These are handbuilt, the larger (at the back) holds maybe half a gallon of water and the smaller holds maybe 45 or 50 ounces. The stripey head dresses are funnels that will be used to fill up the ollas once they're buried. Their little heads will protrude above ground of course. I imagine these two to be hermanitas, sisters, so they'll probably have to face each other, no?
Ah, what else has been going on around here?
Well, we're having a black widow population explosion for one. Normally the adults don't survive the winter, but this year the winter was so mild that we had several hold outs. We found a very large one living (relatively discreetly) by the front door. We relocated her. Then we found three or four more on the patio, hiding in the crevices between the pavers. I was reluctant to use insecticide on them until one of their egg sacs hatched and left about a hundred tiny baby black widows crawling around. Apparently they can produce four to nine egg sacs per season, each with 100 to 400 eggs inside.
I love spiders--yes, even black widow spiders, which, believe it or not, are actually beneficial--but enough was enough. We sprayed the places on the patio and around the garden where we found their characteristic webs. That seemed to take care of the problem on the patio, but the next day I found a black widow web protruding from underneath the stove. I sprayed again--ugh--and although I haven't seen the spider, the web hasn't come back. Either she died under the stove or she relocated somewhere inside the house. (Yay.)
A couple of years ago, I found a really large black widow behind the bed. Judging by her size and the size of her web, she'd been there awhile, hunting successfully there at the head of the bed. I only noticed her because I dropped something between the bed and the nightstand and when I reached to pick it up, her scurrying up into the wall heater caught my eye. She was incredibly fast and it took me three nights to catch her, but I did it because I hate spraying insecticide/poisons inside the house. We took her outside and let her loose in a more appropriate environment.
So yes, black widow invasion. What are you gonna do?
2 comments:
yes! save the spiders! I rarely see a black widow, but brown recluse spiders are munching on folks around here from time to time.. crawling up through vents and jumping on shocked nappers on couches. not cool. still, I figure everything has a right to live.. and eat!! the only insects I kill with impunity are ticks and fleas. just. can't. deal. you know?
cute sisters!! I wanna see them installed... xo
Hola, Chica! I agree! I'm used to dealing with black widows, but black recluses scare the crap out of me. Yikes. I've seen some of the damage they can do.
Ticks, fleas and roaches are on my hit list--and probably bedbugs if I ever encountered them. Oh--and mosquitoes, but only because I'm allergic to them. :(
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