Odd

 

Is there anything cheekier than a Pied-billed Grebe?

This Fall has been. Warm, damp, warm, damp, rinse, repeat. Never have I ever encountered so many mosquitoes of the demon spawn variety. If you get into a swarm of them...and if you are outdoors you will...there are so many and they are so persistent that you will find yourself wiping them off your face and hands, leaving trails of legs and wings behind. I thought myself an intrepid birder, braving any weather that comes our way to go out on the hunt, every single day. They have sent me running...well, sorta, I don't exactly run these days...for the car, abandoning pretty good findings cuz I couldn't stand them. I am not of fan of first frost, but they are ridiculous.

Then there are the sneaky weasels slipping onto our land with illegal weapons and illegal agendas...through the magic of modern technology, we see you, you know. And if we don't know who you are, we have friends who do. Better be careful.

And flowers. First it was the single lilac bush in bloom along the front bank. It is beautiful and smells so nice. It has been in flower for a least a couple of weeks now and just keeps getting better. 

The other day I spotted a perfect iris up in Northville, so white it almost looked blue. So pretty.

Yesterday a single Bee Balm flower erupted on the back bank. No hummingbirds for you little friend, but kinda nice to see you. The Pineapple Sage Matt and Lisa gave me for my birthday, not to mention the one I bought myself, is covered with flowers of perfect cardinal red. I will grow it again next year if I can and hope it blooms before the hummers leave. They would love it.

The cutest asses I have ever seen. We bumbled down a dead end road the other day and they trotted out to see up.
Their braying was actually soft and sweet. I have a video. I need to upload it.

Meanwhile, where the heck are the ducks? If you use eBird you will know about orange and red dots to indicate how unusual a find is. No dots on normally rare ducks. The ducks, such as Redheads, that do not occur here in summer, should be coming by right now. Instead we rarely even see Mallards. We did find a single Green-winged Teal yesterday, and that cute Pied-billed Grebe is hanging around a marsh we visit, but waterfowl, even Canada Geese, are scarce.

I think they may be staying farther north while the weather stays stagnant like this.

Yesterday's fun...I grow cannas in pots in the garden pond each summer...cheap, easy water plants. No care at all once they are in the water. Each Fall I pull them out before frost, so they can drain, and I can store them in the pantry for the winter. Yesterday, the last and largest one seemed dry enough to haul up by the house so I did...lugging it clutched against me, because it was still very heavy. The leaves were looking ready to be chopped off so I did that.

There in the center of the pot was a befuddled Green Frog, staring up at me, as if thinking, "Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, lady, what are you doing?"

He found the energy to slip out of his torpor once I picked him up, I'll tell you. I put him back in the grass by the pond, so he can plan his winter's sojourn for himself. I don't think he would enjoy the warm, dry pantry very much.

You can tell a lot about summer just by the number of frogs in that little pond... a 300 gallon Rubbermaid watering trough with a fancy fountain Alan built me, and lots of rocks and plants. In a dry year it will be thronged with frogs, mostly lithobates clamatans. This year, with it raining every day or nearly so, we only had this one, and it didn't show up until almost Autumn. 

Meanwhile the birds miss bathing in the fountain, which I am draining and drying for winter, so I put an old gas grill grating from one of the subsurface rock structures up to the side of the pond, so they can get out once they get in. I watched a House Finch yesterday, fluttering around the edge of the pond, wanting to drink and bathe, and he reminded me of the need for same. Amazingly, last year, the goldfish and Rosy Minnows that Becky couldn't catch in the Fall wintered over, and thrived. The minnows even made lotsa little minnows, if you feel the need for a few pink pets.

And that, my dear friends, is why weeks go by with no blog posts, and not much on Facebook either. The outdoors, despite the insects, is so seductive. I have to be there. Winter will get here eventually, and when it does it will seem interminable. I have no trouble at all imagining the cold season during the summer. I look at all the green and know it will go and be gone a long, long time. However, in Winter, when all is grey and white and cold, stark blue, I cannot paint a picture of green in my mind. I don't know what I would do if I didn't have my green jungle wall of houseplants between me and the windows to keep me centered.

Btw, a couple of years ago, Ralph counted the houseplants. 75.

Lately though, I have been giving them away, or disciplining myself in new purchases and splits. Down to 40 now and I think I am enjoying them more. I put the annuals, like geraniums, upstairs, and the big, crazy jungle plants like Elephant Ears and the Split-leaved Philodendron, down here in the big windows. Much less cluttered. Easier to care for as well.

Hugs and good wishes to all from all of us here at Northview Farm.