It’s the first day of Spring and a lovely day. I took pictures of a few lovelies blooming in the garden this morning. Some Freesias, which are said to symbolize innocence and friendship.
According to Teleflora.com, the 7th Wedding Anniversary Flower, Freesia, is a symbol of trust and fidelity. Freesia is an antidote to the proverbial saying that the seventh year of marriage provokes restlessness. Representing faithfulness through the seasons, it’s a traditional reminder of love’s honorable character.
For about a minute, I watched a pair of Crows perched on a wire share a moment of tenderness.
Crows in Love.
This first day of Spring wouldn’t have been complete without the sound of the Female Nuttall’s Woodpecker drilling holes in a utility pole. Click here or here to learn more about this bird.
“It’s Spring fever. That is what the name of it is. And when you’ve got it, you want – oh, you don’t quite know what it is you do want, but it just fairly makes your heart ache, you want it so!”
― Mark Twain
From my Garden to yours: Happy Spring and Gardening!
As Winter ends, it gives way to Spring, the season of new beginnings and allergies.
With slightly warmer temperatures, the Earth awakes with plants starting to grow, leaf out and bloom. Animals come out of their winter hibernation and begin their activities and migratory birds return. As beautiful and rejuvenating as Spring season may be, it also comes with a price for allergy sufferers.
We have all been sick with the Common Cold for a week. It’s hard when everyone is sick at the same time, especially when kids are involved. Other than the raw, rough cough and painful sore throat from constantly coughing, we are now recovering and slowly regaining our appetite. If like us, you worry about your children coughing constantly, click here to learn about the types of Coughs you need to Worry About.
We couldn’t go outside for some fresh and cold air since we have a fruitless Mulberry Tree which produces pollen and catkins, wreaking havoc on allergy sufferers like us. With Mulberry trees all over the neighborhood and our High Desert winds which carries the pollen great distances, additional precautions must be used. Yesterday my husband cut off all the branches from the tree and we are still debating on a total removal of the tree trunk or not.
Male Mulberry Catkins and Leaves.
For as long as I can remember, I have not had any allergies problems until we moved to the High Desert seven years ago. Every Spring and Fall, I have a bad case of nasal allergies and approximately a year after settling in our Home, I started developing allergic symptoms from some fruits and vegetables. As of today I can no longer eat Avocado, Banana, Apple without experiencing serious itchiness in my mouth and around the face.
What can you do about Pollen and Allergies?
Keeping your yard free of weeds to eliminate the sources of pollen around you.
Stay inside during pollen production periods as well as on windy and smoggy days.
Soaking down the vegetation to prevent the pollen from remaining airborne.
Replace heating and air conditioning filters often.
Purchase a high efficiency Air Purifier to filter, trap and hopefully remove these allergens from the air.
Keep your windows and doors closed at all times.
Wear a facial mask when conducting any outdoor activity (during pollen production periods).
Shower, change clothes and wash hands when you are done with outdoor activities.
Use sunglasses or prescription glasses to protect eyes when outdoors.
Drink Tea to provide relief for nasal congestion and inhale steam to soothe sinuses (more information here).
Talk to your doctor as soon as you have concerns.
Below is a list of allergy causing Plants and Trees:
According to Northwest Sinus & Allergy Clinic, Mulberry trees are considered severe allergens with yellow flowers appearing in the Spring and bringing significant discomfort to those who are allergic to the pollen. Symptoms of mulberry allergy include Asthma, allergic rhinitis and allergic conjunctivitis and occur following contact with pollen from this tree.
My next move is to get tested to figure out which trees trigger my allergies and irritate my immune system. Since male trees shed highly allergenic pollen, I will check for male trees around my property (if any) and replace them with female trees which are pollen-free.
Click here and here for more information on allergy causing Plants.
Today in the backyard garden, I was a little sadden to find out that one of my Stella D’Oro Daylily wasn’t thriving as the rest and I knew the soil was infested with a bunch of Cutworms since I made a similar unpleasant discovery on another Stella D’Oro Daylily last month when I noticed that the leaves were getting eaten by something. The moth larvae hide under the soil during the day and come out in the dark to feed on the plant leaves.
I sprinkled GardenTech Sevin at the base of the plant and then I deeply watered it. The product label states that it can be used on vegetables, fruits, flowers, shrubs and lawns up until harvest and it kills 65 varieties of insect pests. There is about a three weeks gap between the before and after picture below and I now have a healthy plant.
Reviving Stella D’Oro Daylily.
I have seen ants fighting others ants, but I had never seen ants fighting their queen before this morning.
According to the article Queen Ant Will Sacrifice Colony to Retain Throne written by Jeanna Bryner it looks like this ant colony had more than one queen and the worker ants are attempting to eliminate this queen. The article states that soon after the young workers hatch, the little ones begin to slaughter surplus queens until only one remains, but occasionally they are so revved up that they kill all the queens.
Since the rain passed more critters are coming out from their hidings.
I am not sure how the little Cottontail Rabbit got into my backyard and I was surprised to see it. I guessed it came from the neighbors, making its way through an opening between the wooden fence panels and ended up in our backyard. It was fun watching it run around in search for a way out when it realized I wasn’t going anywhere. I saw it a few minutes later on the empty property lot behind our Home.
Seeing that Rabbit explained the damages on my Pretty Woman Daylilies as well as the Siloam David Kirchhoff Daylilies in the front garden. I wrapped some chicken wire around the plants to prevent further damages.
Cottontail Rabbit in the Backyard.
My husband set a Macabee Gopher Trap yesterday after finding a couple of freshly dug holes in the backyard. Sure enough we found a trapped Pocket Gopher the following day, making it the second in less than a month.
Gopher Trapped.
It is impossible to completely rid the garden of pests and animals. Placing Chicken wire at the base of plants and around them help minimize damages and give the gardener some peace of mind. Though there are pests and animals repellents out there, we must never forget that a hungry animal will risk anything to feed.
I love Chocolate and I love Pretzels. Now put those two together … hmm, delicious!
Ever since I got hooked on Flipz Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzels, I have been on a hunt. I purchased my first from Bed Bath and Beyond and then I found out that Target sells them as well. Target has an area in the store called The One Spot where items range in price between $1 and $3. Sometimes I get lucky and find a few Chocolate Covered Pretzels and sometimes am just out of luck!
Today I scored big time! For $1 each, I bought all of the Flipz Milk Chocolate Covered Pretzels in the store and a few Flipz White Fudge Covered Pretzels for my boys who seem to enjoy this flavor more. I will be checking again later as I am hoping to have enough to stuff my baskets for Easter.
Besides snacks, there are other things you can find and purchase from the Target’s One Spot. From school supplies, home decor items, craft supplies, gardening supplies, toys, household items and so much more.
I highly recommend checking The One Spot if you shop at Target.
By JM Perez
