Female Dimorphic Jumping Spider

This little cutie was spotted in the corner of my patio hanging out waiting for a meal and allowed me a moment to take this picture.  

Fortunately for everyone she isn't that big.  This is way zoomed in.  It took a while for me to identify this spider since it wasn't listed as even being this far west but you know how animals are, they don't know where they are, just if they like being there.  Since I put in the small patio garden there are plenty of things for her to eat.

I started out looking for a list of Texas spiders and it was actually very limiting since most of them were larger spiders or the ones you might worry about if you got bitten.  Then I looked for colors like red and brown.  This too was limiting and not a lot of help.  Then I remembered she jumped to a railing piece from the corner so obviously a jumping spider.  I looked at an images of jumping spiders and way down I saw one just like her.  I say her because the males are entirely black and about half the size.  

As with most jumping spiders she isn't a danger to people.  For starters they would rather run away from you.  For those on the more worried side their venom isn't enough to do much to a person.

Pleated Inkcap Mushroom

So many people love to eat mushrooms but, as you probably know, most mushrooms are not the eating variety. This is one such fella.  Not poisonous but not something to be put in your soup or sandwich.

Often people think mushrooms are harmful to their yards or plants.  What mushrooms really do is break down dead material and make it into something plants can use to grow.  I barely got to see this guy since it lasts less than 24 hours before disappearing itself.  With all the rain I have also gotten some other mushrooms growing in various pots on the patio.  The more mulch the more likely it is to get mushrooms since mulch is pretty much the opposite of broken down material.  Last year's mulch is this year's dirt.  The slugs seem to really like some of the mushrooms that have been growing I've removed several of them and tossed them far into the yard, hopefully to forage somewhere else.

Something I didn't know was that some mushrooms in the same group as this little guy can be used to gather ink.  As the name inkcap implies, some of the larger mushrooms actually drip a black fluid containing spores that can be used as ink. They drip so that the wind can catch the spores and take them away.  As they do so the edges curl away and up to promote the drip and release of the spores.

Public Service Announcement: Never eat a mushroom unless you KNOW that it is edible.  There are so many varieties out there and you are safer not guessing.

Sent from my iPhone

Erosion Control

Erosion is a constant concern.  This is the "little"  channel behind our apartment. As you can see it is flowing pretty full now and you can see the silt (dirt) it is carrying away. After the rain stopped you could see more of the grass roots exposed to the air.  The grass is probably still well rooted but enough erosion can kill a patch of grass.

This is one of the things I do at work is help make sure newly disturbed areas don't have too much erosion.  Sometimes it can't be helped.  You can't stop all erosion.  In this area there are three things that were used to help prevent to much erosion.  One is the slope of the area.  The water flowing down the channel area doesn't have a lot of elevation change as it flows.  This prevents the speed from getting too high and causing more dirt to dislodge and wash away.  A second but less obvious thing is the little bumps or hills.  These cause the water to slow down on the bottom and let the dirt settle out back into the grass.  The third of course is the grass itself.  It's really the first line defense against erosion and what stops it in lighter rains.

Wind can also cause erosion.  While at the beach you can often see the sand blowing away from the wind.  This is a constant problem, so much so that it can cause road damage if the water erodes the sand that far.  Even far inland where there is a severe lack of trees the dirt can dislodge and cause major problems.  Ever hear of the dust bowl.  It was caused by a removing of too many trees to produce farm land.

What does this have to do with gardening?  Too much watering can cause minor erosion of dirt but also in a raised bed or pot it can remove much wanted nutrients.  Don't wash them out. Water as the plants need it and fertilize so as to replenish any that do get washed away.

Spring Algae

This is nothing compared with what I've seen elsewhere but yes, I've got algae growing in a pot.  At first I wan't sure what it was but green and somewhat slimy balls growing on stuff didn't take long to figure out.

This is due in part to the new potting material I'm using, easily grown on by the stuff, and the amount of rain we've been getting.  As noted in a recent post there's plenty of that going on.  I have been watering this pot a bit though between showers but the pot drains pretty good still.  Lots of holes in the bottom drilled out by me.  Not instantaneous but enough that you can tell it's draining within a few minutes.

This amount of algae fortunately isn't a problem.  It's barely even noticeable unless you are looking at the plants and even then I mistook it for fertilizer balls.  You know, the kind you usually find in potting soil in the first place.  If nothing else I'm sure the plants aren't drying out.