Stinkhorns tend to grow in old woodchips. It just so happens, we have many a garden on our property that are covered in a thin layer of decaying old woodchips. Will wonders never cease...
Today we are having three cubic yards of new (non-woodchip) mulch delivered to the house. Do you know how much three cubic yards of mulch is? It makes a pile about 6 feet tall that covers half of our driveway - and our driveway fits two cars length-wise. Thats a lot of freakin' mulch. So the next several days will be filled with shoveling out old mulch, disposing of that, spreading new mulch and planting shrubs and flowers. I'm anticipating a lot of alcohol consumption during this process.
Friday, May 30, 2008
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Stinkhorn Elimination - Take Two
I used what was left in our Round Up spray bottle against the vicious fungi in my garden. The result? More fungi appearing this morning. By the way - these MF-ers can grow to their full potential (6-8") in just SIX HOURS.
Must regroup and form a new plan of attack. Suggestions welcome.
Must regroup and form a new plan of attack. Suggestions welcome.
With much anticipation...
...pictures of our porch furniture from Milford (and a kitty if you look carefully). New cushions are on their way!
And what I spent most of last weekend spray painting. I wish I had a 'before' pic of this set...it was pretty much this awful white-washed rattan, but it was free. Much improved, I must say. (Ignore the tacky green table cloth...it's protecting the glass underneath from the inches of pollen that build up overnight)
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
For Becky...
...who I doubt even reads my blog. Just wanted to share the similarities in our furry feline friends.
London, King of the House
Mutinus Elegans
No, this is not an X-rated post. Just a true tale of garden infestation.
Mutinus Elegans, or Elegant Stinkhorns, are a family of mushrooms which produce a foul-scented, phallus-shaped mushroom. Their method of reproduction is different than most mushrooms, which use the air to spread their spores. Stinkhorns instead produce a sticky spore mass on their tip which has an odor of carrion, dung, or other things that attract flies. The flies land on the stinkhorn and in doing so collect the spore mass on their legs and carry it to other locations.
I woke up one morning and found these....THINGS....in my front garden. Two, to be precise. Odd looking things. My first thought was that they were alien penises (naturally). After some research, I found the definition above. The next morning, I found 8 more. The morning after that, 12. They multiply like bunnies!
They freak me out. I'm having nightmares about the infestation. And Mike's apathetic attitude towards them is a little more than frustrating. So one day a week or so ago, I take to the garden with my shovel and several lawn and leaf bags. Death to the 20+ stinkhorns and the 50 of their eggs that I collected!
We were stinkhorn free for almost a full week. But sadly, they are back. And so my battle wages on...
Is Food Worth Its Weight in Gold?
Memorial Day weekend. A time of eating, drinking and relaxing.
I'm not one to go to a BBQ empty handed. I just can't do it. And while Mike has been known to be the 'beer guy', I do not want to get the reputation of being the only people to bring (and consume) booze at other people's homes.
So as I'm in the shower, prepping for said BBQ, I realize "Oh! We have nothing to bring!". What's quick, easy and delicious? 7 Layer Dip! So I rush off to So-So Fresh to purchase the goods (post-shower, obviously). 20 minutes later, I return home with no time to make the dip AND get ready, and $35 poorer. THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS for freaking dip?!?!?!? Mike and I can eat our weight in mexican at La Tolteca on $2.99 Margharita night for less than that!
Moral of this story is - stick to bringing the beer.
I'm not one to go to a BBQ empty handed. I just can't do it. And while Mike has been known to be the 'beer guy', I do not want to get the reputation of being the only people to bring (and consume) booze at other people's homes.
So as I'm in the shower, prepping for said BBQ, I realize "Oh! We have nothing to bring!". What's quick, easy and delicious? 7 Layer Dip! So I rush off to So-So Fresh to purchase the goods (post-shower, obviously). 20 minutes later, I return home with no time to make the dip AND get ready, and $35 poorer. THIRTY FIVE DOLLARS for freaking dip?!?!?!? Mike and I can eat our weight in mexican at La Tolteca on $2.99 Margharita night for less than that!
Moral of this story is - stick to bringing the beer.
Thursday, May 15, 2008
Furniture is EXPENSIVE!
Gearing up for our housewarming party (6 months after we move in...)
In order to make our house more presentable, Mike and I have been out buying more furniture. Because the $700,000 we spent in the last 6 months in furnishings isn't cutting it, apparently.
First we head to Ikea. Mike has been itching to get the office in working order, so the best place for organizational shelves, etc would be the Swedish superland of furniture. After a couple hours of hemming and hawing, we leave several hundred dollars poorer, get home at 9pm, and still have energy left over to put all of the pieces together. So now we have a wall of nice, new, pretty dark wood shelving and Mike's monstrosity of a desk.
Last night we headed down to Milford, DE (yes, near the beach) to pick up porch furniture from some crazy lady I found on craigslist. After some research into porch furniture, I found that there was no way I could afford to buy new. A brand new set of what I wanted (and let's face it, I will not settle) would have run us over a grand. My crazy lady furniture was significantly cheaper. The drive was long, but worth it. Now we have a ridiculous amount of sh-t on our porch. Final count is: 2 glass dinner tables and four chairs for each, wine rack, wicker set (including 2 chairs, a rocker, loveseat and table) and 2 chaise lounges. Oh, and a wheel barrow. I must be nuts.
Pictures coming soon!
In order to make our house more presentable, Mike and I have been out buying more furniture. Because the $700,000 we spent in the last 6 months in furnishings isn't cutting it, apparently.
First we head to Ikea. Mike has been itching to get the office in working order, so the best place for organizational shelves, etc would be the Swedish superland of furniture. After a couple hours of hemming and hawing, we leave several hundred dollars poorer, get home at 9pm, and still have energy left over to put all of the pieces together. So now we have a wall of nice, new, pretty dark wood shelving and Mike's monstrosity of a desk.
Last night we headed down to Milford, DE (yes, near the beach) to pick up porch furniture from some crazy lady I found on craigslist. After some research into porch furniture, I found that there was no way I could afford to buy new. A brand new set of what I wanted (and let's face it, I will not settle) would have run us over a grand. My crazy lady furniture was significantly cheaper. The drive was long, but worth it. Now we have a ridiculous amount of sh-t on our porch. Final count is: 2 glass dinner tables and four chairs for each, wine rack, wicker set (including 2 chairs, a rocker, loveseat and table) and 2 chaise lounges. Oh, and a wheel barrow. I must be nuts.
Pictures coming soon!
Friday, May 2, 2008
Technologically Deficient
Who knew...?!?
I use to think I was current with most technological advances. I have a Palm and I have a cell phone where I can text at the speed of light. I'm already on my second upgrade of a digital camera. I know, in depth, the difference between DLP, Plasma and LCD televisions. I cannot live without my DVR.
But what I found out today was disturbing. You can now get an iPod nano with 4 times the memory that my 18 month old (read: ancient) nano has, and it plays videos. For the same price I (ok...Mike) paid!!!!!
Who can afford to keep up?!?
I use to think I was current with most technological advances. I have a Palm and I have a cell phone where I can text at the speed of light. I'm already on my second upgrade of a digital camera. I know, in depth, the difference between DLP, Plasma and LCD televisions. I cannot live without my DVR.
But what I found out today was disturbing. You can now get an iPod nano with 4 times the memory that my 18 month old (read: ancient) nano has, and it plays videos. For the same price I (ok...Mike) paid!!!!!
Who can afford to keep up?!?
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