Gone Buggy

 

How has your week been?  On the EmeraldCut front, things have been going pretty well, all things considered.  In between becoming increasingly overwhelmed by all the political bantering on one hand, and the upcoming holiday season on the other, I have been left with very few devices with which to maintain my sanity.  For instance, I want to read a book, but my head has been entirely wrapped around: 1. My shop -- fretting to not avail about the marketing "plan" (there is no real plans, just a wealth of hopeful ideas), the holidays, and shop listing photographs and descriptions, and 2. All the wasteful, mailed political ads that arrive in our mailbox -- duplicates, the unintelligible jargon, the blame game, and all.  Although I agree that it is important to stay informed (and of course, vote), I cannot help but visualize the personal and political biases of politicians and special interest groups that fund/support or not fund/not support legislation.

Common good, where are you?  (I hear that you're the best bet here.)

My buggy-ness has either been a reflection of, or has rubbed off on, my oregano and thyme plants.  Have you ever had spider mites infest your indoor greenery?  Well, it appears that the small and dry whitish spots on the leaves on both of my herb plants are indicators that spider mites have been munching on and subsisting off of my plants for some time now.  

Do you want to know what is quite appalling about the size of spider mites?  According to Wikipedia, many, if not most, are invisible to the naked eye.  The one that I killed a few days ago was close to 3mm in size, orange-white legs and all. 

I need to relax a bit -- go and read/get lost in a book -- because spider mites, along with aphids, are common houseplant pests.

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I am crossing my fingers that the extensive pruning job that I did on my oregano and thyme plants are not further detrimental to their health and growth.  They are now skeletal, stubby and protruding things, resembling stout deciduous trees in wintertime; what a sight.  It, embarrassingly enough, must be a trend -- yet, I do have some hope as my Thumbelina Leigh Lavender is sprouting some new buds this autumn.  Optimism, contrary to personal belief, is a dear, dear friend of mine.