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Comment by Sentient Biped on January 12, 2013 at 11:04pm

New group icon, Helleborus niger.   This pic from wikimedia commons.  I have some in bloom now, freeze and snow doesn't seem to faze them.

"Black hellebore" was used by the ancients in paralysis, gout and other diseases, more particularly in insanity. "Black hellebore" is also toxic, causing tinnitus, vertigo, stupor, thirst, a feeling of suffocation, swelling of the tongue and throat, emesis and catharsis, bradycardia (slowing of the pulse), and finally collapse and death from cardiac arrest. Research in the 1970s, however, showed that the roots of H. niger do not contain the cardiotoxic compounds helleborin, hellebrin, and helleborein that are responsible for the lethal reputation of "black hellebore"  Google images.  H. niger seems long lived.  I have some that are 12 years old, growing in shaded, cool locations.  The one down-side is the flowers are pendulous, so you amost have to get under them to appreciate their simple elegance.

Comment by Idaho Spud on January 9, 2013 at 3:02pm

It was hard to make-out, but I guessed lizard.  One of my favorite species as well.

Comment by Annie Thomas on January 9, 2013 at 2:52pm

Joan- it is an anole, a very common lizard found here in Florida. 

Comment by Joan Denoo on January 9, 2013 at 1:14pm

So, we have a very handsome frog to enjoy. Love your photos and stories. 

Spud, your "More hansom than most princes and a lot more beneficial" tickled me .. sadly, handsome and beautiful of face does not always include honorable of character!

About the squirrel formula, I wonder if an edible oil could substitute for Murphy's oil? 

Comment by Joan Denoo on January 9, 2013 at 1:03pm

When I lived in El Paso, I brought home some wild cactus for my garden. A friend told me tarantulas and scorpions breed in cactus and when the babies get big enough, the cactus will shake and explode. When you wrote about cactus, I Googled cactus + scorpions and this is what I found:
Exploding cactus an urban legend.
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/insects/cactus.asp

Comment by Idaho Spud on January 9, 2013 at 12:01pm

I like the frog pictures.  Frogs are some of my favorite creatures.  More hansom than most princes and a lot more beneficial.

Comment by Dominic Florio on January 9, 2013 at 11:44am

Ahandsome prince, I wish!  He would fit in the palm of my hand.  He is a very large Cuban and several smaller ones live in the birdhouse also.

Comment by Idaho Spud on January 9, 2013 at 9:19am

Robins.

Comment by Idaho Spud on January 9, 2013 at 9:17am

Thanks for the hints at squirrel repellent.  It may be easier to spray my strawberries than build squirrel proof fences around and over them, necessitating opening up a portion and crawling to harvest some every day.  Of course, the robbins eat a lot too, and it sounds like that won't keep them out.

Comment by Chris Breman on January 9, 2013 at 4:09am

Never knew that squirrels could be such pests! There's the sunny side of a roof garden!

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