sunday morning

Dorothy and I played hooky from church this morning. She's been working hard and needs the rest, and me, I'm just lazy. I started the sprinkler on the garden this morning. It's been so hot, and I don't want to lose the corn before I've had a chance to taste it.

This is my crop of corn. There is a never ending battle to be fought against bugs when you try to grow food. I don't use chemical pesticides because I don't want to pollute the environment and I sure don't want to eat vegetables that have been sprayed with them despite the manufacturer's assurance that it's safe. I usually use an insecticidal soap or pyrethrin. Both are organic and break down very quickly. Pyrethrin is made from chrysanthemums. Sometimes I make my own with dish soap, horticultural oil, and maybe some cayenne pepper. Japanese beetles are the primary culprits this year. I noticed something had been eating on my cornstalks so I whipped out my trusty spray bottle of soap, pulled back a leaf on the cornstalk, ready to spray, when I noticed a little frog nestled down amongst the leaves. Well, now, here's a partner to help me eradicate those pesky insects. I checked several more stalks and found frogs in them. I put the spray bottle away. I'll let the frogs do their work.

My insecticidal frog. (I'm afraid my digital camera doesn't take good closeups)

Cows are curious people. This one looks over the fence to see what I'm up to.