The Tukti are vegans, and a staple of their diet is the seed of the plains grass. Unfortunately, the delicate purple flower of the plains grass contains a sweet nectar that the little ones love.
The nectar is fine for a special treat, but too much can make you sick. Tell that to the kids though!
The Little Miss in the image is being naughty… and knows it. 🙂
cheers,
Meeks
I’m not talking about your common, garden variety mosquito bite here. I’m talking about the kind of bite that becomes swollen and red and itches more than you thought possible. The kind of bite that drives you crazy.
Two days ago, I was working in the garden, pulling weeds from one of the flowerbeds when I felt a couple of stings. One was inside my gardening glove, and I think it was an ant. The other three were one my torso, and I have no idea what bit me, or how. I took an anti-histamine when I went inside and it seemed to be okay. By the next day, however, all the bites had turned nasty.
I tried vinegar, my normal go-to, but it only eased the itch for a short time.
Then I tried making a paste out of bi-carb and spreading it over the bites. It did work for a while, but once the paste dried the itch returned, plus I was covered in dried bi-carb powder.
By this time, I’d taken Telfast during the day and Polaramine at night, but nothing much was working. In desperation I looked up cures for ant bites and found a post that recommended placing something cold on the bite…
It worked!
That first moment when the cold pack touched bare skin was pretty intense, but after that the itch disappeared like magic.
It’s not a permanent cure, but each time you do it, the angry, swollen flesh around the bite shrinks a little more. And it doesn’t make a mess, or smell like fish-‘n-chips. 🙂
Later me lovelies. Time to do some more gardening.
Meeks
I was procrastinating with Jigsaw Planet this morning when I came across a bright blue, crater lake. That triggered an image search which culminated in the photo you see above. And no, that image is not photoshopped!
You can find more, fascinating photos and an in depth article about the crater lakes at:
https://blazingtrailstogether.wordpress.com/2013/03/15/lakes-of-mount-kelimutu-indonesia/
Have a great weekend,
Meeks
There’s a story behind this ugly-duckling beauty. Back when I was a kid, this cactus sat on a sort of plinth, outside our front door. It got a lot of sun and little else. Yet it flowered every single year.
When Mum died and Dad came to live with us in Warrandyte, the Daughter and I closed up their old house. One of the precious things we brought to our much smaller house was this cactus. I put it in a bigger pot. I gave it fresh new soil. I watered it. And the damn thing languished out in the garden with not a flower in sight. Sulking?
Then, as a last ditch effort I decided to bring the cactus up to the north-facing deck. I plonked it against the wall and pretty much forgot about it. Now this:
Isn’t it lovely?
I’m over the moon to have the damn thing flowering so beautifully, but I have no idea what I finally did right. That’s why I need to find its name; so I can look it up. If any of you know, please, please, PLEASE tell me in comments!!!
And now, just to round out this post, here are a couple of pics of something I know how to get right – lettuce.
All these lovelies grew from seeds I harvested last year. The two onion plants grew from a tenacious brown onion that sprouted in my cupboard.
-hugs to all-
Meeks
p.s. If you know how to propogate cacti I’d love to know that too. I’ve tried cutting off a bit and sticking it in the ground, but it didn’t work. 
Free how-to
Meeka's Mind 