Wasp Nest!

Wasp Nest!

I was walking past the bushes in front of our house when I noticed an insect flying into the bush on the end. What was it? A small, black insect with yellow stripes across its lower body. A wasp!

I started paying more attention to the bush. Other wasps flew inside. Some flew out. There was quite a lot of activity. When I looked closer I saw something gray inside. It was a huge nest!  I passed that bush every day; how could I have missed it?

We’ve had wasps starting to build nests before, usually in the corner by our garage where they were visible and easy to eliminate while still small. But this nest, hidden as it was, went undetected and housed lots of wasps.

The nest that wasps build is papery, made from fiber the insects collect; snippets from man-made paper products such as paper bags or cardboard boxes, scrapings from the bark of trees. The insect then chews the fiber and mixes it with saliva. This makes the fiber extremely soft and moist. After a period of chewing, the wasp adds the paste to the nest structure and spreads it out with its mandibles and legs. After it thoroughly dries; a type of tough, durable paper is formed. Voila! An incredible nest.

While I was obsessing over what to do about it, my husband went out and sprayed it. A few wasps flew in and out but the activity pretty much stopped. Two days later, when I looked into the bush, I saw that the nest had split apart and the wasps were gone. I can’t say that I was sorry to see the end of the nest and its inhabitants - I remember being stung by one of those little guys and it wasn’t fun. But every creature has its value and these seem to be good pest controllers. I was torn between fear of being stung by wasps and the nuisance of being bitten by mosquitoes. The mosquitoes won – and I have the welts to prove it.

A close look at a wasp and some info about its nest building:

http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/wasp/

Tomatoes For All

Tomatoes For All

Hi Everyone. The summer became rather busy so I gave myself permission to take a blog break. I hope you are all well and keeping cool if you are in the heat zone. But I am back and looking things over in my backyard.

We planted a variety of tomatoes this year – cherry, beefsteak, and heirloom varieties. They are all growing nicely, thriving in the heat/rain cycles. Some of them have grown to an incredible size, which thrills me.

I was watching one as it got bigger and started turning a deep shade of red. It was ripening so sweetly. I could imagine how it would taste. The day I went out to pick it, though, I had a shock; a quarter of the tomato was eaten into. I could see the seeds. The juice dripped from the opening and I could smell the fresh tomato aroma. I mourned the loss of such a beauty.

There was another tomato on the vine that was just starting to ripen. I didn’t want the same thing to happen so I placed a cage around that section of the plant.  But when I went to check on it the next day, the cage was lifted out of its moorings and the tomato had been nibbled on.

Was it a wascally wabbit that was getting into the garden or a sneaky squirrel? I was talking to a man who had a vegetable garden and he said that groundhogs, in particular, loved tomatoes. I occasionally saw a groundhog around but not lately.

I needed a plan. While I love letting the tomatoes ripen on the vine, I decided to pick them when they were partially red, before the creatures got into them, and to let them ripen the rest of the way on my kitchen counter. So far that is working. We ate one of our tomatoes yesterday and it was absolutely delicious! I can’t blame the outside critters for digging in.

I know that everyone needs to eat and I don’t mind sharing but I would like some produce for myself, too. Next year I will plan differently, perhaps setting aside a small plot for the local scavengers; this year I will just enjoy what I can and at least take pleasure in knowing that my tomatoes are making a party for many mouths.

Here are some ways to discourage squirrels, and I imagine other critters, from chomping on your tomatoes. Some are practical, others tongue-in-cheek:  http://www.mnn.com/your-home/organic-farming-gardening/stories/7-ways-to-keep-squirrels-from-eating-your-tomatoes    

Clouds Communicate

Clouds Communicate

It rained yesterday. Well, poured actually. The sky was a blanket of gray clouds that let the rain come down steadily for the whole morning, alternating heavy downpours with ordinary showers. The rain stopped after noon, the clouds thinning out and letting the sun peek through occasionally. They moved on the upper breeze separating into dark and light areas that hinted at a change in the weather.

There are many different kinds of clouds, depending on the amount of moisture and their height in the atmosphere. Not every cloud signals rain though some clouds herald danger, like tornado cloud-tunnels. Cirrus clouds tell of improving conditions while cumulus clouds indicate fair weather. They all have their personalities.

As a kid, I always liked to look for images in the clouds. The puffy white ones were best for that, hinting at faces and dragons, rocket ships and eagles, or whatever came to mind at the moment; clouds spur the imagination. Family car trips went quicker when we focused on the clouds.

The cirrocumulus clouds I saw recently delighted me. They brought to mind popcorn scattering over the earth I wanted to open my mouth and catch them on my tongue. For a while I was a kid again. These were high atmosphere clouds and they lifted my spirits.

Today the clouds are gathering once more. They look like nimbus clouds, the kind that builds into thunderstorms. We can read the clouds and understand what they mean. Everything in nature communicates in its own way. I find that fascinating.

Here are the different kinds of clouds:

http://www.carlwozniak.com/clouds/types.html

http://imnh.isu.edu/digitalatlas/clima/imaging/cldfr.htm

A Gift of Diamonds

A Gift of Diamonds

Sometimes it is easy to take my backyard for granted. I can see the same things, in the same way. I appreciate it all as it is – the bushes, the flowers, the wildlife, the birds - but nature is always changing and without looking for the newness of things, it is possible to miss the subtleties. So every now and then, I make it a point to observe the usual as if I’m seeing it for the first time and I am often surprised by what I see – like on one wet afternoon…

Heavy rain alternated throughout the day with drizzles and hints of sunshine. When the sky finally cleared in the late afternoon, everything was more bedraggled than beautiful. Then I noticed the Hosta on the patio. Its leaves were heavy with raindrops after the downpour. But as the sun peeked out, the drops took on a shine and POW! Those ordinary drops sparkled like diamonds, brilliant and startling.

I looked around at the backyard differently then, seeing the plants as jewels that dotted the garden with color. The rain made it all glitter. The scene went from damp to delightful. My spirits, too, rose from humdrum to radiant. And all it took to make the shift was my letting go of what I expected so that I could see a gift of diamonds.

For a look at what creates raindrops, it’s back to school to check out the water cycle:

http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html

Art and Nature at Storm King Art Center

"Adonai" by Alexander Liberman

Art and Nature at Storm King Art Center

This week I was at a unique site called Storm King Art Center in the Hudson River Valley, about an hour north of New York City. It is a 500-plus acre sculpture park and museum that features a permanent collection of works by a variety of masters such as Alexander Calder, Barbara Hepworth, Jeff Koons, and Roy Lichtenstein. A main feature is thirteen large sculptures by David Smith, placed around the grounds, and there are some magnificent works by Alexander Liberman.

The museum has nine galleries in a chateau-style building with windows that allow the outside to be part of the display. Large sculptures are integrated into the landscape of lawns, fields, hills, and forests, making every view a combination of art and nature. Maya Lin used the land itself in “Storm King Wavefield” to create a sculpture of seven wavy hills that generate a sense of movement and flow. Andy Goldsworthy wound an elegant stone wall through the woods. It is hard to resist the urge to feel the texture of the materials used and to move amid the various forms; alas, there is a no touch, no climb rule.

Mother Nature adds spectacularly artful panoramas at every turn. A broad expanse of meadows leads the eye to green hills and a cloud-flecked sky that provide a perfect backdrop for trees, artistic forms, birds, and dreams. It is hard not to be engaged with the site. It is a call to reconnect with one’s inner self through the art of man and the glory of nature 

For a brief overview of Storm King and links to some artists:

http://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/entertainment/storm-king-art-center.html#ixzz2TqH6Q5i0  

For photos of the sculptures:

http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotos-g48220-d105830-Storm_King_Art_Center-Mountainville_Cornwall_New_York.html 

Exuberant Azaleas!

Exuberant Azaleas!

Last year the azaleas in front of our house bloomed in nice, neat, round bushes, as they have for years. They gave the entrance a pleasing and colorful approach. Most of the other azalea bushes in the neighborhood behaved in a similar way. They were polite. Refined. At the end of the season, I pruned the bushes to remove some dead branches, being careful about pruning off the buds that are laid down after the plants bloom. I expected another year of dignified flowering.

This year they flowered, right on schedule, sending out their customary peachy blossoms. Only something changed. The bushes became exuberant! They shot out beyond their customary shape and reached for the sun. There is no restraint here. I had never seen anything like it.

Each time I think I should do something about the wildness, I end up smiling instead. When I come home, I have to stop for a minute to enjoy the fullness of the bushes and the in-your-face burst of flowers before going inside. My friend, coming to visit, stood dumbfounded when she saw the azaleas.  “They don’t usually grow like that,” she said. Certainly not in suburban gardens. Then she said something about them fitting in with my energy.

That got me thinking. There are thousands of varieties of azaleas, with different colors, heights, petals, and growing patterns - in their own particular way. There are billions of people expressing themselves in their own particular ways. And why not? There is energy in diversity.  If we can tolerate, even desire, variety in Mother Nature then why not in human nature, too?  There may be surprises, sometimes problems, but most often there is dynamic growth.

A helpful guide to growing azaleas:

http://www.gardenersnet.com/tree/azalea.htm

For FAQ and in-depth answers, try the Azalea Society of America’s website:

http://azaleas.org/newsite/faq.php#poi

Strawberries – Big, Yummy, and Organic

Strawberries – Big, Yummy, and Organic

I love strawberries. They usually are small to medium in size but the package I just bought has huge berries! Not only are they big but they are yummy, too. What a Spring treat.

Which leads me to a distressing subject – the quality of our food. Strawberries are on “The Dirty Dozen” list. So are cherries, grapes, spinach and potatoes, among others. This list indicates that certain fruits and vegetables retain the highest levels of pesticides. 

Other than growing our own produce, what can we do to get the best quality food for our families? Well, I buy mostly organic. What does organic mean? According to the USDA Consumer Brochure: Organic Food Standards and Labels: The Facts, “Organic food is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations…Organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides; fertilizers made with synthetic ingredients or sewage sludge; bioengineering; or ionizing radiation.”

While there is no way to guarantee that organic food will be pesticide free (considering the air, water, and soil quality), at least we can support programs that attempt to produce food without adding chemicals into the process. 

I tend to buy organic, especially of the most pesticide-susceptible foods. More stores, even the larger supermarkets, are carrying organic products now. But the choice is ours to make. I see organic farming as not only offering us healthy foods but also as supporting our planet. These strawberries are a responsible – and delicious - example of what can be produced.

Check out “The Dirty Dozen” and find some safer produce items:

http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary.php

USDA definition and regulations:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/pubs/ofp/ofp.shtml

If you want more detailed (and somewhat scary) info:

http://www.whatsonmyfood.org/