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Garden Helper

Meet Charlie. He is one of many helpers in my garden. I found him this morning when I went out to the garden. Prior to gardening, I couldn't stand bugs. Bugs would make me jump and were always associated with fear and (in most cases) annoyance. Now bugs hold a special place in my heart for the services they provide to my organic garden... well, now that I know a little more about them.

Spiders
I would never have considered myself an arachnophobe, but I had a definitive dislike for spiders only tinged with a slight fear. Now I know better. While you don't want an infestation of spiders, having a few on hand (not literally) actually keeps other bugs away. According to Dr. Linda S. Rayor, Assistant Professor of Entomology, Cornell University, spiders are considered to be the most important terrestrial predators, eating tons of pest insects or other small arthropods every year. And those webs, that have always creeped me out, are actually my gardens best defense against unwanted pests. Those webs are LITERALLY large bug traps that I didn't have to pay for, set or clean since the web is actually an extension of the spider's sensory system. What does that mean? A bug hits a web and the spider IMMEDIATELY knows that dinner is served and gets to work "preparing" it's meal. Spider webs are GOLD for ANY garden. And since spiders are predators only, they will not harm any of your growing crops. If you are gardening organically.... LEARN to love spiders. I did (well except for the black widow and brown recluse that we have here in AZ.... YUCK).

Ladybugs
Unlike spiders, I did not have to learn to love ladybugs. I've always loved ladybugs! They are one of the most adorable of bugs and another helper for an organic garden. Ladybugs, like spiders, are predators; and these predators eat ALL DAY on unwanted insects never harming your harvest. Even when they are in larvae form, they are eating the bad bugs in your garden!
Because they are the least feared of the insect world, they are also the most popular insect to use in gardens and can be found for purchase VERY easily. Be sure that you release them in your garden when it is dark and after an evening water.

Dragonflies
I only occasionally see dragonflies in my garden and recently learned that they are beneficial for ridding a garden of mosquitoes. My next garden WILL be a netted greenhouse where I will have a couple of dragonflies in residence. But for now, that's all I've got on dragonflies.

Lizards and Frogs
Obviously not bugs, but very welcomed helpers in my garden. Frogs have JUST RECENTLY shown up in my garden. I honestly don't know where they came from, but am so thrilled they are there. And the lizards? Being that I live in Arizona, lizards are EVERYWHERE. Both are also predators and do not harm your organic garden eating many of the flying insects that will feed off your crops and then make their airborne get away.

I'm quickly learning how cooperative gardening really works for not only the plants that I'm growing, but also in making a happy home for my garden helpers.

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Past 7 Days....

Gorgous Leaves Bundle Revisited

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RAWR!

Feelin a little animal!!!  It seems as if being laid up with back pain has it's perks!!!  RAWR!  This fun nail art was inspired by my upcoming Fun With Alcohol Ink Class on March 3rd at Craft Fusion (class starts at 1 p.m.), check out what we'll be making: In fact... if you loved the nail art above, you might want to consider signing up for this class [hint, hint].  For this class we'll be creating this ADORABLE notebook using various alcohol inks.  You're not going to want to miss this!  Along with learning how to assemble our own notebook using The Cinch and Zutter products, we will also be using alcohol inks to customize our project.  Join us and learn how to color stamped images using alcohol ink markers giving your projects depth and dimension.  Please bring your basic tool kit and alcohol ink markers (any brand) for this instruction.  There are markers to rent, but rental markers are limited so the sets will be available on a first c...

Got My Healthy Game On.... YO!

So, I've found some new fun in fitness.... the Wii! First of all, let me start by saying that when you change your lifestyle from sedentary to active, it is important to incorporate changes that will stick. And for me... this Wii will be sticking around for quite some time! The fact that this video game is played by your body movements alone should be winning the Pulitzer Prize for turning around the obesity epidemic in this country by introducing physical activity BACK into our kids lives! Whew! That was a super run on sentence! hahahaha! Earlier this week I got the balance board for the Wii. It included a game called Wii Fit. I have read quite a few reviews on the Wii Fit complaining that it doesn't include full exercise segments. In my opinion this game is lacking nothing because it is simply introducing fun exercise into our inactive lives and into our child's life . In a day and age when kids are typically found on their bottoms in front of a video game, eyes seemingly...