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Weekend Trivia: Saturday

Good morning all.

It is a foggy, misty, moisty morning here. We are supposed to get temperatures into the mi-60s today and close to 70 tomorrow. Maybe some rain, too, which would be wonderful.

I am thinking of getting outside and wondering what I could do. Perfect weather for planting-except that it is January! Oh well. I think maybe I could do a WALAT (walking aound looking and thinking) which would let me plan for spring a little. The little monster will be here today and I need to fill in some holes that the three of them have been digging. I cannot imagine what it is they are digging for under the hard-packed clay around one of the dogwood trees. Some underground denizen of the earth, I suppose. If I get organized, I really should go buy some soil conditioner to help things along and be ready for spring. We'll see.

So for today, garden pests are in my mind. The one I want you to identify was first identified in Germany. It spread to England and throughout Europe in the mid-1800s. They are now just about everywhere-very much present here in North America. Whether they are actually pests is up for debate. Thoughts?

Cynthia

Comments (24)

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    11 years ago

    Good Morning Cyn!! Lovely day here, too. I may need to get out and walk - no excuses about weather for me today! It is plus 10C, maybe a bit of rain.

    Garden pest can cover so much territory, hmmmmm. I wonder if it has something to do with TM's new toy??

    Nancy.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Ah yes, lots of possibilities. If you mean the boat, then no. I may have missed the mention if it is something else. I see lots of people out and about in the neighborhood today. It is like we are popping from beneath the earth. Not too many are wearing hats today!

    SO, a clue? There are those who do not consider these pests at all.

    Cynthia

  • thinman
    11 years ago

    So not a pest to everyone? I'm thinking the pest is a non-native plant, maybe. One man's pest is another man's pesto.

    TM

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    11 years ago

    Hhhmmmm...but is there a little wind?

    Nancy.

  • mnwsgal
    11 years ago

    Perhaps an animal?

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    11 years ago

    Bobbie, I was definitely thinking animal.

    Nancy.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    At school this week (we had a memorial service for one of my co-teachers who died on Sunday), everyone has been focused on "Live your life, live your life, live your life" as Maurice Sendak implored in an interview with Terry Gross on All Things Considered. We have agreed that we all need to stay close to those who make us laugh.

    So, would it help you (or irritate you?) to know that today's question is a bit tongue-in-cheek and intended to give you a giggle? The pests in question are neither plant nor animal. Everything else is true. First one appeared in Germany. One was transported to England in the 1840s. I would not judge them to be either purely beneficial or purely harmful to my garden.

    Off to yell at the dogs. The digging must stop! Now, were they hobbits, that would be allowed. The ramifications of digging up one of these creatures would be dire-at least for the creature. :)

    Cynthia

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    11 years ago

    Ahhh, could they be considered a scourge by some?

    Nancy.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Running around underground just would not work for me. It is now sunny. I am heartened (not hardened) by that.

    Going to check out football now. I wouldn't even need a cap today if I were attended a game. If I did need one, it certainly wouldn't be red, but green and yellow for the Packers who play tonight!

    Cynthia

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    11 years ago

    Well, I think hardened and the bright colours are a clue....I think these creatures sometimes are kidnapped and held for ransom. Am I getting warm?

    Nancy.

  • thinman
    11 years ago

    OK, I think I have it now. With their hats on do they remind you of a certain alien family from SNL way back in the day?

    TM

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    11 years ago

    lol, TM - my thoughts!!

    Nancy.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Haha TM! Never thought of that. Could have been worked into a clue.

    I am under a great deal of stress right now. OT in the Baltimore Ravens game which has been incredibly exciting and my Packers are playing now, too. They have scored-yippee, but it is hard clicking back and forth!! :)

    I will wait to see if Bobbie comes back or Annette chimes in before conferring stars.

    Cynthia

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    While I am waiting...

    This man-made scourge, as Nancy put it, was begun by Philip Griebel in Thurlingia, Germany. It was spread to England by Sir Charles Isham in 1847.

    Cynthia

    ps. Chuck is reading The Last Lion while I sit here watching football. He just told me that the Yacht Sundowner commanded by the Commander Charles H. Lightoller, senior surviving officer of the Titanic was in the evacuation of Dunkirk. Also, Lionel Lambert armed his yacht and sailed with his chef to help. Now, the reason I share that is because I know Nancy will be interested and also because the bit about arming a yacht and sailing with your chef strikes me as uproariously funny and quite delightfully British. Rather wonderful as well.

  • mnwsgal
    11 years ago

    Are these ceramic or plastic or plaster "people"? If so, I made one of these in a ceramic class in the 1970s but forget to set him out most summers. Will have to look for it. Mine is quite small and when I put it out I hide it so it is just peaking out behind some leaves. I'm not really into garden ornamentation and only keep it as a memento of my youth and those long ago days and friends.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    LOL, Bobbie. You will need to find him and post a picture.

    **** for Nancy, TM, and Bobbie. Yes, garden gnomes are the 'pests'. Gnomes are supposed to run around under the earth just as we run around on top of it. If they are out during the day, they turn to stone. They may help in your garden at night, though!

    I will link another site which details the history, but the video is from the Utah State University Extension Botanical Garden and details the invasive perils posed by these creatures.

    Enjoy. I suspect it must be pretty boring in Utah this time of year (although the video is old). Heehee.

    Cynthia

    Here is a link that might be useful: Gnome Management

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Here is the other link. Personally, I would actually love to have a Gnome Chomsky in the garden. Very silly.

    I think I am going to bed. Sadly, the Packers are losing. So sad. I will probably dream of creepy gnomes attacking wearing red and gold like the 49ers.

    Thanks for playing. Hope you all got a giggle out of the trivia today.

    Cynthia

    Here is a link that might be useful: more than you ever wanted to know...

    This post was edited by cyn427 on Sat, Jan 12, 13 at 23:19

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    sorry double post

    This post was edited by cyn427 on Sat, Jan 12, 13 at 23:17

  • thinman
    11 years ago

    Thanks for the stars and the fun and funny question, Cynthia. I'm sure I'll never have a gnome in my home or in my garden, but there are worse things to have.

    TM

    P.S. What is a gnome's favorite city in Alaska?
    Who is a gnome's favorite mama's boy horror movie character?

  • midnightsmum (Z4, ON)
    11 years ago

    Great question!! I was never a gnome aficionado. I love the deadpan delivery of the Utah scientist.

    On the note with Lightoller, Sundowner etc - there were quite a few eccentrics at the evacuation. "The troops were quietly queued up, as though for a London bus; Sapper Alexander Graham King, 'the mad hatter' played his accordion in his top hat to entertain the waiting troops on the beaches for seven days before he joined a queue himself. We do like to be beside the seaside, presumably."
    A truly unique person! Sundowner, btw, is Aussie slang for Tramp - Lightoller's wife was Australian. He himself did a little espionage as the beginning of the war, doing reconnaissance in his lovely boat of the European coast on the Channel.

    Nancy.

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    I knew you would have more info on that, Nancy! I will go tell the husband!

    I am also gnome-less although I think Gnome Chomsky might be worth having just to make me laugh. Still, if it doesn't cost less than $10, it would not be worth it to me. HA.

    TM, the city is easy, but what is the other? Not a scary movie fan, so can't guess.

    Cynthia

    ooh...would it be Gnoman Bates?

  • mnwsgal
    11 years ago

    Funny question. I've read about those gnome abductions. And are they really liberating the gnomes or the garden owners from those gnomes? No idea where my gnome is but will look for it. I'm looking through my digital photos to see if I have a photo.

    Ha, ha, good gnome jokes. I think Gnoman Bates is funnier than Gnome Chomsky.

    Just for fun I googled gnomes. Wow there are some very expensive and ugly gnomes for sale. More than I am willing to pay.

    I am waiting for a good snowfall to put out the pink plastic flamingoes that were given to me many years ago. Sort of a wink.

  • thinman
    11 years ago

    Yep --- Gnoman Bates.

    TM

  • cyn427 (z. 7, N. VA)
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    haha. I like Gnoman Bates better, too, Bobbie! Funny TM.