Steev's stuff

[steev]

Now that the grasshoppers are maturing, they're really a pain; where they used to be close to the ground, now they're in the trees in quantity, so it's like walking through a cloud of them. They're denuding a greater range of plants: chestnut; walnut; lilac; Buddleia: cherry; apple; prune; pear; grape; rose; olive; and, of course, virtually all veggies.

[prairiegardens]

It's being a really difficult year for you. Will the trees and shrubs at least come back as they mostly will after webworm defoliation? Grasshoppers in trees is something beyond my experience with them, it sounds all very discouraging and unpleasant.

[reed]

That does sound terrible, we had a bad infestation the year I built this house. It wasn't quite that bad, they didn't defoliate trees but they did chew holes in the synthetic screen on my new windows.

[steev]

Don't know whether things will recover; still half the dry season to get through, and I fully expect a second wave of hoppers, with them having an even further restricted food supply; if the dirty buggers would eat the dry weeds, I'd be grateful, but nooo!

All they want is the green stuff and I don't dispute their right to do their thing; it's just a PITA for me, given my personal circumstances; they aren't primo food, IMHO, being only 1" at maturity, so lots of wing and leg, in relation to the potentially crunchy parts.

This, too, shall pass; I may lose some trees, but Nature will bring better balance next year. World without end; amen; n'est-ce pas?

[12540dumont]

Well the squash bugs arrived, and are presently killing all my squash....I don't think they'll ever go away. It's been 4 years since I've had a decent squash harvest. My maximas look sad. So, don't think you get a nest pass with those darn locusts.

[steev]

It's not that I wouldn't eat the grass-hoppers (hell, I'd eat the assholes that break into cars in Oakland; though only well-stewed, for hygienic reasons), it's just that there'd be a lot of picking off stuff, very time-consuming, or a lot of emetic effect from the indigestible parts. I'm not sure one can really absorb proteins, etc, when stuff is "rocketing" through the gut, due to chitinous irritation.

[steev]

Going to the farm, I passed a five-unit convoy of Cal Fire trucks; no party lights, so I guess they were going home.

There've been few paper wasps the past few years, so I got out of the habit of looking for them; found two hand-size nests under the pump-house eaves; that's pretty overt; they've not bothered me, so peaceful co-existence reigns. If I were worried, I'd knock them off at night; they abandon nests that fall on the ground. Meat-bees are more problematic, being ground-nesting and more inclined to attraction to human food/drink; that's what was going after the grapes last year.

As I've posted re grapes and plums, things can be un-usefully/unwisely lumped together, from ignorance/sloth, or the attribution of such to the audience/market (ain't that some lazy, snotty BS?). Really, is education so laborious that ignorance is preferable?

[steev]

The grasshoppers are >95% gone; lots of lizards and quail working longer hours hunting chow; I figure the insects have largely worn themselves out mating and egg-laying; I'll be happily surprised if there isn't a new crop within the month; I suspect the lizards and quail will be more ready to deal with it.

Nevertheless, my chronic optimism has me thinking of trying for Fall/Winter crops; I've got lots of seed that's going to hell anyway; guess I'll start some transplants in Oakland on spec; I'm answering craigslist ads for free chickens, but no luck so far.

I'll note that my "Joseph's Cherry Sweet" corn, red seed only, was a total bust this year; the blue/yellow has produced a couple scrawny ears, which included no red seeds, but a few "pink/mauvish?" seeds; I'm thinking that if I can stabilize this, I'll call it "Cal Sweet", for blue-and-gold with a hint of pink (either political or genderal).

Squash are doing fine (although horrid germination), as are watermelons, beets, chard, arugula, mat and urd beans; the few cowpeas that sprouted are going nuts.

Interesting that old-world beans fare better with grasshoppers than new-world; the ecosystem is so complex and one doesn't always make connections until slapped in the head; were there no grasshoppers here before 1492, or has lack of palatability been bred out/lost, in new-world beans?

[steev]

The Pungo Creek Bloody Butcher corn had lousy sprouting, but the grasshoppers didn't bother it and the (very) few plants look good.

I found a bunny in the veggie corral and dispatched it; later, while weeding, I found that some critter had been eating my squash vines; I suspect I'd punished the perp before I knew there'd been a crime.

My loony neighbor, or some guest of his, was doing target practice (some three dozen shots); this is a concern if it was him, as he's never been into guns, and I can only speculate on why he would be doing this. I'm not worried, in any case, being resigned to the fact that I will not live forever. Should there be a terminal event, he is the first person the sheriff will want to question, all the neighbors being well aware of his behavior and interactions with me.

The insect plague having abated, I was able to harvest a few peaches, nectarines, and Purple Gage and Elephant Heart plums.

Most of the denuded plants show signs of recovery; the two walnuts that seem least likely to recover are both suckering vigorously from the Paradox root-stocks, so if the grafts peter out, I'll stool the root-stocks for eventual grafting/proliferation.

When I first got to the farm, opening things up, I went to the tool-shed, the door of which sticks in dry weather; I jerked it open, releasing a swarm of paper-wasps; I executed a "strategic withdrawal", as one might, hearing her husband's car in the driveway, as it were. I left the door open, in my haste; later, when they'd dispersed, I made a cautious reconnaissance, but found no nest; didn't feel like an in-depth search; I have no idea why they were in there. Later, the neighbors having no critters in the solar-fenced acres, I figured I might as well get the charger out of the weather, so I un-hooked it and pulled it off the T-post; yow! more paper-wasps; the nest was attached to the charger, between it and the post. Luckily, it wasn't large, so no angry mob; I knocked it off with a stick and went off to the pump-house, gratified that these were just Cali wasps, not Africanized bees.

Wandered south to the stock-pond, which is now shrunk to about a volleyball court; there was a Great Blue Heron looking for a froggie-snack; at least a dozen turtles were periscoping for air and sight; the water is so full of algae, no sign of their bodies was to be seen.

I note that my out-lying trees in the south ten are due for up-caging this Winter; it'll be a relief when I get the whole place fenced, so I don't have to cage my trees, but that's a couple years down the road; I think I have posts and wire enough that I can make this the last time I have to do this.

While I was sky-gazing Saturday night (I have ~170 degrees of sky) there was a meteor that covered ~160 degrees, NNE to SSW, firey head, smoky trail; truly a sight I was privileged to see; jumped right up to numero uno on my list of all-time great meteors.

[reed]

It has been rather forcefully pointed out to me that many people are far less tolerant of wasps than I am and I was compelled to remove those living in my shed. In view of the problems they had getting established this year I was a little sad about doing so but they are all gone. I went in at dusk when they were all home and sucked them off their nests with the shop vac. I don't know why I'm fascinated by these creatures but I have observed them all my life, I took advantage of my knowledge of their behavior to wipe them out, it felt a little traitorous.

[steev]

Well, one must do what one must; sometimes one's allies are just in the way and not amenable to reason.

This weekend, even more wasps came out when I opened the shed; I suspect a pretty good nest in there, but I'll let it go until Winter; in the meantime: pretty good theft protection. I've no reason to attack them, so I can let them do their thing until they wear out when it gets cold. I do love our distant cousins and have no desire to not get along with them; they have seniority, after all.

Harvested Shinko pears and Elephant Heart plums; looks like I should deal with early grapes.

Did more weeding, which may have revealed that I have a carrot, or three; big whoop.

[richardw]

My shed also has huge numbers of paper wasps every summer, there wouldn't be a hole or crack that's not fulled up now from past nests, i love have them there, its neat walking in there to hear them busily humming away.

[reed]

Aw, come on, even considering doctor bills for allergy shots, I feel bad enough already. Quit rubbin it in.

[richardw]

Aug 23, 2017 15:33:17 GMT -5 reed said:

Aw, come on, even considering doctor bills for allergy shots, I feel bad enough already. Quit rubbin it in.

......sorry

[steev]

Didn't mean to be waspish.

Got to drop my orchard ladder off at my sweetheart's on the way to the farm; so, coming back, I can net her Fuyu persimmon to stop the deer and squirrels from eating them all. The squirrels already got all her Babcock peaches, a childhood nostalgia thing; luckily, I have a Babcock on the farm, but no squirrels, so just one more reason she needs to stick with me (besides my incredibly masculine charm).

She also has a drip-leak issue; am I not the Dripper-Zipper Irrigator? Faster than a speeding coupling or goof-plug, fer sher.