Lawn Mowing Machine

With the arrival of spring, also comes lawn mowing. Of course keeping the lawn cut and manicured is a requirement of being a responsible and proud home owner but it's also an exercise in futility with very little return on the time spent.

Since the beginning of May 2007 here are the lawn mowing tallies I've performed through the end of June - just two month. This includes both my lawn and my dad's lawn.

1. My Lawn = 11 times to date and counting...
2. My Dad's = 7 times to date and counting...

While we're on the subject of lawn mowing, I am reminded of the following quote by Long Duk Dong from the 80's movie Sixteen Candles, which just happens to be one of my favorites -

"I love visiting with Grandma and Grandpa, and writing letters to parents, and pushing lawn mowing machine so Grandpa’s hyena don’t get disturbed."

Drive!

I don't believe this is a real sign but how appropriate these days!

There's nothing else I can add or say other than welcome to Boston.

Ladybug

Ash Gray Ladybird Beetle (Olla vnigrum)

Emilie came across this white ladybug the other day. We thought it unusual to see one like this so we took a few pictures of it pearched upon a leaf of our Cyclamen plant. Upon further investigation I have learned something new about ladybugs - believe it or not! You can too by clicking on the link below and once again wowing your family and friends.



The above picture is the larva stage of the ladybug. Interestingly enough I have seen a bunch of these things in the yard recently but had no idea what they were - if you can believe this too! It's a good thing I never squashed any. Ladybugs love to eat aphids, which we also have plenty of. We've seen them on our White Pines and our White Yarrow plants and I'm sure there elsewhere also, so ladybugs and/or ladybird beetles are more than welcome at our house. Chipmunks on the other hand are banded and violators of this policy will be dealt with.

For some interesting information on ladybugs, including ladybug superstitions from around the world, click HERE.

Sylvilagus floridanus

Eastern Cottontail

The rabbit hunters Steve, Terri and Bindi caught this little tucker in our backyard on Sunday afternoon. Ok, ok, actually it was Stephan, JoAnne and Emilie but crikey it was an adventure - rabbits rule!

Yup, we did, no kidding. We were able to corner this dude and net him. He will be relocated someplace far away from our backyard. We have too many of these wild rabbit in our yard alone and they've already worn out their welcome. Just ask our fennel plant, or our parsley plants or our spiderwort plants or some of our hosta plants or more appropriately what's left of these plants...err

For a complete overview of the Eastern Cottontail including characteristics, range, habitat, diet, life cycle and behavior, click here - NatureWorks.

Ant Party

I came across this orgy of tiny black ants on our pool patio deck the other afternoon. I've run across a gathering like this before - more often than you'd think. I am in the process of trying to identify what types of ants these are and why they gather like this. If and when I do, I will update you. I know the suspense will be trying but please be patient and understand that I am just one person...

One things for sure, when they gather like this it sure makes it a hell of a lot easier to spray the little bastards!



Here take a closer look -


Guess how many are here and win a free lollipop of my choosing.

Bachelor's Button

The Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus) also known as Bachelor's button, Basket flower, and Boutonniere flower.

This is a picture of a single flower from one of our Bachelor's Button perennial. Typically I'd take a picture showing more flowers but sadly this is the only one left blooming; the others have already come and gone. I have "deadheaded" the spent flowers in an effort to encourage new buds. Time will tell if this works.

This guy is also located out back by the pool and adds to the nice variety of colors we have taking place. Some thinning out is in order come fall, as the Purple Cone flower plants are starting to take over. We'll just transplant some throughout the yard - not a problem!

Cornflower information.

Cuy

I haven't had any luck selling this black and white male guinea pig of ours - no takers :-(

He's a little pecker-head and definitely has to go! He's worn out his welcome; he bullies the other cavies, has no personality and is too skittish. All this equals bye, bye.



I've been struggling with ideas on the best way to *re-home this little feller and as fate would have it I came across this interesting - very interesting, article this morning. It's given me a new idea...

Peru celebrates tasty guinea pigs

Click here for the definition of Cuy

* Re-home is a term used by many animal-loving-tree-huggers meaning to find a new loving, caring home. I've got to be honest here, my definition is different and I'll leave it at that.

Achillea millefolium

Red Yarrow

Here is a picture of our Red Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) plant. She's not quite reached her full deep red color just yet but eye catching just the same. We also have a White Yarrow and had a Yellow Yarrow also but this one didn't come back after the winter - we will replace it.

• Hardiness Zone: 3 to 10
• Height: 2 ft
• Spacing: 24 in
• Type: herbaceous perennial
• Flowers: Pink, white, red and yellow

Common Yarrow is a perennial herb that has fern-like foliage and can be used as cut flowers. They grow in ordinary garden soil and full sun. Cut off old flowers to prolong the flowering period. Achillea may become a weed if not controlled.

Here's an interesting bit of information I came across when researching this plant:

Uses Ethno botanic: Several tribes of the Plains region of the United States including the Pawnee and Chippewa tribes used common yarrow. The Pawnee used the stalk in a treatment for pain relief. The Chippewa used the leaves in a steam inhalant for headaches. They also chewed the roots and applied the saliva to their appendages as a stimulant. The Cherokee drank a tea of common yarrow to reduce fever and aid in restful sleep.

Bovine Information

For your reading pleasure. You never know when information like this might come in handy.

• Young cattle are called calves.
• A young female before she has calved is called a 'heifer'.
• A young female that has had only one calf is sometimes called a "first-calf heifer."
• A young male is a "bullock." The term "bullock," or "steer," is also used to denote a castrated male, unless kept for draft purposes, in which case it is called an "ox" (plural "oxen"), not to be confused with the related wild musk ox.
• If castrated as an adult, it is called a "stag."
• An intact male is called a "bull."
• An adult female who has had more than two calves is called a "cow."
• The adjective applying to cattle is "bovine".

An ox is nothing more than a mature bovine with an "education." The education consists of the animal's learning to respond appropriately to the teamster's (ox driver's) signals. These signals are given by verbal commands or by noise (whip cracks) and many teamsters were known for their voices and language. In North America, the commands are:

(1) get up
(2) whoa
(3) back up
(4) gee (turn to the right)
(5) haw (turn to the left)

Oxen must be painstakingly trained from a young age. Their teamster must make or buy as many as a dozen yokes of different sizes as the animals grow. A wooden yoke is fastened about the neck of each pair so that the force of draft is distributed across their shoulders. From calves, oxen are chosen with horns since the horns hold the yoke in place when the oxen lower their heads, back up, or slow down (particularly with a wheeled vehicle going downhill). Yoked oxen cannot slow a load like harnessed horses can; the load has to be controlled downhill by other means. The gait of the ox is often important to ox trainers, since the speed the animal walks should roughly match the gait of the ox driver who must work with it.

See previous post dated Tuesday, June 12, 2007 titled, "Cattle".

Salvia; Scarlet sage

Not to be out done by the Asiatic Lily, check out this impressive Salvia plant!

This perennial is planted near our pool and adds some great color to the landscape and is one of several that we have planted throughout our yard. The bees and butterflies are a buzz and a flutter over this beauty.

House Sparrow

We have a bird house mounted to a tree besides our chicken pen that is home to a pair of House Sparrows. Let me start by saying that I am not a big fan of the sparrow, house or otherwise, in general. I find them to be a nuisance and very annoying. They're small enough to fit through the wire of the chicken pen and are often inside eating the chicken's food and pooping all over and honestly they're not the prettiest bird either.

I modified this particular bird house, before hanging it, so that one side could be opened and cleaned in the fall. Well, I opened it yesterday to have a look see knowing full well there were baby birds inside. There appears to be just two young chicks but it was hard to tell. Of course I took one of the chicks out just because I can and told it to nest elsewhere come next spring. You can see in the picture above that she isn't fully feathered yet and that she still has her pin feathers. They are cute at this stage but then again most animals are.

The picture below shows the visual difference between a male and female House Sparrow. So now you can impress your family and friends with this tidbit of knowledge.

Monster Garter Snake

I came across this monster yesterday when working in the yard - crikey. This is the biggest Garter snake that I have ever seen or come across in all my years. He was suning himself, here in the first picture, on the warm grass clipping of my compost pile.

The interesting thing here and I'm not sure if the average Joe or JoAnne can tell from this picture but it was pretty clear to me when I saw him. This dude was not only suning himself but resting after eating his meal. You can tell this by his large bulge, which I can guarantee you is no sock...


Being that he was so big I just had to catch and hold him. However, I knew that this was a bad idea. Not for fear of getting bit but rather for fear of upsetting him and having him regurgitate his meal!

Well, my selfishness prevailed and my fear came true, which are shown in the following two pictures. The amazing thing is that he regurgitated a mouse - a mouse! I knew Garter snakes were known to eat small rodents but I've never personally seen it but then again as I pointed out this is the biggest dude I've seen so he's more than capable at catching and eating mice.

Well, he'll be hungry again and I can only hope he nabs another mouse or small chipmunk. I hope he chooses to stick around too. I'd like to see him from time to time.

See my earlier posting on Friday, August 18, 2006 titled "Ecdysis" for detailed information on the Common Garter Snake.

Lilium - Asiatic Lily

This is what I'm talking about!

Take a gander at these awesome Asiatic Lilies of ours!

U Can't Touch This...

My efforts last year of ridding our lilies of the Lily Leaf Beetles were successful. I've not found or seen a single beetle on any of our lily plants! These pests can do a number on these plants in short order.

Black Swallowtail 2007 - UPDATE

Here's an update on the Black Swallowtail caterpillar we found on our parsley just 10 days ago.

We first noticed him on Saturday, June 9 and at that time he was extremely tiny, approximately 1/2". His size doubled to 1" by the following morning. He was now close to 2" by Thursday morning June 14th, Flag Day. This is when the 'changes' began...

He became very mobile and moved around alot, which is completely different on how he'd been behaving. We noticed that he 'purged' himself BIG time (yuk), which is an indication that changes were happening. JoAnne went out and fetched him a stick (good girl). By Thursday night at 6PMish he had chosen his spot on the stick and went to work.



In the first pictures he's swaying back and forth and securing himself with silk to the stick.



In the second picture you can see he's all secure - you can actually see the silk holding him in place. He stayed in this position, just like this and looked the same till Saturday morning.

When we woke on Saturday he had completed the process and was now a fully encased crysalis, see third picture. Now we wait...

See posting from Sunday, June 10, 2007 titled, "Eastern Black Swallowtail 2007"

Geese Get Revenge

*Ok, my pate de foie gras eating days are now officially over!

My brother sent me the following link from Yahoo News -

Geese get revenge: Pate may cause rare disease

* Actully, truth be told, I was so done eating this "delicacy" as I was eating it.

P.S. Please don't tell Vlad. I don't want to hurt his feelings.

Polish Rabbits

Meet the latest addition to our Lincoln Street menagerie.

This is a pair of Polish bunnies. The Polish rabbit is known for being a compact breed with the reputation for being high-strung...that's just great. However, it may be an interesting contrast to the mini lop, which is as calm as calm can be.

The black one is an 8 week old male and the grey one is a 13 week old female.

They're currently sharing the same cage till they get acclimated and a little bigger. This saves on space, time and cleaning.

Did we need two more rabbits?! Do we need our heads examined?! Are we GFP (glutton for punishment)?! I'm pretty sure you all know the answers to these questions...

While we're at it how bout some Polish Sausage?

Ox Skull - Wren Nest

This is a picture of the skull of a Brown Swiss ox or steer. This dude came from my farmer friend. It's hanging on the fencing of my old chicken pen at my dads. Time is going by so fast these days that I can't remember just how long I've had this hanging there but it's been quite some time.

I do remember when this dude was alive and a part of an oxen team that my friend would use on his property. Actually, my first experiencing at 'driving' an oxen team was with this dude and his yoke mate. They were named ZZ and Top and once again I can't recall which one this is? Can you guess who they were named after?!?! I'll give you a clue, a band from the 60's...

If I remember correctly, this guy died as a result of ingesting something metal. Typically, bovine have magnets placed in their stomach, their first stomach, to prevent this type of problem and subsequent death from occurring. Metal objects stick to the magnet, which prevent them from getting stuck when attempting to pass into their second stomach. But I digress...

The reason I began this rambling was to point out that a pair of House Wrens have taken up residence inside this skull. This is why the picture was taken from the back. Unfortunately you can't see the nest from this picture or when standing directly behind the skull and looking in but they fly in the center hole and drop down into their nest. Interesting location for a nest, as well as an example of how things can be recycled even when you think there uses have passed.

Baby Bunny - UPDATE

Here are 5 of the 6 baby bunnies of ours. They'll be 5 weeks old on Tuesday 6/19 and Wednesday 6/20. The 2 tan ones on the left are from one litter and the others are from another. As you can tell from this picture the bunny on the right end is a monster. Perhaps, he is why the runt of his litter had little chance at getting a good meal.



Here they are again with the colors separated. Notice their long floppy ears. They will eventually drop, hence the name "lop" but at this age they're just all over the place, too cute.




Below is an updated picture of the runt from Salt & Pappa's litter and that makes #6 - all accounted for. This is the little one that we helped along by holding, both, her mother and Abbey (mother from another litter) so she could nurse. JoAnne has taken a shine to this litte one, so we'll be keeping her/him (too young to sex with any certainty just yet).



The "Bunnies For Sale" sign has gone up at the end of our driveway. We've had good luck with this method in the past, lets hope it continues.

See Friday, June 01, 2007 posted titled, "New Baby Bunnies - UPDATE".

Simple Mathematics

Food for thought, item #1 plus item #2 = item #3 below -

Item #1:

Cow Takes Dip In Backyard Pool

Item #2:
Bull Shit

Item #3:
*Cement Pond

* Just want to reassure you that the formula above is NOT the cause of our cement pond issues.

Compost Pumpkins

Here's one of our compost piles.

The plants growing inside are pumpkins.

We composted our Halloween pumpkins this past fall and here are the results.

We tried growing pumpkins several years ago but had no luck. The woodchucks (gophers) saw to that.

I will take some of these plants to my dad's and plant in his garden. The rest I will leave be to see what happens. We've not seen the woodchucks (gophers) so far this year. Of course that doesn't mean a darn thing but we'll keep our fingers crossed and if necessary call in Carl Spackler.