Aphids tremble

Barley has taken a leadership role in the garden--that of aphid-hunter! "C'mon, Mom, let's go get the aphids!" beckons me to the 3 rosebushes in the yard. It must be too cold for them, as we have not found many. And there were none in sight at the Heritage Rose Garden. Popsicle sticks, and a twig with thorns sticking out are the weapons of choice. I figured just scraping them gently off the leaves would be enough, but Barley says we should look where they fall and squish them, or else they dig into the dirt.

We've made the acquaintance of one lacewing on the rosebush in the front yard. We are hoping it will invite its friends and family to the neighborhood. Apparently, hunting aphids is so much fun, homemade lemonade was not enough to distract Barley from his quest. The lemonade (recipe here) was made from my gardening friend's Meyer lemons. We did eventually take a break to have some--Yum!