April 3 (last Friday) Out to the farm. First sign of hummingbirds at the feeder. Finished mowing a small patch of the lawn. About to pull out on the main road to drive down to the cabin, when Mr. L from next door showed up in his pickup. Pulled up right alongside me. Like two cops, we were, less than 6 feet. No matter how hard I try I can't seem to avoid this man. Wonder why. The purpose?. To tell me he heard a pack of coyotes one night (9 days ago), that sounded like they came from the goat barn. He said they sounded like they were ..."fighting over a kill,"... and ..."he couldn't live with himself if he didn't tell me about it." He has told me so many lies, I don't believe a word he says anymore. Yeah, there are coyotes out there. I know that, but the fighting over a kill was a little over the top. If I still had goats, I would have been worried, even if I didn't believe him, and he knows that. Never had trouble with coyotes before, only dogs ... and neighbors. Then, of course, he offered to help me with anything I needed, again. There would be strings attached. People like that don't know how to cope with someone who smiles politely and then just ignores them, but they never seem to give up. Down to the lake, put linseed oil/mineral spirits on the wood on the boat transom. Came back and cut the water off to the barn. The water trough attracts wild animals. I suppose the barn will be invaded with critters now. Maybe coyotes. lol
"TREES" by Joyce Kilmer 1886-1918 "I think that I shall never see A poem lovely as a Tree A Tree whose hungry Mouth is prest Against the Earth's sweet flowing breast A Tree that looks at God all day And lifts her leafy Arms to pray A Tree who may in Summer wear A nest of Robins in her hair Upon whose bosom Snow has lain Who intimately lives with Rain Poems are made by fools like me But only God can make a Tree!" (Listen to the song by Paul Robeson) Hal
Hal, my favorite version of Trees is by Paul Robeson. It's on the first page of this thread. Speaking of pages, let's hear Patti's version instead.
I have a new job. The storm last night tore off a shutter. It was broken already. They are very cheap vinyl, the kind they put on mobile homes just for decoration. I guess those vertical brackets are to keep from laying the shutters against the siding so they won't warp??? The brackets are vinyl also, and they are crooked, but I'm going to try to reuse them just the way they are, because I can't find any online, and if I try to straighten them they will likely break. Didn't have time today to clean out the wasp nests from behind.
Couldn't find any existing thread appropriate for this picture, so I'll stick it here. Best I could find out this is in Berlin, Germany, 1926. I would like to see this thing turn a sharp corner.
The Dell mouse I ordered on February 14th arrived today. Two months (from Shanghai, China). It looks undamaged inside. Ironically, the old mouse started working just fine again in the interim.
Here we go again. Birds nesting back on the barn rafter spacer. I might be able to put up some wire and stop the black snake here, but it would be really difficult. If I knew it was an Eastern Kingbird, like 3 years ago, I would try it, but it's probably wrens. I could get a lounge chair and take naps while waiting for it to show up. Did see one male humming bird last week. The wrens are also trying to nest on top of the new outdoor light, even though it has a rounded top.
What black snake? I missed something . It's a pain when birds make their homes where you can't get to them. I had bird poop on two corners of my front porch and was going to move one but it had eggs in it. I waited until they hatched and then moved the nest. It was a neat experience watching nature take its course though. I videotaped stages of the chicks development from feedings to flight.
Last August. Wrens nested on a shelf in the barn. I posted a video of them here right after they hatched. They disappeared 2 days later. I also posted a video of the snake climbing the rafters, later in October. I was wrong here, it was an Eastern Kingbird, not a tufted titmouse. Kingbirds are fairly rare around here and very pretty. Wrens are prolific and make a real mess on the porch over the outdoor light. They have two broods a year. I still hate to see them get eaten. Snakes will be snakes. They keep the mice out of the barn. You can't save everything. {sigh}
Yesterday was a very good day. I learned something. (Long) Blackberries Last summer a few blackberries blossomed just below the barn. You only had to walk a few feet to pick the berries. It would have been almost criminal to let them go to waste, even though they were small. There were just enough to bake a pie. This is a picture from Friday, with probably 4 times as many blossoms as last year. If only half of them make berries I can make two pies, maybe even jam. Where are the bees? Last year the blackberries were mixed with briars, at least that's what we always called them. The berries were all on vines about waist high. The briars were tall, some reaching 8-10 feet and arching over your head. Big thorns would stick right in the top of your head. I was going to cut out some of the briars this winter, but could never tell the difference without the leaves. Whenever you Google briars, it always takes you to blackberries. I wanted a specific name. Spent hours searching. Then happened upon this discussion on Walter Reeves' website, asking to ID the very plant I called briars. Frazier Dogs: This plant has woody stems, three leafs per stem, prefers part shade, woodland soil. Each stalk can be as tall as 3 feet. Usually found growing as a single stalk, not a group. The big problem is the thorns. MASTER IDENTIFIER: Blackberries. Make good jams, jellies. Frasier Dogs: Wikipedia indicates that this is not a blackberry plant. Blackberry plants have leaf groups of 5 - 7 per stem. This plant has only 3 leaves per stem and no evidence of berries. Anyone else have some ideas? MASTER IDENTIFIER: Interesting. The Wikipedia article states that the second year cane [stalk] produces 3 – 5 leaflets. It also says that the second year canes would produce blooms and fruit. Hmmm? The mystery deepens with this recent post to the Gardening Guru of the World! Yours look a little different to me. What do you think? I’ll stick with the common blackberry. With weed ID I’ve acquired a taste for crow! Back to Google with determination and a racing heartbeat, reading about blackberries instead of briars. Blackberries are biennial. They only produce fruit on canes that are two years old. Once a cane has produced berries, it dies and will never produce berries again. The first year canes should not be let grow too high, because they waste energy making stems and leaves instead of berries. It's still hard to believe these "briars" are really first year blackberries, because there are acres of them on this property scattered about, without ever a single berry. Could the soil be so poor here that they never produce berries? More information: ."Fruiting canes generally die back at the end of the season, but non-fruiting canes can persist for several years before producing fruit." Next scheduled trip out there is Tuesday. I can't wait to take a better look at them now. You can see in the upper right corner of the first photo blossoms way up high this year. Below are nursery blackberries (no thorns). The tall first year cane has been clipped.
Brambles. def. A bramble is any rough, tangled, prickly shrub, usually in the genus Rubus, which grows blackberries, raspberries, or dewberries. Man cutting brambles with a scythe, Kent, England. Cute.
April 21, 2020 General Contractor texted that he could do the house painting, or whatever, now. The house has asbestos shingles. Years ago this worried me because people were freaking out about it, so I asked a contractor how much removal would cost... "...The house would have to be completely covered with a tarp, the property surrounded by hazard warning tape, workers in HAZMAT suits and respirators, plastic covering on the ground, water sprayers to hold down dust, permits, inspections, etc, etc, ...", "Never mind." This contractor, "No problem." If I go that route he suggested replacing it with fiber cement board (like HardiePlank). This would be once and done and I wouldn't ever have to think about it again. I was just about to go for it when the coronavirus got in the way and allowed more time to think. The main problem is I don't know the quality of his crew's carpentry work. It's a gamble I don't think I'm willing to take, for that much money. The project could easily grow out of control. Just some examples... They could mess up the cladding on the windows, or have to redo them They could mess up the soffit, or have to redo it. Power would have to be disconnected, possibly an inspection before reconnect, something likely wouldn't be up to code. A chance to upgrade service? But I could do that any time. I figure I got at most 20 more years in this house. You don't notice the cracked shingles unless you look for them, AND, I can always do new siding later if I want to. I may not last that long anyway. Or I may just sell everything and move to New Mexico. Just pressure wash, painting, and some finish work around the porch columns. Will text him this evening.