Skip to main content

Who knew?

With my last seed order I ordered a book (yeah...that book buying moratorium is a lot like my fabric buying moratorium...only the ones I absolutely NEED/WANT) that deals with saving the seeds from plants. For many plants, it's not that big a deal, but there are some heirloom plants that if you don't save the seeds from year to year you run the risk of not being able to find those seeds. So I thought it would help if I actually read HOW to do it instead of throwing away moldy seeds or planting seeds and having nothing come up, which has happened a few years.

So the last few mornings, when my students have a 30 minute test stretch, I've been trying to read a few paragraphs. And I've learned that wasps, which I hate and make me swell like nobody's business, do NOT pollinate the flowers, but bees do. What really and truly shocked me is that FLIES are good pollinators as well. Yes, nasty flies, that crawl all over animal poop like it's a pot luck and carry diseases and germs and make annoying noises actually have a beneficial purpose (other than helping dead things decay). I'll still pull out the fly flap (aka fly swatter to some people) if I find them in my house. But the next time I find them buzzing around me outside, especially around my garden, I'll try to swat them away with much less irritation. After all, they are doing me a huge favor!

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

things we do for love

Saturday we had a baby shower for Bobby's niece. As I was making the mints, Bobby asked what else was on the menu. After I recited off the litany of items, he responded with "No peanut butter?! This shower is for Hannah! What's she going to eat?" (Hannah has had stomach problems over the years and has been unable to tolerate many foods, but peanut butter has been her staple.) Despite my assurances that she would enjoy the foods we were having, he was adamant that I needed to make peanut butter & jelly sandwiches for the shower. Even though I protested that NOBODY took that to a shower, he persisted, and informed me I could make them dainty with my little cutter. And so I did. To my surprise all but 3 were eaten. Who'd a thunk it?

perspectives

A few years ago after a Bible study a lot of the group continued to sit and talk and simply relax. One of the ladies felt like she was being mistreated by her boss. She was always given extra tasks or asked to assume responsibilities that no one else was asked to do. She felt it was unfair. As she was listing off some of the extras (she worked in a cafe for a plant), I was in flashback mode. My last year of college I was a shift manager at a fast food place. One of my many duties was to ensure that certain cleaning jobs (extra duties) was assigned and done properly. We were inspected by company headquarters once a quarter, and 3 of their 4 visits was ALWAYS a surprise visit. When I handed out those extra assignments, I had three things in mind: Who will do this job without making a bigger mess? Who can quickly do this job so we don't impede serving customers? Who will do this without the most drama? In essence, I wanted the best person for the job. Use the teenager who griped and c...

fun...funny houses

 We saw the above house in Pittsboro while on our way to the mountains. It was the strangest house I've ever seen. Evidently this isn't a modification, for Bobby remembers thinking it funny as a child. Evidently a governor lived here at one point. I think the sign said it's now a Masonic lodge. And if seeing one funny house wasn't enough, the latest issue of This Old House had a link to their website that had several galleries of funny (or strange houses). Here's my favorites from their collection:   Szymbark , Poland  This just makes me laugh, and I would love to visit this house in person. Created by a designer who wanted to demonstrate "wrong-doings against humanity".  Visitors have stood in line for as long as 6 hours to tour the house, and many come out feeling "sea-sick".     Kalambaka, Greece... This 1,000 foot cliff drop has housed monastaries since the 11th century. Six of them are open to the public, " assuming, of course, th...