Chris's Roots and Rambles: There's a "gator" in my apple tree!!

The "gator" in my apple tree

I decided to peruse the leaves of my apple tree last week, when low and behold I saw the strangest little critter. It looked like a miniature version of an alligator... and it had an aphid in it's jaws. The aphid is the little ball of green (you might have to click on the picture to see a larger version). I was quite intrigued by this little bug.. what could it be? I decided to leave the 'alligator" to his business since he was eating aphids. How bad can it be when it was eating the little green buggers that suck the life from my plants, after all? Some online research answered my question. It is a Green Lacewing Larvae and they are voracious eaters of plant pests such as aphids. Hopefully he or she will hang around... find the love of his/her short life and produce a lot of offspring to counteract the very busy and productive aphids hanging around my garden!!

My apple tree is doing well

Prickly Pear Blooms

This is the time of the year that prickly pears... along with many other desert plants... begin to bloom. Here are some shots of some pretty blooms near our home. Some stores actually sell prickly pear (de-thorned) to be eaten. The fruit is especially edible and I have seen it made into jam. I have not been brave enough to try that yet, though.

Ewan Time!!

Ewan actually wanted his picture taken. What a shock!! So I spent one morning taking pictures before he left for school. I have pictures of him in his sofa cushion fort... and then in the trees and grassy area by the front of our complex while we were waiting for his preschool bus.

Ewan inside his cushion fort

Peek-a-boo!

Aidan's Cub Scout Award Ceremony

Aidan receiving his Roller Skating Belt Loop

Jamin' Blackberries

Sprouts had blackberries on sale for .88 cents for a 6 oz container. Here in Phoenix... that's a rockin 'good price. Usually $2 a container is considered a good price... but not cheap enough to make homemade jam. I ended up buying 12 containers for a total of six pounds to make Blackberry Jam for Michael... as it is his favorite. The kids ate approximately 2 containers before I made the jam... so I ended up with about 5 lbs. of fruit and was able to make 8 (pint size) jars of blackberry jam (including sugar & pectin) for a total of $13.18. That ended up costing approximately $1.64 per jar. That's way less expensive than store bought jam, in a larger jar (so more of it) and it tastes much better! Plus it will last for a year or so on the shelf... or in the refrigerator, unopened.