Fox Haven Journal

Beau July 25th, 2008

This year is so different from the last, especially in the amount of rainfall we’ve had.  Even with a cooler, wet spring we expected the summer to become very dry as in previous years.   And for a while it was, but now we’re actually going on for a third day of rain and cool temperatures in the last week of July. 

A Canna leaf is covered by drops of rain.

The cool is so refreshing and the ground is saturated once again in mid-summer.  And unlike years past, the pond is actually full!  In most years at this time the water is nearly five feet down.  I wonder if this will increase the populations of fish and other aquatic life?

In late afternoon the summer landscape is often painted in light and shadow.

 The plants and trees also benefit greatly from the moisture. We’ve probably lost 5-6 smaller oak trees in recent years from drought stress and insect damage.  Yet perhaps this year’s rainfall will help many of the rest.   And usually by this time of summer we don’t need to cut the grass nearly as much as it dries out and turns brown.  Now it’s still green and growing.  

With the moisture fostering grass and flower growth, I think the bees will find more pollen and nectar available throughout summer and early fall.   We haven’t seen such an abundance of wild blackberries before, due both to the bees as well as the rainfall this year.  They’re not very large as blackberries go, but “they make good eatin!”

• Landscapes , Seasons
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Beau July 23rd, 2008

In many places it’s a rite of passage for kids to go fishing in the summer.   With a nearby pond, fishing can be a simple pleasure on a summer evening.  It doesn’t have to be the normally complex undertaking with boats, tackle boxes and all kinds of other stuff.  Instead, we found a long cane pole, a hook, a bobber and dug up a few worms.   

The boy worked at putting the worm on the hook, but it was kind of small so I tried to help.  Of course I didn’t have my glasses with me so I wasn’t much help, and he did it on his own.  Then with wriggling worm he threw the line and bobber into the water, sitting on a stump to wait.   After a few minutes… “Bloop!” the bobber was pulled under…  “I got one!” he yells excitedly, as he pulls a big bluegill out of the water.  And then again a little later, “I got another one!” this time pulling a bass out of the water.

The yellow lab was entranced by these flopping critters the boy pulled out,  We threw the fish back and the dog tried to jump in the water after them!    Now that would be a trick… retrieving fish.   I think somewhere in the history of the Labrador Retriever they used to be fishing dogs, swimming out to bring back fish that had fallen out of nets.   But on this night he was just a companion, watching the boy’s excitement and wonder at catching fish.

• Rural Living , Labrador Retriever
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Beau July 21st, 2008

It seems that if you plant sunflowers, there will be a few volunteers over the years.  This one is growing toward the front of the house, brought there by friendly birds after last year’s plants in the garden. 

It’s kind of neat that one of the ways seeds are propagated in nature is due to birds.  The birds eat the fruit and as the seeds pass through their digestive tract, they are deposited in many different places.  Which is kind of amazing really.   Except for cedar trees.  Eastern Red Cedar that is.  It’s a pretty, evergreen tree that produces very strong (and nice smelling) wood.  But they are ubiquitous!  Too big of a word to simply say we have too many around, and they get their start with the help of birds usually while perched along a fence. 

At least around here that’s why you see so many cedar trees along the fence lines.  Down the road a bit I saw someone who cleared out their fence line of all the brush and barb wire, removing all but some nicely spaced and trimmed cedars.  That looks very nice I will admit.  One day perhaps we’ll do the same.  For now the barb wire, old fence posts and tangly growth is just going to stay for a while.

Speaking of growing things, our tomatoes are finally turning red.  The little cherry tomatoes have been producing for a while, but the larger ones are now ripening.  We planted several different varieties as an informal experiment to see which ones do well here.  With the cooler, wet season early on, it seemed like they were going to stay green, but now they are coming on much better.   

If they produce much more we’re going to make sauce, stewed tomatoes, frozen tomatoes… whatever works. Met someone last week though who is growing 104 tomato plants… in their yard.  They are taking the ripe tomatoes to farmer’s markets in the back of a truck.  That must be a lot of picking!

• Rural Living , Gardening
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Beau July 18th, 2008

This must really be “bug week” because I find myself taking pictures of all sorts of insect critters.  Maybe they’re too easy and I’m not being creative enough. But the Japanese beetles are still filling up plastic bags and we’re trying to keep the pests out of the garden.  And the moles!  I haven’t found a good deterent for them, although the cat sometimes ends up with one.  

I actually watched some lettuce plants wobbling back and forth as a mole tunneled underneath the other day.  They love to eat worms and grubs, but maybe tender roots as well?  All I know is their tunnels leave the roots without soil and water, and the plant will die if you don’t reseat them in the soil.  Some wiser folks have said that castor bean oil is a good deterrent so we may try that.  The metal mole traps are simply too cumbersome and unreliable for me to work very well.

I haven’t seen any Monarch caterpillars on our milkweed plants, but maybe that’s because these Tussock Moth Caterpillars keep devouring the milkweed.  I saw one of the plants chewed to the ground and then found these guys working on the next one.  Looks like a hungry football team lined up at the buffet!

And the little guy below was too cute to pass up.  My unscientific name is “Brown Fuzzy Caterpillar.”  What it really is I have  no idea, but isn’t it funny how the “cute” ones seem acceptable, but the “ugly” ones we get rid of?  I’ve pulled some big green hornworms off the tomato plants and the yellow lab likes to play with them.  I think he actually eats them… uh, yuck?! (there’s a close up of the Tussock Moth Caterpillar from last year at that link too).

But this ”BFC” wasn’t eating leaves or doing anything it seemed.  Maybe he was looking for a place to make a chrysalis?

After today I’ve got to find some new material that doesn’t involve bugs.  Unless they’re really neat looking or something.  Or involve bees.  Or, well… let’s just see what happens. 

• Wildlife, Insects and Pets , Gardening
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Beau July 17th, 2008

I’ve been watching for thistle plants this summer too. They always come each year, whether by seeds floating through the air or by birds I don’t know.  But these are the gigantic five foot tall versions with big purple flowers on the top, if you let them get that far.  They’re kind of pretty, but if they become established you’ll have a mass of thorny vegetation that doesn’t do much good for anybody.  It can ruin a good hayfield, so I walk around digging them out when I see them.   I kept walking past a few small ones last month making a mental note to come back (which I promptly forgot about) and finally remembered to go dig them out this week.  They had not flowered yet, but were four feet tall already. 

The picture by the shovel shows their size, but look at the thorns on these dudes below!  They’re so sharp they go right through leather gloves. 

I was also driving by a field a half mile away and noticed a whole crop of these things near the shoulder of the road.  The man that lived there passed away last year, and the property is for sale.  If I get around to it, maybe I’ll stop by and try dig those thistles out.  Need to add that to my list…

• Passing Thoughts , Rural Living
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Beau July 16th, 2008

At least once a week I try to take a closer look at the property to see what might need done.  We all keep lists of “things to do” it seems, but I find it can be discouraging if you’re prone to writing a giant list of “things I would like to do” instead of focusing on what really needs done.  I always tended to write those big lists in the past, but now I’m finding out that as I get older I forget more often… so it all balances out! 

One of the good things about looking around is the chance to discover something you didn’t know about before.  We’ve been by some trees near the young boy’s “secret spot” many times in the past, but never noticed any with fruit.  The boy saw it first the other day, and noticed that red fruit was dropping to the ground.  Turns out it’s a Red Mulberry tree that I never knew we had. 

I remember thinking this looked like a mulberry, but never saw any fruit on it in the past.  Could it be because of the bees this year?   I don’t really know, but most mulberry fruit turns almost black before falling ripe, so I’m not sure why these were dropping early.  It’s a tall tree so I don’t expect to gather any fruit.  Good for the critters though.

Here’s a picture of some of my best friends in summer- the dragonfly.  These guys may look funny, but they cruise around at high speed looking for other little bugs to eat.  Their favorite?  Mosquitoes.  I’m all for anything that makes a dent in the mosquito population, especially around the water.   Plus it brings back fond memories.

One time as a kid I was fishing up north one summer with my father and my brother.  That week was my 16th birthday and we had a grand time.  I remember one night that a lone fisherman had not returned from a day on a remote lake, and everyone was worried about him. 

It was very late at night as we sat around the lodge, finally hearing the high pitched whine of a small boat engine approaching in the darkness.  The man tied up and got out, taking a little ribbing for being gone so long.  He was tired and disheveled looking, and said he got lost and then couldn’t get the motor started at sunset.  While he tried to get the motor started, he said he was attacked by giant clouds of mosquitoes and it was awful.  Then he heard this droning noise, and didn’t know what it was.  Before long, he said waves upon waves of enormous dragonflies came cruising to his rescue like attacking fighter jets, darting all throughout the mosquitoes for a good half hour and clearing the air.  He finally got the engine running and found his way home.  That was a pretty neat trip, and a neat birthday. 

• Reflections , Stories
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Beau July 14th, 2008

Beautiful weather this week with cool mornings and warm days.  So different from previous year’s drought that many plants and flowers are still blooming.  Hard to believe we’re in the middle of July already.  But I’ve heard the first cicadas for the year already.  It surprised me yesterday while was walking the property.

Lots of other insects out now too.  Here’s a neat looking Katydid of some type on the young boy’s hands.  Doesn’t its wings look just like a leaf?  He found it and wanted to pick it up.  First he asked, “Does it bite?”  “Ah, no it’s like a grasshopper,” I reply.  “Does it sting?” he wants to know next.  “No, it can’t sting,” I say.   “Okay then,”  he says, and picks it up for a picture. 

Of course other bugs are not so pretty.  Here’s a Great Black Wasp I think, sitting on a milkweed leaf.  This one was about an inch and a half long! According to Ted of Beetles in the Bush, this is actually called a mydas fly, probably Mydas clavatus. He posts a little more about it below.  Isn’t it great that other bloggers will stop by and help clarify confusion!  Nature’s rhythm is in full swing with many insect species out now.

And our honey bees are still at work on a host of different flowers.  I found another reason to let the grass grow a little longer. Seems that the clover blooms a lot more if I let it, and the bees go right for it.   Maybe we’ll have a little honey this year after all.

• Wildlife, Insects and Pets
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Beau July 12th, 2008

Busy doings outside these days, with so much just growing and growing.  We’ve been lucky to have rain almost every week, especially for the garden and the bees.  I’ve heard this is one of the best years many beekeepers can remember in our area and that the “honeyflow” is nice and long from the rain and cooler weather. 
We found a funny “double cucumber” in the garden the other day. Now how do you suppose it grew like this? It’s still in the fridge while I wonder what I can do with it. Maybe I could put it on ebay :)

And the blackberries have really started ripening, so we picked a couple quarts already.  I’m just amazed- we haven’t had any berries the past couple of years, but with the bees this year there’s a bunch of wild berries in places I’d never seen before.  Maybe it’s also the rain this year.  But we need to pick some more soon! And anybody have a good blackberry pie recipe?

The green beans have done so well this year we’ve been putting up a bunch in the freezer. Time to pick more cucumbers now too, and maybe pickles soon? The garden is great but next year it needs to be bigger!  I say that now, and we hardly keep up with it.  I’m always amazed at how much room the plants can use though. 

 We dug up some potatoes for the first time and they were delicious.  Never grew potatoes before, but it was pretty easy, and they didn’t take up too much room.  I was surprised how fast the little guys grew. 

Also had our first ear of home-grown corn yesterday. It wasn’t too big, but some critters had started munching the top so it was time to pick. It sure was tasty though!

Here’s our corn-growing Basset Hound. Oh wait! I’m told this is our CORN DOG! He’s really our garden dog, and likes to follow us around and hang out wherever we are. He’s the good ‘ole man of the place, going on 11 years now.
Of course it’s kind of hard to grow corn on top of the dog. But he likes the attention, especially getting watered on hot days.

We may have to find somewhere else to grow it next year though. There’s just not enough space!

• Wildlife, Insects and Pets , Gardening
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Beau July 10th, 2008

For the last few weeks I’ve noticed ripples in the pond on quiet days, usually near the shoreline.  I look for fish quite often, and if it’s a bass or bluegill you can hear the “pop” or “smack” as they find an insect to dine on.   The bullfrogs are calling now also with their slow “baarooom, baaroom” voices.  And when two bullfrogs get together in a mating ritual, it’s like two splashy, flopping critters near the weeds. 

But the ripples I’ve been seeing were not the same.  The previous two years I stocked a few grass carp as well as koi to help control vegetation and algae in the pond.  And years ago, a previous owner stocked a few of them as well.  Whether it’s luck or the right combination of fish I don’t know, but thus far we have had no blooms of algae or emergent vegetation problems, and the pond has remained much more open and clear. 

My suspicion is that the ripples I’m seeing along the water’s edge are the grass carp feeding.  I’ve let the grass from the shoreline grow long enough to fall over into the water to some degree, and the critters around the pond seem to appreciate it.  Every now and then I see ghostly shapes near the edge of the grass, but was not quite sure what it was.  And I didn’t know for sure if the grass carp I stocked actually survived over the last two years.

But the other day I found out they not only survived, but are apparently thriving.  Here’s picture of one of the ghostly shapes.  See the darker fish in the shadow of the tree?  It’s hard to tell size, but from the distance I took this picture, the fish is close to three feet long.  

And then for the first time ever, I saw a small “school” of three grass carp near the surface and just happened to have the camera nearby.  These are very large fish, easily 2-3 feet.  They didn’t stay for long, and I haven’t seen them since.  When I think I do see them and walk slowly near the pond’s edge to look, they vanish quickly.

It’s fascinating to think these have grown so large and overwintered on little to no vegetation, and with the surface of the pond frozen for weeks at a time.  And it’s somewhat unnerving as well.  These are the same species of nuisance fish that have escaped into many midwest rivers over the years.  But these particular grass carp are triploid as well as being land-locked in the pond.  Triploid meaning that they have three sets of chromosomes instead of the normal two, and cannot reproduce. (I always wonder about that, with the quote in mind from Jurassic Park that “nature finds a way”).  However they do require rivers to breed successfully, so these fish won’t increase their population here.  I was also careful not to put too many in our small body of water, because as you can tell they get very large, and are long-lived.  

For now we seem to have a fortunate balance of fish with less vegetation, yet enough to maintain the fertility and biodiversity of the pond.  There’s still healthy bluegill, bass, frog and turtle populations as well, so for now we’ll just see how things work out.  We do fish occasionally, but I doubt we’ll hook one of these monsters.  Then again, I wouldn’t know what to do with it anyway.

• Rural Living , Science , Stories
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Beau July 8th, 2008

The month of July in Missouri is a lot of things.  Good things like tomatoes, barbeques, cooler mornings and maybe a few rainstorms if we’re lucky.  And then there’s the other things… the heat and humidity, weeds and trimming, and tons of insect critters that find their way into everything, usually leaving us itchy reminders to deal with.

I guess the bees fit that insect category, but they’re pretty neat to have around.   Unlike a few other critters such as ticks and chiggers.  Now I’m sure the peskier bugs serve some functional purpose for the web of life in our evironment.  But there’s times I wish they would serve that purpose somewhere else!  If you’re going to live in the country however, you have to take the good with the bad, and I’m learning that the good far outweighs the bad over the course of time.  

It’s not hard to appreciate our pollinators though.  Those amazing bees that go buzzing around and help us grow our fruits and vegetables.   Isn’t this a cool looking bumblebee?  This one is working a lavender plant, darting from flower to flower. 

And did you know that bumblebees are the primary pollinators of our tomato plants?  I’ve seen them all over our tomatoes, but I didn’t realize until recently that the way bumblebees pollinate tomato plants is through sonification.  The bumblebee pulls the tomato flower down to a vertical position, and vibrates their wing muscles at a certain frequency after which the tomato flower pollen falls out of pores in the anthers.  When the pollen falls down, it sticks to the bumblebees fuzzy body and, oh by the way, the bumble just happens to be rubbing that same fuzzy pollinated body against the tomato flower stigma, and because of his fuzzy little travels, voila! pollination from one flower to another occurs.   I think of bumblebees with appreciation every time I eat a tomato!

Here’s another important pollinator below, but it’s not a bumblebee.  Instead this is a Carpenter bee about to dive headfirst into a hydrangea flower head.  Carpenter bees are not thought of very highly because of the tunneling damage they can do to wooden beams, decking and the wood in houses and barns.  Yes, they actually bore holes and tunnels in wood!  We see them around here, but I’m not sure where they are nesting. Sometimes you see the male buzzing up and down in a certain area, seemingly harassing you if you try to walk by.  That’s just his way of protecting his territory or a nest nearby, but he’s actually harmless and can’t sting.  Not very fun to have a big buzzing critter zoom at you however.

But our other favorite pollinators are the honeybees of course.  Our two hives appear to be doing just fine, although one is a lot stronger than the other in terms of the number of bees around the hive.   And yesterday there were hundreds of bees clustered outside the hive.  Are they getting ready to swarm?  Fanning to cool the hive?  Just new bees getting outside for some fresh air!?  I don’t really know, but with lots of space in two relatively new hive body supers, I think they’re just staying cool.  They have quite a bit of shade under some oak trees, but it has been very hot and humid lately.

The other hive which is weaker didn’t have many bees hanging around outside however.  In both hives, the bees were coming and going just the same, and working flowers around the property.  It’s interesting to see the differences though, and I’ll be opening the hives up sometime the next week to see what else I can find out.

• Seasons , Science , Beekeeping
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