Oh oh. Someone's been a very naughty dog!

First Tiger Swallowtail of the year! Pretty sure this is a male as females have significantly more blue scaling. But you need both for caterpillars. I was just hoping to get some eggs on the Sweetbay Magnolias I just bought. It's nectaring on a Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow plant, FYI. Dad planted it years ago; I think someone on his mail route gave it to him.



I'm going to lay down and enter my allergy med induced coma now. These oaks are killing me!

Melanie. The pollen is crazy bad!

We haven't started our "pollen-season" quite yet. I was hanging four more wire shelves between my tree the last two days (it takes me forever to get anything accomplished) and I noticed that our oaks were just beginning to bud. Pollen-time won't be long now.

We are thankful to be done with the pollen already, but now we have the nasty little tassels all over. My cat comes into the house with them stuck all over her long, fine fur. I call it her "rolled in toasted coconut" look.

Another good reason we have a "home-bound" cat.

So right, Ken. My next cat will be an 'indoor' cat too. But this one was a feral cat that adopted us, and she stoutly refuses to use a litter box, so the yard is her kingdom. Happily it is fully fenced to 6ft. so other than the raccoons she has no predators to deal with, and she is 15 so has done well for an outdoor cat. Except for the toasted coconut.

My yesterday, Today and Tomorrow plant is going full force. Love how it smells too. Glad to know the butterflies like it. I took a picture on my phone, but cant remember how to get it on the computer. Got a few tomatoes planted, some beans , sugar snap and snow peas. I will plant some more in about three weeks. Its hot, and my back is killing me, ahhhh spring. Today I need to spray for rust/aphids, and Im either going to round up the weeds or try spraying vinegar on them. I just hate to round up this time of the year, the ground is just covered in lizards. I dont know if it kills them, but I sure hate to hit them with it.

Cross posted. We too have a feral cat, The Governor. We had trapped it to take it to be cat nipped, it had apparently been attacked by something. They fixed him up instead of putting him down. We let him back out, but he started coming up to us after that, and now owns the inside and outside. One thing I learned the hard way, if your trapping a cat, bring the trap in when you go to bed, the last thing you ever want is to find a raccoon that is trapped. Its a bloody mess and they can bend metal like its paper.

I've been dragging stuff out of the greenhouse, but having to stash alot under the maples and Oaks. The Live Oaks are quite leafed out yet, so shade that I will have in a week or two isn't there right now.

I've also been untangling Hoya's. I tie up the vines in winter to I don't get strangled in the greenhouse, but in summer I can let them down. It's amazing how much they grow over the winter in the greenhouse.

Only have made a little progress in the flower beds. Did manage to step in a Fire Ant nest while working on one tho...

Pic of one of my Hoya's blooming right now ....the fragrance is wonderful !

Hoya aff parasitica Laos 2

Ugh, MJ, I had an ant crawl up my leg while I was caterpillar hunting at MOSI. It didn't look like a fire ant, but it sure bit like one and I had the little pus thingies pop up on my leg. It got me six times! Maybe my immune system is so sensitive right now due to the assault on my allergies and I overreacted to a "normal" ant? I went and got my allergy shots today, too. I get three shots because I'm allergic to so much - they need three vials to contain it all! I should just buy stock in Allegra and Zyrtec already.

I take a Claritin every day, 365 days a year, and have for a decade. I don't even know whether it helps or not, but I just keep taking it.

Melanie, I hate fire ants. It definitely sounds like one or more fire ants got you!

The thing with fire ants is they're not just biting, they are stinging. They're like little tiny wingless wasps. It's the venom they inject when they sting that causes the sharp lingering pain and the pustule. Grabbing hold to gain leverage to push in the stinger is the reason they look so hunchbacked when you see them "biting" you.

Did I mention, I hate fire ants?

Amdro is great stuff to have around!

Spring is here! Follow me over to the new thread:

The thread "Spring is here!" in Florida Gardening forum

Howdy all,
I am just trying to catch up. I now live down here on Lake Okeechobee.
If any of you have ponds, MamaJack has arranged a one week sale of Lotus, Water Lilies and Marginal pond plants.
http://cubits.org/notfortheser...
I will be putting in some "Pocket Ponds" and so I have my order ready to post come April 6.
I'll be back this way, but today I am striking out to drive my motor home up to Nashville, Tn where the gal is that is buying it from me.
Holler at me anytime and I hope to have a Round-up on May 24 down here in our Rec hall at ZTRV.
Sidney

Waving at you Sidney!

I managed to weed most of my "garden" daylilys mostly, applied alfalfa pellets & corn gluten weed prevention. Hope to get it mulched in the next day or two.

My son and I planted a Florida Native butterfly garden, and it's taking off! We wanted to make an oasis for the bees and other pollinators to come eat....since the golf course and most everyone's yard is probably full of nasty chemicals. But not many buzzing visitors....a few bees, some wasps, and ZERO butterflies.

We've got sea oats, milkweed, Yesterday today tomorrow, passion flower, blanket flower, beach sunflower, beach morning glory, salvia, sage, evolvulus & more..

Wow, really beautiful job Kate!! I will keep my fingers crossed that the Butterflies and Hummingbirds find your lovely garden real soon!

with Lin.