Healthy Living with Elizabeth

07/11/2026

🐛 THAT HORNWORM IS ALREADY DEAD. AND IT'S MAKING YOUR ARMY.

Giant green caterpillar. On your tomato plant.
You reach for it. Ready to squish.

WAIT. Look at its back.

IF IT HAS WHITE RICE-LIKE THINGS ON IT — DON'T TOUCH IT.

WHAT THOSE ARE:
▸ Cocoons of the braconid wasp (Cotesia congregata)
▸ The wasp laid eggs INSIDE the hornworm
▸ The larvae ate the hornworm from the inside
▸ Now they've pupated on the outside
▸ The hornworm is essentially a zombie — it's already dying

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT:
▸ Each cocoon hatches a tiny parasitoid wasp
▸ Each wasp goes on to parasitize MORE hornworms
▸ One parasitized hornworm = 50-100 new hornworm-killing wasps
▸ You're looking at your garden's immune system

IF YOU SQUISH IT:
❌ You kill 50-100 future pest controllers
❌ Next year: MORE hornworms, fewer parasitoids
❌ You just destroyed your best biocontrol agent
❌ For free pest management you'll never get back

IF THERE ARE NO WHITE COCOONS:
✓ That's a healthy hornworm actively eating your tomatoes
✓ Hand-pick it into soapy water — that one you CAN remove
✓ Or relocate it to a wild area

THE BRACONID WASP:
▸ Tiny (2mm), doesn't sting humans
▸ Parasitizes 200+ pest species
▸ Hornworms, cabbage worms, armyworms, cutworms
▸ You've never noticed it. It's been saving your garden for years.

JULY — HORNWORM SEASON:
Check your tomatoes every morning.
If you find one with white cocoons:
Leave it. Walk away. Let nature work.

Those white things aren't the problem.
They're the solution.
HASHTAGS:

03/01/2026

Do you grow mint?

02/28/2026

If you see a struggling bee in your path, it may simply be resting, thirsty, or in need of an energy boost.
Gently move it to a nearby flower.
If you have access to a spoon, add a bit of water and honey and feed it to the bee.

02/28/2026

Do you love birds?
I do!
Invite them into your backyard.

Your birdbath gets 5-10 visitors a day. This hack makes it 50-100.

The secret: dripping water.

Birds hear dripping water from 100+ feet away. Still water is invisible to them — they can't see a shallow dish from above. But the SOUND of a drip hitting water is a universal bird signal: "Water here. Safe. Come."

THE DRIP HACK — 2 MINUTES:

MATERIALS:
→ 1 plastic milk jug or 2-liter bottle (from your recycling: $0)
→ 1 thumbtack or small nail
→ String or wire to hang it

METHOD:
→ Poke ONE hole in the bottom of the jug with a thumbtack. One hole. Tiny. The size of a pin.
→ Fill with water.
→ Hang it 12-18 inches ABOVE your birdbath so the drip lands in the water.
→ Tie it to a shepherd's hook, branch, or pole above the bath.
→ Adjust the hole size: you want 1 drip per second. Too fast = empty too quickly. Too slow = no audible signal.

THE PHYSICS:

→ Each drip creates a concentric ripple on the water surface. Moving water reflects light in flashing patterns visible from 50+ feet above — birds in flight can spot the flashing.
→ The impact sound travels 100-150 feet through suburban ambient noise. In a quiet morning, further.
→ Ripples prevent mosquito larvae from establishing — mosquitoes need STILL water for 7-10 days. One drip per second keeps the surface in constant motion.

THE RESULT:

A backyard birding study compared identical birdbaths with and without drippers:
→ Drip bath: average 47 visits per day (12 species)
→ Still bath: average 8 visits per day (4 species)
→ That's a 488% increase from one pinhole in a milk jug.

WHO COMES (species that respond specifically to dripping sound):
→ Warblers during spring migration — these canopy birds almost NEVER come to ground level. A drip brings them down.
→ Thrushes (Wood Thrush, Hermit Thrush) — secretive ground birds that follow water sounds.
→ Cedar Waxwings — travel in flocks of 20-40. One finds the drip, the flock follows. Spectacular.
→ All your regular visitors — but more often, and they stay longer.

MAINTENANCE:
→ Refill the jug daily (a 1-gallon jug lasts 8-10 hours at 1 drip/second)
→ Clean the birdbath every 3 days (more visitors = more use)
→ In winter: the drip prevents freezing longer than still water. Moving water freezes at a lower effective temperature.

💡 Pro Tip: Set up a lawn chair 15-20 feet from the drip bath. On a May morning during migration, you'll see warblers you've never seen in your life — birds that have been flying over your yard for years and never stopped.

02/28/2026

Are you an avid gardener?
Here are some safety tips for growing food in containers.

If you’re growing food in containers, the container matters as much as the soil. A few smart rules:
✅ Look for food-safe plastics like #2 (HDPE) or #5 (PP)
⚠️ Avoid anything with mystery coatings/glazes (especially older pots)
🌿 When in doubt, use fabric grow bags or unglazed terracotta—simple and reliable
And always prioritize drainage—healthy roots = better harvest.

02/24/2026

Are you feeling anxious?
Breathe…

1. Sit with back straight, relax shoulder blades down the back.

2. Inhale thru the nose
5, 4, 3, 2, 1

3. Hold breath for 5 secs if possible or less.

4. Exhale thru the nose
5, 4, 3, 2, 1

Try to keep the shoulders relaxed the entire time.

Repeat

You can close your eyes to help focus on the breathing.

02/23/2026

Sharing these wonderful tips from


God bless your day! 🌿🍃🕊️

02/22/2026

02/22/2026

I get a lot of questions about onions, especially from my friend Matt….Hi Matt. So we put together this handy graphic that let you know the right onion for the right recipe. That being said, you can use any onion you prefer. We won’t call the onion police.

02/22/2026

Parsley does the same.
Add a sprig or 2 in your water for filtration.
God bless your health!