Hungry Hordes

Summer has finally arrived, seemingly for good.  It's 94 degrees outside, the sun is shining brightly, the wind is up and there is no rain in the forecast.  It's hard to say goodbye to the pleasant, protracted spring that we've had, but at least the real heat didn't show up until mid June.

I was able to get out and get a good solid 2 hours of work done in the gardens before the heat and biting flies drove me in this morning.  For the most part all was good:  I saw my first monarch of the year, I got one bed weeded, finished mulching another bed, and started weeding a third bed. 

But in weeding that third bed, I noticed something that sent shivers up and down my spine....

See this western ragweed (Ambrosia psilostachya)?

I had left it in the newly made bed last summer, figuring that at least it provided some green during a summer where it seemed that brown was the predominant color.  It's also good wildlife food.  This spring I am in the process of weeding it and its progeny out of the (now) precious bed space.

You can't really see them from even this close.  You have to get a little closer....

There!  Grasshopper nymphs.  Hundreds and hundreds of grasshopper nymphs.

I've seen them jumping up as I walk through the wild areas, but I hadn't seen many in the more domestic part of the yard...until this morning. 

I need chickens and guineas and any other kind of bird I can think of to come hang out and eat their fill.  I dread to think how many adults there are going to be later this summer.  We were hoping that the long, cool spring had decreased their numbers, but this morning's horde squashed that dream.

Chocolate covered grasshoppers, anyone?