tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37070024.post6242319386002882013..comments2023-10-31T15:39:09.651+01:00Comments on box elder: Ovipositing swallowtail, another reason to have fennel in the gardenLucyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09764296105901909328noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37070024.post-82894779300529000162015-09-09T12:01:48.113+02:002015-09-09T12:01:48.113+02:00Thanks people.
Ken, lovely to hear from you. I...Thanks people.<br /><br />Ken, lovely to hear from you. I'm sure Joe recommended dill, and spoke of a kind of gravlax he used to make using it. Though of course he grew a lot of different herbs and rather prided himself on so many in quite a small space. I've just picked a frond to put in some posh fish paste and cucumber sandwiches!<br /><br />Stella - the swallowtails are rather on the edge of their range here, I think, and aren't always to be seen. I think the wasps can be a nuisance, or aggressive if you're very near their nests, but these are probably the males I think, which are quite peaceable. We have had regular wasps' and hornets' nests destroyed, when they have really been too close for comfort and made life miserable. I remember monarchs when I visited family in Pennsylvania as a child, I didn't know much about them or their astonishing migrations then.<br /><br />Robbie - I understand British swallowtails are for some reason considerably fussier about their foodstuffs and habitats than continental ones, and only live in remote and particular locations. I am very pleased with the word 'ensorceleuse', though I may not have many opportunities to use it!Lucyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09764296105901909328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37070024.post-4987387336075714362015-09-04T08:55:55.508+02:002015-09-04T08:55:55.508+02:00I would give a lot to attract swallowtails into my...I would give a lot to attract swallowtails into my garden. Note I say "give" (ie, spend) as opposed to "do" (ie, dig and other self-crucifying activities). I doubt your swallowtails come solely for the fennel, or even for the <i>fenouil</i>; I suspect you radiate amiable transmissions and these are picked up by creatures looking for a good home. I wondered if you might be a benign, modern-day equivalent of a witch and have hauled out Collins-Robert to see if the translation into French - which I dimly remember - might provide a clue; a French witch is, of course, and rather dully, <i>une sorcière</i> but happily witch itself has another meaning (a charmer) and thus from now on you will forever be <i>une ensorceleuse</i> which I am sure you will agree is greatly superior. And closer to the truth. Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37070024.post-58477844240828590812015-09-04T04:55:04.142+02:002015-09-04T04:55:04.142+02:00When our big trees came down I was sorry for the w...When our big trees came down I was sorry for the wasps and their big paper nest but relieved there were no bird's nests up there. Tonight a neighbour showed us a wasp nest hanging up high in his tree and I wondered if the colony had set up shop anew. He is the kind of guy who likes to annihilate insects and has his morning planned around destroying the nest. I am annoyed. The wasps pose no threat and I am told they will die off anyway over the winter. You are fortunate in the Swallowtail......I have noticed only two Monarchs this summer in spite of everyone leaving the milkweed to grow in its support. we are always excited in our garden to see any kind of bug or winged creature (except for the hawk!) Stellahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10789646495307544390noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37070024.post-18875037098047185952015-09-03T21:24:11.773+02:002015-09-03T21:24:11.773+02:00A fascinating post not least because of the beauti...A fascinating post not least because of the beautiful photos - you have caught the paper wasps beautifully, the one closest to the camera is quite a character, also the butterflies. I recall a dill plant that grew outside our kitchen window way back in the '50s. Joe was quite fond of it. I remember nibbling bits and its flavour remains too in my memory, more delicate than fennel, a hint of liquorice perhaps,,,, Lucashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07642126053527835870noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37070024.post-51191274299124624202015-09-03T09:51:25.051+02:002015-09-03T09:51:25.051+02:00Thanks both!
PC - egad but I think it was you! Bu...Thanks both!<br /><br />PC - egad but I think it was you! But a long time ago, apropos of pickles. Between you and Joe anyway, you convinced me I really should have dill herb in the garden. However, I think perhaps it's best when the leaves are at that very soft, dense, young stage, which is how they are when you buy it as a fresh herb; later they get coarser and more like fennel perhaps, which is where they're now at. I'll try to save the seeds perhaps. I've still got a few nice potatoes to be dug up so I'll try to find a few decent leaves for a 'tater salad at some point soon, maybe with some pickled herring or some such. I don't know why I'm a bit off bulb fennel; I think I have cooked it satisfactorily, but I think I must have had it either raw and not finely sliced enough or cooked and not well cooked enough, I always imagine it lumpy and woody and too aniseedy, which isn't one of my favourite flavours when it's too dominant.Lucyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09764296105901909328noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37070024.post-52538585935255382422015-09-03T05:43:38.049+02:002015-09-03T05:43:38.049+02:00egad, i don't remember having that conversatio...egad, i don't remember having that conversation, which does not, in any way, shape, or form mean that we didn't have it. but if we did, then i stand by my initial comment - the two are not interchangeable. <br /><br />have you tried sautéed fennel bulbs? sliced thinly, served with pork, they are sublime: sweet and subtle and fall-aparty. raw, i like them sliced very thinly and served with radicchio and endive and an oil/vinegar dressing.<br /><br />the polish chickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09929281676865641560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37070024.post-78209094546129993332015-09-02T21:00:41.782+02:002015-09-02T21:00:41.782+02:00Love your photos of the flutter-bys.Love your photos of the flutter-bys.Catalysthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03804837416104556928noreply@blogger.com