Tomato Hornworms and Beets

I've been pretty lazy with this blog lately. Maybe because it's so hot, maybe because I've been sick. Anyhow, I did have a couple adventures I'd like to share.

First, I discovered my first tomato hornworm on my bell pepper plant. I had been warned about these on my tomato plants, but surprisingly have not found any on them, just 2 on the bell pepper plant.

It's actually a cool looking caterpillar. This is not my photo, by the way. I found it on wikipedia. It reminds me of the very hungry caterpillar. Which I'm sure it is, because they appear out of nowhere and get big fast. When I saw it I tried to pull it off the plant with my fingers and couldn't do it because it was squishy and it sticks to those stems like nothing else! I ended up getting some tweezers and prying it off. It took a good while to do it. It's like its feet are little suction cups or something. As soon as I pried it off I threw it in with the chickens, who were more than happy to take care of it. In fact they chased each other around trying to get it. I was almost a little sad I only found 2 since it made my chickens so happy.

Second, I've discovered that you can add beets to almost anything. I've had a surplus from the farm and was making recipes that featured beets, but I got tired of making them. Then I started adding a beet into meals, kind of sneaking them in and you can't really tell.  I peel it and chop it and add it to whatever pot I'm using. It usually cooks nicely and you can't tell it's in there. I've added a beet to the pot of beans I make and it tasted delicious. In fact, it seems that the more veggies you add, the more flavorful it is. My last batch was half beans and half veggies. I also added one to my spaghetti sauce, and it was the same result. It makes me happy to be using these beets regularly. It sure does make it easier to get my 5 fruits and veggies every day.