weed free, monarchs, birds, bluebonnets

WEED FREE
how to be weed free
pull em up or hoe them
it is totally organic
also you get fresh air, exericise and get some dirt on your hands
i usually add them to my compost pile
the chickens will eat some of them also

weeds to compost for the garden
cant beat that
a bad thing becomes a good thing

cover them with clear or black plastic and leave them covered for a
period of time and the weeds will be dead
this is called solarization and is good for a large area of weeds
you want to get rid of
seal the edges with soil or rocks or boards and leave in place
the longer the better
this fries those bad weeds

cover the weeds with a board or piece of plywood
they will eventually die

cover them with newspapers and mulch
the weeds die and the newspapers and mulch breakdown to add
nutrition to the soil

if you use a spray please dont use roundup
would you spray that stuff on your kids or pets
there are other ways to kill those weeds without using something
that you dont want in the water system or on your family

use instead vinegar sprays
you can buy these at many nurseries or
you can make them yourself

i use pickling vinegar from the grocery store-it is usually about
10% vinegar
in 1 gallon add 1 tsp of orange oil and 1 tsp of liquid soap
put in a spray bottle and spray those bad guys
remember this will kill the good guys also
spray it on yourself and you will see why it works so well
i seem to do it everytime i use it
(at least it doesnt make me dizzy and blurryeyed like that other
product does-cant be good for you if it causes those symptoms)

you can also use just plain old hot boiling water
that kills the weeds
definitely dont get that stuff on your skin-ouch

the vinegar mixture breaks down fairly rapidly in the soil

lesson-pull, hoe, cover, or spray with organic mixture or hot water
dont use the bad stuff

MONARCHS
the monarchs are coming
a few have been sighted in this area
their plant host is milkweed and milk vine
plant them if you can
the numbers will be increased significantly this year
enjoy them

BIRDS
the blue birds are here at our place
have several blue bird houses for them to house themselves
they have  a distinctive bird song
as many of you know they were headed to extinction at one time
but now because of the use of blue bird houses and conservation of
some of their habitats they have made a comeback

their arrival means spring is almost here

saw my first purple martins last week
those are called scouts but really they are not scouts
they are on their way up north
we usually get several couples in our eight unit house
purple martins eat tons of insects and remind me of fighter jets
as they swarm around after the insects in the morning and the
evening

they need open space, water and need to be close to humans
if you get them to your place they are worth the effort


BLUEBONNETS
was worried the bluebonnets werent coming this year but it looks
like the season will be a fair one
it will be nothing like last year as that was the best in years

in our pastures and the surrounding ranches the blue bonnets are
here but with these reduced numbers
hopefully there will be patches of them for pictures for people this year

HORNS
they are on a downward spiral
reminiscent of last years decline
the ending may not be pretty again this year unless they get it
all together

the season which i wait for is just now beginning
will be do a ton of basketball game watching with the conference
tournaments and march madness then nba playoffs

my wife she has lost her househusband now for awhile

the organicgreen doctor