Three little squrrels sleeping in our walnut tree.
This is the same tree that I wrote about previously when I said it felt like the squirrels were throwing walnuts at me. I looked up at the tree when I first went outside today and I thought I saw a couple of nests. Squirrels nest look much like a birds only larger. I went back in to get my phone so I could zoom in on the nests and to my surprise all three were squirrels sleeping on the branches. Not one nest in the tree.
All three squirrels sleeping soundly in the tree. The ornery things that throw walnuts at me every fall and tease my dogs all year long. We have a tornado warning siren that goes off every Friday to test that it is working properly. It went off as I was trying to get some photos and I thought I had missed my opportunity, but no. They slept right through it. I went back in to let the dogs out and get somethings to do a little yard work and they still slept.
At the back of the fenced yard is a climbing rose. When I went out with the dogs I saw this and had to share it. It is so rare to see a rose on any of my rose vines this late in the year. If you look at the bottom right of this photo youwill see a tree stump and what is left of the hulls of several walnuts. Those same ornery squirrels sit here and chew the hulls off of the walnuts before they carry them off to store for winter. They make sure the dogs see them chattering to get their attention.
When we first moved here we had a very freindly squrrel that would get almost close enough to touch. He would chatter at us and we would put stuff out for him to eat. He lived here long enough that his fur started turning gray. That last time we saw him he looked silver from head to toe. The following year he was no long here. I suppose he didn’t make it through winter that year, but he lived longer than I think most squirrels do. I miss him, but these three newer squrrels are quite amusing and maybe they will be more friendly in time.
I spent a little time clearing out some of the tomato stems out of the raised beds. It was about to storm so I had to quit and go back in the house. I will do a little bit every day it’s not raining and have it cleared by the end of this month. If the weather doesn’t turn too cold I will rake up some of the leaves to cover the raised beds and to finish filling our compost bin. That is how we keep the soil in good shape for for planting each year.
While I was working I checked the red lettuce that I had left in the garden, to go to seed. It is finally getting close but still not quite there. I am hoping to have enough seed to plant more than usual next year. I have collected seeds from the bell peppers already. Tomorrow is another day, so weather permitting I will get a little more done then.
I gave in and decided to do just a little bit of decorating for the season. I did not expect any kids to stop by here partially due to the pandemic, but also the kids in the neighborhood have all grown up, so we have only seen maybe four or five groups of kids stop by the last couple years. Then I saw the newest neighbors outside with little kids. Two neighbors across the street. They put pumpkins on the porch, and I thought that was like us when our kids were that little. They need a safe place to stop on Halloween. I am thinking about printing out something to tell where the Trunk or Treats are this year so they will know the best safe places to take the kids.
So…I dug through my shed where I put the bigger stuff from last year. I found a couple of straw brooms and got all the stuff for my scarecrow and started setting him up. I will have to finish stuffing him and find his gloves. I think he could use a straw hat too, but it got dark before I finished. He doesn’t look to bad though, for not being finished. My youngest son got home from work and noticed I had started. He had a couple things to add, but he said to wait on setting them out, because it was supposed to rain. So that was it for today.
Post in the comments if you know what type of spider this is.
My son went to his church where he plays drums. When he came in, he sounded all excited and said, “Mom you gotta see this”. So I went out to see what he had discovered. Low and behold a huge spider had set up resident above our scarecrow. My son wanted pictures, so I grabbed my phone. While we were taking pictures, so we could look it up and see what kind it was, it started chomping on its prey. That was when he decided to get some videos and super close. Hope you are not to squeamish when you see a spider but remember this is just a natural way of pest control. And a funny coincidence since I just started setting out a few of the decorations for the season.
I did some research to find out what kind of spider this is. The best information I could find shows it to be a Brown Widow. A few other sites also daid it was a brown widow, but this is the one that seemed to have the best information. Please post in the comments if you find a better source.
I discovered St. Mary’s the year my father died. The boys started school there only a few weeks before that day. The hospital is across the street from the St. Mary’s and my oldest son encouraged me to go from the hospital to the church with him and pray. He said it is the most peaceful place he has ever been, and you can’t walk in without feeling it. He was right. On the way back to the hospital I saw the prayer garden. I have always felt closest to God outside in nature, whether it be a garden, farm, woods, beach or mountains. I was fascinated with that garden. My son explained that it was a prayer garden.
I spent many days in that prayer garden since then. We had our pictures taken there the following spring on the day we were baptized. I often went early to pick the boys up from school, so I could spend a few moments there. School at St. Mary’s was only through middle school and then the boys were back in public school. I no longer had the daily opportunity to spend time in that garden, so I began to build my own.
It has had to change places over the years, due to changing the landscaping a bit and adding a dog that insisted on climbing my prayer tower daily. That tower is still there, and I am experimenting with different plants that will survive her daily climb. I have discovered a steppable plant that has survived this summer so hopefully it will spread thick enough to continue spreading. I have also had some Columbine from my neighbor across the street, I planted it last year and it spread throughout the front of the tower.
After we finished our front porch, I moved my prayer garden to the front porch. It makes the front entrance so much more welcoming. The glider my next-door neighbors donated, and the wicker chair my sister left me when she moved away, make it a most comfortable place to sit and relax for a while whether it be in the morning, afternoon or evening. Peaceful enough to let go of every thought and listen. Listen to the birds, crickets and other sounds of nature. I have had more answers come to me when I rest in those prayer gardens.
Last year when I went to visit my son for Mother’s Day, he took me someplace special. Knowing how much I love gardens, woods and water, he found a place that had all three. It was such a lovely day. We went to the Botanical Gardens in Virginia. It was absolutely beautiful. The flowers were such vivid colors that my photos don’t do them justice. There was a wooden walkway that led into the trees and a large area of water. We just stayed there for awhile and I did take several photos, so I am sharing the one that I like best.
The weather was beautiful today and perfect for spending some time outside. I sprayed the tomato and pepper plants again, with the water and dish soap mix. Still some aphids but not near as many, so I will continue spraying them daily until the end of the growing season. We both spent some time cleaning up the yard a little and enjoying our dogs.
Chief enjoys watching us work
Still trimming out dying and damaged leaves each time I go outside. I think I will plan on have the soap spray ready soon after planting next year. Never had pests hit as early in the summer before, but the hottest weather that brings them out never hit this early since I can remember. I could be wrong, as I do not remember as well as I used to but at least not in recent years. I lost a lot of my greens because of that. Better to be prepared and not have a repeat, than to lose them again.
Man’s best friend helping Charles
Cai tried to help Charles away some of the branches that have grown up between our fence and the neighbors. She follows him everywhere trying to copy what ever he is doing. She was even sticking her nose into the fence area to show him where to work next. Silly thing loves to help us garden and do yard work as long as we do not use the mower or weed eater. If we start them up, she will attack the wheels on the mower and the base of the weed eater, so I leave that for a time when she is inside with Charles.
We plant Tomatoes, among other things, in our raised beds every year. The weather varies from year to year, so we plant early crops and late crops a few weeks apart to be sure we get tomatoes all season long. The pests that hit us vary from year to year also somewhat dependent on the weather. Most years we get the hottest driest weather in early to mid-August. That is when we get a pest that hits our kale and greens the most. This year that came early so out greens got hit early. That was before I decided to start my blog, so I did not get pictures.
This week our tomato plants got hit with aphids. Most of our neighbors already harvested their tomatoes and are done for the season, but we still have quite a few left, so we are doing what we do to try and get rid of or at least control them until first frost. First let me show you what they look like and what they do to your plants. The following photos show first actual size plant that is infested. Then you will see the close-up photos to help you identify if you have the same pests.
We had a couple days of cool and rainy weather, so we were working on other things and did not spend as much time in the garden as usual. That is all the time it took for the aphids to show up. Our first clue was leaves turning brown as they might in hot dry weather, but our hot spell had ended at least for a week so that was not likely. That is when we inspected the plants more closely and found the aphids. Time to take action. As we have continued to grow organically so as not to harm helpful insects, birds, rabbits and any other wildlife, we have found safer methods to control pests.
We have a large sprayer that we are using it to spray them. So, I added about three tablespoons of dish soap that is safe to plants, to the full container of water. During the shadiest time of day yesterday I went out and sprayed all our plants, including the bell peppers. They were not hit by the aphids yet but are prone to be, so I do not want the aphids to just move from the tomatoes to the peppers. A couple hours later I went out and started removing a few of the dead leaves and stems. It was getting dark, so I did not get them all.
Today I went back out to check on the tomatoes. Still have aphids but not near as many as yesterday. I removed several more leaves and stems and sprayed again. It is cloudy today so I will do this several times throughout the day. So far, I have been out to spray three times to spray and continue to remove more of the damaged leaves. There are still several tomatoes and blooms, so it is worth the effort to save them. Each time I go out I see fewer aphids. The soap works differently than harsh chemicals that would kill on contact. As I understand it, they eat the soap and it dries them out. So, it takes a little longer, but it is safe on the plants and the fruit which will be ripening soon.
Last but not least, my handy little garden helper. Yes the blue bucket that I put weeds in to carry to the compost (not the dead and dying tomato leaves that would infest my compost) is a handy thing, but I am talking about the spider pest control helper. He lives in the back corner above our plants. I also have several Praying Mantis in this garden, but they would not come out for a picture today.
We were outside trimming one of our Fire Thorn shrubs this evening. We generally trim them back before winter every year. Charles was getting the higher branches that I could not reach and found this nest.
No bird in sight so I took the opportunity to get some photos without disturbing the nest. I did hunt for something to identify the eggs and found a chart. It looks like a Song Sparrow to me. We have seen several Sparrows over the summer.
It seems a little late in the year for eggs to still be in the nest. We were careful not to disturb it or remove branches too close to it. I will keep an eye out to see if there is any sign of the mama bird. It is very close to the bird bath I set out for them this spring.
We lived in Illinois during my grade school years. The house in the woods we remember as Briarwood. That is where little brother caught the snake, we met a three-legged raccoon, Mom caught and preserved a giant Luna moth, and I got a cigar box full of bees that I learned to preserve for myself.
Lizard Lore
I suppose the bee sting at the yellow house (former post) started it. Then there was the pet lizard my brother kept hid outside all summer at Lake Geneva. We would watch it, learning how it manages to live, but never let Mom know because she would make us get rid of it. At the end of summer when the weather started getting cool, my brother explained that lizards hibernate all winter and come back out the next summer. So, we buried it underneath our trailer, hoping that would protect it some from the cold and snow. We moved at the end of school that year and never got to see if he survived. I did look to see if I could find were we buried him one last time before we left. I thought about that a lot the following year.
Fishing- first and Last Time
I also went fishing the first and last time of my childhood. I was three, I think. Dad and older brother took me with them after I begged to go. I knew if I stayed home, I had to do girly stuff and I was not interested in that on warm summer days. I do not know where we went or how we got there and back. All I remember is sitting on the bank of a stream, waiting for the fish to bite. They final caught one and I was so distraught seeing the hook poking inside and back out of that poor fish’s mouth. They were trying to get the hook out and it looked like they were hurting it more, so I was crying and begging them to hurry and get the hook out. I would not stop crying until they through it back in the water and I could see it was going to live. So, you see why I never got to go again.
Flowers and tORNADOES
When we first moved to Illinois, our house was in a new addition called Coventry, so that is how I remember that house. It’s where we lived when the Palm Sunday Tornadoes hit, but that’s a story for another time. There were not many critters there, so I learned more about plants. The tornado did blow a plant into the yard that I have never seen before or since. I liked it, so Mom helped me plant it at the corner of our house, in back where we played in summer. Mom planted Zinnias from seeds all down the side of the house. They always grew so thick we could cut a fresh bouquet whenever we wanted. Mom was not much on vegetable gardening, but she could grow flowers and houseplants. Especially vines.
Three Legged Raccoon
Dad’s parents at Briarwood
A year later we moved to Briarwood. The house was set back in a woods. I loved it. We took walks along the paths in the wood ands saw all kinds of wildflowers birds and insects. One day a raccoon came hobbling out of the woods. It only had three legs. It looked like one of the front legs was cut off. We ran in to tell Mom and she came out and looked. Either Mom or Georgie told us its leg was caught in a trap and that is how he lost it. Mom said they like peanut butter, so we put some in an old jar lid and took it outside a little bit away from the house, but where we could watch from a window. Mom told us not to touch it because you can get bit and sick from the bite or other germs and bugs on it.
Much like my oldest son did to me, I had to test this theory to see if it was true. We took peanut butter out to that raccoon every day. Sometimes if we had peanut butter sandwiches for lunch, I would save the last bite for him. He got so used to us that he would come right up for his peanut butter and not even pay attention to us, so we no longer went inside to watch. Pretty sure it was Tim, my youngest brother, that began petting him. We considered him our pet at that point. One day one of my brothers was in the woods and the neighbor boy on the other side of the woods, shot that raccoon out of a tree. We were all pretty upset with him. He was older than me and mean so there was nothing I could do, but I think my dad talked to his about staying out of our woods after that.
Luna moths and stinging insects
The Luna moth was on the outside of the dining room picture window. It was dark out and having the light on while we were sitting at the table attracted it. It was a rare thing for us to be at the table after dark, so it must have been a summer night and Dad was probably out of town on a business trip. It was huge and Mom decided to go outside and catch it. I do not remember how she did it, but she managed to preserve it and had it hanging up until we moved again.
What I do remember is that I learned to put a cotton ball soaked in alcohol in the bottom of a jar, place something on top of that so the alcohol would not touch the insect or it would discolor it. Then place whatever insect I had caught in the jar and pup the lid on tight. The fumes would kill the insect and then you could use it in a display. I got on old cigar box from somewhere and began collecting one of each insect that uses a stinger. Wasp, Hornet, Sweat Bee, etc. I took a straight pin and push through the insect’s body into the bottom inside of the cigar box. A few years later this came in handy. Eighth grade Biology we were asked to catch at least 100 different types of insect and pin to a board for display.
I began to learn more about the insects that year, and what were good helpful insects verses what were harmful insects. An important thing to learn, especially if you plan to garden. I have since learned to try to identify insects and research whether they are helpful or harmful. Identifying insects that will kill your trees, shrubs or gardens is the first step to preventing this destruction. At the same time identify insects that pollinate or are natural predators to the harmful insects helps you to understand why it is important to encourage them rather than killing them just because it is a bug.
9/20/2020 In my driveway the Mantis Dance
The Praying Mantis is one of the most helpful insects for your gardens. They eat many pests including mosquitoes which I am grateful for. They also eat many of the pests that are trying to eat you garden plants. I see them often and am very careful not to disturb them.
Several years ago, Dollar General bought the empty lot next door to us. They put up a privacy fence, so we did not have to look at the parking lot or worry about cars using our driveway to get to them. I was grateful for the parking lot, but it was so drab. I asked permission to attach things and add vines and such to beautify it. With their permission I began.
A couple shrubs and a couple vines, add some odds and ends…
I wanted to make this into a haven for birds, bees and butterflies, so we started out with two Trumpet vines and placed an old rusty wheelbarrow in between them. Hummingbirds are one of my favorites and Trumpet vines are a good way to attract them. They bloom in the summer and usually last until fall. I planted some lemon mint in the wheelbarrow and some Lilies to the side. Although I do not remember what type of Lilies they are, they are still blooming every year.
Next, we planted Lilac shrubs. They serve two purposes. First, they provide a good nesting area for several types of birds and the blooms in the spring attract bees and butterflies. The second, they remind me of the Lilac trees that me and my brother used to climb when we were kids. I loved the scent of the blooms back then and I still do.
Over the years both the vines and the shrubs have grown quite large. In the spring and summer when they are blooming, they hide most of the fence and the store behind. To my surprise, three years ago, two little volunteer Lilacs popped up to the right of this area. They looked like someone had cut a branch off one of the original shrubs and stuck it in the ground. At first, I was not even sure they were truly Lilacs. One of the volunteers was the same distance from the originals as I had planted them from the Trumpet vines, so I left it where it was. The other volunteer was too close if it were to someday get as big as the Lilacs I had Originally planted. So, I transplanted it equal distance on the opposite side.
Volunteer Lilac
Last year both shrubs had grown quite a bit and appeared to be thriving. The leaves looked enough like the originals that I was almost sure they were Lilacs, but there was still just a bit of nagging doubt in the back of my mind. This year the shrub I had transplanted had one tiny bloom at the bottom. It was kind of lopsided looking, but I did not care. I was so excited to have proof that I really had two more Lilac shrubs. I cannot wait until next year to see if I will get more blooms.
Persicaria virginiana (Virginia Knotweed) above left, is a new volunteer plant that most likely was donated to this haven by the birds that spend so much time there. It is used by some as garden a border or in shady areas where few plants grow. Others consider it invasive because it will take over other plants. Because the Lilac shrubs and the Trumpet vines have grown so thick this area is too shady for a lot of plants. I like it because of the deep shade of green and the contrast of the tiny white flowers. Also bees love it as well as birds love it, so it is perfect for the purpose of this area and it is edible so I know it won’t harm any of the cats that wonder through our yard on occasion.
I used an app called PlantNet to identify this plant and was surprised at how quickly I got an answer. I would recommend it if you are trying to identify something new in your area. Over the years we have had several new plants show up. unfortunately, they have been invasive weeds of little value and difficult to keep at bay. This has led me to try out this app and research anything new that pops up, so I can remove it quickly if it is undesirable. I generally use Google and read several articles to find out if it was something, I want to keep or something that needs to go.
My nephews have been visiting lately and one of our big things is to go outside and see what kind of bug we can find. I grew up with four brothers and raised two boys, so I am very much up on bug hunting. My nephews like to take pictures and then let them go. Over the last couple weeks with my nephews we have mostly found cicada shells and grasshoppers. It started with the oldest nephew finding a live cicada in our front yard. Over the years my boys and I have found many cicada shells. None of us had ever found a live one. We got a picture of it being carefully held, but when my nephew set it down it flew away before we could get a picture. We found several shells over the next few days, but no more live cicadas.
We saw a lot more grasshoppers than usual, but it took some time to catch one and get a photo. While we were out exploring, we walked over to our neighbors and looked at some of her flower garden plants. While feeling the softness of a Lamb’s Ear plant we noticed some kind of bug on a mint plant I had shared with her. We got the picture but have not identified it yet. During our little exploring walks, we have seen or heard many crickets and other common insects. I am so pleased to see yet another generation of nature lovers and their inquisitive minds, ever searching and learning about the world around them.
A Wasp’s or Hornet’s Nest
Our neighbors were weeding some tall weeds by the back of our garage. They got quite a bit weeded and suddenly started getting stung. After running back in the house, they called to let us know not to go back there until the hornets or wasps settled back down. Our neighbors said they did not see the nest, but they thought it was on our side of the fence either in the tall weeds or on the side of the garage.
My youngest son was fascinated by a show about an exterminator and how he would catch and release most pests but not wasps or hornets. He would send for a beekeeper if it was bees. One of our friends grew up with his dad owning a pest control company and my son enjoyed watching him and asking questions about how to handle different pests. So, my son has overseen all critters to decide what needs done ever since.
The next morning when I got up my son and I went back to investigate. I showed him where they had been weeding and he could not find anything. We saw wasps flying over head but no nest. Finally, my son decided to go around to the other side of the fence. It appeared they were hovering above a log that was laying against the fence. He could not tell whether the nest was in the log or in the ground behind it, so he decided to pull the log out and took off running. A swarm of wasps came up like a small cloud, so we decided to go back in the house until they calmed down. I let me neighbors know not to go back there yet so they would not get stung again.
We got busy with other things and my son had schoolwork to do so we forgot about it until late and it was too dark to worry about it by then. The next morning my son and I went back to see if we could find the nest. With the log pulled out and the wasps fairly calm my son was able to find the nest. He instructed me to go back to the house and tell the neighbors not to come out until he was done. Shortly after that he came in and said he used a full can of hornet spray, which usually will kill a large nest, but it did not seem to phase them. He had also used some type of firework to blow it up but even that did not work.
My son and my husband headed out to the garage and looked through all the possible insect sprays. We usually try to do everything organically, but this size of a wasp nest just survives almost anything, and my neighbor is allergic, so we felt it was more important to get rid of the wasps quickly. He finally found something our exterminator friend left behind and sprayed it with that and then set off a mortar left over from the Fourth of July. We stayed in the house while my son was handling it, but when I heard the mortar it was so loud it startled me and I ran to the back door and yelled out to my son to see if he was okay. He said yes but do not come out now.
Yellow Jacket Nest
I little while later my son came in and was so excited. “Mom you have to see this, come here” he said. So, I went in the kitchen and he had the wasps nest laid out on the counter in sections. He said he got the queen and that means they will not rebuild the hive. Gently using the tweezers, he placed the queen where I could get a good picture of it. He then got two of the workers and placed nearby so we could get a shot showing size comparison. The queen is always quite a bit larger. The next step was to pull some of the eggs out and look at the development from beginning to those about ready to hatch. After I got a picture of that, he found some about to hatch that were not phased by the poison, so he put everything on a couple of paper plates and placed them in our deep freezer.
Stages of development
After all was done, I sent some pictures to my niece to let her know what we had to use for a home school lesson for her sons. When my nephews got here, we pulled the nests out of the freezer and checked out everything. We began researching to see if we find out whether they where wasps or hornets. We found a comparison page and the queen looked exactly like the Yellow Jacket Wasp. We then looked to see whether it was called a nest or a hive. Bees use hives but wasps make nests. The Yellow Jackets chew wood to make a pulp and build their nests. Some are quite large. Years ago, we had a hive up in one of the trees that was the size and shape of a soccer ball. That is another story and if I happen upon the picture of it one day, I may tell that story too.
My Pet Bee
My Pet Bee
My pet bee, loves mint, especially when it is blooming. This bee has followed me around all summer when I am out working in my gardens. Early on in the Spring my brother called me. My husband was watching a movie, so I went outside to hear him better. I needed to go out in the back yard anyway to tend to some of the things recently planted. While we were talking this big bee started following me around. She never got close to me but stayed just out of reach on me right side. I mentioned it to my brother and he thought it was interesting but not surprised because I’ve been fascinated with anything and everything living since the time I can remember.
The next day went I went out to work on my yard and gardens in the back yard, I noticed that bee was still there and she continued to follow me around. I thought maybe the hive was nearby and I have all kinds of things planted that would interest bees. I soon got used to this bee following me around the backyard. When I went out of the fence to work on some things that are further back , we have four lots, she still followed me. By this time I really didn’t think about much. Sometimes I even looked over and said “Hello Bee”
My brother called me as he does now and then and I was getting to go out and sit on the front porch. We were chatting as I grabbed my water and headed out the front door. Getting comfortable on my wicker chair, so we could have a nice long chat, I looked up and their she was in the front yard. I mentioned to my brother and he said “Really, the same bee you were telling me about following you around your back yard?”. “Yes same bee” This happened several times, but it never bothered me so I let it be.
Then came the day she was pollinating the mint i grow along the side of my house. I had my phone handy so I decided to see if I could get a good picture. I took a few, but she kept moving around the bloom she was working on so I decided to try for a video. I was thinking if I could get a good enough shot I would be able to look up what kind of bee she was. She looked a lot like a bumble bee, but no stripes, just shiny black on the end. Sure enough I was able to find out what kind of bee she was. A carpenter bee and it said the females are loners. They mate in the spring and leave there eggs in old wood. They drill a tiny little hole, leave the egg and enough pollen to feed it when it hatches then they close up the hole with the saw dust they made when drilling the whole. After that they go on there way alone the rest of the summer. That is is how I came to think that my pet bee was a female.
Past
Watching my nephews has brought back many memories of bugs and other critters that my older brother brought to my attention. The first being the hive of bumble bees from the “Yellow House Bees Versus Tulips” story (9/2/2020). There have been many other bugs and critters encounters with a couple of my brothers and both of my sons.
Look what made a home in the shed – 2018
A couple years ago my youngest son went outside to clean out the shed where he kept several of his water and Nerf guns, as well as a couple toys that he made for various Halloween costumes. He came in after awhile and told me to come out and look what he found inside his home made toy. I expected it to be a spiders nest or a stink bug or something similar. Instead it was a birds nest with a few eggs in it. He was worried that the mama bird would not come back and wanted to know what to do with it.
I had recently read an article from bird rescue place. They had said touching the nest would not prevent the mom from coming back, or if a baby fell out you could pick it up and put it back and the mother bird would still come back and care for it. So I suggested that he put the toy back up on the inside wall where it had been, and just wait and see if she came back. My son went back to cleaning out the rest of the shed and ignored the nest. Mama bird soon came and sat on the fence to watch. Eventually she went back in the shed and sat on her nest.
The rest of the summer she sat on the nest until her babies hatched and she continued to feed her babies until they were ready to fly. My son continued to use the shed all summer and just ignored the bird and let her feed her babies. He got a close up of the bird’s nest in the shed both with the eggs an when they hatched. my son could come and go and work on projects in the shed and Mama bird just went about her business of feeding her young. She seems to accept him as a guard for her babies. I believe they were sparrows. Reminds me of a song my dad used to sing, “His Eye is on the Sparrow”. That makes me happy.
Blue Racers versus Rattle Snakes – Briarwood Lane
One of the encounters with a younger brother (6 years younger), was short but memorable. We had moved to a little house in a wooded area. A large section of woods was on our property and we used to follow the trails just to see what kind of things lived back there. My younger brother, age five, was an avid fan of Marlin Perkins on “Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom”. After watching a show about Blue Racers, a nonvenomous species of snake that is amazingly fast and known to chase humans, but will only bite when annoyed, my younger brother became fascinated with snakes. Although the Blue Racer’s bite is painful it is not poisonous and causes no permanent harm.
One day after his daily walk through the woods looking for whatever might be there, he came home carrying a tiny baby snake. He asked me if I would get mom to bring him a jar that he could put the snake in. Mom came out, took one look and had him drop it in the jar. Then she said to let our older brother have it so he could put tiny holes in the jar lid. Little brother handed over the jar and went in the house to wash his hands or something on that order, per Mom’s instructions. I could see the look of panic in her eyes but somehow, she managed to keep it together until little brother was out of sight.
As soon as he was out of earshot, Mom told us it was a baby rattle snake and they are more dangerous than an adult. Mom had read that in one of her many books about everything. My older brother agreed to take the snake back out in the woods and kill it. She insisted that we not tell my younger brother but instead told him that it escaped before my older brother could get the holes punched in the lid. I cannot really remember for sure, but I think we were told not to let my younger brother go in the woods without our oldest brother supervising him.
My first memories of learning about nature and learning to love it began in the yellow house. We lived there until it was time for me to start kindergarten. My memories are that of an innocent child and I am sure my family would remember them differently, but these are the tales through a child’s eyes.
The yellow house was in Kenosha, Wisconsin
Lake Michigan
Some of my earliest childhood memories are from the time we lived in the yellow house. We lived near Lake Michigan and I remember going to the lake with my parents and older brother. It was fun playing in the sand with my brother. He would bury my legs in the sand and make them look like a mermaid. The thing I liked the most though, was walking into the water when the waves were rolling in one right after the other. My dad held one hand and my mom held the other. Each wave pushed my feet out from under me as the water surged past and my parents lifted me up a little each time. I remember laughing and giggling the whole time. Such a short memory, but a happy one. I laughed a lot when we lived in that yellow house. I have loved going to the beach ever since visiting Lake Michigan and the waves bring back happy memories no matter what beach I go to.
Bees Verses Tulips
The yellow house with mom and Teddy
Not all the memories at the yellow house were good, but I always ended up laughing anyway. My older brother and I played outside with the neighbor kids for hours during the warmer weather. They were all older than me, but they did not mind me tagging along. There was a field of wildflowers behind the houses, at least that is how I remember it. I loved the bright colors of the flowers in summer and would often feel the softness of the petals. One day we were playing outside in the field, and the boys wanted to climb a tree. Climbing trees was not an unusual thing for boys to do. I was too little then, but I did it quite frequently when I was old enough.
This tree, however, was not a good idea for anyone to climb. The next thing I remember is the boys shouting run for the house as they all caught up to where I was playing. I took off running without looking back but could not keep up with the boys. I never looked back but ran as fast as I could to try and keep up. Turns out there was a beehive in that tree and one of the boys had disturbed it. The next thing I remember as my arm swung back, is feeling what I thought was the petals of a tulip wrapping around my finger and then a sting. I made it to the neighbor boys house and their uncle was holding the door open for us all to rush in. I showed him my finger and he remover the stinger and put a band aid on it.
I told the story of the tulip stinging me while I was getting my band aid on. The boys laughed, their uncle said it was all okay now, but none of them argued with my tulip story. After that we went down in the basement where their uncle had a movie projector set up and he played Popeye The Sailor Man cartoons for us the rest of the afternoon. When we went home, I showed my mom the band aid and told her about the tulip. She told me it was not a tulip it was a bee. I did not believe her and kept telling her it was a tulip. They were soft like the legs of the bees were, so I was convinced that was what stung me. The tulips had little things inside the petals that looked like stingers to me.
Mom had a book with pictures of insects, another with pictures of flowers and another with trees. She got out the book with pictures of insects and showed me the picture of the bees. I had not looked back and seen the bees when my brother said run, so I still was not convinced. I went and got the book with the pictures of flowers to show her the picture of a tulip and showed her the pistil and stamen in the center. Of course, I did not know that is what they were called but I was sure they could sting. There had been lots of tulips in the field and my fingers had brushed against several of them while I was running. Eventually I learned that tulips cannot sting, and bees can, but it was not that day.
