Nature's Decorations

The holiday season is long gone, yet last week, I found that Mother Nature had done some tree decorating. There's a path along the Nashua River that we often walk along.

These trees are alongside another mill apt building directly across from our own. Waterhad drained down on warmer days, but then the temps plunged into the single digits and teens for a couple of days. 

It must have been a fairly heavy water stream as even these bare branches were thickly coated in ice. 

These decos were short-lived, but still nice to see and gone by the end of last week.

Nasty weather is expected in many parts of the U.S. (Midwest and lower Great Lakes) over the next 24-36 hours, including snow. Here in Nashua, NH, our weather event is expected to be in the form of heavy rains as the temps will remain above freezing. However, there is the possibility of some heavy wet snow in northern New England before the storm ends.

Hope that no matter what winter weather is in your area, that you will be safely indoors.

Evening Clouds

The Perseid meteor shower is expected to reach its peak late Sunday night and early Monday, August 12, we opted not to stay awake to watch this annual event — maybe next year. 

Earlier tonight, the sky was beautifully dramatic even without bits of meteor debris swirling about. These views were taken from our back porch.

This event occurs annually in mid-August when Earth travels through a region of the solar system swarming with debris from the tail of Comet Swift-Tuttle. The shower is named after the constellation Perseus, since that is the point in the night sky from which the meteorites appear to originate.

While these bits of debris is about the size of a dime, the intense friction created when they fly through gas surrounding Earth makes them burn bright enough to be visible from the ground.

Did anyone stay awake to catch this event?

HAPPY SOLSTICE!!!!!!!!!

Yeppers, its winter Solstice again. Time to celebrate the changing of the year from old to new. WHAT!!!! you don't follow the Ancient's Agronomic Calendar???? Well not many folks do anymore. At best they might remember this is the shortest day of the year. And then only if the TV news slips it in between war and doomsday coverage. 

For the Ancient Celtic's this would be the beginning of their growing season. Time to plan what and where to grow their crops for next year. Even the Mayan's would be celebrating the beginning of another year by turning the calendar. At least that seems to be what modern day Mayan's are doing.

If the weather hold out, tomorrow we will go up to a spot on Mutton Hunk Fen Preserve that holds a special spot in ancient history. We are lucky enough to have one of the Carolina Bays on the preserve. These bays were formed about 140,000 years ago due to some sort of meteoric impact with the earth near todays Saginaw Michigan. Back then the northern half of the US was in the middle of an ice age. Michigan was covered with anywhere from 1 to 2 miles of ice known as the Wisconsin Ice Sheet. Whatever it was that hit the earth came in at a very low angle.  This object came through the atmosphere fast and was really really hot. It hits this huge block of really really cold ice. The explosion must have been tremendous. Most of the ejecta (big word for fragments of the object) flew in a general South West direction. When they finally hit the ground they slide making a tear shaped impression. An impression that usually points back to Saginaw. Some of the ejecta must have been pretty big. Our Carolina Bay is approximately 5 acre in size.

I have no idea whether there is any historic or mystical significance to this site, and it doesn't really matter. Mutton Hunk is a place that is truly unique. It was rescued from development, and is being allowed to return to its natural state. I hope you'll take a moment today to find a spot outside in nature, and take a moment to enjoy the rhythms of our earth.

Happy Solstice……Grenville

Getting a little behind?????

Yep, that was the question the Princess put to me today. Of course she was referring to my lack of posts. She thinks i can’t cut the mustard so here is my ketchup post. (Dang i love a good pun,,, but i like even a bad pun).
So as most of you know we started the Valentines weekend on Saturday with a nice Slow Roast of Beast with Special House Horseradish Sauce, some Baked Butternut and Pumpkin topped with Pecans (what else) and sautéed Green Beans and Stewed Tomatoes (one of Beatrice’s specialty dishes). And if you were worried about our diets, this was all on it. Only problem was the lack of Fudge Sauce on the Butternut and Pumpkin. Needless to say, there were no prisoners taken.
Sunday was a jaunt through Chincoteague Refuge on bikes. Left with a wind burnt and frozen face. I wanted to stop at the Island Clinic and Creamery but they said my insurance was used up. We opted for “Jack’s Insurance” coverage. We get 2 aspirin, 3 band aids and $50 hospitalization at the clinic each month. So instead we got a Rotisserie Chicken on the way home.  And last night was a special dinner at ANNIE’s (where butter is a food group).
Yesterday started the Mutton Hunk Fen Project. Well actually it is a continuation of the project we started 2 years ago. The first year we replanted 35 acres, the next year was 50 acres and this year we will replant 75 acres. BUT i’ve already told you this, so i will just put up the pictures.



 








Most of my work was in field 2 and 3. The afternoon temps got up to 68F which would have been really nice if it hadn’t been for the 30 mph winds. We have a crew of AmeriCorps folks helping us so there had to be specific instructions given for the planting.

The bottom right is the one i love the best. As always, Green side UP, Brown side DOWN. Its amazing that some folks (college grads like these) occasionally need some reminding of this concept. Of course when questioned about this we always tell  the truth,,, “The Chinese don’t like these plants popping up in their rice paddies”. Some times a globe is necessary for this Geographical theorem to sink in. My job was the really technical one. I walked the rows after the plants had been set (not planted yet) in the pre-drilled holes and tied a piece of Red Plastic Tape onto the plants so they would be visible when the undergrowth began taking over. Tomorrow will be another day on the fen and in all truth i am really looking forward to it.

Looks Like

Ever notice that things in nature can often resemble something else?

Like this tree branch, for example.

Looks like a shore bird at Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge

Maybe a Great Blue Heron . . .

or a Great Egret . . .

What do you think?

Fly Away Home

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home
Your house is on fire and your children are gone
All except one, and that's Little Anne
For she has crept under the warming pan.

Farmers and gardeners love ladybugs. If you have a garden of flower bed, these colorful insects will soon become your favorite.

Why? because they eat almost non-stop, and their favorite menu items are  plant-eating insects, especially aphids. And so they help protect crops and flowerbeds. Ladybugs lay hundreds of eggs in the colonies of aphids and other plant-eating pests. When they hatch, the ladybug larvae immediately begin to feed. By the end of its three-to-six-week life, a ladybug may eat as many as 5,000 aphids.

The name “ladybird” originated in the Middle Ages when the insects were known as the “beetle of Our Lady.”  They were named after The Virgin Mary, who in early religious paintings was often shown wearing a red cloak. The spots of the seven spot ladybird were said to symbolize seven joys and seven sorrows. Common names in other European languages have the same association (the German name Marienkäfer translates to "Marybeetle" or, literally, Mary-chafer). In the US the name was Americanized to "ladybug" In the Norfolk dialect of English, in the UK, a lady bird is known as a bishy bishy barnabee

A common myth is that the number of spots on the insect's back indicates its age.

Their distinctive spots and red, yellow and black colors warn predators.  This phenomenon is called aposematism. It works because predators learn to associate certain prey with a bad taste. Ladybugs can secrete a fluid from joints in their legs which gives them a foul taste. They can also play dead and pull their legs up “turtle-style” then release a small amount of blood from their legs – called reflex bleeding. The bad smell and the apparent look of death usually deters predators from a ladybug snack. After the threat of danger has passed, the ladybug will resume normal activities.

In parts of Northern Europe, tradition holds that a person’s wish is granted if a ladybird lands on them. In North America, children capture a ladybug, make a wish, and then “blow it away” back home to make the wish come true. In central Europe, it is considered good luck. A ladybird crawling across a girl's hand is thought to mean she will get married within the year. Some cultures refer to ladybugs as fortune bugs. In Russia, a popular children's rhyme exists with a call to fly to the sky and bring back bread. In Denmark, a ladybird  or mariehøne (“Mary's hen”), is asked by children to fly to  our lord in heaven and ask for fair weather in the morning'.

While there are male and female ladybugs, it’s nearly impossible to tell them apart. Females are usually larger than males. If you catch them mating, you will see a male ladybug grab hold of the female's elytra (hard wings) and holds on tight.

 

Because of its bold colors, simple shape and non-threatening nature, the ladybug has become the logo for a  wide range of organizations and companies including:

• Symbol of the Dutch Foundation Against Senseless Violence
• Ladybird Books 
• Ladybird children's clothing sold in the UK by the defunct Woolworth's chain store
• Polish supermarket chain Biedronka
• Estonian mobile operator EMT
• Software development firm Axosoft.
• Symbol of the Finnish Swedish People's Party.

The ladybug is the state insect of Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, and Tennessee, though only New York has selected a species native to the United States (Coccinella novemnotata); the other states have all adopted an invasive European species (Coccinella septempunctata).

Ladybird, ladybird, fly away home  . . .

Get a Room

Caution – these photos could require parental guidance (depending on your age).

 

 

Painting by Nature

Nature is painting for us . . . Pictures of infinite beauty.

 

 

Never, if you can help it, 
miss seeing the  Sunset and the Dawn

— John Ruskin (English poet, art and social critic)