The Peppers

The remaining pepper plants really are coming along nicely, in that they are still flush with chlorophyll and standing erect. Except for one that tilted for a day after a squirrel dug into the dirt at the base. I assume the squirrels are burying nuts at this time of year, rather than digging up stashes, and boy do they seem to consider the raised garden bed as prime storage space. I wonder if covering the bed with tin foil would deter them the same as keeping cats off counters…

Of additional note, I assume the squirrels are responsible for the recent nibbles taken out of a few pepper plant leaves. The audacity! If anyone recognizes the bite marks as something other than squirrel-contrived, please send me a message.

The Philodendron

I’m delighted to announce a new addition to our Heartleaf! Bill popped out this third leaf while I wasn’t even looking. Bill’s doing great.

The Nanouk

The Tradescantia Nanouks are not doing so great. They’re rather dead, and we bid farewell to the pair as they shuffle this mortal coil. They did not care for my care as well as the Tradescantia Zebrinas, who admittedly only appear to tolerate my care, at best.

The Zebrina

Remember that one T. Zebrina that I thought was dead and put outside, only for it to flourish like I fed it plant steroids? It lost half its arm. I picked it up to move it, and a portion just did not join the parade. It’s as if the plant became so spooked to see me coming for it, that it dropped a limb as a decoy for my fatal attention, like a lizard’s tail.

The Mint

Today I turned my tender loving care upon my dying-but-not-dead-yet spearmint plant. I finally beheaded the flower tips (how many do you count?) and pinched off some dead leaves.

While I was pruning, I noticed a little green guy jumping and swinging around the leaves. I thought it was a wee spider and left him be, but later thought maybe it’s a spider mite. I thought the latter were smaller and came in packs, but I suppose that may differ with different species. Unfortunately my picture is rather blurry and I’ve been unable to determine a clear match on the internet. So I’m putting it to a vote to see what the best guess verdict may be (unless someone *knows* in which case please message me!). Picture is under the survey, so people with phobias can avoid.