I tried growing a Big Max pumpkin this year for the first time, but my watering system went on the fritz and it ripened too early. Now, as Halloween approaches, it is entering a ghoulish stage of decomposition.
Halloween Pumpkin Ripened — and Rotted — Too Early! October 19, 2014
Life and Death in the Garden October 10, 2014
Visiting Wichita, Kansas last week, I was impressed to see a front-page article on the return of the Monarch butterflies on their southern migration. http://www.kansas.com/living/home-garden/annie-calovich/article2497920.html
After 3 years of low butterfly numbers, the people of Wichita have planted lots of milkweed, and the butterflies were out in force.
And the monarchs weren’t the only ones. At my friend Margie’s house, there were butterflies of all sorts on her butterfly bush, along with some more deadly critters, such as this giant Assassin bug eating a wasp.
Nature Explorer 