Bugs

I wanted to see what the weather forecast was.  I was just wandering, and I turned on the tv.  It was showing an episode of Landline.  I do like Landline.  Often we see it after church of a Sunday.  We buy fish and potato scallops, and watch tv while we eat them, and then usually go and have a rest.  What is often on tv is Landline.
One of the reasons I like that program is it gives stories of farmers across the nation, and the things they face, and the solutions they come up with.
Right now, they are sort of showing a “best of” which contains stories presented throughout the year.  This episode was about extreme issues faced, and what it means, and what they are attempting to do about it.
I really liked what one farmer said.  He indicated that most farmers were environmentalists who would prefer not to spray chemicals but use natural solutions.  That led on to something I thought was great.  He said most problem insects have an enemy that will deal with them.
It will be a while before it is commercially available but there is a worm that has devastated crops overseas and in now in Australia reaping destruction.  There is a naturally occurring fungus in Australia that shows real potential in dealing with the worms that is being tested at the moment.
The final story was about a Macadamia Nut plantation and the farmer is letting the land be as natural as possible allowing bugs to want to live there.  They have discovered a tiny wasp that deals with a nut boring bug that was the major problem and renders macadamias unusable.  He is propagating the wasp and sending it all over Australia and it is having remarkable results.
It was what was said about bugs that got my attention.  Every bug has a natural enemy.  My mind went to what is happening with counselling these days.  It seems that for many problems solutions are found but it is like spraying chemicals.  The problem is solved but at a cost.  Like environments being exposed to chemicals and becoming sterile.
It is one of the reasons we try to keep chemicals to a minimum here.  Maybe we are an island in a sterile environment, but things do like to live here.  Sometimes there are undesirable things but the food chain means there is a natural enemy for them and they are dealt with.  Besides we see things here that are often not seen elsewhere.
Maybe it was the steroids after my operation, but I decided I did not want a front yard that had a lawn to mow and is like 99% of yards I see.  So I put in a bush garden.  I have decided that is probably more work than a lawn to mow.  But I do love that the blue banded bees have a home in one of our gardens and the birds visit often to get the nectar from our shrubs.  Merril photographed some slugs I had never seen before, but we discovered where they were there was an abundance of what they feed on.  We have planted some vines that are attractive to a butterfly that was once endemic here, but development and a deadly popular look alike has meant it is now few and far between.
For me natural is always better than manufactured.  It may not be as pristine, but it means life rather than death.