garden guests

Can you see my little friend here? It's a black swallowtail butterfly caterpillar munching on some dill in the garden. Upon closer inspection, I counted a dozen of them. But I don't mind, after all, there's more than enough dill for all of us. And who doesn't love butterflies?

they don't sound as pretty as they look!

So this is what I heard last night.

That's right, you try sleeping after that.

helpless

Checking on the garden this morning, I heard some robins making quite a ruckus. Glancing into the yard, there was my standard schnauzer, Biggie, lying on the ground and looking at something between his front paws. Realizing he must have one of their babies, I quickly took it away from him, seemingly unhurt, and deposited it on the other side of the fence at the edge of the woods. So far I haven't seen the parents taking care of it, but they sure know where it is, because when I went back out to take this photo, they strongly voiced their disapproval. The babe seems nearly feathered out so hopefully he'll make it.

it won't go down without a fight

See, this is what I meant about bamboo getting sneaky when threatened. These tiny, little, seemingly innocuous, grass-like clumps are actually bamboo. This is an area well away from the main stand where I cut some down last year in an effort to stop its spread. The rhizome didn't die, it just waited for the opportunity to come back in disguise. Later today the weed killer will be put to good use. Unfortunately, some other plants may get hit in the crossfire, but that's what I meant about collateral damage. I have also begun cutting mature stalks, but there are probably a couple hundred of them and they're woody and tough. It will be a long fight - but one that I mean to win.

know your enemies

I moved here four years ago and have been battling a stand of bamboo ever since. Believing we could live in harmony, it started out with me just breaking off the new shoots that were growing where I didn't want them. Apparently that made it mad. Showing its true colors, it made a dash towards the house, coming up through the deck, disrupting the stone patio surrounding the water garden, and invading the hosta bed. Amazed by the audacity, I countered with more severe pruning as well as judicious applications of weed killer. Hostilities escalated. Last summer, it ran twenty feet into the woods. That was the final straw - I envisioned a future where nothing remained in my woods except a few older trees and bamboo. No wildflowers or saplings, no place left for the native flora and fauna to survive, let alone thrive. So bamboo and I were now locked in a battle to the death. Clearly there was no way to live in harmony with this monster. Accepting that there might be some collateral damage, I vowed to do whatever it would take to completely eradicate it.

So when I found a book on bamboo at the library last week, it came home with me. I thought perhaps at the very least, there would be something about containing the beast, if not killing it outright. The book is well written and speaks so glowingly of the beauty and benefits of bamboo, that if I didn't know better, I might be tempted to plant some. Reading through the book, I finally got to the part about keeping it contained. I learned it can go under sidewalks, driveways, and even roads in some cases. The root system is usually significantly larger than what you see above ground and it can run for fifty feet underground before popping up in another location. FIFTY FEET! What are people thinking when they plant this stuff? Let me just say here that in my opinion, it is irresponsible, short sighted, and selfish to plant bamboo without adequately containing it with a permanent barrier that is up to the task. Seriously.

Reading further, it was as though the heavens opened and angels sang when I saw the following: "Killing bamboo is not easy, but it can be done." For the benefit of anyone else engaged in a similar war, I offer the following:

"Bamboo can be eliminated without the addition of any herbicides or chemical fertilizers, but these can be employed to accelerate the process. There are variations on the theme, but an effective regimen for eradication is as follows: cut the aboveground growth to the ground with a lawnmower (who are they kidding?), pruning shears, hand saw, chain saw, or other implement, as fits the situation. Water and fertilize to encourage the rhizomes (roots) to generate new growth. If necessary, limit the height of new shoots by pruning. As soon as the new shoots have leafed out, stop all watering, fertilize very heavily with a high-nitrogen fertilizer, and spray with a strong herbicide. Remove the culms (shoots) and foliage once the herbicide has been fully absorbed. Remove all subsequent shoots before they leaf out. Damaged by the herbicide and stressed and weakened by over-fertilization and lack of water, the bamboo's demise is accelerated."

Aha! A plan of attack! It will be a big job and not one I will likely get done this year, but at least there's hope. There is just one fly in that ointment, however. I have seen this bamboo, when stressed, send up tiny little shoots that look nearly identical to grasses. In the woods this will be hard to spot, but I'll stay on top of it.

Wish me luck.

what are they?

I happened upon these delicate blue wildflowers over the weekend quite by accident. Other than the blossoms, they look just like clumps of grass mixed in among the honeysuckle at the edge of my woods. They are sky blue with a clear yellow center on the inside. I've never seen anything like them before and would love to know what they are. Anyone know?

early morning beauty

As seen on a pre-breakfast walk in the woods.

rocky? is that you?

As it turns out, my brother gave me very good advice when he told me I'd never want to put a cat door coming directly into the house. Into the attached garage is fine, but not the house. Steve the cat has quite a penchant for catching small creatures and bringing them into the garage to play with. Alive. He'll play with them until they die. Sometimes he'll eat them and sometimes he'll leave them for me to find and clean up (nice). Most of the time it's voles, sometimes baby rabbits, and once a catbird. The voles and rabbits don't bother me much. The catbird had me pretty irritated since it was one of a pair that was nesting in the tree right outside my bedroom window, and I LIKE catbirds. But this morning really took the cake. There he was, in the garage playing with a baby flying squirrel. Quickly intervening, I deposited Steve in the house and donning a pair of thick leather gloves, caught the little guy and put him in a box for the short trip back into the woods. I wanted to take a picture of him, but didn't want to prolong the torture of confinement longer than absolutely necessary (the photo above is one that I found). Taking him to the base of a very large tree, tipping the box on it's side and opening it up, I released him. He quickly scampered up the tree to safety. Hopefully he's old enough to be on his own or his mother finds him. 

For those of you who have never seen a flying squirrel, they are very small nocturnal creatures that can glide from tree to tree using the webbing between their legs for lift. It's been many years since I've seen one and I'm glad to know they're around. 

spring woodland

I took a walk in the woods yesterday after I was done working and wanted to share some of what I found...

a beautiful orange butterfly...

tiny clumps of moss...

a salamander under a rock...

mayapples just beginning to unfurl...

a squirrel's cache of nuts...

the first fern fronds.

A happy spring day to you!

useful dogs

I call my dogs many things. Every once in awhile I call them useful. Don't get me wrong, I love them to death - they are my friends, companions, entertainment, and I wouldn't be without them. But they also have their own agenda. They are sometimes known (not very affectionately) as the destroyers. When in this mode, their motto is: "Is it cute, soft, gentle, or helpless? Then it must die."  Really. I won't go into details, but it isn't pretty. Anyway, today is one of those days that I call them useful. Sitting at my desk, I noticed a commotion at the pasture fence. Looking to see what was going on, I saw chickens running, dogs jumping at the fence, and a red tailed hawk was lifting off, just out of their reach! Good dogs. Apparently the hawk thought he'd have a nice chicken dinner but was interrupted by the dogs who probably objected to him trying to steal what they consider theirs. They're funny that way. Quick to defend their property and it's residents against all intruders. Good dogs. Useful dogs. 

another roomate? I think not

It appears the word has gotten out that I like animals. I went out to the garage last night to get more wood for the stove and there on Steve the cat's bed an opossum was curled up. Whoa! I've only encountered one up close once before and while it was little compared to this guy, it snarled ferociously (ever see an opossum snarl? They have very long jaws with many very sharp and pointy teeth - all the better for eating a fresh chicken dinner). So while Steve was winding himself around my ankles, perfectly calm and purring, the opossum and I just stood there and stared at each other. I believe he was quite large by opossum standards, and, well, kind of cute/handsome. The longer we looked each other in the eye, the more I realized I was not going to be able to dispatch him from this world. Sigh. Instead I went back in the house to get the camera, hoping he'd stay long enough for me to get a picture of him. When I came back out, here's what I saw...

Steve was in the process of bedding down with the new guest. Huh. Perhaps Mr. Opossum was invited? I can almost picture it - Steve meets Mr. O in the woods. Mr. O is worried about what he'll do for shelter for the winter. Steve, being the friendly and sociable sort, invites him to his home. After all, he once needed a place to stay and was made welcome, why couldn't Mr. O stay too? Plenty of room, plenty of food and water, nice soft beds. 

Hospitality be damned. I decided to see if I could chase him out. I clapped my hands and made a lot of noise. It seemed to be working as he headed towards the propped-open garage door. At the last minute, he doubled back and came back up the other side of the wood pile. Clearly he wanted to stay. Or, perhaps he was confused or disoriented by the bright lights and all my noise. Deciding to go back in the house, I figured that Mr. O would take his leave now that he realized that this was a human dwelling and perhaps not the best place for wild animals, no matter what Steve said. I gave it an hour and went back out. 

Sigh. Now Mr. O was bedded down and actually sleeping on the woodpile. Back in the house to think. What if he had rabies? I couldn't put myself at risk by allowing this to continue. Armed with a broom, I went back out and opened up the garage door the whole way. Pushing as gently as I could, I urged him towards the door. Finally deciding to show me his teeth, he went out only because he really had no other choice, because he sure didn't want to go. Closing the door completely for the first time since Steve came, I decided he could be locked in at night until a cat door could be installed. 

Hopefully he won't show all his woodland friends how to use it.

screech owl

I've been hearing an owl calling in the woods, finally looked it up, and found out it's a screech owl. Here is a link to a YouTube video that sounds exactly like what I've been listening to.