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!

The Fleet's First Toadlet to Toad

I can't put into words how excited I am to be able to show you the pictures of a toad that just 26 days ago was a newly laid egg.
    
It's mid afternoon, an overcast day.  Temperature is in the low 80's.  I'm standing on the bridge with my granddaughter when she exclaimed, "look grampa, it's a toad!"  Sure enough this brand new toad had just crawled out of the pond and was resting on a rock, the water trail still showing it's short trek.  

I ran (well, walked really fast) to the house and got my camera.  I passed it on to Becca and she started snapping pictures.   

I've read a lot of accounts of people having toads in their ponds and don't recall any reports of seeing a toad emerge from the pond.  Everything I've read is either it's a tadpole or it's a toad and nothing about the transition day.  I believe this it the first time this creature crawled out of the pond onto terra firma... OK, onto a rock. 

Enjoy the pictures I believe are of a rarely witnessed event.  

This little guy is about an inch long, maybe a little less, from nose to the end of it's tail.