Sowing in tears

Nice day for a walk, a little cloudy though.

On Sunday morning when we walked through the gate the clouds were a solid gray canvas over our heads.  The dog and I decided to walk down to the east end of the paved road to have a look at how things are progressing into winter there.  The temperature was around 55 degrees and the humidity was very high at around 90 percent.   When the temperature and the humidity are at the noted points the conditions are really ideal for a walk.  A light jacket is all that is needed to keep you warm.

The dog checking soil conditions.

I noticed as we walked that the farmer who had the soybean field has now plowed and tilled the remains of the soybeans under.  He may plant what they call a tillage next to give the soil back some of it's nutrients for the next crop.   Although the field had two crops last year this is the first time since spring the field has been tilled.  I think the farmers in our area are now planting into the place of the previous crop without tilling the field.  It is called no till agriculture.  I imagine it keeps the soil in place and benefits the organisms that live in the soil.

The big thistle is doing well.  

We moved on and passed by the big Thistle plant that is growing in my neighbors front yard.   I am intending to take photos of it as it grows to show it's progress.  I hope he doesn't cut it down with the lawn mower.  Once we arrived at the end of the road we turned and headed home.  Sunday morning walks are leisurely affairs with a good deal of stopping to look at things.

After nearly two years waiting 
it is nearly banana time. 

Once home I took a photo of the bananas from my banana tree.  I have them stored in the garage to ripen.  They are beginning to turn yellow on the tips now.   The conditions in the garage are perfect for slow ripening of these type of bananas which I feel should ripen slowly as they would on the tree.

The dog desires to chase the cats but
he is trapped in a cage of his
own making. 

The dog and I took a ride up to the gas station to get some coffee and while there I parked near where some cats live in the hedges that surround the station.  These cats are semi feral and are fed by a customer who frequents the station.  The dog loves to bark at the cats. For some reason though he will not jump out of the truck , ever.  I have never done anything more than tell him to stay in the truck since I have had him and I guess he has built a mental wall at the truck bed that he cannot cross.  Since he will not jump out of the truck the cats feel free to taunt him.  One of them has even went so far as to walk over and jump up on the bumper while looking up at the dog who was barking furiously looking down at her.   If these cats that the dog hates so much will not make him jump from the truck then there is probably nothing that will.  Thanks for reading the blog today. Bye.

Yes we have some bananas, We have some bananas today.

The sky is so blue it hurts your eyes. 

Tuesday morning the dog and I walked out into a beautiful morning.  The temperature was in the low 60's and the humidity was around 80 percent.    High up in the blue sky the cirrus clouds were rushing past once again adding their dynamic character to an otherwise clear sky.   We headed to the west end of the dirt road to survey our domain and visit with the local residents.   I have enjoyed my walks so much more since the weather has gotten cooler.  Although it has only been cold in the morning a couple of times so far this fall, I know that the weather is fickle and change is likely in our future.

The Smilax berries are pretty.

As we walked I found that the Smilax Sarsaparilla has produced it's orange berries in a small bunch along it's vine.  The Smilax is a plant which produces a root structure that looks similar to a ginger root only larger.  The root is very aromatic and can be eaten when it is small though I don't know why you would want to. The tips of the Smilax springtime vines can be clipped and cooked as wild asparagus.   Consult eattheweeds.com for a description of the plant as it is easily confused with virginia creeper which is poisonous.

First green, then yellow, then brown, then delicious.

When we arrived home I walked into the garage and snapped a photo of a bunch of bananas that I cut down on Monday evening.   I hung them in the garage to allow them to ripen slowly.   I have done this before and the bananas were spectacular.  I am hoping to repeat those results again this year.   I will document their change until they are ripe so we will have a record of the time required for them to reach ripeness.  Thanks for reading my blog today.  Bye.

The Ice Man Cometh

The "COLD FRONT" even looks cold.

Tuesday morning the weather was warm but the cold front that will drop our temperatures drastically could be seen in the distance.  The clearing line is just to the north of Mobile county and the dome of cold air is hard on it's heels.  Tomorrow's blog will probably be about how cold the morning is. The dog and I walked up to the turnip green field to see how things are going.  Along the way I saw an Evening primrose blooming probably for the last time this year.

The last photo of primrose?

 

We arrived at the turnip green field and found several rows of green now harvested.  I intend to get some of these from the owner soon and have them for supper. We headed back down to the house and the dog wanted to go on further so we walked east on the paved road heading toward the soybean field.

At the gate the dog says
"Nothing to declare".

The dog went into the brush along the side of the road and found another turtle.
He turned quickly and ran back to the house and was waiting with his prize at the gate.  He went inside the gate and spent about 5 minutes walking around trying to prevent me from taking his turtle.  Eventually after much growling and snapping I retrieved it from him and threw it into the woods.  I have the feeling that the same turtle is being caught by the dog each time.   I have formulated a plan to mark the next one to see if it gets caught again.  This may just be natures way of getting rid of dumb turtles.

The last photo of bananas?

 I stopped in the back yard to get what may be my last photo of the banana trees this year.  They don't suffer freezing weather very well.   I have waited nearly two years for the stalk of bananas to grow and I do not want to loose them so I will be watching the temperatures tonight. Light a fire and stay warm.  Thanks for reading my blog today. Bye

A cold front warms my heart

The last of Karen's clouds push into Florida. 

Monday morning it was cool enough to put on an extra shirt while out walking.  As I have said before this is the dog's favorite time of the year because he has been  hot all summer long.  He runs around in the yard and picks up his ball to initiate a game of fetch without even being asked.  We walked up to the watermelon field where the owner has planted turnips.  They are only about one half of an inch tall now so it will be a few days before I will be able to photograph them.  We headed back down the road to the area in front of the unoccupied home where I had a nice view of the last of the clouds from our recent brush with tropical weather.  The clouds were being pushed along by the cold front that brought us this nice weather.

Looks like a Cone Flower to me. 

  On the road nearby I spotted a really good looking fall visitor which I think is either Sneeze weed or a some type of yellow Cone flower.  This little flower will eventually carpet this stretch of road if the county's mowers are able to miss it for a month or two.  We traveled home and I walked around to the back yard to take a look at the bananas.

The Bananas are almost there.  

  They made it through the wind from the tropical system very well.  The banana plants themselves become very unsteady at this time of the year as the bunch of bananas and the stalk can approach 10 pounds.  That is a lot of weight to have to support in addition to standing against a windstorm.  I think if I can get them to hang on for another month we may be able to ripen them the remaining amount in the garage.  It is bittersweet when I have to finish up a walk and go in and get ready to go to work on a beautiful day like today.  I would like to stay home and get some things done. But when I am truthful with myself I know I would have wasted the day wandering around with the dog or napping or going somewhere for lunch so I guess it is best that I go to work.  I hope you manage to get something done today.  Thanks for stopping off to read my blog.   Bye.

Fruit salad in my future

Green for only a little while longer.

Monday evening the dog and I started our walk just after the sun had set.  As we were walking through the back yard I stopped and looked at the oranges.  These are the Louisiana sweet oranges which some people call Hamlin oranges.  They are slightly smaller than a baseball now and are pretty hard.  The inside has already taken on the familiar orange look but the taste now is that of a lemon.  As the weather gets cooler they will ripen pretty quickly and just after Thanksgiving I usually start eating them.  They will remain on the tree from Thanksgiving to march if I allow them to and they will still be good to eat.  Earlier this year I still had last years crop hanging on the trees when they began to bloom.  In another part of the yard I noted that a second banana tree has opened a flower and a small bunch of bananas is beginning to form.

The real second banana.  

The Yellow Jackets may be going. 

  

The dog and I  then walked on down to the area of the Yellow Jacket hive  where we arrived there in the dark.  I saw that the Yellow Jackets were not flying and they all seemed to be hanging on the front of the hive.  As always I will use care when approaching them as they can be viscous when aggravated.  I managed to zoom in my IPhone and get a photograph showing their front entrance.  They are just milling around and not doing very much.  The dog and I made our way back home and I drove over to the house of the owner of the land where the Yellow Jackets are.  I described the location of the hive and reiterated the size of it.  I wanted to make sure the owner of the property knows about this nest as he and his crew are running fences nearby.  The last thing I want is for someone to get hurt by these things when it can be avoided.  Thanks for coming by tonight.  Bye.   

   

Talley me bananas

Three months to banana ice cream. 

My morning walks always start with a turn around the yard to see how the garden and fruit trees are doing.  This morning I stopped at the north side of the house and took a look at the bananas growing there.  I have been told that these are most likely the Orinoco variety of bananas by a local botanist.   They can grow to around 20 feet in height.  The last banana on the bottom of the bunch is about 9 feet above the ground so my trees are probably around 15 feet tall.  Bananas here on the gulf coast are an iffy proposition due to the fact that they require 18 month of growth to produce ripe fruit. Hurricanes and tropical depressions tend to bring winds that damage them or knock them over.  Most of the time though a killing frost  in December or January will damage the tree once it is about 10 months old and it will have to start over.   The bananas in the photo will most likely make it  to harvest which will be some time in November or December.  The taste is very different from grocery store bananas.  These bananas are almost ice-cream or butter flavored.  The flavor is hard to describe but, they are very good.  Also there is a large flower that grows at the bottom of the stalk which most people cut off.  I leave it as it attracts all types of flying insects and humming birds.  You have to be careful walking around them at night as there are green frogs all over the leaves.  The frogs will jump some times and land right on your face which is a little disconcerting.  Thanks for visiting this morning.  I hope you have a great day.