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Saturday, May 30, 2015

A Grasshopper Trap??

I promise, this is not going to be another post about clover,


photo from Wikipedia
however, up at the garden this morning I noticed not only more beautiful clover, but plantain too. The skinny leaf plantain that has the long stems and flowers. This plantain brought back a sweet childhood memory of sitting in the yard with mama.

Mama knew how to weave a grasshopper trap from these long stems. Seriously. I never did catch a grasshopper in one, but she said that I might one day. 



I never did learn to weave a grasshopper trap as pretty as mama's but it went something like this.



Please do pardon my dirty red hands. I had just finished working in the garden when I spotted the plantain.



When my grasshopper trap was finished, I hung it just inside the garden gate. 



I'm afraid mama would be mighty disappointed in my work. Her traps always turned out much neater and prettier. Anyway, if I catch a grasshopper, I will let you know. :)



This wild blueberry grows in front of Poppy's shop. It is simply covered in small blueberries.





Most years I have managed to make one blueberry cobbler from the wild berries. That is, if I am diligent in picking the tiny berries as they ripen, before the birds get them. 

Okay I've managed to put together another boring post. Better go check on BunBun. He's playing in the old, but newly remodeled, dog lot. 

Thank you listening. Oh, The Stargazer Lilies are coming through the ground! I am so excited!

Love,
Henny


17 comments:

  1. I've never seen a grass-hopper trap. We used to just catch them with our hands but this looks more fun. How lucky are you to have a big and healthy blueberry bush. My little one I planted this year doesn't look too promising, Deb

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  2. Oh, so nice that your stargazers have shown up at long last. It does seem quite late for them to be just appearing. But better late than never.

    What a big healthy looking blueberry bush. Around here they are hard to grow because the ground is generally alkaline which they don't like.

    The grasshopper trap is something that I have never encountered. Very complicated looking-----sort of like those string games that we used to play----what was it called Cat in a Cradle, Cat's Cradle or was that the name of one of the figures that you could come up with if you were good at it. I generally just came up with a knotted together mess.

    Your Mama sounds like she was a lot of fun.

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  3. Henny, your posts are never boring !
    Did you know that the leaves of plantain are edible ?

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  4. Hi Henny,
    Thanks for your visit and kind comments.
    Must admit I have never seen a grasshopper trap, but that is so cool and the memories associated with it are even cooler.
    I'm a bit envious of your blueberries. I've been trying to grow them for years with no success. I even have one in a patio pot that I'm babying along. It looks healthy as can be, but no berries. Grrr.

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  5. That's what I was going to say. Your posts are always interesting to me. I had never heard of a grasshopper catcher. How neat it is!

    I wish we had a blueberry bush. Lucky!

    Have a blessed Sunday.

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  6. Interesting post. I wonder what the origin of the grasshopper trap is?

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  7. Cute trap...well made! I will be interested to see if you get a grasshopper too:)

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  8. You must teach me how to make the grasshopper trap! I love this!! Loved talking to you on the phone!

    Love you!

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  9. I have never heard of a grasshopper trap, although it looks pretty cool, but we used to wrap the stem around the base of the plantain flower and shoot them at each other.
    I'm glad to hear your lilies are going up. I knew they just needed a bit more time.

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  10. Your posts are never boring. We wouldn't be here if they were! I, too, have never heard of nor seen a grasshopper trap. It really looks complicated and interesting.

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  11. If you have any extra old sheer type curtains, you could tie that over the blueberry bush to keep the birds off while the berries ripen. I know about plantain, but have never heard of making a grasshopper trap out of it:)

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  12. If you have any extra old sheer type curtains, you could tie that over the blueberry bush to keep the birds off while the berries ripen. I know about plantain, but have never heard of making a grasshopper trap out of it:)

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  13. I have never come across a trap like that before, but wonderful memories for you none the less. Certainly never boring. Hope you manage to get that cobbler this year.

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  14. I hope you trap all the grasshoppers you can. I hate them. You sound as excited about your flowers showing up as I am. My hydrangea bush has 5 blooms on it and I'm having trouble not cutting some for the house.

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  15. A grasshopper trap is new to me. It looks like it would be fun for kids to weave.

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  16. My mother made these for me as a young boy. She called them Frog Chairs.

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  17. My mother made these for me as a young boy. However, she referred to them, as Frog Chairs. I now am teaching my grandchildren about a simpler time- outdoors.

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