The Garden Thread that two people wanted

[Vijaya]

I've seen lots of dragonflies on my walks, Jeff. I really like them too, esp. since they eat so many mosquitoes ;)

[Jeff Tanyard]

Well, speak of the devil, I guess; I saw the first dragonfly of the season on Sunday afternoon.  Nice to know there's at least one around.

There's also a garden spider--Argiope aurantia, a.k.a. writing spider, a.k.a. zig-zag spider--in the yard.  Some folks on the internet have mentioned that the invasive Joro seems to have displaced the native garden spider on their properties, and that was a concern of mine, too.  So seeing this one is a nice sign.  Perhaps the two species can coexist after all.

[LilyBLily]

We just saw two big box turtles on our driveway after a rainstorm! Two at once. Woo-hoo!

(Maybe some baby turtles in our future? I saw one here a few years ago--had not seen one in decades. What a thrill that was.)

[Jeff Tanyard]

We just saw two big box turtles on our driveway after a rainstorm! Two at once. Woo-hoo!

(Maybe some baby turtles in our future? I saw one here a few years ago--had not seen one in decades. What a thrill that was.)

It's been a long time since I've seen a box turtle, too.  When I was a child, we'd find one every now and then, usually lurking under or near an azalea.  I miss seeing them.  But there are species here that I never saw as a boy, so I guess it balances out.

[Vijaya]

We have a lot of them--I've also rescued some babies (they are so cute).
We've had a bounty of cucumbers and tomatoes so made dill pickles and salsa. Pictures on the blog.

[Jeff Tanyard]

Pulled up some wild blackberry and sticker vine today.  Man, I hate that stuff.   

[LilyBLily]

Was at a relative's for a July 4th barbecue and a fawn wandered around the small backyard curiously. It has been living in that very wild yard with much tall goldenrod to hide among and now wanted to check us out. We did not make any motions toward it and it finally decided to go hide again. And we are not doing any stupid hand feeding. Its mama was out grazing and would be back to check on baby shortly. The deer in that neighborhood are very savvy and pay attention to traffic, so this fawn is no orphan. But it was adorable.

[Jeff Tanyard]

The start of August saw dramatically low temperatures and rain.  Once that stuff blew through and things returned to near-normal, the Joro spiders appeared en masse.

I have no idea where they came from.  I've been prowling around the yard all summer to keep an eye on these things, so I thought I knew where most of them were.  Apparantly not, though.  It's like the little critters had been in hiding somewhere all summer and then decided, "Well, it's August, so it's time to come out and take the place over, I reckon."

I also occasionally visit the Joro Watch site, and there seems to be an established colony in Bucks County, Pennsylvania.  It's a northern suburb of Philadelphia and borders the Delaware River.  Joros were spotted there last year as well as this year, hence my conclusion that it's an established colony and not just a random hitchhiker that some vacationer took back home on the underside of his car.

The hummingbirds have also showed up en masse in August, though this isn't entirely surprising.  This is a frantic time for them when they're all trying to gorge themselves and pack on as much weight as they can so they'll have enough fat reserves for the long flight across the Gulf.  Hummer activity has been very entertaining these last several days.

[LilyBLily]

It's interesting that the eastern hummingbirds absolutely refuse to share a feeder. I've noted other hummingbird happily massing feeders in Peru and in California, but not these. They chase each other away with dive bombing.

[Jeff Tanyard]

It's interesting that the eastern hummingbirds absolutely refuse to share a feeder. I've noted other hummingbird happily massing feeders in Peru and in California, but not these. They chase each other away with dive bombing.

Yep.  They're very territorial when it comes to their food sources.  I'll often see multiple birds drinking from a feeder at once, but it's always an uneasy truce that can erupt into conflict at any time.

Their aerial jousting is great entertainment for us humans, though.   

[Vijaya]

We stopped having a hummingbird feeder out because the squirrels were tipping it over and drinking all the sugar water. But I see them amongst the plants. And yes, very territorial.

Something--raccoon?--ate all our sweet potatoes, leaves, stems, everything. Watermelon too. And for the first time also many of our pepper plants. The stuff on the porch is doing good--we're getting cukes, okra, tomatoes, but the critters are starting to find out (bites taken off the tomatoes).

[Post-Doctorate D]

Something--raccoon?--ate all our sweet potatoes, leaves, stems, everything. Watermelon too. And for the first time also many of our pepper plants. The stuff on the porch is doing good--we're getting cukes, okra, tomatoes, but the critters are starting to find out (bites taken off the tomatoes).

Or a groundhog?  Hope for your sake it's not a groundhog.  Those things are destructive and hard to get rid of.  I think I (not intentionally) hit one while driving a few years back and it just got up and walked away.

[Jeff Tanyard]

Something--raccoon?--ate all our sweet potatoes, leaves, stems, everything. Watermelon too. And for the first time also many of our pepper plants. The stuff on the porch is doing good--we're getting cukes, okra, tomatoes, but the critters are starting to find out (bites taken off the tomatoes).

Or a groundhog?  Hope for your sake it's not a groundhog.  Those things are destructive and hard to get rid of.  I think I (not intentionally) hit one while driving a few years back and it just got up and walked away.

Groundhogs aren't common around here.  North Georgia is at the very southern edge of their range according to Wikipedia's map, and Vijaya's region is out of it altogether.  I've actually never seen a groundhog in the wild.  Moles, raccoons, rabbits, and deer are definitely a nuisance, though.  I'll occasionally see armadillo road-kill, so those things--which are an invasive species here, by the way--are definitely around.

But the deer are the worst.    

[Post-Doctorate D]

Groundhogs aren't common around here.  North Georgia is at the very southern edge of their range according to Wikipedia's map, and Vijaya's region is out of it altogether.  I've actually never seen a groundhog in the wild.  Moles, raccoons, rabbits, and deer are definitely a nuisance, though.  I'll occasionally see armadillo road-kill, so those things--which are an invasive species here, by the way--are definitely around.

But the deer are the worst.   

You're lucky if you don't have groundhogs.

I think the best description I've seen about deer is that they are rats on stilts.

[LilyBLily]

The deer want to eat everything. They'll eat anything new, for sure. No hesitation about trying something different.

I've occasionally seen a groundhog by my shed, but it doesn't live there; it lives in the meadow beyond and only visits when disturbed. The shed is home to generations of fox babies and the Great Hunter parents are around, too. At our old house, though, we simply could not get rid of the groundhogs under our shed. Tried just about everything.

I'd like to shoot the squirrels, but I don't have the patience. Instead I just don't bother with bird feeders except for the hummingbird one that is attached to the window by suction cups. It gets knocked down a couple of times a season but basically the squirrels let it alone. They would have to traverse six feet of tall echinaceas, black-eyed susans, phlox, and daylilies to get to it; I don't think they want to take the risk that something might be waiting for them below.

[Vijaya]

But the deer are the worst.   

You're lucky if you don't have groundhogs.

I think the best description I've seen about deer is that they are rats on stilts.
[/quote]

  rats on stilts. The deer are the worst. We eventually put up a deer fence... and the year after that, the rats chewed on the newly planted trees. So now they're protected as well. The rabbits have chewed a hole through the deer fence. I tell you, when it's man vs nature, nature will win every time. I've not seen a groundhog, so that's good news.

[Jeff Tanyard]

Tore down a webworm cocoon today.  Luckily, it was low enough so I didn't have to get on a ladder.  I could keep both feet on terra firma where they belong.

This is the second time this summer I've torn down webworm webs.   

Strangely, the webworms have only ever appeared in this one sourwood tree.  I've never seen them in other trees nearby.  But that's fine with me.  I'd like to be rid of them altogether.

In case anyone's wondering, I used a pole saw to tear down the web.  It's long, like eight or ten feet or something, and it's really useful for things like this as well as for cutting tree limbs.  I definitely recommend a pole saw for this task.  The manual kind, not the chainsaw kind.

[Jeff Tanyard]

Had to tear down a Joro web.  One of the spiders built her web in the wrong place, blocking my egress.  I'm content to leave them be so long as they don't impede my travel, but this one did, so it was demolition time.  The spider and her male suitor were unharmed and scurried to safety.

A few gardenia flowers have appeared, presumably as a result of all the recent rains.  It's always nice to smell a gardenia flower.

[LilyBLily]

Caterpillars seem always to go for the wild cherry trees. In spring around here. Never heard them called webworms, but evidently they are basically in the same category. Tentworms.

I have both kinds of pole saws, but the chainsaw quickly decided not to work when attached to its pole. I have been using it just as a small regular chainsaw for years now. It's powerful and dangerous enough without raising it above eye level.

[Jeff Tanyard]

Joro update time!   

*dons amateur naturalist's hat*

The males started appearing in the webs in August as usual.  I have no idea where those things spend their lives prior to August.  They don't build webs of their own, so I guess they just they hide in nooks and crannies and feed on whatever bits of edible stuff they can find there.  I literally never see a male Joro until they start to show up in the females' webs.  These things must have powerful pheromones in order to find each other when mating season approaches.

The females aren't fully mature yet, but they're close, and the males know it, and courtship season has already begun.  I watched a male court a female a few days ago.  He was on her underside, grooming her or something, and she would flinch every now and then but otherwise remain motionless.  Whenever the female flinched, the male would move away a little, probably out of fear of being eaten (which is a legitimate risk, as you'll see below), and wait several seconds before moving back in to resume his courtship.

"Love is in the air... everywhere I look around..."





"You see it all around you... good lovin' gone bad..."





Both photos taken the afternoon of September 18th.

[Jeff Tanyard]

One of the supposed benefits of having Joro spiders around is the fact they are known to eat marmorated stink bugs, an invasive species here in America.

They also eat the native stink bugs, and that's also good, because stink bugs are destructive pests.  They cause a lot of damage to crops every year, and in this state, agriculture is a big deal.  The photo below is one I took today of a Joro* eating a stink bug.  I think the prey in question is a native brown stink bug, not the invasive marmorated one.  It seems to have the pointier shoulders of the Euschistus genus rather than the rounded ones of Halyomorpha halys.





*This is the same Joro that ate her male suitor in my previous post.  Hungry girl, I guess.  And I see it didn't take long for her to find a new boyfriend.   

Joros sometimes build their webs right outside of windows using the outer part of the window frame as anchor points.  This provides the best opportunity to take up-close photos of them without disturbing them or accidentally getting their silk on you or your camera.  You can just put your camera right up to the window.

This one is munching on some tiny little bug; not sure what.  You can also see some of the yellow coloring of the silk in this photo.  And if you look closely enough, you can see the tiny hairs on the spider's legs.





I hope y'all are enjoying my "amateur naturalist" documentation of this species.  It's been more fascinating for me to observe these critters than I would have imagined it would be.  I guess it helps that they're so big and colorful and just plain interesting to look at.  I really like the yellow silk, too.  The concept of a beautiful spider that spins a golden web and is perilous to any male who would try to win her hand is downright Romantic, like a tragic story from Greek mythology, and it's really no wonder that this species appears in Japanese folklore.

[Vijaya]

Jeff, I'm enjoying your observations and musings about the Joro spiders. They are beautiful. I also enjoy sitting out on my porch and watching various critters. My cats too

[djmills]

Jeff, I love your photos and observations on the spiders.

Spring here, so I renewed the beer in glass bottles for my slugs and snails. If they have to die, then they can die happy and drunk. :-)

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Interesting to learn about the animal life in other countries.

We are still trying to thwart the vervet monkeys getting into my compost bin. Each time we think we've outsmarted them they prove too clever. They can reach in through the holes and pull out fruit skins etc, so now I leave the skins in larger pieces, but they still manage to get some apple peel out. We've tried various lids (it has to be one I can lift with one hand and dump the peelings etc in). The bin top has a ridge so they couldn't slide it off - we thought. We put a heavy paver on top, but the big male somehow managed to get it off.  I put a hook and wire to keep it down, but that didn't work. I made the wire into a hinge, but they flipped if off. Today they even managed to tip the whole bin over (it was half full) so now I've tied it to the fence. 

They work as a team and while you are busy chasing them others sneak inside and raid your fruit bowl or take your bread. They are not afraid of the dogs either. You know there are monkeys close by when you hear someone yelling, "GET OUT!" 

[LilyBLily]

I like hearing about the wildlife, Jeff. Jan's wildlife is way too smart.

[Jeff Tanyard]

Okay... that spider that ate her mate and the stinkbug?  Well, she caught a lightning bug yesterday, and today I saw her wrapping up a fly.  I swear she must be the Rambo of spiders.  She's single-handedly annihilating the flying insect population. 

I think I'm going to name her Vasquez.   

[Post-Doctorate D]

This summer, I had a problem with ants getting into my cat's food on his counter.  I cleaned their paths to no effect.  I used lemon and vinegar and all the various tricks that were supposed to deter or get rid of ants.  Nothing worked.  I don't like to kill unless necessary, but it become necessary because they were all over his food and it limited his eating time as he could only eat before the ants got to it.

Then I took inspiration from the Roman Empire, I think.  I killed and beheaded ants and scattered the bodies near the edge of the counter where I believed they were coming up.  I figured that might send a message to the ants.

They continued to come, so I continued killing ants, beheading them and scattering the heads and bodies on the edge of the counter.

After a few days, they apparently got the message.  No more ants on the counter.  And they've not been back even after I cleaned up the bodies.

I'm thinking the same sort of strategy could work with monkeys.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

This summer, I had a problem with ants getting into my cat's food on his counter.  I cleaned their paths to no effect.  I used lemon and vinegar and all the various tricks that were supposed to deter or get rid of ants.  Nothing worked.  I don't like to kill unless necessary, but it become necessary because they were all over his food and it limited his eating time as he could only eat before the ants got to it.

Then I took inspiration from the Roman Empire, I think.  I killed and beheaded ants and scattered the bodies near the edge of the counter where I believed they were coming up.  I figured that might send a message to the ants.

They continued to come, so I continued killing ants, beheading them and scattering the heads and bodies on the edge of the counter.

After a few days, they apparently got the message.  No more ants on the counter.  And they've not been back even after I cleaned up the bodies.

I'm thinking the same sort of strategy could work with monkeys.

     You do feel like strangling them when they eat all your almost ripe fruit and veg, but then you see an injured/limping one and feel sorry for it. We have a monkey helpline that rescues and rehabilitates injured monkeys.

On the ant saga. I wrote a story about our ant experience. After several skirmishes it resulted in 'The Great Ant War' when my husband awoke at three a.m. with burning feet. As consciousness surfaced he realised it was something more than gout. ANTS!  His feet and legs were alive with the tiny black creatures. So was the bed. It was like an Alfred Hitchc*ck  "The Revenge of the Ants."
They turned out to be an alien species - an omnivorous Argentine variety - the pitbulls of the ant world and they bite! I chanced upon a fellow sufferer. They had nearly devoured her husband during the night, leaving him with an eye infection. The doctor was unconvinced that ants could have caused the inflamed puncture wounds. We were united in our nightmare.

The story was published locally and I included it in "Something to Read on the Plane." I turned many of my calamities into humorous stories 

[Jeff Tanyard]

This summer, I had a problem with ants getting into my cat's food on his counter.  I cleaned their paths to no effect.  I used lemon and vinegar and all the various tricks that were supposed to deter or get rid of ants.  Nothing worked.  I don't like to kill unless necessary, but it become necessary because they were all over his food and it limited his eating time as he could only eat before the ants got to it.

Then I took inspiration from the Roman Empire, I think.  I killed and beheaded ants and scattered the bodies near the edge of the counter where I believed they were coming up.  I figured that might send a message to the ants.

They continued to come, so I continued killing ants, beheading them and scattering the heads and bodies on the edge of the counter.

After a few days, they apparently got the message.  No more ants on the counter.  And they've not been back even after I cleaned up the bodies.

I'm thinking the same sort of strategy could work with monkeys.

I had a similar experience years ago.  I was using the bathroom sink once, and then a bunch of tiny ants suddenly started pouring out of the overflow drain hole.  I was frozen in surprise for a few moments, having never experienced such a thing before or even imagined such a thing.  When I had recovered my wits, I started methodically mashing them with my thumb.  I actually killed them all just by doing that.  No more ants, and they never reappeared.

As far as monkeys go, I hate the things.  I suspect some of my hatred comes from movies and tv.  The Nazi spy monkey betrayed Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and that sort of thing makes an impression on a kid.  And I saw something on tv that involved a person trapped in a lab with a psychotic chimp, though I can't remember any more than that other than it scared the crap out of me.  And then you hear news stories about some woman's pet chimp ripping her face off, and I've come to the conclusion that monkeys, chimps, baboons, etc. are a blight on the world.

[Post-Doctorate D]

As far as monkeys go, I hate the things.  I suspect some of my hatred comes from movies and tv.  The Nazi spy monkey betrayed Marion in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and that sort of thing makes an impression on a kid.  And I saw something on tv that involved a person trapped in a lab with a psychotic chimp, though I can't remember any more than that other than it scared the crap out of me.  And then you hear news stories about some woman's pet chimp ripping her face off, and I've come to the conclusion that monkeys, chimps, baboons, etc. are a blight on the world.

I don't remember that scene from Raiders and I just saw it again about a month or so ago.

I remember a news story from a couple years or so ago where there was some place where monkeys were stealing people's dogs and dropping them off rooftops to kill them.  And I'm thinking, if some monkey killed my dog, that monkey is dead.  And if there is a whole group of monkeys killing dogs, every last one of those monkeys is going to be dead.

Science says that ancient climate change made North America too cold and inhospitable for non-human primates and that's why there are no longer any monkeys in North America and they haven't returned because they would have to pass through deserts and other inhospitable climates to get back here.  Maybe that's true, but maybe the monkeys also know Americans aren't going to put up with any monkey business and if they come here thinking they're going to start stuff, they're going be finished rather quick.

[LilyBLily]

My, my. Such... fervor.



I'm fairly sure I've seen at least one movie in which someone says, "Kill them! Kill them all!" But usually, that's the bad guy talking.

[Jeff Tanyard]

My, my. Such... fervor.



I'm fairly sure I've seen at least one movie in which someone says, "Kill them! Kill them all!" But usually, that's the bad guy talking.

 

I think I'v seen that movie, too.

Nature is always cute and cuddly and innocent... until it's not, and then that whole "red in tooth and claw" thing becomes horrifyingly real, and then all you hear is the screams of the fatally naive as they're eaten alive.

I still remember that tragic story from China about the monkey ripping a baby's testicle off and eating it.  Never should have happened.   

[Post-Doctorate D]

Nature is always cute and cuddly and innocent... until it's not, and then that whole "red in tooth and claw" thing becomes horrifyingly real, and then all you hear is the screams of the fatally naive as they're eaten alive.

And even the ones that don't bite or attack people can be problematic.  They can carry and spread disease, including some nasty stuff, or they can cause property damage, which can be extensive.  Like I said, I don't like to kill things, but sometimes that's really the only option.

[Jeff Tanyard]

And even the ones that don't bite or attack people can be problematic.  They can carry and spread disease, including some nasty stuff...

We can get STDs from them.     In fact, that's where HIV originated: from human exposure to an infected chimp.

Like I said, I don't like to kill things, but sometimes that's really the only option.

Same here.  I'd prefer to not have to ever kill anything at all.  I'd like to live in a world where all the critters get along with humans in perfect harmony.  But we live in a Nietzschean/Darwinian world, not the Garden of Eden, and that means we must actively manage the environment if we want to remain a part of it at all.

Speaking of actively managing the environment, I'm still hoping to be able to plant some blight-resistant American Chestnut trees at some point.  That's the one genetic engineering project that I really want to succeed.  The world doesn't need the Dodo or Direwolf ( ) but resurrecting the fabled Chestnut forests of Appalachia would be absolutely wonderful.  It could potentially revolutionize the environment and the economy of the whole region.

I'd like to see woolly mammoths, too, though I doubt they would choose to live this far south.

[LilyBLily]

They were woolly for a reason.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

After watching the Monkey Helpline videos of the monkey rescues you feel differently about them. There are a lot of overseas volunteers helping out. They are about 20 mins from me. Steve even climbed a razor wire fence barefoot to rescue a baby monkey caught in the razor wire. They named it Razor. 

[Jeff Tanyard]

Walked face-first into a spider web today.   

I was just doing an outdoor chore and walking around the house.  It was a new web I hadn't noticed before.  I cursed and frantically brushed at myself to make sure no spiders were on me or in my hair.  When I looked back, I saw the Joro in question clinging to what was left of her web.  The web's anchor lines reached from the hydrangea next to the house to the holly tree, a span of at least six feet and probably closer to eight feet.  (For the record, the longest anchor line I've seen for a Joro web was somewhere around 15-20 feet.)

I've still got some heebie-jeebies from colliding with it.  *shiver*

October is when these things reach their final-boss form and take over the land, so I'm sure this won't be the last web I'll have to destroy this year.

[Post-Doctorate D]

After watching the Monkey Helpline videos of the monkey rescues you feel differently about them.

Not really.  I mean, someone could start a c*ckroach Rescue and post videos about how "cute" they are and have sad music to make you feel sorry for the c*ckroaches, but that wouldn't change the fact that I'm going to exterminate any c*ckroach that encroaches on my property.

[Jeff Tanyard]

The web I walked face-first into the other day belonged to this critter:





I took this photo from almost directly underneath the web.  I'd guess the spider is about ten feet off the ground.

Some flowers are currently blooming.  Azaleas:





Gardenia:





Lots of little red bugs on the gardenia flowers.  It's typical to see a few bugs, but the flowers are currently covered with the things.  I don't know what they are.

[LilyBLily]

About all I have left are black-eyed susans and one lonely hydrangea blossom--and a beautiful display by the pyracantha.

We had a handful of lilac blossoms in September after all the leaves were burned off by the heat and new leaves formed. Kind of amazing. 

[Jeff Tanyard]

About all I have left are black-eyed susans and one lonely hydrangea blossom--and a beautiful display by the pyracantha.

We had a handful of lilac blossoms in September after all the leaves were burned off by the heat and new leaves formed. Kind of amazing.

The weather here this summer has been downright weird.  It was cool and rainy almost every day from mid-April to mid-June, and I was starting to wonder if we'd get any summer heat at all.  Then it abruptly changed to dry and hot with almost no rain at all, and that lasted until the first week of August, by which time the trees and grass were showing stress from drought.  Then the dam broke that first week of August, and it rained heavily for about a week, and then we had normal summer weather the rest of the month.  September was bone-dry but not too hot, and it felt like October usually feels.  Now it's actually October, and who knows what will happen.

I'm glad I'm not a farmer.  I'd be pulling my hair out.   

[Jeff Tanyard]

Sub-freezing temps last night.  I even saw a few snowflakes yesterday afternoon.   

I'm ready for the growing season to be over.  I'll probably trim the bushes one more time before Thanksgiving, and maybe I'll edge the lawn one last time, but then I'm switching from "growing-season maintenance" mode to "winter clean-up/projects" mode.  Spring is way too short and pleasant to spend it doing spring cleaning, so I do my spring cleaning in the winter instead.

[LilyBLily]

We got into the habit of doing all the property cleanup in the winter so we wouldn't anger yellowjackets or encounter slithery pests. Not to mention spiders and other biting bugs. By now they should be in their winter quarters. Or dead; I don't care which.

I still have 400 small bulbs to plant. I've been delaying and delaying on that project. I finally did bring in my lantana--nipped by the frost a bit--and it's time to find the new bulbs a home where the voles and squirrels won't eat them all. We had to give up on all alliums for that reason. I do have a patch of really nasty dirt that has safely harbored some small iris for many years. Maybe there? It has been too windy to even venture outside that last couple of days. I had hopes the wind would obviate the necessity of removing a million leaves from the lawn. Maybe it did remove a million, but there are a million more to get off the grass over the drain field. The rest of the lawn is ageing nicely into moss, and the leaves blow right across. Self-cleaning lawn.

We have no laws against burning here and most of us do it, but last year I decided I would not do it again except for invasive plants like Japanese stilt grass. Then the summer was extremely dry and I was traveling constantly, so no burning happened at all. In future I'll gather all the medium-sized branches for when I have the local tree cleanup service in to handle the fallen trees; they chip everything instead of burning. Of course it takes fuel--fossil fuel!--to run a chipper, so there's really no way of winning except to let everything lie where it falls. Then our woods becomes unwalkable at every time of year, and what's the point of having our own woods if we can't safely walk in it? There are no good choices.

[Jan Hurst-Nicholson]

Sub-freezing temps last night.  I even saw a few snowflakes yesterday afternoon.   

I'm ready for the growing season to be over.  I'll probably trim the bushes one more time before Thanksgiving, and maybe I'll edge the lawn one last time, but then I'm switching from "growing-season maintenance" mode to "winter clean-up/projects" mode.  Spring is way too short and pleasant to spend it doing spring cleaning, so I do my spring cleaning in the winter instead.

Living in a sub-tropical climate we have to garden all year round. But during the 'winter' months growth slows and there is less weeding. We are now coming into summer and there is growth everywhere - most prominently the weeds  The heat also makes it uncomfortable to work in the garden, unless you start when it gets light at 4.30 am. It's dark by 7 pm so you can't take advantage of the cooler evenings.