Cold but bright sunshine today, good for walking.
Dogwood lovely against the bigger trees
And stitching is moving along happily
Also I've been wanting to plant and the weather's been too cold to put in seeds, but today I planted potato eyes in a container for my annual two meal harvest.
The qtips are squirrel deterrents. Soaked in essential peppermint oil, not the baking essence, the real thing, and stuck around the pot, squirrels won't dig.
Here's the kit, the bottle marked Not Food, and kept away from the spice cabinets.
I saw a squirrel burrowing away in the pots I haven't planted yet and staying away from this one. It doesn't hurt them. They just avoid the scent.
No Friday knitting group today because our fearless leader was away and I felt a bit tired anyway. So I did a bit of walking and planting and stitching and reading, back with Elizabeth of York, in the middle of which I seem to have nodded off and missed a couple of battles and exiles.
Happy day, everyone, try to stay alert for the main plot of your life today.
The trees are beautiful. I’d never heard of Q-tips and essential peppermint oil!
ReplyDeleteThis is a lovely time of year, dogwoods out, bigger trees not yet leafed out.
DeleteI wonder if peppermint oil would work for some of our animals. Like possums! I had a giggle at your two meal harvest. Home grown still tastes better. It's too late for me to plant any this year but I will be getting them into growing bags as soon as I can in the new place.
ReplyDeletePeppermint oil works for small mammals such as mice. Possums, I don't know. I love my little potato harvest.
DeleteIt's so lovely to see a clear blue sky, and fresh tree growth silhouetted against it. I laughed at the two meal harvest - quality rather than quantity .
ReplyDeleteYes two meals is worth the small effort. Easy to harvest -- just tip out the container, and you never miss one.
DeleteSquirrels are in many instances nature’s gardeners.
ReplyDeleteSince they're the few animals who can get into black walnuts, it wouldn't surprise me if they've helped here.
DeleteWalking, planting and that sounds fun. I use real 100% peppermint oil for baking. No carrier aka oil with it. I love it. I don't love squirrels, they've done a great deal of damage inside our walls. One even made a hole in the office wall. We have several black walnut trees. Huge.
ReplyDeleteWe've had squirrel damage too, in our roofs and ceilings. I'm not a fan.
DeleteNope. Not a fan of them at all.
DeleteQ-tips and peppermint oil. You know the things.
ReplyDeleteThis one's a useful tip where you're plagued with squirrels as we are.
DeleteGreat squirrel disincentive! I will keep that in mind! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteIt's useful. The oil is expensive but goes a long way.
DeleteDo you use an embroidery hoop? I am curious.
ReplyDeleteI like using a hoop but didn't have the right size for this piece, so I'm working in hand instead.
DeleteGreat tip about squirrel repellent!
ReplyDeleteIf you get them on your balcony they can wreck it in no time.
DeleteThanks for the tip on the q-tips. I have a bunch I needed to get for something else but rarely use them. Squirrels, on the other hand, I have and they do like to dig in my pots. I'm doing that this weekend!
ReplyDeleteI hope it works for you. They're destructive to newly planted pots.
DeleteI really like the embroidery. A lot. Another one who appreciates the q-tip advice.
ReplyDeleteI don't know where I learned the qtip idea, probably Organic Gardening magazine long ago. Thank you for the nice words about the embroidery
DeleteI'm liking your meandering embroidery. and the dogwoods are lovely. I didn't get any flowers on my little tree this year.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good way to think of the stitching, thank you.
DeleteLove your two meal plan of crop of potatoes. And as always your fiber art is of interest.
ReplyDeleteAim for a small crop and you probably won't be disappointed
DeleteThe main plot of my life is to stay alert.
ReplyDeleteToo cold here too, but the carrot seeds I put in over 3 weeks ago are showing signs of germination.
I've never had any luck with carrots. Nobody in this region seems to. Something about the soil, I think
DeleteThat is a GREAT tip about the peppermint oil. In fact I think you told me about it before. I still haven't done it and I should because those little monsters are demolishing our flowerpots.
ReplyDeleteI have talked about it, probably last time I did it. Yes, go for it.
DeleteWe once sank plastic forks, tines up and exposed, in house plants to deter the new kitten from taking advantage. He simply dug out the forks. We called it the Fork You experience.
ReplyDeleteYes, a kitten is an unstoppable force.
DeleteThe bark in the tree photo looks flaky, while black walnut bark is fissured. I think you have an interloper of some kind. I don't suppose the limbs are low enough to snap a photo of a bud?
ReplyDeleteEllen Abbott's description of your embroidery as meandering is spot on. That initial ridge/crease set a nice tone to the whole scene.
Chris from Boise
I wonder if the tree is a cross? We do have wild cherries that seem to have crossed with other tree species, maybe this too. No branches anywhere near enough. This is sapling, maybe the trunk will change as it develops?
DeleteThat bark is cherry tree-ish, now that you mention it. Hmmm...
DeleteThe peppermint EO and q-tips is a brilliant idea! Maybe it would keep them from nibbling away at my garden strawberries.
ReplyDeleteI have no idea about the tree, but your stitching is coming along beautifully.
It seems to be pretty effective. If there's rain it needs to be renewed but mostly it puts them off long enough for plants to get started.
DeleteNow I'm curious and pondering the possibility of using essential peppermint around bird feeders to deter squirrels. Wonder how it might affect the birds though. Now if we could just convince the blue jays from burying peanuts in our balcony boxes which encourages the squirrels.
ReplyDeleteThe birds don't care. But the squirrels just knock the seeds down and eat them on the ground.
Delete