Self-rising flour? Sounds like a great trick!

I try not to use Roundup. Here we are talking about Roundup and organics in the same post. Ugg!

I need to find a way to spray vinegar so that my sprayer doesn't freeze up after a while. Vinegar (10%) is a good way to kill it if you do multiple sprayings. And get the roots out.

I have a lot of wildlife here--this yard has been subject to benign neglect for many many years, and it is a large lot on a creek with a large adjacent woods. Hawks, owls, herons, vultures, egrets, the big charismatic birds along with the usual small ones. Had some beautiful cedar wax wings out back last week. And we have wild turkeys--what a treasure! Don't see them often, but they're out there.

In the yard there are native lizards and lots of big green toads and Mediterranean house geckos and various earth snakes and other types if snakes. And my beloved tarantulas. Those can take out quite a few things like bugs and small mice. Lots of birds also.

When Junebug season rolls around it is interesting just how many critters feast on them. Including my dogs. I find bug wings in the dog poop. The pitbull loves katydids, and I think she's the Junebug eater also. Being stray for a few weeks (at least) taught her some survival skills she hasn't forgotten. Anyway, come Junebug season I catch them and throw them in some of the big spider webs (non-tarantula types, that come out at night to weave their big webs, then dismantle all but a strong high line by morning). They build above where people walk, above where the dogs run. We throw Junebugs to toads on the porch (they sit under the light waiting for a meal to bounce past). And the geckos stuck to the window glass. Little dramas unfold as they compete for moths when you're in the bathroom at night, attracting bugs by the light.

This is a great yard if you like the wildlife. My neighbor across the street is terrified of most of it. Her husband has to chase off geckos before she'll go outside. Other neighbors know to call me to rescue tarantulas that get in the house.

I haven't even touched on the fish and turtles and crawdads and fresh water clams. Big clams, like razor clams from out on the ocean. A real surprise.

SRS