Daily Photo

Yup, another frog. This is Chubby, my White's Tree Frog. No matter his cage conditions he has always been brown. He's sitting on his cricket dish.

Daily Photo

Can you tell I like frogs? I do wish lizards lived this far north, it would be a little break from the frogs... the snakes are a bit too hard to photograph to be that common.

Moose Hill Meandering

When the sun crept out on Friday morning I went frog hunting. I found some other things, but one nice Green Frog, Friday's Daily photo, and this Pickerel Frog fulfilled my main goals. Oddly enough both frogs were on the boardwalk on the Billings Loop which is by far my favorite trail at moose hill. Since it's been alternately drizzling or pouring for more than a week the water was as high as I've seen it outside of winter. Before this I had rarely seen frogs even near the boardwalk. The closest I normally get is hearing a peep before they disappear. I guess the higher water level is making it easier for them to access the boardwalk. I spotted a water snake on it last week during another slight break in the weather. I haven't really been seeing dragonflies which I'm finding disappointing. I'm getting a little better with focusing on my 100 mm macro lens. The secret seems to be using a big flash even in bright sunlight, meaning it's great that it can open to 2.8, but I can never keep it steady enough to focus on that tiny slice, so really need the f stop around 5 or so to really get what I consider focused. The flash I'm using is quite old, ie was used with a canon AE-1. Oddly enough it still works quite well, and lasts for days with nimh batteries.

Sunday in The Garden

^Pink Astilbe, quite the surprise, as all my previous bagged astilbe were bought as pink but came up white.^

^Surprise Amaryllis that bloomed after months of being a weird little bud right off the bulb, apple blossom I think^

^Water Lily - White^

^Parrot's Feather^ ^White Astilbe^

Most of the stuff from last week is still blooming, though it is getting flattened. We're also having a wicked aphid season. I found this guy on the house and moved him to the roses. It's a ladybug larvae.

Laziness and Critter Training

I have two crested geckos and a white's tree Frog that live on critter bedding, basically shredded coconut fiber. Technically for their safety they should all live on paper towels so they don't ingest bedding while chasing down crickets. I got tired of watching the crested gecko trying to spit out bedding when he missed, so was about to switch them all to paper towels. The problem I have with paper towels is keeping the humidity high enough while using them. The bedding doesn't have as many mold problems when damp. I considered for a minute and decided maybe in could trap the crickets in something. Which led to the bowl training. I have 6 inch wide, 4 inch deep white bowls in their cages now. The crickets can get out of them if you let the bowl get dirty, but otherwise they get trapped by the smooth sides. I wasn't sure the critters would get it, but now if you open the cage they sit watching the bowl waiting for their crickets. I'm quite happy with the result. I also got my crested geckos to drink out of bowls by using deep ones with rocks in them. Too bad deep bowls don't work for my leopard geckos, they're so much happier on sand or dirt than paper towels.

Daily Photo

The wood fern seems ready too.

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Green Frog. The sun came out this morning so I went hiking. If you look closely you can see two mosquitos next to his front leg.

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Christmas Fern Spores Test 1.

25 Cent Goldfish -> Pond Fish

My recommendations if you want to buy feeder goldfish and put them in your pond, but actually want them all to live. Or alternately to keep them from infecting other fish. Step One, a plastic tub, unused (or only used for fish), 15-20 gallon utility tubs work well. Those ones sold in different colors with rope handles are quite good. Round is best because then there is equal pressure on all sides, so they don't bow out. Step Two, fill the tub with a known quantity of water, 15-20 gallons, fairly exactly. Add a water conditioner to this water. It's best to let it sit, but as long as it is close to room or outdoor temps it should be fine. Alternately you can use water direct from the pond if you're exact about measurements. The reason you want a known amount of water, preferably divisible by 5 will be in step four. Step Three. If possible get only fish with spread and undamaged fins without any obvious abnormalities. At the very least avoid fish that can't stay upright in the water, they are almost guaranteed goners. This is the important bit. Do not use any of the fish store water. Float the fish for a good 20 minutes, and you can add water to the bag, but dump the fish into a net and put only them into the new water. pet store water is often full of whatever diseases the fish have, especially true for feeder fish. Step Four, get a body fungus medication, and treat the fish. most of these medications are listed as how many per 5 or 10 gallons. In my experience with feeder goldfish, and oddly enough chain store bought angelfish, they will have fungus, even if overall they look good they can look fantastic after one fungus treatment. Whether you do a second is up to you, but if the fish look good a week after the first they'll go out in my pond. If you are going to keep the fish in the tub for more than a week, you should probably add oxygenating plants, or a cycled filter. Most fungus treatments however are very damaging to plants, so consider what you put in a loss. Also, I've done this with up to 6 3-4 inch goldfish. You'd need more water for more. The tub is also good to make sure they're eating before you release them with the rest of the fish. I've had to treat non-feeder goldfish for fungus as well. I've found it under treated at pet stores, especially in feeder fish (goldfish, shiners, and tuffies esp.), angelfish, gouramis, and koi. Technically it's also a great idea if you insist on feeding another fish with feeder fish. It's really easy for them to get diseases from their foods, and many feeder fish aren't even fed at the store, so aren't the best nutrition they could be. Predated to break up some daily photos.

Daily Photo

One thing I love about a camera with 12 mp is the ability to print big. 11 x 14, 12 x 16, and 16 x 20 big. Yes, I'm cheap so they get printed at Walmart, which incidentally if you go to the store kiosks and print poster sized one hour it's cheaper than if you order it online for store pickup. They cost almost half as much and are ready that day. If i was still using film I might hesitate to send my pics to Walmart, but they're digital, so it isn't like if it gets messed up I'm losing anything but the print. The negative can't disappear since there isn't one. No idea on longevity, but as long as I don't lose the file I can always print a new one.

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Today is another looking back photo. ^Bruce (ball python) 2004^ ^Bruce June 09^

Good to know all that money into frozen mice has been going somewhere.

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Boomer's opinion on the weather.

Sunday in the Garden

^Jasione Blue Light^ Grew from seed last year. The pic on the seed packet was purple.

^Waterlily 'Attraction'^

^My surprise Rose Champion^

It's been raining since Tuesday, so this is all I've got.

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One of my grape vines, the one that had an unfortunate accident with a snow shovel this winter decided to bloom, in freaking June, not much chance of any grapes, but I found it kind of cool. I was so sure the vine had died I bought another one of a diff. variety.

Water Lily 'Attraction'

So when I repotted all my water lilies last month I ran out of space in the pond. Half of this plant was chopped off and potted, and the other half was planted in this tub.

A little more than a month later, the reward, though the rain keeps beating it down and I missed it's first day.

Daily Photo - Stella de oro

Finally, a week and a half after everyone else's, my first day lily finally opened. I expect they rest will get flattened each day by the rain.

Daily Photo - Rose Champion

So last year I was given two white fuzzy plants. I assumed they were lambs ear since they were quite short, and over several weeks didn't seem to be interested in getting taller. This spring one of them got flattened, so I was left with one. I had stuck it in a planting bed, assuming it would stay kind of short. Then it started growing, and growing. As of today it's hip height, and is actually a Rose Champion, bloomed today. I was starting to suspect it wasn't a Lamb's Ear.

Evolution of a Garden Bed

^August 06^ ^May 07^ ^June 07^ ^May 08^ ^June 09^ The hosta from the second photo is still in there, I keep forgetting to move it every Spring, so it ends up behind the milkweed. I've gone through 4 cameras in this same length of time.

Much Too Early

It was a mistake to take a book out of the library titled The Complete Book of Bulbs, Corms, Tubers and Rhizomes. It was a mistake to a quick google search for bulbs. And it is a mistake to be thinking, "Hey, fall bulbs are 50% off right now, why not? So what if they won't be delivered until September, and my credit card will be billed now..." That is all.

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My first Pickerel Frog of the Season. Seen at Moose Hill Farm in Sharon MA.

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Iris that bloomed last week.

Cinnamon Fern Spores

In preparation of trying to grow more cinnamon ferns I collected the spores back in May. I took two of the three fertile fronds off my 5 year old or so cinnamon fern. On a cinnamon fern the spores when ripe are green, once the spore fronds turn brownish-gold you're out of luck. I didn't store them in any complicated way as i was planning on sowing them fairly quickly. I just folded up the paper I had left the fronds on and taped it closed into an envelope. I stuck it to my fridge with a magnet, though my next set I'm probably not going to do that after my reading. I found a few fern books and at least two said osmunda spores don't store well long term, so I set them up a few weeks ago. I mostly followed the instructions in this book, Native Ferns, Moss, and Grasses. I consider it a companion to this book Wildflowers. Both are by the New England Wildflower Society, and I've found both quite useful. The fern book has a section in the back about how to grow from spores. The basics were everything needs to be clean, either clean with a 10 percent bleach solution, or use brand new. I went the brand new route. I bought 10 cheap 5 in x 5 in food containers and a box of freezer bags big enough to hold the containers. I filled them with a damp potting mix, mostly peat and microwaved them until the dirt hit at least 150 degrees F, but didn't go above 200 degrees F. That might not kill off everything, but I'm unwilling to cook the dirt in the oven for 2 hours to be that sure. Out of the microwave they went right into their own freezer bag and got sealed. I let them sit overnight to cool off, though the book said they could sit for an hour and should be cool enough then. The next morning I used a straw to sprinkle small amounts of spores evenly across the potting mix. Then I resealed the bags and stuck them under some fluorescent lights. As of today 3 out of the four have noticeable green fuzz which is the first step. I don't have a good magnifying glass, so can't be sure for a while, but it's looking good. Long term care was leave them in the bags for a few months, keeping them closed so no foreign contaminants can get in there. That is doubly important if you're trying to grow more than one type of fern because spores are very light, and ferns can crossbreed if you aren't careful. Just found a copy of the ferns from spores portion of the book I linked to above. link to NEWFS.

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Waiting impatiently for the spores to be ready on my many Christmas Ferns.

Sunday in The Garden

^Cat mint^

^Another mutt Viola^

^more of the Orange Coneflower^ ^Pea^ ^Clematis^ There are quite a few more, but due to this mornings rain I might need to add them later. Rain cleared for enough time, here are the rest for today. ^Monkshood A. napellus^ ^Strawberries, so far 100 picked and climbing^ ^Clematis 'Harlow carr'^ ^Lady's Mantle^ ^Blanketflower with bug^ ^Dianthus^ ^double hydrangea, 6 bucks for the distressed plant, should bloom nicely later^ ^Spirea unsure of kind, it was a gift^ ^Dianthus^ ^Purple something, I can never tell these apart, might be speedwell^ ^First Yarrow of the Season^ Others just starting to bloom or in bud include Astilbe, Jasione 'blue light', Shasta Daisy, a surprise Rose Champion (thought it was lambs ears), several kinds of Milkweed, Delphinium, Stella d'Oro Daylily, Purple Coneflowers and one mutt hosta. Still blooming are a fringed bleeding heart, wild columbine, mutt violas everywhere.