Every summer we look forward to a visit from our very special friends the Monarch Butterfly (Danaus plexippus). It’s like they’ve become a part of our family. About three weeks ago I indicated in a previous post that all was not well as the developing caterpillars were being wiped out by a plague of Australian [...]
As mentioned in a previous post the bird feeders we have located around our garden attract various types of birds but I’ve not seen native birds using them. Several weeks ago after purchasing a conventional feeder a client suggested that I should make an automatic version for birds such as Tui, Wood Pigeon, Fantail, Silver [...]
As any gardener will tell you dealing with the occasional failure is just part of the fun and challenge of growing your own vegetables. Gardeners like fishermen will boast about their successes, that massive pumpkin or tomato however a project that doesn’t fare well is normally dug under or quietly finds it’s way into the [...]
This morning as I wandered out to check the vegetable garden, now a morning ritual, I spotted a most unusual visitor on one of the seats on our front deck. First thought was to grab the camera but upon closer inspection I could see that the dragonfly was going no where. It was dead, no [...]
In my last post I mentioned that I had messed up big time and my vegetable garden was not as productive as it should have been. It all came about one Saturday afternoon as I was helping unpack the weekly groceries and casually asked about a lettuce and how much it had cost. “C’mon pull [...]
As we head into autumn probably the last thing on your mind is starting your own vegetable garden. I hear you say, who has the time plus daylight saving ends in less than 4 weeks. Maybe next year? I understand where you’re coming from. After almost a 10 year absence I decided in November of [...]
Recently someone asked me what type of birds are likely to use this style of feeder? Even though I’ve been making these bird feeders for some years now I’ve never given much thought as to what birds species frequented them. When I designed the first prototype I was looking for an easy and environmentally friendly [...]
Every spring and summer one of the most welcomed visitors to our garden is the Monarch butterfly. This past summer was no exception but all was not well for them in our normally tranquil paradise. After some investigation on the net I discover the name of the culprits who were creating chaos amongst our much [...]
On Saturday afternoon I pulled a second harvest of beetroot and was pleasantly surprised how easy it is to prepare and cook. With a little input from “the boss” I cooked up a large saucepan full. The most difficult part was making sure it didn’t boil over as I kept wandering back out to the [...]
