms.

 * The Fox & The Hound (1981):  "A worm for breakfast?  Yuck!"
* Remington Steele (1983):  "The worms will be singing tonight!"
* The Great Outdoors (1988):  "These are the biggest worms I have ever encountered!"
* Wolf (1994):  "Is the worm turning Mr. Randall?" 
   "The worm has turned & it is now packing an Uzi, Mary."
* Dreamcatcher (2003):  "One worm kills the world?  Just one worm can affect the whole world?   Not just Boston?  Not Massachusetts?  Or the Northeast?"

Happy Birthday Karo!

My husband, Karo, was born on July 21st.  I won't give the year-he may not want anyone to know his age.  But he's the greatest!  Always there for me and everyone else.  We've been married for almost 10 years now, and I cannot imagine life without him.  Karo is a loving, caring father and the best Grandfather imaginable!  He's a talented musician, with a great singing voice.  He likes to work on classic cars, and he is very talented in carpentry, electricity and plumbing.  Karo sings a lot-he sings to our pets and even adds their names to his songs.  And a funny guy-makes me laugh a lot. He is my best friend and I love him very much.  He does everything for me-treats me like a queen.  I've always been one to save the best for last, and I gotta tell you, I got the BEST AT LAST!  Happy Birthday Mister!

***

"Everything that goes up must come down.  But there comes a time when not everything that's down can come up."

~George Burns

You're All Invited To A Pool Party!!!

Welcome to the largest swimming pool in the world...just off the coast of Chile!  This pool covers 20 acres,  has a 115-foot deep end and holds 66 million gallons of water.  The water is so crystal clear, you can see the bottom even in the deep end.  The water from the sea that is just on the other side is filtered into this pool.  The seawater is so cold you can't swim in it, but they are able to regulate the temperature in this pool to 26 degrees warmer than the sea water.  How refreshing this would be after today's high of 98 degrees!!!

And now- to the results of my poll from the year 1959.  Honestly, I only had one brave soul-my coworker Cindy, attempt this harmless survey.  Here are the correct answers:

1)  Twilight Zone did premier on TV on October 2, 1959

2)  Dwight Eisenhower was elected U.S. President in 1955

3)  Richie Valens, The Big Bopper and Buddy Holly all perished on 

February 3, 1959 when their small plane crashed in Clear Lake, Iowa.

4)  Gasoline was not .24 cents in 1959.  In 1959, gasoline was 30.5 cents a gallon.

5)  And yes, in 1959, Mattel's Barbie Doll is launched to the public!

Never fear...there will be more surveys!  I'll break you yet, readers!!!

I want to thank my grandson Shawn's mom, Latisa for visiting my blog.  You can view her comments from my "Rain in July" post.  Comments and ideas are welcome.

***

And now, how about a goodbye from my favorite Mark Twain!

 "the human race has one really effective weapon and that is laughter"

The photos of my pool in Chile are courtesy of victory-cruises.com/pool

Rain in July-very rare in Texas!

Photo by Suzanne from Kard Korner Headquarters

Fort Worth, Texas ~July 2010

We've had much rain this month so far.  Our rain gauge says 2 inches just this afternoon.  The sidewalk out back was totally underwater.  But look at how green our grass is!  We're pretty pleased about that.  Of course, the zinnias are laying over again.  We cut a few of them earlier while it was just sprinkling and now the temperature is down to 72 degrees!  Almost unheard of in July around here.

***

While you're looking around on my blog, be sure to check out my Jellyfish video.  I've been trying to get some sort of slide show with our personal pictures on here, but still no luck.  I will eventually figure it out tho.  However, the jellyfish are pretty.

~

Yesterday was my mom's Birthday.  She is officially 84 years old and proud of it, I'm sure!  I've placed a couple of pictures of her on her last Birthday on my blog today.  Actually she is standing in front of her red gazing ball.  I guess I should have picked the picture that shows all three of them.

Happy Birthday Mom!

***

Next, my dear readers, is the matter of my 1959 survey.  The poll closes tomorrow at around 6:30 pm I believe.  I've only had one taker.  And that brave one is my friend and co-worker Cindy.  Cindy, if you're reading, thanks so much for taking the plunge!  I will reveal the answers on tomorrow or Sunday.

~

A couple of cool quotes

~

"A bank is a place where they lend you an umbrella in fair weather and ask for it back when it begins to rain."

~Robert Frost

"A crown is merely a hat that lets the rain in."

~Frederick The Great

Born On The Fourth Of July! A Salute to My Brother!

Today I am remembering my brother Stan who was born July 4, 1950.  My sister Leta was about 3 years old, and I was probably around 18 months old.  I guess it was out of the question for us to do fireworks that nite-I imagine my dad had his hands full with two little girls on board and mom in the hospital.  Oh well, I can guarantee we made up for it in later years.  My brother was one firecracker fan!  It was always a festive day for us.  Even though it was my brother's Birthday, I kind of felt like it was mine too.  He would line up his firecrackers, bottle rockets and smoke bombs and patiently await the good word that we could shoot off some stuff before dark.  We would have picnics outside on the patio with mom's potato salad, and once my sister got up and started moving around for the day, she would help with the baking.  She made the best peanut butter cookies with crisscross designs in them.  And there would be cake too.  Sometimes my dad would make homemade ice cream-Yum!  Anyway, of course, after dark there would be fireworks.  And we could also see the neighbors fireworks too.  Sometimes afterwards then, my parents would bring some quilts out and we could all lay out on the front lawn (which, by the way, was always nicely manicured) and we would fall asleep outside under the stars.  I thought it was a fun time of year.  My brother has passed on now, 3 years ago, but I will always remember his Birthdays and the anticipation of his favorite time of year.

God Bless You Stan!  We miss you!

***

"It was nice growing up with someone like you-

someone to lean on, someone to count on...someone to tell on! 

 ***  ~Author Unknown ***

***

Some other Birthdays we will be celebrating this month:

my Mom * July 8

my husband Karo * July 21

Karo's son Chad * July 26

***

It's been raining cats and dogs this afternoon and this evening.  The creek is running fast-sometimes it runs over the bridge and they close our street off.  Our Zinnias are laying over.  I'll have to go out and cut the taller ones and bring them in.  The sidewalk out back was running over and Karo had to rescue our little cat (15 years old) and put her in her house.  She's blind now and stays pretty close to the porch.  We can't bring her in-she's never liked being in the house and we worry about her more now.  I think we'll have to make a serious decision soon, although she eats real good and doesn't complain.  

***

So, let's stand up and salute the 4th of July!!!  Be happy for our wonderful country.  Even though things sometimes aren't going well, be thankful for the good things-any kind of job we can get (heh!heh!), family and friends!  And, of course, our Grandchildren and Great Grandchildren!

***

And don't forget to vote on my poll-COME ON!  I've only had one participant. 

 The poll closes Saturday, July 10, 2010 at 6:30 pm