Tag Archives: garden

The Predator

2 Apr

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It was a sad ending for Munch Pots 5.1, 6, 7 and 8 over the weekend. Right after discovering the Calamansi Lime tree having four caterpillars to my delight, they all mysteriously disappeared the next day to my dismay. What a quick turnaround within a day!

Initially, I thought the rain displaced them or even some birds came swooping down on them for food. And I found myself standing in front of the pot, staring intently at the branches looking for caterpillars! It was quite a funny yet sombre scene. And it’s something more sinister that I discovered…

A predator.

One level higher in the vicious food chain, I found this grasshopper lurking amongst the leaves. And it could only mean one thing, feasting on juicy fat caterpillars. Oh my poor Munch Pots…

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5.1, 6, 7, 8!

28 Mar
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A day in the life of Munch Pot 5.1

It’s a bittersweet moment as far as the caterpillars are concerned. While Munch Pot 3.1 is clearly no more after so many days with no evidence of metamorphosis or a shrivelled body or pod in sight, Munch Pot 5.1 continues to grow. And to our delight, we found more babies, 6, 7 and 8 to be exact on the Calamansi Lime tree! Hahaha… the poor tree.

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Top: Munch Pots 7 and 8 saying “Hello”! Bottom: Munch Pot 6

I guess there’s a never ending supply of caterpillars on this particular tree to keep me enthralled.

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Rescuing My Caterpillar

25 Mar

Of late, caterpillars have become very fascinating to me. It’s so fun checking on them every morning and evening, and taking pictures of them. Honestly, I like it when all the leaves on the Calamansi Lime tree gets gnawed on and even hubby doesn’t mind this.

Munch Pot 5.0 before it evolved

Munch Pot 3.1 doing a vertical stand

3.1 up close

The munch pots are growing and happy. Munch Pot 3.1 have grown beautifully and even 5.0 have evolved. So now, it’s 5.1.

What a cutie 3.1

5.1 on Friday night, having evolved

But on Saturday morning, a slight mishap occurred and we couldn’t find 3.1. Oh no, it’s gone! Lunch for the birds? I couldn’t accept this so we looked and looked. And lo and behold, it actually fell off the tree onto the ground. Oh dear…

Poor 3.1. I wonder if it’s traumatized?

5.1 looking good

Looking disheveled but hopefully not traumatized, hubby picked it up with a bamboo stick to place it back on the branches. I thought our little deed was whimsical, rescuing a caterpillar that some people consider a pest. I hope 3.1 will be okay and evolve to its next stage. It was still okay on Saturday afternoon when I checked on it again.

Unfortunately after that, the last two days as we stood in front of the Calamansi Lime tree to scrutinize every branch looking for it, we cannot find Munch Pot 3.1. Sniffle…

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Munch Pots, Part 2

21 Mar
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Munch Pot 3.0 in the morning

Munch Pot 3.0 has evolved and is now 3.1! What a beauty I must say. Within a day, in the morning, it was still its old self; then that evening when I got home and checked on it, it has morphed into a glorious green caterpillar. And to my delight, we found another caterpillar on the same tree, 5.0.

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Munch Pot 3.1 in the evening

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Eat ’em and poop

But sadly, I cannot locate Munch Pot 4.0 on the other tree.

Now 3.1 and 5.0 have grown very fast, being munch pots that they are. And when they eat so much, they poop just as much too, as evidenced by this morning’s photographs.

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Munch Pot 5.0

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Munch Pots

18 Mar

This caterpillar business is so hard to keep track! Last Friday, Munch Pot 2.1 could not be found at its usual spot on the branch of the Calamansi Lime tree. I suspect the final same fate as Munch Pot 1.0 has befallen 2.1. We couldn’t find any cocoon on the tree.

Either a bird came down and had it for lunch or it could have fallen off the branch because the pelting rain was too strong for it to hold on tight. I am disappointed. Munch Pot 2.1 is no more. Sigh…

But while we were searching for it, we found a new baby. Munch Pot 3.0 I guess. The tiny hairy fella measured at only 1cm and have grown since then. It’s funny, people take care of plants and here I am ‘taking’ care of caterpillars. On top of 3.0, I found another one, 4.0 at another Calamansi tree. This one’s a wee bit bigger.

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Meet Munch Pot 3.0

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Munch Pot 3.0 have grown since the first sighting

 

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Munch Pot 4.0

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Up close and personal with Munch Pot 4.0 the munching machine

Let’s hope both 3.0 and 4.0 live longer than the others.

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Munch Pot 2.1

14 Mar

For two days, I didn’t check on Munch Pot because we had to leave the house early and got home late due to work. Then yesterday morning when I had a little time before leaving for the office, I went looking for the dark hairy creature.

But I couldn’t find it! Oh no… has the same fate struck it like Munch Pot 1.0?

I looked again and to my delight, I saw a green caterpillar instead. Munch Pot has evolved! Awesome!!!

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Munch Pot 2.1

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The Calamansi Lime tree where Munch Pot 2.1 resides

Quickly I went inside for my ruler and took its measurement. A slight increment from my last sighting of it. This is getting exciting. Munch Pot is now at its next stage, hence 2.1. Heheheh…

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Munch Pot 2.0

12 Mar

Our garden is just a wonderful place for the creatures that come visiting. Birds, treating our place as their private kitchen, come daily to feast on the bird seeds put out for them. There’s also squirrels that bound through the hedges happily like their little playground. One of the squirrel, a rascal, will eat official pet number one’s leftover dog food or boldly come into the house and help itself to bananas (if we have this) on the kitchen counter.

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The garden thrives because hubby has the green fingers, not me. I hardly venture out because I stay indoors in my little area to do my carving. Even if I do go out, it’s more at the terrace to do mostly sawing, hammering, cutting or drilling, never beyond the tiled boundary for gardening. So it was a bit of a surprise when I discovered the habanero plant has grown as tall as me! And the chillis are plentiful. I have shared so much of our harvest with friends and family.

The thriving garden also had us discovering a new caterpillar! This time on the Calamansi Lime tree at the side. I wouldn’t have known if hubby didn’t tell me. You could say it’s Munch Pot 2.0.

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This time I decided to take its measurement with a ruler to keep track of its growth. As of now, it’s 2cm long. I hope this little fella will grow well and won’t disappear mysteriously like Munch Pot who used to be at the Calamansi Lime tree in front of the house.

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Getting Organized

11 Dec

Two months ago, hubby had a big package delivered to the office. The package, wrapped in newspaper and clear plastic, was a racking system for his plants. And it has been set up at the side garden.

It took some time to get things organized and when it did, the garden is now looking much better with less potted plants everywhere. It’s a good thing too because with the constant rain, the garden floods due to the excessive water as the drainage is not fast enough to clear the onslaught.

And the display? I must say it’s looking very organized with all the pots sitting on all three tiers of both racks. He even had shades put up to protect the leaves of the bromeliads from the direct afternoon sun. But now with the rainy season, the shades shelter the leaves from rain.

Although I don’t look at the plants daily, I am appreciative of the neat garden.

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Setback for the Frangipani

10 Dec

The frangipani tree has sprouted new leaves. Initially the new leaves looked fine but it was too early to tell. But now that the leaves are more and bigger, the situation has not improved even with treatment some time back.

In fact, the rust fungus seems to be even more! Yikes. It’s a setback for the tree. So this time, hubby trimmed off all the leaves by himself without waiting for the gardener and his team to come and do it.

And it’s a good thing the netting that he placed over and on the branches was not removed. So it’s still functional to shade all his collection of air plants and bromeliads from the sun now that the tree is bald again.

The tree itself is fine, standing tall and sturdy; it’s only the leaves that are problematic. I guess this problem will not go away nor be cured. Sigh.

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Thriving Garden, Part 2

8 Nov

Lately, I have been noticing the staghorn fern in front of the house, something I don’t normally do. And it’s rather exciting to see a new green leaf growing and wrapping itself onto the shield frond. How refreshing it looks! This is despite the wonky wet and hot weather that we are experiencing.

But I now wonder how long will it take before it turns brown. Hmm… I guess I have to watch the fern more closely the next few days.

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The photos were taken four days apart.

 

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