Garden Wearables Plus

That fuzzy thing hanging from a stone ceiling is an Eastern Pipistrelle bat. This one's a loner.  Normally, it can hang out in groups of 1000 or more.  As you can see, no crowd there.  It weighs in at only 0.12 to 0.30 ounces. Small. However, the Eastern Pipistrelle's wingspan ranges from 7.1 to 9.8 inches.  That's big enough to spark a little fear in me when flapping around my head. I was allowed to take that shot (without the flash), while visiting the  Longhorn Cavern State Park in Burnet, Texas. We wouldn't want to awake it. Bats are bug-eaters, even the famous Vampire bat. One Eastern Pipistrelle will devour 3000 gnats and moth-like bugs per night. A bit of a weird trade-off.  Bats or bugs? Consider this: they'll work all night for you. I've experienced them darting around feasting high in the atmosphere at about dusk. They're so fast you could miss seeing them. Therefore, when you awake to workout in your garden spaces, you'll experience less fly

Yes, mosquitoes are drawn to us when we exhale carbon dioxide.  However, I try not to go the extra mile by looking like a walking streetlight at dusk. I avoid looking like things, I can plainly see them being drawn to.   Dusk is an unusual time for a morning-person to do yard work. However, I headed for the field wearing all grays with my head wrapped in a blue scarf.  I used my heavy loppers (long handled pruning shears) to chop down the milkweeds under bushes around the field instead of uprooting them, which would've been best.  The loppers were definitely over-kill, but heavy enough for a good workout. On my way back to the house I looked down and there was a fat gray striped female mosquito on my thigh. I slapped her dead. I've read, mosquitoes like hanging out under bushes (shrubs) and such like. I probably brought her back with me from the bushes.  Also, I remembered, spraying perfume on myself after my morning shower. Had no intentions of going into the yard that day.  H

Many people have tried hanging multiple bluebird houses around their gardens and houses. One lady hung them in a single tree like ornaments.  Whimsy. I hang one in my front yard and one for the back. The rest of my whimsical birdhouses are only for aesthetics, but could possibly house other species of birds between seasons of bluebird procreation. You can hang another bluebird nesting box after a single family of bluebirds grows up and flies away.  Place it yards away from the first house you hung.  And it'd be best to have a building between each house. Why?  The Bluebird is very territorial.  Best they don't see each other hunting or just hanging around.  Nothing's coming near their nests unless the bird is from their own family. When you see a bluebird constantly peaking in the holes of birdhouses. He's not looking in on the eggs yet.  God didn't give them the ability to build a nest.   He's waiting for another bird to build. Then the bluebird squats. The in

I read recently that there are debates on whether blue or yellow clothes repel flies.  Well, the answer is simple.  Ask yourself, which bugs bug you the most?  If your answer is a certain type of fly, then you need to dress accordingly.  By all means, wear yellow. I was watching television lately and saw a young scientist sporting a bold blue long-sleeved shirt with bright yellow wide stripes down the sleeves over a pair of gray shorts with burnt orange half circles on the sides of his shorts. The other scientist wore the traditional light gray and blue uniforms with logos.  I thought the younger guy could've been doing a sunrise-sunset look or something.  No.   Scientists have found that wearing yellow as opposed to blue will repel a certain fly.  Now that I know that, I can say that the young scientist knew exactly what he was doing.   However, flies are not my problem in my garden spaces.  The West Nile virus bearing mosquitoes are.  Plus, there are enough poisons being rained d

Please, don't ask me what variety of dragonfly that is. I thought maybe a green darner. Now, I don't think so.  According to Google images the green darner sported other beautiful colors and designs.  That one's all green.  Whatever it is, it's cleaving to my unproductive tomato plant. I'll give it my own scientific name, "Aliena Tamata Luva."   Are those eyes? It seemed to be looking right into the camera lens. Nevertheless,  every few months, I have to throw a natural pesticide doughnut into an old nearby well.  Unfortunately, if I forget to do so, mosquitoes swarm between the well and our home.  Many coming to the screened in porch windows slamming their bodies against the screens and whining for us to come out and play. Thankfully, their high-pitched whining attracts their predator: dragonflies. They'll also swarm with their meal zipping back and forth in a hefty feast of old and young mosquitoes. It's a massacre. Each dragonfly eats from thirt

This sonic aqua golfing ensemble is great for gardening in cooler climates, because the aqua is one of my proven blues. Both blues are perfect.  Every golfer should know about wearing the right colors. I've not learned to play golf yet, but what I know about golfing is that distractions from flying bugs can throw off your swing and lead to you breaking your golf club over your knee in frustration. 😖 Fresh off the course?  Head for the garden to get more fresh air, Ladies.  You'll experience a c omfortable time in your garden wearing this ensemble or one similar to it.                                                  Happy Gardening/Shopping today!                      What Adidas has to says:                "Comfort. Movement. Feel."                        

 Sky blue is my favorite color.  Recently, I was browsing  Amazon online and saw they sold a sky-blue long-sleeved workout shirt.  I was pleasantly surprised, because I've never seen my favorite color on clothing before. Excitedly, I purchased two of these shirts (one in gray and my favorite blue).    I've tested Aqua-blue, both medium and light tones. Some refer to this hue as "light turquoise." I regularly wear aqua gloves with whitish leather palms made of washable leather.  Oh, believe me, the white doesn't stay white long. This blue works for deterring flying bugs. Steer clear of the purplish blues. In Texas, you may appear to be a Salvia Azurea Blue Sage (wildflower).  Bees LOVE them.  This is a pollinator that can be found according to Wikipedia.org "from Utah east to Connecticut and from Minnesota south to Florida. This wildflower tends to be found in the eastern and southeastern portion of this range..."   Check out my favorite gloves,  if you

Let toads help you, by feasting on your garden  predators and flying bugs. If your garden has any or all of the bugs below, toads are around (whether you've seen them or not).   Toads will devour SLUGS, CRICKETS, GRASSHOPPERS, LOCUSTS, ROACHES, MEALWORMS, EARTHWORMS,  SUPERWORMS, CALCI-WORMS, HORNWORMS AND WAXWORMS, FLIES, GNATS, DRAIN FLIES, SPIDERS, CENTIPEDES, GRUBS, SNAILS, and MOSQUITOS, so buy or make a toad house for your garden friends.  And let a larger plant hang over it:  tuck it into the brush. Believe it or not, one of mines let me stroke his head between his eyes.  I was so honored.  I am weird?  😏 Remember, if you have plenty of the above listed insects then toads will find your garden.  You don't have to purchase toads.  Creatures always abide near food sources. Welcome toads into your bed 😴 lol...garden bed to help you out at night by investing in; or creating, a Toad House similar to the one below.  It is only 5" high and  7-1/2" in diameter.      

    Watch this video, and know your options to "bee" safe, Ladies. Springtime  brings  bee  activity.  Many women have husbands, who know about  wearing  the  right colors outdoors, and that we shouldn't wear perfumes outdoors, because their sportsman.  I don't have such a husband as many  women don't have nature-knowledgeable men in their lives, so t ell your friends about my blog.  My first post goes into  more details about the colors.   (Click on "Colors/Perfumes Matter" in the tab  above.)   Thanks in advance.   However, years ago, I believe I was led of God to  watch/listen to a Master Gardener  before I even had a garden .  That guy expressed  the same rules I've written about in  my blog for coexisting with flying bugs, which  at the time made so  much sense.     Happy Gardening!

Be careful, Girls.  Steer clear of choosing garden outfits that bears BLACK or very DARK-BLUE logos,  zippers, spots, stripes, silhouettes, words, or such like.  Why?  Some insects venture i nto cracks and holes in walls of buildings to nest. Your outfit  may look like a place  to explore the possibility. Since the flying bug is exploring, it may  try to land on  you  to  see exactly what you are.   Be safe, Ladies.                                         Happy Gardening!  

Haven't used Skin-so-Soft since I was in my late teens when  men were  my focus,  not gardens.  (However, I did help my mom plant plenty of flowers around  her   house.)   Unfortunately, I've always had  sensitive skin.  I tried many   lotions to  see what  I  wasn't   allergic to.    Therefore,  going out of doors wasn't a daily concern as it  is  now at age 65.  However, I  remember many women  swearing that Skin-so-Soft was, also, good  for  keeping mosquitoes away as well as being a great lotion.  I purchased a bottle ( in  the  pic) to give Skin-so-Soft   another spin as a bug-repellent while gardening.    Maybe I'll rub it on  my clothes instead.   Hope it works!  I'll let y'all  know  this  summer.   Who  else  out there swears by this product?  Leave a comment.   Nonetheless, I was impressed with the following information about  Skin-so-Soft   from a fellow-blogger/ Avon dealer.  I thought some of the uses  were kind of  funny.                    

It’s springtime in Southern USA and like many of us, the bees can’t wait to get out  of their homes. You might see a sign of our striped friends in a nearby tree, or even  gathered on fencing. Earlier this week we found this swarm hanging off a branch: But don’t be alarmed! These bees are simply in the process of colony  reproduction. When the colony becomes too large for its home it votes to decide if  the colony should expand. If the bees collectively decide it’s a good idea, they go  into  prepping for their trip.  The queen lays a bunch of queen eggs, and then fasts  to  get  smaller (she can fly better this way).  Meanwhile, the other bees gorge  themselves  on  honey to make sure they stay full over the coming days. Once ready,  the original  queen and half of the colony fly off looking for a new home. The first  baby queen to  emerge will become the next leader of the colony and is left behind.    The expedition for a new home starts fairly slowly. The queen can only fly a short

According to an article, the Joros spider has invaded Georgia. Maximum size of female 3 to 4 inches.  It flies on its webs for up to 100 miles, Girls!!  It looks like something out of the movie, "The Mist." One female gardener posted on Facebook from GA that she opened her back door to exit and found this spider and its web over her entire entry doorway   When it reaches Texas, I'll have to live with this hideous thing.  It is a bug-eater.  Eating the bugs that most other spiders avoid:  our stink bugs. And it will be good to have another mosquito-lover in the neighborhood.  Knowledge is power.  God, forbid it builds a web over my doorway, though. The Trichonephila Clavata (sci-name) is beautiful in its own way.  Bright-colored creatures are most times poisonous.  Good to know it is NOT poisonous for humans.   True Story: We rented a cabin in the woods of North Georgia. My window was cracked open about four inches.  I like the fragrance of the night forest. Suddenly, m

Good news!  This is information I received from a Master Gardener on television decades ago. Color is key, besides fragrances (soaps, lotions, oils, underarm and feminine deodorants, etc.).  You don't want to look and/or smell like flowers in your garden.  These are the things that draw bugs to you.  You are right...flying critters don't see well. What are the RIGHT COLORS for gardening?  Look up at the sky.  Your clothing should make a bug think he's flying up into the sky thus it will change direction when coming your way.  Light blues and lighter grays tones.  NO white, anywhere. Remember, you don't want to look like a streetlight at night either.  Yes, clouds are very bright white sometimes.  Yes, you are free to wear white, if you choose and don't mind swatting flying bugs. Flies love white. And remember, white shows fly vomit. Black is definitely OUT for gardening in spring and summer. The Master Gardener said that "bugs like shade too" (especially m