Horseradish & Honey

Musings of an organic gardener in Cincinnati

Creatures & Critters

Leave the Leaves

November 27, 2017
0

I was poking around in the garden and found this wooly bear caterpillar under a bunch of leaves. This discovery made me smile for a couple of reasons. First, because wooly bears remind me of my childhood. Second, because it underscores my belief that leaving the leaves helps the creatures and critters.

Wooly bear caterpillar in the leaves

Have you heard about the #LEAVETHELEAVES campaign? If not, you can read more about it here. I think it’s great that the Xerces Society and other organizations, like The National Wildlife Federation, are educating people about the importance of leaves for overwintering pollinators, reptiles, and other animals. Leaves also make great mulch, can be added to the compost pile, and can be turned into leaf mold with a little time and patience.

How do you feel about leaves? Do you leave them or obsessively rake all the leaves up?

My husband and I are generally either in the “leave them” camp or the “shred them to mulch the vegetable gardens over the winter” camp.

Creatures & Critters

Friday Fave: Hummingbird Moth

July 14, 2017
2

If you don’t follow me on Instagram, you missed this Hummingbird Moth video that I posted Wednesday. I had just finished garden chores for the morning and was heading inside but stopped at our koi pond to have a look at the fish when something caught my eye.

Lo and behold—it was a Hummingbird Moth!

More specifically, this is a Hummingbird Clearwing Moth. It’s one of the few moths that you’ll find flying during the day.

Are they cool or what?

A post shared by Sarah Carefoot 👩‍🌾 (@horseradishandhoney) on Jul 12, 2017 at 7:46am PDT


Learn More

  • Hummingbird Moth (Clearwing Moth)
  • Focus on Natives: Hummingbird Clearwing Moth

Boogie Down

Although my video has the soothing sounds of our koi pond’s waterfall in the background, I find myself singing “Fantastic Voyage” when viewing the video. Because that Hummingbird Moth is most definitely on a Fantastic Voyage!

Creatures & Critters Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Twelve-Spotted Skimmer Dragonfly

June 7, 2017
1
Twelve-Spotted Skimmer Dragonfly | Horseradish & Honey

Twelve-Spotted Skimmer Dragonfly

Creatures & Critters Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday: Frog Spotting

April 26, 2017
0

Frog Spotting | Horseradish & Honey

Hello

I'm a nature-loving, dig-in-the-dirt organic gardener in the Queen City of Cincinnati (Zone 6a). Always learning, experimenting, and sharing...let's grow something!

Recent Posts

  • Finding Religion in my Garden
  • Second Freeze Warning of the Fall
  • Bird on a Wire
  • Wordless Wednesday: Common Buckeye Butterfly
  • Wordless Wednesday: October Treasure

Instagram

Subscribe to Blog

Enter your email address to subscribe and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Back to top
  • Copyright © HorseradishAndHoney.com. Say hello!