A Day at the Farm 10/13/10

This is the flower head of a Black seeded Moudry.

I took the day off and went to Burton. The weather has been so pretty I just hated to miss another day of it.

• Sprinkled Snake Away around some of the beds where the armadillos attack most often. My dad told me it's supposed to work for all critters. Smells just like moth balls. Maybe I should just get more moth balls. I will compare prices.
  
• Turned off all the sprinklers because the Snake Away directions say you should not get it wet - that's not very practical!
  
• Found a new den dug under one of my hydrangeas - big hole that exposes all the poor hydrangea's roots. Got the shot gun, got a shovel, stuck the hose into the hole, turned on the water and waited for the armadillo to run out. Well, either he wasn't in there or he wanted to drown that day. Not sure what I would have done if he'd run out. I don't even know how to tell if the gun's safety is on. I knew that I had chambered the gun, but I wasn't sure if the safety was on. My fall back was the shovel. If the gun wouldn't fire I was going to run after him and bash in his head with the shovel. I would have done it, too, with grim pleasure, make no mistake about it.
  
• Went on the internet and read about trapping armadillos. They don't eat bait. You have to find a den, place barricades on both sides of the den that, when the armadillo emerges from the den, funnel the nearly-blind animal into a cage with a trap door. That's the only way to catch one. They don't like cold weather because they have very little body fat. So, although they don't hibernate in the true sense of the word, they are very inactive in the winter. I have certainly noted this anecdotally. The destruction happens in the summertime.
  
• Sprayed herbicide in the Rose Garden, the Orchard, and the Star Garden.
  
• Weeded.
  
• Watched the amazing show put on by the butterflies. They are beautiful creatures.
  
• A young coral snake slithered across my path. About 10 inches long and thinner than a pencil. It went off into my Wave Garden. I'll have to be careful in there! I almost always wear boots when I walk around in the flowerbeds.
  
• Cut up a grapefruit and buried it around my beets. (For nematodes.) Planted some more beet seeds since I have some space. The spinach is coming up nicely. The lettuces have sprung forth. The transplants are looking good.
  
• Attached plant labels to lots of plants.
  
• Watered some of the plants around the Greenhouse. Something is wrong with one of the timers. The water won't come on.