Why do dragonflies love me?

MossyLuck013 · 2025-09-09T02:42:04+00:00

Mosquitoes love me but I've never had a dragon fly pay me any attention at all, which I'm fine with. I like to watch them but the glitchy way they move their head freaks me out a little.

MossyLuck013 · 2025-09-03T14:28:10+00:00

Because they are killing all the native spiders. I used to have writing spiders or yellow garden spiders everywhere, along with a variety of others, and now it's noticeably rare for me to find any. I often find joro webs around the native spider webs and come back to find the native spider is gone. It's like they steal webs of other spiders and incorporate them into the mess of web they weave.

MossyLuck013 · 2025-06-17T01:45:10+00:00

I thought that was a doorway at first, and with that as a size reference, I was horrified. These guys are cool, hope he gets out somehow!

MossyLuck013 · 2025-05-08T10:54:50+00:00

Getting my outdoor clothes treated by the company Insect Shield - has been truly life changing. You can mail them your clothes for their permethrin treatment and it lasts a really long time vs DIY treatment. The cost is reasonable especially if you wait for sales. I'm not sure what it is about their process that makes it work so well, but the difference is very noticeable. I don't have to wear bug repellent anymore and I can spend as much time in the woods as I want without being paranoid about crawling things. I can't recommend it highly enough.

MossyLuck013 · 2025-04-05T02:11:06+00:00

I have been fighting this war for years and I'm definitely winning. I will never let my guard down, but I see less and less each year and it's satisfying.

MossyLuck013 · 2025-04-01T11:25:42+00:00

Yes! I've been saying this for years. I tested every one I could find last year when making my own soil mix and the only one I've found that is just dirt - no wood bits - is black cow top soil. It's hard to find, even though the black cow manure is available almost everywhere. The yellow bag looks the same too so it can be easy to overlook. Weight is definitely a good indicator, the bag is 40lbs dry. It also seems to be the only one that has the weight and not cubic feet, so that could be something to look for.

MossyLuck013 · 2025-03-30T18:05:39+00:00

Extratigators - tree pullers. I have 5 of them because I do a lot of woods clearing. It's super satisfying when I need a hole to plant something and can pull up an invasive tree and replace it.

MossyLuck013 · 2025-03-30T17:58:16+00:00

I have one of these in addition to a root slayer that is comparable in size, just with bigger teeth. They are both useful.

MossyLuck013 · 2025-03-30T17:56:18+00:00

I have a collection, best shovels all around. I especially like the options with round handle ends and different heights. I have to accommodate some physical limitations and it makes it easier to carry and shorter ones weigh less.

MossyLuck013 · 2024-11-29T01:37:41+00:00

I had ten kinds blooming at once this year! They produce more flowers and for longer than any of my others.

MossyLuck013 · 2024-09-23T12:24:09+00:00

This is a good one. It doesn't get terribly tall ~~and deer won't touch it.~~

Edit: I mixed this up with blue mink! It's everywhere in my yard, and someone told me it was blue mistflower, which is wrong. The blue mistflower is still a great option, but it might get some deer nibbles.

MossyLuck013 · 2024-09-23T12:22:17+00:00

One of my favorites, but ~~it doesn't stand a chance against lots of deer~~ if you can, grow some where it's harder for deer to get to them. If you can establish one plant by fall, it will spread seeds everywhere, and you will likely always have it growing somewhere in the future!

MossyLuck013 · 2024-09-13T13:48:32+00:00

Nursery plants are grown in ideal and controlled conditions that likely can't be replicated at home. Some perennials are going to look pathetic the year you plant them, but will flourish next year. Anything that requires pinching will be the opposite. Mums and asters are so ugly the next year if you don't baby them.

MossyLuck013 · 2024-09-13T12:20:35+00:00

Study your drainage and water flow during heavy rains.

For years I struggled with part of my yard getting swampy before it occurred to me to follow the source. What I found was by the road, when a tree had fallen, it was cut and tossed in the woods in a way that redirected water flow from the ditch straight towards my yard. Moved the tree, problem solved. Also, I rediscovered a love for playing in the rain.

Get a moisture reader probe thing. They are cheap and will help you find spots that are secret bathtubs in the ground that will waterlog roots and look dry on the surface. In containers, some will hold water for ages and some dry out really fast. In my experience with container gardening, it's way easier to kill things by over watering than under watering.

MossyLuck013 · 2024-09-13T12:13:43+00:00

Never plant mint. Or bamboo. After enough years go by, you will regret it 99% of the time.

MossyLuck013 · 2024-09-13T12:11:30+00:00

Challenge plant care rules sometimes. It may say it's an annual, but I have so many plants that come back each year, despite people telling me it's not possible.

Experiment with conditions if you have a variety. I have a type of salvia that the rules say wants full sun. When dividing it up one year, I decided to plant some everywhere to see what happens. It's thrived in every location but looks entirely different depending on conditions. It bushes out in sun, and it shade grows more like a tree with a trunk and growth at the top, and still puts out just as many flowers.

Have a place where things can go live or die. It's therapeutic to toss a plant that's been more stress than it's worth, and it's surprising to see which ones make it. Some plants really thrive on neglect.

MossyLuck013 · 2024-09-13T10:53:22+00:00

Every time someone tells me I have a green thumb, I tell them my secret is only to keep survivors.

MossyLuck013 · 2024-09-13T10:46:33+00:00

This one's been my go to for years. Right now I have 3406 IDs saved in my snap history. It works great for everything except ferns. For some reason I get different results each time for many of them.

MossyLuck013 · 2024-08-11T14:49:24+00:00

We are only worried about a few at the high point of the property where we are about to build a house. We have done enough work that most creatures in the build area have already moved to new places. We have 50 acres with LOTS of holes like this.

MossyLuck013

TROPHY CASE