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Florida Backyard Raised Vegetable Garden

Dragonflies Are Swarming

September 15th, 2013 by Lila Steinhoff
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Fascination

Dragonflies are beautiful, graceful creatures. I have a thing for dragonflies… so much so, that my husband gave me a mobile dragonfly yard ornament that has been placed next to my fountain. It’s so nice to watch when the wind catches it.

dragonfly yard ornamentDragonfly Yard Ornament

Swarms of Dragonflies

The summer of 2013 has been a season of dragonfly swarms.  I first noticed them toward the end of June, and they’ve been a recurring sight right up to today.

dragonfliesDragonfly Swarm

The dragonfly’s main food sources are mosquitoes and small flies. We have had so much rain in south Florida that the mosquito population has grown exponentially. It makes perfect sense that we would have greater than usual number of dragonflies.

It Takes Two Years!

I found out that, while mosquitoes go from eggs to flying, bloodsucking nuisances in three weeks to a month, dragonflies have a nymph stage that lasts about two years. Their eggs are laid in the water or on twigs and branches of plants hanging over the water.  When the nymphs hatch, they swim and grow in the water.

Once dragonflies emerge from the water, they grow to about three inches in length with a 4-inch wingspan. Their wings are transparent and perpendicular to their bodies. Damselflies are sometimes mistaken for dragonflies, but they are smaller and their wings are held parallel to their bodies. Dragonflies do not bite or sting people, but their nymphs can deliver a noticeable bite.

dragonflyDragonfly  (Entomology Department at University of South Florida)

These beautiful insects can eat their weight in mosquitoes in half an hour. According to the Smithsonian Institute, dragonflies are the fastest flying insect in the world reaching  35 miles per hour.

Fascinating to Watch

Dragonfly swarms set against the blue sky and white clouds are beautiful to watch. These were videoed flying in my backyard last week. They are back in force today… still fascinating and still beautiful.

The Flight of the Bumblebee by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov is performed by the US Army Band.

 

 

 

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How to Cut a Mango

August 12th, 2013 by Lila Steinhoff
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It’s Mango Season

I have two mango trees… a Haden and an Alphonso.  The Haden tree’s fruit is about a month later than the Alphonso tree.

Alphonso mangosAlphonso Mangos

Alphonsos are beautiful to look at, and they smell and taste so-o-o-o good, but………..

So Many So Fast

My Alphonso mango tree has been dropping an unbelievable number of mangos. It has dropped close to 80 mangos daily for the last two weeks. It’s hard to believe there could be that many mangos on that tree.

Alphonso MangosAlphonso Mangos

I can’t possibly use that many mangos everyday, so I have been giving them away by the bagful to any friend or neighbor who will take them. A couple of people are new to Florida and have told me that these are the first fresh mangos they’ve ever had.

A friend contacted me to ask how to peel mangos, because all she had was a sticky, juicy mess running down her arm. I had to explain that you  do not ‘peel’ a mango. I know, because I had to learn the same thing 40 years ago.

The Seed Is the Answer

The answer to ‘how do I peel them’ is to find the seed and cut it out first. Locating the seed can be done by standing the mango on its end with the stem side up. The seed is about as wide as your open, flat hand and stands up straight in the middle of the fruit.

cut mango with seedCut Alphonso Mango

 Slice the mango, from the top down, as close to the seed as you can. Once the first side is removed, turn the mango and slice the other side down the seed. When you are finished, you will have two halves of mango that can be spooned out of the shell and eaten, or it can be handled like half a cantaloupe. Slice it and peel the slices.

‘How To Cut a Mango’ Video


What I have described seems very simple to me, but if you have never seen it done… or don’t handle cantaloupe the same way I do… you still may have no idea what to do. Watch the video, then enjoy your mangos without all the sticky mess.

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Black Swallowtail Butterfly Is Back

August 4th, 2013 by Lila Steinhoff
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Back for a Visit

Not too long ago, I wrote about a pair of caterpillars that had taken up residence in the parsley section in my herb garden. They made chrysalises and, eventually, became beautiful Black Swallowtail butterflies.

Last week, one of them was back visiting the old neighborhood.

Black Swallowtail Moth Black Swallowtail Butterfly

More Caterpillars???

I deduced that it must be a she from her activities in the parsley.

Black Swallowtail moth in parsley

Black Swallowtail in Parsley

She fluttered in and out of the parsley, pausing in a stationary, fast-winged flutter in several areas of the parsley patch. I am guessing she must have been laying eggs. Guess I’ll have to start looking for caterpillars, again.

Black Swallowtail MothBlack Swallowtail Moth

I’m not crazy about caterpillars in my tomatoes, but I don’t mind sharing my parsley with such beautiful creatures… both the caterpillars and the butterflies.

You can click on any of the pictures to make them larger.

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