07/12/2004: "Alien Scale"

music: the Producers
mood: Upbeat for a Monday

I was a total Warrior the weekend. I got massive amounts of theatre stuff done on Saturday, and on Sunday I was Garden Whore...or maybe a Garden Hoe would be more like it. I pulled out all the old sunflower stalks in Chris's backyard, turned the earth, mixed in 4 40lb bags of soil, planted corn, pumpkins and what not, trimmed the jacarond tree and then went to work on the badly infested ( understatement) Magnolia tree. It is infected with "Scale" and these things are GROSS!!!! (UNDERSTEMENT) pictures of this gorssness can be seen here:

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/2000/2003.html


Here are the facts you need to know to make the picture of me battling this 15 foot tree complete....

"Magnolia scales have sucking mouthparts and when heavy infestations completely encrust branches, the branches often die. Badly infested branches and twigs are weakened and growth is retarded. Leaves may also be under-developed. Under a continuous and heavy attack trees may be killed. Like most soft scales, the excess plant sap is excreted as a sweet, sticky material called honeydew. The honeydew drips onto the foliage and branches. A dark fungus, called black sooty mold grows on the honeydew which results in the leaves becoming blackened. This greatly detracts from the plant's normal ornamental value. The honeydew also attracts a ants, bees, wasps and flies which feed on it."

Son nt only were the branches sticky, the ground was ticky, and there were bees and wasps all about, and I am not the most coodinated creature on land as it is, nor very skilled with the awesome tool that Chris lent me which can clip and saw branches way up high, BUT I was victorious for the most part. Two close calls with branches ( STICKY AND HEAVY ONES) nearly falling on me ( THERE WERE SQUEALS) but the worst bit wasn dragging the branches to the curb. Because this was a bad infestation there were hardly any bits of the branches that weren't covered with these little bug pods and if you grab them they squish this random reddy orange sticky stuff and you get squished bug on you. Very creepy. I suppose I could have work gloves but the gloves had been in the garage and I don't like the idea of sticking my hand into something where a spider might be resting.

My body is ACHING from all the lifting and shoveling, and trimming, but it's a good feeling to be active and productive. I had an ambitious plan, and got about half of it done, but that leaves a little more to be done in the next couple of weeks. I got very dirty and the 80 degree heat was touch and go for a bit, but it just made the shower afterward that much more pleasant.

Dinner and a DVD ( Ocean's 11, the original) and SUCH a deep sleep that I feel QUITE refreshed. If I have to work that hard to sleep that well every weekend Chris will have Bofante Gardens in his back yard by August.

Cheers!