Makeover for Alejandro F.

Frogs have a tough life. They are challenged in the brain department. They get bad press about warts (it isn't true). They are picked on by herons.  People raise them so they can to eat their legs.   Finally and aptly, I might add, they carry the reputation that it ain't easy being green and I can vouch for that as everytime I've been green it wasn't easy either.

With the above in mind it's time to give this selfless pond watering icon a little pazazz. Spice up his life a little. Update the look to be more 21st century. Make GREEN be SEEN! Now is the time for frog lovers everywhere to cast your eyes on the he/she of frogs! Can you spell M.A.K.E.O.V.E.R. boys and girls? I just knew you could.  Alejandro F. is changing from a mousy wall-flower into a pimp looking, cross dressing, s/he frog. We're make'n this spitter the most brassy, bawdy and lecherous look'n frog for miles and miles around. When you see her makeover pics you will wonder how this colorless creature turned into such a gewgaw.

For inspiration we used the cheerful loving frog icon doing the dance in the upper left corner of this very blog. Add a little inspiration, some paint... well a lot of paint, a little time and you get the new and improved Alejandro F. like you never thought s/he could be or would be.

This is a radical deviation from the usual conservative, creature loving blog both of you fans have become accustomed to seeing.  Grab a large rock so you don't get blown away!!!

NOW a dopey poem and pictures introducing:

The NEW Alejandro F.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Hobos and tramps,

Crosseyed mosquitos,

Bowlegged ants.

I've come to present a miracle indeed,

This story is crazy ~ hard to believe,

Pull up a chair get some coffee or tea,

It’s about Alejandro when he was naïve.

 

His sexuality was in question at first,

The name calling is what hurt him the worst,

When he discovered his feminine side,

He wouldn’t admit it ~ he wanted to hide.

Day in and day out his water did flow,

To fill the pond when the level was low,

But all the time his mind was perplexed,
Am I boy am I girl ~ just what is my sex.

Then came opportunity to aver sexual attraction,

He remembered a picture of Bourbon Street action,

Boys looked like girls she thought that was neat,

Being woman is better as they are so sweet.

It’s time for the makeover we’ve heard all about,

Color and style this frog will soon sprout,

Be boy or be girl we still can not say,

I think it’s for sure that this frog is gay.

Some color was needed from lip to tail,
And color she got using putty knife and pail,
Red lips ~ painted nails she does now sport,
Gems across her back of the unusual sort.

Now she looks like this blogs icon painted,
Surprising to me that no one has fainted,
She’s a bit of the gaudy but now true to herself,
An icon she is and I was happy to help.

From pink nails and fancy eye lashes to those sensuous lips and
of course the rubies, diamonds and unusual gems down her back.
Oh what a change... dahling!

Whoohoo!!!

Icing on the pond

I stood by the window looking at the backyard.  It looks cold... according to my thermometer it was cold. There was ice on the pond. 

My mind drifted to Leo the leopard frog.  We first met Leo in the early fall.  As with most creatures he just showed up one day.  As the weather cooled it became obvious that Leo was looking for a place to spend the winter.  He started nesting in a flower pot that was half submerged in the pond but after a week or so he gave that up and we found him in our raised garden.  I guess he didn’t like that either as he was later found under a rock near the waterfall I call Joe’s Station.

This is Leo the Leopard Frog.

As we prepared for the coming winter we seemed to scare Leo from his winter haven enough times that we thought he had moved to another yard as he was no where to be found. 

One fall day I was cleaning the pond.  My task this particular day was to remove string algae that was growing under the waterfalls.  I stopped the flow of water and then with a trash bucket, bottle of diluted bleach, scrub brush and knee pads I got to the task at hand.  I would remove the bulk of the algae by hand and then spray the remaining algae with the bleach solution only using the scrub brush for particularly stubborn Algae Klingons (aren’t all Klingons stubborn?).

I was just about finished and was spraying the bleach solution on the rocks to zap any algae I had not seen… the is a common military tactic when you can’t see the enemy.  Just spray the area with bullets, in my case the bullets were the bleach solution. 

I was spraying away without a care in the world when much to my surprise out came Leo from under one of the waterfall flat-stones.  He didn’t crawl out in typical frog fashion.  No sir, he came out of there like he was being chased by frog dogs (similar to pit bulls).  Now, if your not familiar with bejesus your lucky.  I’m sorry to report that I’m all too familiar with bejesus as I get it scared out of me at least 3 times a year… sometimes more than that.  I’m surprised I even have any bejesus left inside me!  This was one of those bejesus moments. 

Everyone has experienced bejesus moments.  Something happens and you jump and/or do a dance and/or scream and/or wet your pants… all this in the instant before you realize your not going to die.  Then you immediately look around to see if anyone saw you in your bejesus expulsion moment.  Then you can’t help but laugh at yourself.  I’ve actually laughed so hard at times I’ve fallen to the ground… partly because I did such a dopey thing and partly because I didn’t really die.

I can’t accurately tell you what all I did in this particular bejesus moment.  I did jump.  I did gasp.  I did drop my bleach bottle (it floated).  I did say a dirty word.  I did look to see if anyone saw me having a bejesus expulsion moment on the rocks.  I did laugh at myself.

Apparently I sprayed poor Leo with the bleach solution and that must have stung.  I would have undone the dirty deed if I could but once done…

Leo swam around the skimmer pond for a few minutes and then crawled under Alejandro F’s rock to wait for me to get away from his pond.

Not long after I left I saw Leo crawl back between some flat-stones under the waterfall. 

So as I stood at the window looking at the backyard I got to thinking about Leo and hope’n his winter sleep was going well.  That his antifreeze was working OK.  I pictured this frozen leopard frog safely tucked under the rocks waiting for the spring thaw.  It’s another one of nature’s amazing feats.  Frogs will freeze solid and then emerge unharmed when they thaw out.  Isn’t that just so cool? 

That’s what I was thinking about as I gazed out the window and saw ice on the pond.  It brought a smile to my face.

Whoohoo!!

Thanksgiving

About 10 years ago, when living on the Texas coast, we joined our neighbors for the traditional thanksgiving turkey.  It was a block party type of thing and our neighbor had cooked 2 huge turkeys.  The problem I have with thanksgiving is I hate turkey!  It seems almost un-American to admit I can’t stand the bird, but it is what it is.  In an effort not to offend our neighbor who had worked so very hard in preparing the birds I accepted a helping of turkey.  For me the good news was there were more of us for the thanksgiving feast than there were chairs at the table so I was able to move out to the deck with my meal.  The deck was adjacent the intercostal waterway.  I decided the best way to dispose of the huge helping of turkey was, rather than eat it, feed it to the fish.  When I had the opportunity I tossed the turkey over the rail into the water.  Apparently the seagulls noticed and considered it a thanksgiving offering.  First one swooped down to pluck a small piece of meat from the water.  Then another and another.  Then every seagull for 50 miles seemed to join in the celebration.  The seagulls were loving their thanksgiving meal so much they started squawking and jabbering and generally making a hell of a racket.  Then the dog next door started barking and making a ruckus.  Within minutes there were gulls sitting on the roof of the house, the deck railing, the deck furniture and flying about… these guys were everywhere.

The noise and commotion attracted the attention of our host and hostess and they came to the deck to see what was going on.  Seeing some turkey floating in the water it was quite obvious what had attracted the gulls.  The host asked who lost their turkey.  I felt obliged to step up to the yokelish behavior.  I told them I tripped on the deck and part of my meal, the turkey, fell into the water.

The host and hostess, being well mannered, inquired if I was hurt while looking me in the eye to see if I was on drugs or possibly drunk.  I assured them I was fine and they returned to the house.  The hostess came back on the deck moments later with a plate of turkey and proceeded to refill my plate with a new helping.  Geez, now what was I going to do?

I pondered my dilemma surrounded by seagulls that were just waiting for an opportunity for seconds.  Hundreds of beady black eyes were watching my every move.  I started second guessing myself wondering why I didn’t just fess up to not liking turkey.  It seemed too late to do that now since I was already on my second helping.

I decided to try the obvious and eat some of the turkey.  I took a bite.  Aw man, this was terrible.  It was dry and it tasted like… like turkey.  Ugh, what to do.  In desperation I decided to “doctor” the turkey and went into the house and found some gravy.  I ladled a healthy serving onto the turkey and returned to the deck.  I started to take another bite when I noticed these chunks of stuff in the gravy.  Aw man, giblets.  This was getting sickening.  I was doubting that even the seagulls would eat this.  NOW what was I going to do?

I decided the problem was not insurmountable and to resolve this issue without actually eating the turkey would require a little planning and stealth.  I needed to think.  I thought what I needed was a dog.  Considering the amount of turkey on my plate I might possibly need more than one… Chihuahua's need not apply.  I sauntered over to the fence and leaned against it with my plate in hand.  I sampled the potatoes and picked at the cranberry sauce.  I tapped the fence with the heal of my shoe to see if I could attract the dog that lived next door, hopefully he was still in the yard.  A few moments later my ears heard the dog sniffing at the fence.  I turned to face the fence and scooped the turkey from my plate and over the fence it went.  Immediately the seagulls took flight and the dog started barking again.  I’m thinking a barking dog isn’t eating turkey slathered in giblet gravy.  I’m also thinking I needed to do something about my hand with gravy dripping from it and I was making a small mess on the deck.  Where was my napkin?
 
I couldn’t see over the fence but I could clearly hear the dog barking as it obviously ran around the yard chasing away the invading seagulls.  The ruckus decibel level rose higher and higher and I just stood there with a gravy dripping from my hand wishing, praying the noise would stop. 

Enter the host and hostess.  They once again are trying to see what is making such a ruckus on the deck.  I stuck my gravy hand behind my back, my foot over the drips on the deck and casually leaned against the fence.  Seeing the commotion was next door their interest waned.  They inquired of me if I had any idea what was going on in their neighbors yard.  I told them I didn’t know but maybe the birds discovered the dog food and were helping themselves.  They agreed that could be the cause and excused themselves and returned to the house.  I don’t think they believed me.

The calamity didn’t continue for much longer and once the turkey was eaten (an assumption on my part) the birds as well as the dog were quiet but still watching for seconds… or thirds if you will.

I found a faucet and rinsed off my gravy hand and went into the house, disposed of my now mostly clean plate, and joined the others.  I took a seat on the couch and was watching football on television.  After a while I got up to find something to drink and to my horror I saw a splotch of gravy on the couch… right where I had been sitting.  Aw Geez, when I hid my hand behind my back over by the fence I must have got gravy all over my pants.  Now what was I going to do?

The stress was about to give me a heart attack.  Twice I was nearly caught dumping that awful turkey and now I had left a gravy stain on their couch and I knew I had to have gravy on my backside.  Oh if I had only declined the turkey and been honest from the get-go.

Well, no one was paying attention to me so I once again sauntered out to the deck but this time I just kept sauntering and walked around the house, down the street and into my own place.  I closed the door behind me and locked it.  I removed my pants and shirt.  I put on comfortable shorts and a t-shirt, then fixed me a peanut butter sandwich and read a book.

This year, I considered fixing the birds that frequent our yard some turkey and giblet gravy as a reminder to myself what happens when you try to fit in with the crowd… that is the turkey eating crowd.  Then it dawned on me that these were not seagulls in our yard and they would probably just enjoy some extra seed.  They wouldn’t even pretend to eat turkey.  They got seed and I’m having steak.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!!!  Whoohoo.

What Ever Happened to What’s-his-name?

One or both of my blog fans may have noticed that I’ve been away from the grind of writing about frogs, toads, birds and what other things may pass even close to my mind… sometimes resulting is a grazing wound and sometimes a direct hit.  Usually a complete miss.  Back to the point at hand, what ever happed to what’s-his-name? You know, that really hilarious guy who authors this blog?

Not to worry my fan or other fan.  I’m back.  That’s the good news and the bad news is winter is creap’n in the back door like a drunk husband at 3 in the morning.  Quietly but not that quietly.  The point being is we all know that with short days and freezing temperatures the only pond news worth a read is usually a disaster of some sort.

I’m just going to make a few administrative announcements here and then I’ll retire to silly computer games.

The guy who owned the local pond store, The Lily Pad, has gone out of business.  I’m really sorry to see him go as he was a straight shooter for the most part although a bit over priced.  On the other hand, I do feel some blame on his going out of business.  That would be all the free pumps I’ve got from him.  Until my current pump none have lasted more than about 12 months.  When you buy a pump with a 2 year replacement warranty you expect those pumps to last 2 years and 1 day.  The ones I got didn’t last half that time and so I got a new pump every year… that can’t be good for business.  My current pump is just over a year old and I’m getting nervous that it will last the 2 years and 1 day and thus recoup all lost money in one fell swoop.  He also would be jumping for joy to know that the 10,000/hour pump has not moved this winter and may be dead but I haven’t drained the skimmer pond to service it… maybe in the spring.  So here’s to you Lily Pad Jim, you’ve been replace by a tattoo parlor.

The other reason I’ve been away is I took a trip to Minnesota.  I know most of you think that is a very small coke or pepsi but it is in fact one of the states of this here United States.  It is the 32nd state and been that since 1858.  A fact you may not be aware of is Minnesota has the northern most land in the US not counting Alaska.  I know you don’t believe that but check it out (Lake of the Woods, MN).

I was in Minnesota as a caregiver for my son who is at the Mayo Clinic for a triple transplant – heart, liver and kidney.  He has not had the transplant yet but we are hopeful that organs will become available (a tragedy for some other family) soon and he will be made whole again.  When this happens he will be the 10th person in the USA to receive this type of transplant.

Upon my return to Colorado to supervise ‘Ol Man Winter’s arrival  I was given the exciting news that a Sharp-shinned Hawk as been making frequent visits to our yard and was observed actually chasing birds into and out of the trees.  I of course missed the action.  Rest assured I’m on watch now and if any hawks made an entrance I will report it in the very blog.

While this post isn’t particularly funny or enlightening and not even a picture it has served it’s purpose to let you know I’m here and back on the job.

Whoohoo y’all

Pampas Grass and Birds

In early September I wrote, in this very same blog, about our pampas grass.  It was flowering then and would soon go to seed (click here to go there).  As winter begins to overcome fall the grass has in fact gone to seed.  I wanted to post a couple of pictures of the birds enjoying the grass seed.  So without further ado...

I haven't counted the birds but it seems an attractive place to hang out.  Some of these guys
enjoy the grass seed over the seed in the bird feeder.



In the upper right of this photo there is a bird coming in for a landing... note his landing gear is almost fully
deployed as he banks to his right on final approach.

The birds don't seem bothered when another bird comes along and lands on a stalk making it bend down appreciably and then when one leaves the stalk will zing upright in a catapult fashion and the birds just hold on for the ride.  Maybe the actually enjoy the ride... I would.  It's fun to watch.

Whoohoo!

Sticky Flies

On the news this morning the weather man was warning about the first FROST of the season.  It's predicted to happen this weekend on both Saturday and Sunday mornings.  While that isn't technically freezing weather it sure is a sign that Old Man Winter is look'n in our direction.

He, Old Man Winter that is, sent a reminder just a couple of days ago with driving rain and wind gusts that bent the trees to the point I thought they would break.  It was a sudden event.  It seemed the rain and wind happened at the same time, the lightening and thunder followed with a grand display.  We had potted plants blow over and even a 2 foot pot blew into the pond (deep end of course).  The whole thing was exciting.  Mother Nature always has impressed me with her power, be it displayed in the guise of Old Man Winter or when we were heeled over 35 degrees in our 40 foot, 10 ton sailboat (a chaos moment for sure).

Mother Nature also has a few other tricks, one of which is sticky flies!  These are the flies that forget they are supposed to be cautious around creatures as big as me.  They land on you without fear of death.  It happens every fall in these parts and they drive me nuts.  They will land on your leg and you shoo them away and they are back in less than a second.  You keep shoo'n them and they keep come'n back.  I've had them fly right into my face like they couldn't see me.  This never happens in the summer but in the fall they turn stupid and, as we refer to them... sticky. 

I've developed a theory about this event.  It's wrong but appeals to me.  Most every creature imaginable is programmed to reproduce and flies are no exception.  So imagine flies fly'n around and suddenly have a eureka moment when they realize it's getting later in the year and these eggs they're pack'n around need to be layed... pronto.  They start looking around for dead bodies, rotting garbage or a nice pile of dog-do and become frantic when they find nothing available.  If I were a fly I would panic as fall approached if I were carry'n around a load of eggs and no place to lay 'em.  So they spy this warm body in the form of, yep... me.  Being desperate they rationalize that I'm really a dead body and thus land on me with the intent of laying their eggs.  While I may smell a bit I'm certainly not even close to being dead... anyway, in their desperate search for a way to fulfill their natural need to reproduce they morf into Sticky Flies.... maybe I should call them stupid flies. 

Just last week I was fix'n to BBQ some ribs.  I had the fire going and opened the lid and this stupid sticky fly cruised right into the BBQ and burned to a crisp.  While I didn't detect any adverse flavor to the ribs it struck me how depressed they little guys were to actually commit suicide.  Burning, what a terrible way to go.

Whoohoo

Helianthus Annuus

It was just about a year ago this month that we were talking with the folks at one of the orchards that sells their bounty to us city slickers.  Ginger, being ever interested in plants, asked them about some plants growing by the side of the road.  They told us they were Helianthus.  We had never heard of them.

They explained that each year, sometime after the first hard freeze, they would cut the plants down to the ground.  In the spring they would sprout and grow to 6 - 8 feet and then, in the fall, produce an abundant number of sunflowers.  A very hardy plant with very pretty flowers.

They offered to split some roots and give them to us.  We accepted with the understanding that we would have to wait until after the first hard freeze, that would probably be November.

In November we returned and they dug up a plant and chopped the root ball into a couple of pieces. 
Tossing them in a box they instructed us to take them home, dig a hole, drop one of the sections in the hole and cover it with dirt.  In the spring when they sprouted make sure we watered them often as they liked "wet feet."

We did as instructed. Sure enough, to our happy surprise they sprouted in the spring.  Late this summer they started to develop buds then just about a week ago they started to flower. 

We are very pleased with this tough and beautiful Helianthus annuus.

The subject flowers are pictured center next to the back fence... Yea, the yellow ones.

I think this is just pretty as a picture... so to speak.

As it turns out, Helianthus Annuus is genus for any number of sunflowers.  Go ahead, Google it!

Whoohoo.

3rd Shift Goldfish

If you've been paying attention then you know I introduced 5 goldfish to the pond on September 16.  These were decent sized goldfish measuring at least 6 inches long.  Once release into the pond they swam around a bit and within an hour had disappeared.

We figured they were probably a bit timid in their new digs and after a couple of days would come out of hiding and become part of our backyard circus.

Not a chance.  Not one sighting on Friday or Saturday or Sunday... where were these guys.  I started thinking something terrible was wrong with my pond water and they had died.  I checked the skimmer each day but no fish bodies showed up. I tossed a little food in the pond and it just floated over the waterfall.  I didn't know what had happened but I was sure something bad had happened.

On Monday I went back to "The Lily Pad" pond store where I bought the fish and was telling the owner my concerns.  He asked if I had found any fish floating up-side-down.  I told him no.  He said that was a good sign.  He told me that sometimes when fish are introduced to a new environment they hide in the rocks during the day but will come out at night.  He suggested that I get up early some morning, grab my flashlight, quietly approach the pond, shine the light into the pond and if the fish Gods have been look'n out for these guys I would see some of them swimming around.

The thought did cross my mind that he could have been sending me on a snipe hunt.  He was that kinda guy.  I decided to throw caution to the wind (it was 4:30 in the morning for cry'n out loud... who would see me?) and Tuesday morning, day 5 after fish introduction to the pond.  I got up early, grabbed the flashlight and off I went in search of the elusive (snipe) goldfish.

Well color me orange and call me Goldie.  I immediately saw 2 fish cruising around the pond.  It was just like the guy had predicted and I've never been on a snipe hunt that was successful either.

I'm relieved they are okay.  I'm wondering what I have to do to get them to make an appearance during the day.  My theory is the water is cold, 62 degrees, and thus they aren't needing much in the way of food.  Once the water warms into the 70's I expect they will be happy to take a handout.  When they get hungry I'll have a tool to get their schedule so we can see them from time to time.  At least that's the current plan.  It will also help once the August algae clears... it's getting there but maybe another couple of weeks.

Now I just need to figure out how the fish and the toadlets can get along next summer.  I've read that toads taste bad... hope so for their sake.

Whoohoo.

Lily Planting

I told you in my previous post that we had planted lilies in the bridge pond.  When we did that I wasn't able to take pictures for the most part because I was up to my arm pits in pond water. 

As luck(?) would have it I decided to purchase another lily pad plant and did just that early this afternoon.  My granddaughter was over today after school and we recruited her to be the photographer and I would be the pond plant planter with Ginger there for moral support and to hand me the lily plant.

Without further ado, I present the pictures of lily:


With a little luck this stinky mass of muck and roots will grow lily pads
to grace the surface to the bridge pond.



I don my "ectomy" gloves so the stink of the lily mud and muck doesn't
stick to my hands.  Note, Ginger doesn't care what her hands smell like!
She probably washes her hands. ;) 





Get'n down and dirty with the lily.  I had removed rocks to make a "bed" for the
root mass and then put some rocks on top of it so it wouldn't float to the surface.




Another successful job completed said the guy with the smurf hands.

  Whoohoo.

Pond Additions

I received a letter in the mail last week stating the local pond store, "The Lily Pad," was closing it's doors because of the slowing economy.  When I talked to the owner today he told me a local nursery was going to take on the sales and service of pond paraphernalia. 

It's a good news, bad news story for me.  You see, I liked the guy who owned the business and I'm really sorry to see him go, but on the other hand, I really like the local nursery and glad there will still be a reputable business taking care of the needs of people who own ponds. 

Part of the The Lily Pad closing process is the need to get rid of inventory.  Would you believe they are having a "going out of business" sale?  Yep, and this week it's 25% off everything in the store.  Next week on Monday and Tuesday it will be 50% off.  Closed on Wednesday.  On Thursday and Friday it's 70% off or best offer.

So in the name of good consumerism Ginger and I went to the pond store just to look around and see what they still had.  I was surprised that a whole bunch of stock had already been sold.  Then we saw all the fish and the pond plants and I guess got a little caught-up in the moment and bought 5 fish and 6 plants.  

Two of the plants we bought are, hopefully, going to be lily pads starting in the spring.  I had to wade into the pond (it was pretty cool to my 'ol legs), remove some rocks on the bottom, put this mass of roots and stinky mud in the hole and cover with enough rocks to keep it from floating to the surface.  It was a bit challenging as the pond hasn't recovered from "algae August" (lots of algae in the water due to warm water and sun, you'll see the "green water" in the pictures below) and I couldn't see what I was doing.  At least nothing bit me.

The rest of the plants were either in pots or just bare roots that were placed in the rocks.  They will secure themselves as the roots grow.  We're hoping there is enough growing season left for them to secure themselves before they give it up for the winter.

Below are pictures of the plants (sans the lily's) as well as the fish before we released them. 

WhooHoo!

Toadlet Sighting!

It was Wednesday, September 8 when Ginger saw some movement out of the corner of her eye.  She thought it was a leaf at first but then realized it was a tiny toadlet.  The little guy was in the front yard doing whatever these little guys do.  I was able to capture him and get a close look but have to report he wasn't wearing his name tag so I don't know which one he was.

I got a few pictures.  He was very small.  I would guess about 1 1/4 inches from lips to butt. 

We also got a report from a neighbor that a "huge" toad was sitting on the sidewalk in front of our house on this same day at sunset.  She first thought it was a rock and was going to kick it.  Lucky for both of them she realized it wasn't a rock.  She was grossed out to find a toad on the sidewalk.  "Euuwwww" was how she described it.  These toads better watch out if they don't get steped on or kicked a B-52 (blue heron) may swoop down and relieve them of their lives while enjoying them for a snack.

I just love it when the Toad Daddy runs into one of his own.

Whoohoo.

First Hawk of the 2010 Fall Season

I won't argue with you about when fall actually starts.  In fact I'll even concede that it's still summer.  That's nothing but calendar stuff just like daylight saving time... smoke.  The real indicator of fall is when the summer temperatures start to fade from our memories, the trees and plants start to cycle down and when the hawks start dropping by in an effort to reduce the bird population.

We had our first (observed) hawk earlier this week, Tuesday I believe, around noon.  S/he was a beauty and luckily I got a few pictures of this majestic creature before Alejandro F. started filling the pond scaring the hawk away.

Here are three of the pictures I was lucky enough to get.  Not bad are they.

So what kind of hawk is this?  I don't know for sure.  My first thought was a "sharp-shinned hawk" but I read in my Peterson Field Guide that they have red eyes.  As you can clearly see, this beauty has the nicest blue eyes.  I like the color.

We, Ginger and I, figured it was either a Cooper's Hawk or a Harrier Hawk, and definitely a juvenile.  A query to a friend in Denver who queried a friend in Denver report they think it is a Juvenile Cooper's Hawk.  So that's the story and I'm stick'n with it.

Whoohoo.

First Sign of Fall

It seems too early in the year to be seriously talking about fall but it appears to be sneak'n in the back door.  The things that make the fall season are varied and plentiful.  There is football, lower temperatures, if your growing garlic it has to be in the ground soon, school is back in session, every tomato in the whole world becomes ripe, snow starts to fall in the mountains, Charlie Brown doesn't kick the football, migrating birds start head'n south, The Chase starts in NASCAR, the clocks FALL back when daylight saving time is suspended, the Fall Lineup begins on television, you can't find any shorts or tank-tops in Wal-Mart, it's dark when you finish dinner and it's dark when you get out of bed in the morning, you see squirrels but no acorns, trick or treaters, the Fall Harvest comes in, mosquitoes disappear, it's chilly or maybe even cold in the shade, pumpkins start showing up in the store, it takes more hot water for a comfortable shower, the air conditioning is replaced by the heater, you blow out your sprinkler system, the hawks return to our backyard, space heaters start appearing under desks, sweaters, Granny Smith apples are in season, long pants, there are no more Farmer's Market sales, finally the leaves on the trees change color before falling to earth... then it's winter.

A fall leaf stuck in the waterfall.

Pampas Grass Flowers

This is the time of year when the pampas grass flowers and goes to seed.  The birds will begin to feed on these seeds in late September until the seeds are gone.  The reward for these wonderful people who planted the pampas grass is also this time of year when our eyes fall on the feathery flowers.

The afternoon sun shines onto the flowers.  The result is sometimes stunning outlines and highlights of the flowers. 

This pampas grass is a tall native to southern South America.  This includes, are you ready, the pampas for which it is named.  Can you imagine.  The grass in our yard will grow to about 7 feet.  In the temperate climates of California, Hawaii and parts of Spain it is considered an invasive weed.  One mans weed is another mans flower... or something like that.  We like our pampas grass and don't consider it a weed.

In any case, here are a few pictures of our pampas grass that have caught our eye.

Want to see for yourself?  Well come on over.

Whoohoo!

Gorgeous Gourds

With all this talk about the gourd I bought and it's flash to oblivion, I thought it might be inspiring to tell you, quickly, what happened to the seeds I retrieved from that now vaporized gourd. 
When I drilled a hole in the gourd it was for bird access.  Since the birds didn't enter the gourd I guess the hole I put was actually for the wasp's to enter... or it could be, I suppose, the access point for the propane torch. Take your pick. Let's move on.

I drilled a hole in the dried gourd and dumped out all the dried detritus.  Most of what would have been pulp when the gourd was "green" was now nothing more than a whitish powder and some hard stuff that resembles the walls of a spaceship I saw on the sci-fi channel.  In addition to the detritus there were gourd seeds about the size of sunflower seeds with the husks intact.  I put the seeds in a cup and presented them to she who has a green thumb, Ginger.

This spring Ginger planted some of those seeds in the planter boxes you can see in the picture below.  They had a rough start as there were creatures in the soil that liked to eat baby gourds.  Once discovered they were short work for the man with the poison sprayer... yep, that would be me, your most humble author.

So now we're into late summer and the gourd vine has been struggling during the summer months.  But as things start to cool and the days become shorter the vine growth took off and there are gourds sprouting everywhere.  The vine is just growing like a weed and it had best hurry because it's running out of time.  The gourds are growing so fast we can see a marked difference in them each day.

Female flower.  You can tell by
the sensous curves and full body.

I did learn the gourd has male and female flowers.  The males fertilize the females and then the females produce the fruit/gourd (parents feel free to use this post as an introduction to sex education).  I also learned that sometimes when you take seeds directly from a gourd those seeds produce a plant that is called a "mule."  The "mule" doesn't produce fruit... the plant is sterile like a "mule" (I know parents, we're quickly going over your head... feel free to ask little Johnny to explain about mules).

Male flower, standing erect.

By the end of July when we didn't have any baby gourds and were fearful that we had a sterile (mule) plant.  We just were not patient enough as now the gourds are popping up all over the plant.  All this time has passed since spring when we planted the gourd seeds and just now they are getting around to producing fruit.  This plant was spending the whole summer getting ready for the sprint to the finish line, hopfully beating the freeze.

So with these home grown gourds literally coming to fruition I have to start planning what I'm going to do with them.  I have considered making a bird house out of one but might let that idea pass because of the problem described in the previous post.

I know, this is a great idea!  I'll send them out as Christmas presents this year.  I'm sure all the grandkids will love them and probably like the gourds better than the check we usually send.  Yea, I like that idea.

Since we'll be harvesting before Thanksgiving we can make gourd pies.  Heck, pumpkin is part of the gourd family... why not our gourds?

Oh my, what a season it's going to be.  Gourd pie, gourd Christmas presents. I'll save a special pair of gourds, paint them and give them to Ginger and call 'em maracas.  She'll be happier with home grown maracas than that white fox coat I bought her some years ago... I'm sure she will love 'em.

Oh I love it when a plan comes together.

Anyone wanting a gourd just let me know, we'll have plenty.

Whoohoo!

Who is Living in the GBN?

In the previous post I told you about my gourd.  The drying process and painting... all that stuff.  This is what happened to the gourd turned bird nest (GBN).

In the spring, with the GBN sorta securely mounted atop a 10 foot copper pipe I was now ready for the birds to make it a home rather than just a gourd on a pipe.  I waited and waited. I never saw a single bird even approach the gourd.  For some reason the birds were not attracted to the gourd as a home... or anything else for that matter.  All spring and most of the summer I waited... the birds were having nothing to do with that gourd.

Then, about 2 or 3 weeks ago I noticed wasps coming in and out of the gourd. I hate wasps. I broke out the handy-dandy yellow and black can of wasp killing foam spray. I planned my exit route with care, just in case I had to run from incensed, angry wasps. The back door to the house was unlocked and the gate to the front yard was blocked open. That was escape plan A and B respectively. Plan C was to jump in the pond... the deep end if I could remember. Alternatives are a good thing when dealing with wasps... especially when your intentions are of the killing kind.

The can indicated the spray was good from 20 feet. I estimated I was about 15 feet away so I let 'em have it. I sprayed until the foam was bubbling out the entrance. I saw a few wasps floating in the foam, dead.  Those wasps I liked.  I started to breath again. Then the foam started to fall away from the hole and, would you believe, live wasps came flying out of that hole! 

Holy crap Batman... Plan A was immediately implemented. The can of wasp killing spray was dropped and I was slamming the back door behind me before you could say (enter your favorite long word here). Whew! Safe and sound.

It didn't take long for the surviving wasps to settle and get back to their waspy routine. I decided a more direct and aggressive approach was necessary.  Sure.  I reasoned the wasp nest was hanging from the ceiling of the gourd... mostly because it's hard to hang off the floor. I got out my ladder with the intention of spraying the nest from close range. Armed with the foam spray I cautiously climbed toward the den of yellow, stinging, ornery, tenacious as well as just plain mean (when you try to kill 'em) wasps.

I saw the nest and it was one of the biggest I've seen. About 5 or 6 inches across with layers or tiers. Must have been there for a while to get that big. Probably moved in right after I put it up.  I took a few steps back down the ladder so I could jump to the ground without hurting myself (much) if necessary.  Jump, tuck and roll is not at all realistic for this 'ol guy.  I then took aim and sprayed. I definitely was hitting the nest this time and relaxed more each second as spray continued to fill the gourd. With poison dripping from weep holes in the bottom of the gourd I descended and retreated. A little time was necessary to insure the wasps were dead and let my pounding heart return to 60 some beats a minute.

The wasps were dead.  At least the ones that were home when the attack commenced.

Now I've read that even if you kill all the wasps the larvae might still emerge and repopulate the nest.  Have no idea if this is true but the article indicated a fool-proof way to insure total annihilation... burn the nest using a blow torch. 

Well, I didn't have a blow torch but I did have a propane torch that I used for sweating pipes and it makes a really hot flame.  So I removed the gourd from the 10 foot copper pipe and situated it so I could burn the nest thus saving all humanity from the bites and stings of those future ferocious wasps.

I've found that regardless of every action you take with good intentions (if killing wasp babies is consider good intentions) there is the opportunity for a bad reaction equal to, if not worse than, the opposite of the intended action.  That is to say, if you light your torch, stick it in a gourd you will find the oxygen is almost immediately consumed by the fire and the flame goes out... however, this is a key point now, the propane continues to flow from the torch into the gourd.

Since I'm writing this blog you know a few things.  I am alive.  I have my fingers (all 10 including my 4 thumbs).  I know how to vaporize wasp nests as well as gourds.

It was a lot like when Alejandro T exploded.  There wasn't much of him left laying around (see the post here).  You would think a grown man with over 60 years of experience on this world would know better than to fill a gourd with propane and then fire it off like a stick of dynamite.  The explosion wasn't as loud as dynamite but as far as I'm concerned it was like a nuclear bomb.

The gourd was history and the wasp nest actually came out better than the gourd... maybe 'cuz it's a bit more flexible.

I'm no longer concerned about wasps in the gourd nor am I concerned about birds nesting in the gourd.  There is no gourd.  Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.

Whoohoo

Our Gourd Plant

I'm here today to share with you a smidgen of knowledge I acquired this past week.  As is my way, I can't just blurt it out this information but have to tell you the story. This is about the gourd we bought last year.
There are a plethora of gourds.  They come in all sizes, shapes and colors.  Basically a gourd is a fruit with a hard rind and is oft described as the fruit of the vine.  Gourds are associated with pumpkin, squash and cucumber as they are all grown on a vine.  They have seeds inside thus insuring they are, in fact, of the fruit genre.  Gourds are fun things.  When dried their rind becomes hard and can be cut like thin wood, glued, sanded and painted.  They are great for making everything from bird houses to table center pieces.  With a little imagination you can create all kinds of gourd art (click here for some Google images). 

So much for the gourd introduction.  About this time last year I purchased a newly picked gourd.  It was green and full of whatever is inside gourds.  It needed to be dried.  To that end I set it outside on a rock where it would get a lot of sun.  It lived on that rock until December when the single digit temperatures were forecast.  I then moved it to the garage where it spent the winter and some of the spring.  I would turn it from time to time so it was never sure what side was the top and what side the bottom.  This was to prevent rot.

When I could shake the gourd and hear the seeds inside rattle around like maracas it was time to decide what I was going to create.  Would you be surprised if I said I decided on a bird house?  I'm so predictable.

I sanded the hard rind and then painted it a nice light green.  Then I drilled a hole in the front of the gourd to give the birds access.  I used a screwdriver to clean out what I could of the dried interior and dumped the seeds into a plastic cup.  Then I screwed the gourd to a stake, took it to it's new home which was at the top of a 10 foot copper pipe and waited for the birds to make it home.

I could see in my minds eye the little sparrows flitting in and out of the gourd.  The biggest bird house on the lot and it was up for grabs to the first birdy entrepreneur to take the leap of faith to enter the dark hole posing as a entrance but might just as easily appeared to the sparrows as a  "wide mouthed sparrow eater" sitting on top of that 10 foot copper pipe.

Stay tuned for the continuing story about the gourd on top of the 10 foot copper pipe.  It gets better.

Whoohoo.

I Can Name That Frog in 7 Letters

Just when I though we were through with toads and frogs for the season, who shows up?  I didn't know.  He wasn't wearing a name tag.  I did get his picture so maybe you recognize him.

I did find out this frogs clan.  He is a Leopard Frog.  I guess they were naming Leopard Frogs long before they had camouflage clothing as that was my first guess for this guy... a Camouflage Frog.  OK, so your mind doesn't work like mine... we can still be friends.

Ginger noticed him swimming in the skimmer pond gave a holler for me to come see.  I was fortunate enough to get a few pictures before he tired of the attention and took a dive.  Haven't seen him since.

I still find it fascinating that we have all these aquatic creatures in the high desert.

Whoohoo.

All We're Missing is the Earthquake!

For the second time this week we are beset with heavy rain, strong as in very strong wind and a decent lightening storm.

On Monday our little town received the most rain since 1901. It was coming down in sheets and pillowcases. It was raining so hard I had to pull over as I couldn't see past the end of my truck. It was raining so hard I considered taking the boat. It was raining so hard the birds were turning their nests upside down and using them for umbrellas. Ya kinda get'n the idea it was raining hard?

The next day, that would be Tuesday, it was sunny and warm. Wednesday was partly cloudy but still nice.

This morning I woke early to find it was raining. It rained off and on all day. A little sun. A few clouds, Then some rain.. a little sun... My kind of day.

About 2 hours ago the wind started to blow and the rain came down again. I was having flashbacks to Monday. Stuff was flying through the yard and not even stopping to kiss the earth. Plant pots were blown over. The trash cans were rolling around. The tumble weeds were moving so fast if one hit you it would knock you down, not to mention stick you with those nasty nettles. I thought the roof was going to blow off.

And then there was a gift from the winds. A blue tarp blew into our backyard from points south and west. I now own a 4th tarp and never bought a single one.

Guess there was a pony in there somewhere!

Leaving Home for Points Unknown

I'm not sure whether I should call this little creature a toadlet or a baby toad. For the last couple of days I've wanted to capture one of the ever dwindling number of toadlets just to see how they've changed. Yesterday I only saw one toadlet and he was so shy I couldn't get him into the net. Today I was prepared to spend some time trying to capture one as there aren't going to be many more chances this year.

I approached the pond stealthily. I snuck up to the edge and spied a toadlet on a rock about 8 inches deep. I slowly lowered the net so as not to spook the little critter. As the net got closer and closer I went slower and slower. The net was within inches of my target when he zipped down into the murky water. For my purposes that was a one way trip as he was not to return while I was around.

I was about to give up as I couldn't see anymore toadlets when I noticed what I thought was a water spider or maybe just a drowning bug schooch'n around on the surface. I dipped the net into the pond and lifted him out. Lo and behold it was the toad you see below. I guess he got his new lungs filled with air and then didn't know how to dive when the big giant approached.

This guy is so tiny.  I measured my thumb nail from quick to tip and it is exactly 5/8 of an inch.  Our brand new toad is smaller than that, maybe 1/2 inch.

His tail is just a bump on his rump.  If it was still there he would be an inch long, give or take.  The picture (left) is blurry for which I apologize.  My granddaughter isn't here to take the pictures.  You can, however, get a real good idea how small these guys are.

This picture (right) was the only other one that was not so blurry that you could see the toad.  He sure looks lonely sitting on the net. 

Right after this picture was taken he jumped out of the net onto the table.  I was quite concerned he might jump off the table and that would have been a 4 foot leap to the ground.  He doesn't look like superman to me and luckily I was able to get him back in the net before he tried to leap tall tables in a single bound.  I promptly put him back in the pond where he floated on the surface.  I moved him to the shore and he was happy to latch onto a familiar rock.

There probably won't be any more pictures of this years fleet.  If we are lucky enough to spot any toads in the flower bed I'll make an effort to get a picture and report about it in the blog.  I think we are about done with toadlets (pondlets?) and will be looking at the waning of summer in the next 3 to 5 weeks, then into the shorter days of fall.

Whoohoo!