Hey horn worm, quit munching my leaves

I was a little disappointed when I found out that horn worms are only the 7th most troubling pest according to Mother Earth News.  (Thanks to my friend Dawn, a more experienced gardener, for sending me the link.)  I hate seeing the leaves and blossoms of a perfectly pretty plant vanish over night.  What, there's something worse I have to look forward to? 

Until yesterday, I had not actually seen one on the plants, only their damage.  The wasps had seen them, snatched the little ones off a stem and flew away.  My neighbor, Lorraine, also saw one and, with disgust, shared a story from her childhood.  It was her job along with her brother to pick the horn worms off the tomatoes in their parent's garden and get rid of them.  

Then, this guy revealed himself to me.  He was way up high and in the process of eliminating.  So, I plucked him off and, well, got rid of him.

Party at The Pantry

I hosted a "happy hour" party at The Pantry for Steve's birthday on July 1.  I'm finally getting around to uploading a couple photos.  We reserved the bar area and had a total of about 20 people.  While hanging out, guests munched on the famous house-made brats, sauerkraut and pommes frites.  The bar manager was great, kept the drinks flowing and the food table stocked. 

Midnight 25k

Last weekend was the Midnight 50k/25k at Lake Sylvia.  Until Saturday night, I had never run that far or that long and I'm still feeling sore 2 days later.  But, it was a really fun event.  It's a fun run in the sense that no one records your time, there are no medals, no age groups, etc.  It's just you and a couple hundred people running with flashlights on the service roads around Lake Sylvia under a full moon.

At the start, I think I heard someone say that there was 96% humidity and the temps were in the 90's.  Still, it didn't feel that terrible.  I took it easy, topped off my water bottle at each stop and walked when the grade became to difficult.  I got nervous in the last couple miles when the the trees closed in on the road; so, I could no longer see the moon.  I was alone and tired and starting to see things.  Eventually, I saw the headlamps of a couple runners behind me, reassuring me that I was headed in the right direction.  Shortly thereafter I was heading through the glow-stick lined finishing stretch.  Volunteers provided a table of food and drink for participants.  I had two huge pieces of watermelon and a coke.