Oliental Lily

This is the coming out of our "Oliental Lily's."  These are more of the seasonal blooms that take place in the spring.  I just wanted to share :)

Whoohoo!!

Bullitoad #2011-1

I've been watching the area in the pond where the eggs were laid.  As I stated in my previous post some did not hatch and I was thinking most were doomed.  It has been cold and rainy and that clearly has had an impact on the speed of the eggs maturing into toadpoles.

Every here and there I would see the wiggle of a tail on these little eighth-inch long creatures.  This was nothing like we saw in previous years.

While awaiting the outcome of these newly procreated (or is that procreants) toad minnows the algae has been growing like there is not tomorrow.  Maybe the algae didn't get the memo that the world was NOT going to end on Saturday, May 21.  Regardless of the reason the algae is way out of control and the pond is getting kind of green. 

I was counting on the pollywog's to emerge en masse and start eating the algae.  So I decided I needed to decide what I was going to do.  I figured I had two choices; 1. Let the pond go as is and hope the little creatures get with the program and start eating or 2. Administer the magic chemicals to the water and clear up the algae but possibly kill any toadlets that have hatched.

I'm here to tell you the toadlets won.  No chemicals... at least not yet.  I took my net and stirred up the water in the area where the eggs had been laid.  I was quite surprised to see lots of future toads swimming in the eddies I created. 

It was a warm day today so maybe we're past the "I'm too cold to move" stage and we can get on with growing up... and eating algae.

So that's the news from Red Tail Ridge today. 

More bullitoads as these guys get on with the program.

Think LIFE!  Yea!!!

Whoohoo!!!

Doad Taddy

That title doesn't say Toad Daddy... This is a good news bad news story.

Last week I wrote about procreation and becoming a toad daddy... lots of whoohoo's and yee-haw's.  It would appear, however, the first batch of eggs are not going to hatch.  The eggs are still there but I see no movement inside.  I inspected a few eggs up close on Saturday and believe there is no life there.  The eggs were limp and black with very little substance to them.

On a positive note, I have seen movement coming from the batch of eggs of the second pairing that closely resembles the flipping of a toadpole's tail.  So a lot of Whoo and a little Boo. 

This has been the coldest May since I've lived in Grand Junction and the temperature has a definite correlation to the length of time it takes between the laying of the eggs and hatching.  It also affects the growth of the pollywogs... warmer is faster.

In regard to the batch of "dead" eggs; I'm thinking there are but two possibilities that may have caused this apparent non-event.
1.  The first male frog has taken advantage of Obama Care on a trial basis and was sterilized because he is way too ugly and thus shouldn't mate, plus... he doesn't vote.
or
2.  The chemicals I used to knock down the algae are affecting the egg maturation.  The warnings on the AlgaeFix container stated it did not hurt plants or fish.  I realize toads and toad eggs are neither of these but I thought it safe to use.

One last thought to keep in mind.  In review of my comments in the past two years about the toad eggs and toadlets it appears to this Toad Daddy that I'm pretty dog-gone pessisimistic in consideration of the toughness of toad eggs and the resulting wogpoles.  Mama Nature has been at this a lot longer than I've been watching so I should leave her to do her business.  On the other hand... do you think she has heard of AlgaeFix?

Stay tuned for bullitoads (bulletins/toads).

Bhoohoo

Iris

The Iris is a glorious flower.

I am warm
from your touch:

Flower ~ Eye
Body ~ Body
Creature ~ God

We are all Warm.

by: Charles Paisley


Spring!  The awakening!  Feel it! Sing IT!  BE IT!!!

Whoohoo!!!

Columbine

This year is the first year we have planted the Colorado state flower.  Our first flower has made it's entrance and a beauty she is. 

Colorado state flower: The Columbine

Hopefully this is only the first of many dainty columbine flowers.  I guess I'm kind of goofy as there is something about the first flower that's new to us... it's just a little extra special. 

Whoohoo!!

Step 3 1/2 of Procreate ~ Toads

Just when you thought it safe to let the kids play outside we find 2 more toads who have heard about the procreate song and dance.  Thus this post is labeled: Step 3 1/2.  I'll not bore you with additional details mostly because I don't have any more information to give you.  I'll show you the picture's so you can rest assured these are new contributors and thus a little mix'n it up in the gene pool... or pond.

These toads clearly have different markings than the pair in the previous post.

Some of you may wonder just how is it I can recognize one pair of toads from another.  I have to confess I cheat... I look at their name tags :)

Whoohoo...

Step 3 of Procreate ~ Toads

Step one was the male wooing the female to the area he claimed in the pond.
Step two was the sweet talk and latching onto the female.
Step three is the actual laying and fertilizing of egg strings.

Once again I am posting pictures of step 3 for all you voyeurs out there and also for those that just don't know how big toads make little toads.  An added bonus is seeing a toad egg string.

With the male firmly attached to the female she starts to expel strings of eggs.  The males job is to fertilize them as they exit the female.  This is a pretty subtle thing and is done over the course of hours.  The pictures below were taken during the fourth hour of toad mating bliss.  Can you tell how excited they are?  I can't either! As I write this we are well into our fifth hour and things are looking just the same as it did during the fourth hour except they have moved.

She at least has her eyes open.  He, on the other hand, looks like the effort is beginning to take its toll.

The female is definitely in the drivers seat.  If she decides to dive she dives and he had best be holding his breath.  The male
letting go doesn't seem to be an option.

The difference between toad eggs and frog eggs is the toad eggs appear to be a string of eggs as seen in these pictures.  Frog eggs are more of a gelatinous mass.  Hopefully Leo the Leopard Frog will finally attract a mate and we will have something to compare.

While we wait for Leo to catch-up these toad eggs are already on their way to maturity.  It will be Monday or Tuesday when we will see the tiny polliwogs (tadpoles, toadpoles, toadlets) moving and hatching from their individual egg.  They will eat algae for the most part. Once the egg laying is complete the toads will have nothing more to do with the eggs or toadpoles.  We may, however, see this same couple back in a few weeks... hope they don't lose their name tags so I'll be able to ID them.

This is the first year we've had fish in the pond and it will be interesting to see if they munch on toadlets.  I've read where many creatures won't eat them because they taste bad but I have no idea if goldfish have read the same article.  Even if the goldfish eat toadlets there will be plenty that survive as they will go over the water falls and be distributed throughout the pond as they have done in past years.  Let not your heart be troubled... we aren't in charge, this is Ma Nature's deal.

I have covered much of the toad mating and toadlet growing in previous blog posts.  You can, of course, navigate to previous posts and if you do so you will then know all I know about toads and toadlets.

I'll update this very blog as the events materialize.  This is so exciting!!!!

Whoohoo!!

Precursor to Become a Toad Daddy!

For the past couple of years I've had the honor of becoming a "Toad Daddy." That is to say, the big toad creatures lay eggs, these become toadpoles (or something like that) and toadpoles become baby toads that magically disappear. We know not where they go but we certainly know where they came from.

Apparently all that "noise" that the Woodhouse's Toad makes is but sweet nothings to the ear of the female toad.

He hangs on tight and there is not a chance he will be leaving his post until the intense drive is satisfied and they have done their best to further the species.

No eggs have yet been deposited on the rocks.  Maybe he has to talk her into it.  What a way he must have to be able to screech and carry on for hour after hour during the night and then to start a new day, still alert and hold in his arms his true love of the hour.
Now some may look upon this couple and just arbitrarily name them ugly and icky (not necessarily in that order), but I submit for your careful consideration the tried and true statement, "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder," and he clearly be hold'n her.

Next week we will probably have the little black heads with tiny tails stick out and they will, hopefully, grow from toadlets to toads. 

Being a Toad Daddy isn't my mission in life but I'm still proud to support these screamers in their annual push to further toad kind.

And let us not forget that Leo the Leopard Frog is still faithfully singing his song both day and night in hopes of following in the footsteps of the Woodies.

Stay tuned.

Whoohoo!!

Procreate... Sing IT!

It's that time of year again when the frogs and toads want to procreate.  There is no getting around this procreation business as it's one of the most basic of Mother Nature's Laws. 

I got to thinking that my fan out there might just enjoy a listen to the sounds of spring for those lucky enough to have toads and frogs this time of year. 

Click the arrow below to hear what Leo the Leopard Frog sounds like as he advertises his presence and credentials for a mate.







Click the arrow below to hear what the Woodhouse's Toads sound like as they advertise for a mate and stake out territory in the pond.








For most, this "noise" is just irritating and intrusive but for a true amphibian lover this is music to their ears.  I lay awake at night listening to the frogs and toads sing their songs of spring... their songs of love.  Why you may ask...

Of course your awake at night... Could you sleep with all this racket going on... I mean... really!

Whoohoo!

Truant Fish

This morning we had 5 fish in the Bridge Pond.  This afternoon we only had 4 fish in the Bridge Pond.  The largest and most orange fish escaped!  Escaped over Humpty Dumpty Falls... escaped from the school!

Earlier in the day I saw they were swimming just like they had when mating earlier (story here).  They were swimming in shallow areas and skootching across rocks.  I guess this truant fish just kinda skootched onto Humpty Dumpty Falls and was washed over into Joe's Pond and then washed into the skimmer pond.  Wish I could have seen that happening.

For those of you who are not aware of what pond is what or where the water falls, you can see that information by clicking on this magic word... POOFIT.

With the vagabond fish doing solo laps in the skimmer pond I felt it was my responsibility to "rescue" the creature and return her to the Bridge Pond and her compatriots. 

So just how does one go about capturing a fish in a 2000 gallon water filled hole you might ask.  I certainly did and no one had a very good answer.  "Get a net," said one lady.  "Leave it be," said a gent.  "Drain the pond and I'll grab her," said an interloper that looked strangely like a blue heron.  Catching fish by committee wasn't going to work... everyone had an idea but no one had ever actually done it before... it was all just theory.

My first idea (theory?) was to use a very large flower pot... one of those big plastic things about 2 feet high and 18 inches across the top... it even has holes in the bottom.  I found the fish was not interested in just swimming into the pot.  So I attached a long stick to the pot using screws thinking I might hold it on the bottom of the pond and when the fish swam over the pot just lift it with the fish trapped inside.  That turned out to be a pretty dopey idea. 

I decided the lady was right and I needed a net... a big net.  As odd as this may sound, I wasn't in the mood for shopping and decided to just let the creature hang out in the skimmer pond until I got around to purchasing an appropriate capture device.

I went into the house and took a nap.  You see, today is our 28th wedding anniversary and I needed my strength for tonight... We were going out (yep, it's true).  I was expected to stay awake after dinner and also drive home!  I would need a lot of rest during the day to pull that off.  So I took a nap.

I got my 40 winks and untold Z's.  When I awoke I was wondering how the truant was doing in it's new world.  I looked in the Skimmer Pond and saw water, algae, pipes, a pump, rocks and bubbles but no fish.  I considered for about a nano-second if the fish could have gone up the waterfall... not a chance.  That left the skimmer or the large flower pot that was floating in the pond.  Not a chance it was in the pot so I took the lid off the skimmer. 

Pinned to the bottom of the skimmer by the water flow was this orange fish about 8 inches long.  Whoohoo!  I no longer needed to figure out how I was going to capture the truant fish... it had trapped itself.  I took a bucket and filled it with water, removed the skimmer and just dumped the fish into the bucket.  In a mere minute the fish was found, transferred and replaced in the Bridge Pond.

I just love it when a plan comes together... OK, so it wasn't in the plan but it could have been!

Whoohoo!!

Toed Toad

I was working in the yard this afternoon over where the tiger salamander was discovered.  I turned toward my wheelbarrow and felt something on my shoe.  I looked down and there was this dusty, marked with dried dirt, toad.

The little guy somehow wound up on my tennis shoe.  There are no pictures as I felt I just needed to stand there and after a short time he moved on.

Kinda cool.

Whoohoo...

Baby Goldfish

Remember the story about the goldfish mating (here)?  Thought I would report that I still haven't seen any little goldfish.  Not say'n they aren't in there somewhere but you would think I'da found a few by now.

Your ever diligent observer is on the job and I'll report here at the first sign of gold!

Part 2 of "What'n Hell is THAT ?!?!"

Are you sitting in front of your computer all smug and aglow because you know what kind of creature we discovered in our yard on Thursday?  Do you even know the name? I hope so because in all my years I've see lots of creatures but never one like that and in the flesh, so to speak, too.  A good challenge don't you think?

That creature is a tiger salamander.  Some might call it a barred tiger salamander and others might just call it an icky lizard.  I have found there are a lot of folks that know about the tiger salamander.

For starters it is the state amphibian for the 34th state... as in Kansas.  Now if that doesn't impress you here is a bit more information about the tiger salamander:

The tiger salamander is the largest land-dwelling salamander in the world! The (barred) tiger salamander typically grows to 6 - 8 1/2 inches but has been measured as long as 14 inches. They are also long-lived with estimates that they may live for 20 years.  What's not so obvious is that they have only four toes on their front feet and five toes on their back feet.

It is hard to see in this picture which is why I
posted it.  Who would think yellow and black is
hard to see?

These large salamanders make a nice meal for many animals such as snakes, turtles, herons and fish. They, in turn, make a meal of insects, earthworms, small mice and even other amphibians.  Tiger salamanders best avoid predators by a nocturnal and secretive lifestyle. They are active under the cover of darkness and spend most of their time in underground burrows or in thick vegetation near water. This salamander may take cover in mammal burrows or, if the soil is soft enough, they will dig out their own shelter.

Tiger salamanders have a fascinating and adaptable life process. Typically, tiger salamander larvae feed and grow during the spring and early summer and metamorphose two to five months after hatching. However, some populations never metamorphose. If the water system where they live is permanent and the environment surrounding this water system is dry and inhospitable, they may retain gills and a wide tail fin, crucial larval characteristics that allow them to live underwater. These salamanders mature in the water and even are able to mate and reproduce, although they maintain the body of an immature salamander. This process is called neoteny. Other tiger salamanders, in response to the seasonal drying out of their aquatic habitat, must be able to metamorphose on demand. They even may metamorphose if they are removed from water and handled temporarily.

Those tiger salamanders that are lucky enough to breed, either as terrestrial or aquatic salamanders, usually do so in late winter, but breeding may take place whenever there is enough moisture. Once the female has attached her egg masses to underwater debris in temporary pools, she has nothing more to do with them. They hatch three to five weeks later, depending on water temperature.

The tiger salamander ranges from central Nebraska to northeastern Mexico. They are distributed throughout Texas except for the eastern quarter.

You are really a trooper if you've managed to stay with me after all the "facts" about this "new to me" amphibian. 

Now the rest of the story... what we found in the pipe on Friday morning:
Nothing!  Apparently in the dark of night the tiger salamander decided it was better to beat a hasty retreat and fight another day than to stay with a decimated den.  That guy is no where to be found.

Wow, that was an exciting find.

Whoohoo!!

Thanks to Wikipedia and Google in getting the info on the tiger salamander

What'n Hell is THAT ?!?!

It's not a wonder it takes me so long to get things done.  Just a couple of days ago I went out to adjust the door to the skimmer.  It was a little low and as a result wasn't skimming the water surface properly.

I took the lid off the skimmer and adjusted the door.  I noted the skimmer basket needed to be cleaned so removed it for that purpose.  Once I removed the basket the water level in the skimmer rose a few inches and water started to pour into the overflow.  After about 15 or 20 seconds the water flow stopped... obviously the overflow pipe was clogged somewhere.

I cleaned the basket and returned it to the skimmer.  Then I selected tools to remove rocks and such so I could trace the skimmer overflow pipe.  I felt I needed to fix the cloged pipe.  I found the pipe and the clog and immediately deduced the need for a larger overflow pipe as the one there was reduced from 2 inches to 3/4's of an inch thus the reason for getting clogged up.

I decided to extend the 2 inch pipe to our french drain which is a 4 inch pipe.  My thinking is a 4 inch pipe would surely take care of anything a lowly overflow might send it's way.  So I started to search for the french drain.

The french drain is on the right, the PVC fitting is white.

I found the french drain.  I also found the 4 inch french drain pipe terminated into a PVC fitting that split the pipe into three 2 inch pipes that, in turn, ran into the wood retaining wall that separates my property from the detention area on the east side of our property.  I wasn't particularly impressed with the design and considering the PVC pipe connections were done with duct tape I was even less impressed with the whole mess.

I thought long and hard about what I wanted to do.  If I were to run the overflow into the french drain then I would have to seriously alter the split into three 2 inch pipes.  I also ran some water into the french drain to see how it was draining into the detention area.  I found it finally did drain but only after leaking like a sieve as the duct tape had deteriorated and some of the connections had separated.

I decided to pull the whole mess out and just re-pipe it.  I was going to remove all the splits and 2 inch pipe, connect a fitting to allow the overflow to drain into the french drain and also allow me to extend the four inch french drain to the detention area.

Armed with my reciprocating saw I deftly cut the french drain at the precise location determined by measurements, luck, eye-balling, a hope and a prayer, a special pencil mark and the shadow of a nearby shrub.

We're getting to the good part of the story now!

With the french drain cut I started to remove the plumbing from the cut to the retaining wall.

As I pulled the first 2 inch pipe out that's when I saw it!  Ginger was standing near and I looked where the pipe had been and there, in living black and yellow, was the creature pictured below:

I pointed to the creature and said, "What'n Hell is THAT?"

The creature looked stunned and wasn't moving.  I didn't see any wounds but I thought I might have dealt the creature a fatal blow when removing the 2 inch pipe.  Once I got my wits about me I ran for my camera.  I started taking pictures about the time the creature recovered from it's sudden exposure to the afternoon sun.  It slowly crawled to the shade of the now upended pipe I had just pulled from the ground.

The creature was on the far side of the pipe in this picture.  It crawled to the base of the pipe and then crawled into the pipe.

We decided to leave the little guy alone and let it regain it's senses. After all, one can only endure so much trauma per day.

So I'll close this chapter of the story with the creature holed up in a 2 inch PVC pipe after being abruptly and violently ousted from it's moist and protected niche under the leaking terminus of our french drain.

What kind of creature is this?  What will happen to it?  Stay tuned for the rest of the story...

Whoohoo!!!

Lily Pad Update

It's a rainy day at Red Tail Ridge.  About time me thinks, I've never lived anywhere that has such an often prediction of rain and such little reality.  Finally, it arrived last night. 

To celebrate the occasion 2 out of 3 lily pads have broken the surface of the pond.  We've never had lily pads before and was amazed at how fast they grew once they got started.  I don't know what the story is on the one that seems stunted as it was looking good when I posed the announcement that they were growing (story here).

As promised here is the lily pad updated picture:

I'm sure there will be future pictures of the lily pads if they survive.

Whoohoo...

It's a Coming Out Party!

My favorite time of year has been and for the rest of my days will be, spring.  Here is why:

Blossoms from our pear tree.

These will be leaves on our purple ash tree.

The ground cover is coming alive... Hello, Creeping Jenny.

A little new with the old.  Spring on the left side of the pot and winter is still holding on to the right side.  Creeping phlox coming alive.

Our weeping mulberry tree is a tangle of limbs.  The leaves are just starting to emerge.

The "lip-lips" are short lived but oh so beautiful.  If someone could create a strain that lasted into summer they would become very rich, very fast.

Vivid!

Blooming flowers are a work in process.  A bottoms up approach.  These guys smell wonderful.  Purple hyacinth I think I love you.

Our apple tree is singing SPRING loud and clear!

Apple blossoms.  So many colors.

Apple blossoms with dainty shadows on the flower petal.

More bottoms up maturing.  Pink hyacinth, I love you too!











And that my friends is just a quick peek at why I love spring....

Spring Carol by Robert Louis Stevenson

WHEN loud by landside streamlets gush,
And clear in the greenwood quires the thrush,
With sun on the meadows
And songs in the shadows
Comes again to me
The gift of the tongues of the lea,
The gift of the tongues of meadows.

Straightway my olden heart returns
And dances with the dancing burns;
It sings with the sparrows;
To the rain and the (grimy) barrows
Sings my heart aloud -
To the silver-bellied cloud,
To the silver rainy arrows.

It bears the song of the skylark down,
And it hears the singing of the town;
And youth on the highways
And lovers in byways
Follows and sees:
And hearkens the song of the leas
And sings the songs of the highways.

So when the earth is alive with gods,
And the lusty ploughman breaks the sod,
And the grass sings in the meadows,
And the flowers smile in the shadows,
Sits my heart at ease,
Hearing the song of the leas,
Singing the songs of the meadows.

Future Lily Pads

Last year we planted lily pads (click here to go there).  I'll be darned if those pads aren't growing and will probably reach the surface of the pond in early May. 

Whoohoo.

More Mating and Fish Facts

Yesterday the female and male nearest the top of this picture were
mating.  Today it's the same male and the white/orange female
centered in this picture. Tomorrow?  We'll see.

I say he's simply promiscuous.  But if he were a human he would be labeled a womanizer, playboy, stud, player, ladies' man, lady killer, and/or rake. Some would call the male fish that was contributing milt to yesterdays mating all those names or more as today he is, again, contributing to the mating of another female ripe with eggs.  Some say Gigolo, I say, WOW, what stamina!

Here are some fish facts I found on the internet:

I read that one of the things spurring goldfish to mate is the warming after the winter cold.  They are very quiet when the water temperature is down into the 30's.  When the water warms into the 60's if they are going to mate it will probably be then.  Some breeders will artificially mimic a short winter to spur the fish to mate. If there are no male fish the female may still lay eggs.

Goldfish need to be about 2 years old to mate and some won't mate until about 4 years old.

The fertile eggs are translucent.  Eggs that are opaque are not fertile and will soon spoil.  The eggs are heavier than water so will sink to the bottom.  In the case of my pond, most will filter down into the rocks.

The amount of time for the eggs to mature and hatch is dependent on the water temperature.  One estimate I read was about 7 days to hatch if the water temperature was around 65 degrees.  A temperature difference of just a few degrees has a big impact on the speed of maturity.

The eggs are less than 1/8th inch in diameter.  When they hatch the fry are described as a translucent body with 2 eyes.  I have seen references stating; "they grow fast."  So far I have no idea if that means they will be 3 inches long by June or 1 inch long in October.  Guess I'll find out.

The fry will stay hidden in the rocks and out of the way of the bigger fish or they may become breakfast (so much for motherly love).  They will eat algae and microscopic (to humans anyway) creatures.  I have no plans on feeding any of the fish.

A mature female goldfish can lay thousands of eggs.  If only half were to get fertilized I foresee a whole lot of little gold/white creatures in the pond.  I imagine the mature fish, birds, frogs and toads will keep the population manageable... I sure don't want to have to do anything like "cull the school" ... ugh!  Hopefully it will be a self balancing population.

Whoohoo!

Big Fish Make'n Little Fish

It can't be denied!  Spring is to what I'm referring.  The fish in the pond have come out of hiding and one pair is obviously doing that procreation thing.

The pair swims around with the male brushing up against the female.  She will slow or even stop someplace and quiver then he quivers and they move on.  In my ever so humble opinion she is depositing eggs and he is offering milt to seal the deal.

It's afternoon as I write this and they have been doing this "dance" since the sun rose over the yardarm right after dark-thirty.  Surely they will sleep well tonight.

The female is orange, the male is white/orange.  He is in position to encourage her to lay eggs and also positioned to contribute his part in this mating dance.

From time to time the pair would swim right out the the water onto rocks.  My thought was they were trying to lay eggs in locations that were not readily accessible to other fish.  Note the pair of voyeurs watching.  One excursion to the shallows resulted in them frightening the resident leopard frog who was able to leap out of what he though was harms way.

I expect we will have little orange and white fish (fry) in a couple of weeks.

Of course you'll be able to read about it in this very blog!

Whoohoo!!

Bird Pad

Not all birds like all bird seed.  Ya just can't make all the birds happy all the time. 

What the picky eaters do is shovel aside the seed they only eat when starving to get to the seed that is tasty to their pallet (do birds have a pallet?).  This selective eating causes a big mess under the feeder.  To exacerbate the mess my feeder was over rocks.  To further exacerbate the mess, the birds would add copious amounts of poop.  As you may imagine after a few years this gets to be pretty disgusting.

I decided it was time to do something about it and the pictures below are my first attempt to remedy this messy situation short of just stop feeding the birds.

Yes ladies and gents, behold the "Bird Pad."  It seemed to me that I had to get rid of the rocks and provide an area for the seed to fall that was cleanable.  To accomplish this I shoveled out numerous wheelbarrow loads of clay soil, discarded bird seed, poop and rocks.  The hole that was left was filled with some stuff called road base.  I packed that down using a 6 X 6 timber and then put down a layer of sand followed by the rectangle concrete blocks.  I made a small retaining wall to the back to make it look nice.

You may have noticed the bird feeder isn't over the bird pad.  I haven't decided, yet, if I'm going to put the feeder there... or anywhere actually.  I'm considering making a few feeders that are similar to tables only the table will be a screen.  Pour the food on top of the screen and the birds can eat off the table.  Any water in the form of rain won't accumulate and the mess will be easily controlled.  It's just another to-do. 

Check back to this very blog for an update in the near future.

Whoohoo...

I'll Huff & I'll Puff & I'll BLOW...

When I was knee high to a grasshopper my dad used to say, "March winds and April showers."  Here it is 50 to 60 years later and it's March and the wind has been whistling along like ugly on an ape, like white on rice, like... well, the wind has been blowing a pretty good lick just like my daddy said, so many years ago.

Blowing enough to take down one of the stained glass windows I had hanging from my pergola.  The frame just came from together.  The frame broke.  The glass broke.  I now have another todo for my list.

The remains of the frame are still swing'n in the wind.

I guess these pictures pretty much tell the story. 

Whoohoo...

Spring... Ahhhh Spring

Spring is my favorite time of year.

It's early for it to be spring but it's got to happen sometime.  The calendar still shows it to be winter but my aches and pains say spring has sprung. 

Why do I think it's spring... let me count the ways:

• I had to put on shorts today as my sweat pants made me... yep, sweat.
• I used 2 as in two sweat towels today.
• I started a project that requires a wheelbarrow and shovel.
• I killed my first mosquito of 2011.
• The lily pads we planted last year are sending up... are you ready... lily pads.
• Leo the leo-pard frog has appeared again.  This time with better color.
• Broke out my wide brimmed sun hat.
• Put the snow shovel away for the season.
• Turned on the irrigation system so Alejandro F. can and does do his/her job.
• Cleaned algae out of the V-pan which is part of the detention area next to my house... someone has to do it.
• I had to spray the honeysuckles with dormant oil.
• Daylight saving time starts this weekend.

There are probably other reasons it's spring but that's all that comes to mind at the moment. 
So Happy SPRING!

Whoohoo

First Frog 2011

We're not talking about some French guy here, we're referring to the amphibian kinda creature that hops and stays wet... versus the toad.

Do you know why the French are referred to as frogs?  I do.  I looked it up.  Do you really want to know?  OK, here it is... kind of a let down methinks...

Unconfirmed story #1: In the 18th century, Paris was surrounded by swamps and the visiting French nobles called the people of Paris, frogs in mockery. The name became national later when all French became popular as frogs irrespective of their environmental surroundings.

Unconfirmed story #2: One popular story regarding the origin of the name states that there were frogs on the French flag at one time, before the adoption of the Fleurs de Lis. If at one time, the French indeed had frogs on their national flag then that could certainly be counted as a reason as to why they are called frogs at times.

Unconfirmed story #3: A more logical theory regarding the weird nickname is related to a French delicacy called cuisses de grenouille, which is a dish consisting of a kind of frog’s leg. The habit of eating frogs can actually give French people the nickname frog indeed.  They ate snails too but we don't call them snails.

Unconfirmed story #4: American soldiers are also rumored to have given the French the nickname frog during the second world war because the French soldiers excelled in camouflage quite like frogs in the wild that are perfect ambush predators adept in concealing themselves... perfectly.

Unconfirmed story but I believe it: This story is related to the Second World War.  It states that the nickname was given to French army officers because they wore coats that were closed with special buttons made up of wood and ribbon. These buttons were called “frogs,” and thus the name spread.

There you have it... but French frogs (not to be confused with fries) isn't what I wanted to tell you about.  What I wanted to say was the leopard frog that I told you about last fall (story here) made an appearance this afternoon.  His skin was really dark and I had to look close to see his leopard markings but it was him.  Don't know if he will stay out or go back to sleep... heck, it's just the 3rd of March.  That's pretty early for the frogs to come out.

A spring teaser of the breathing and hopping kind.  Cool huh?

Whoohoo

Spitter's Sure Keep Me Busy...

Y'all are probably tired of hearing about my spitter's and the ups and downs of having spitter's as pets.  I feel for you and don't blame you one bit if you just quit reading this post 'cuz it's about spitter's.  The good.  The bad. The ugly, what used to be pretty, spitter's.

The good:  This has to do with Frick and Frack.  Do you remember them?  They are the latest addition in the spitter arena... not counting makeovers and head reattachments.  That would be them just to the right of these words. 

I was standing by the dining table looking at the pond... maybe just daydreaming... and got to thinking about Frick and Frack.  I was asking myself when the water suppy to these guys would deice enough for the water to start flowing.  So I moved over to where I could see them and would you believe I see water squirting in the air?  Here's a hearty WELCOME BACK to Frick and Frack.

The bad:  Well, there really isn't anything bad.  I just put that in the first paragraph because it felt necessary when talking about The Good and The Ugly.  Just how I am... just how I am.

The Ugly:  This is really bad... er, I mean ugly.  It's about Alejandro our gay spitter.  Remember the makeover s/he got back in December?  No?  Look here.  I thought she was beautiful... once the makeover was complete.  Well not so fast there four eyes... it would appear Alejandro has developed some kind of dandruff or peeling disease. 

As you can see, the dandruff or peeling disease is upon us and it seems to have progressed to a point where treatment such as touch-up or similar band-aids are beyond consideration.  About the only thing that is still looking good are the eye lashes... I really like them.

It's very sad to see her looking so -- well, so used -- so abused.  She reminds me of an old hooker down on B Street that hasn't figured out that time has passed her by.  Of course Alejandro is functional and will fill the pond as required once the freezing weather is over and I turn on the sprinklers.  But she is ugggggly.

I had purchased the finest quality outdoor latex paint that money could buy.  I'll be I spent $5.00 or maybe even $6.00 on this paint job and just look at it.  I'm thinking that I'll have to blast all the newly added paint and start anew.  So we will have to have a re-makeover... I guess we've all been there at one time or another.

Maybe this next time I should start with a sealer?  An oil based sealer maybe?  Would that give the exterior paint a better grip so it won't peel?  Maybe I need to seal the outside with some kind of clear coat?  I have to confess I just don't know what I need to do to make the paint job last.  BUT... I'm open to suggestions.  So if you know about this stuff or know someone who knows about this stuff I sure would appreciate a "heads up" on the painting process for yard art... er, I mean spitter makeover applications.

Stay tuned y'all.

whoohoo