Funny how the smallest things in nature can give us so much pleasure. This past weekend I noticed that one of the new metalwork items in my garden had been blessed by the addition of a line of lacewing eggs. If you're not familiar with lacewings, click here to see the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension page on this fascinating and welcome garden visitor. Delicate in appearance, they're fairly voracious and consume a long list of undesirable garden pests. Fun fact, that little "stick" from which each egg is suspended is likely designed to prevent freshly hatched baby lacewings from eating each other! All material © 2014 by Vicki Blachman for Playin' Outside . Unauthorized reproduction prohibited.
If you're particularly interested in rainwater harvesting, see these posts: "900 and Counting" on 4/28/08, "First Crop" on 4/10/08, "Ongoing Saga of the Rain Tank" on 3/2/08, and "The Debate" on 2/7/08. Vermiculture was covered 8/12/08. Pond construction was covered in "The Heart of Our Garden" on January 22, 2008.