Chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Maybe

That dot on the road is a dog who is scared of electric fences.  

Oh what a beautiful morning it was.  Very cool.   You had to have been down here in Grand Bay the last couple of months to understand what a relief it is to walk out in the morning and not arrive home covered in sweat.  Those mornings may be gone until we have our mid December heat wave some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas.  The dog and I walked down to the east end of the paved road and I turned the corner to go and look at the goats.  As you can see from the photo the dog begins his homeward journey when I turn the corner because he is afraid of the electric fence as noted in my earlier blog.  I went down the little private dirt road to see what the goats were doing and while I was looking for them in the fence something clicked behind me.  I turned to see two beady goat eyes looking at me through a tall fenced corral normally used for herding cows into a trailer.  I walked over to where the goat was looking at me through the fence and noticed that all of the goats were now here in the corral which was across the road from their previous location.  Apparently the owner wanted the goats to clear the brush growing in the corral which was pretty much obscuring the presence of the goats themselves it was so bad.  The goats had eaten all of the brush from the area where they were before and the only goat left there now was the baby goat who was bleating loudly for it's Mom I suppose.  They have cleared the woods there so effectively that I can now see through to the field behind the wooded area where the goats were before.

Shoes are mandatory here.  

 I took a photo of the chestnuts growing by the road which are almost ready to fall from the tree.  It should be a good crop of nuts. The owner of the goats usually allows me to pick up the chestnuts as he doesn't like to deal with the stickers on the shell.

Looks like Hawaii.  

 I also took a photo of the beautiful Hibiscus that is growing nearby just at the edge of the road by the water trough for Zig Zag the lonely bull.  The Hibiscus is a distant cousin of okra and cotton.  Their flowers are similar but each ones plant is very different.  You don't want to have your Hibiscus near your okra as they can cross pollinate and cause your okra pods to grow strangely if you save seeds.  Once I was back on the paved road I managed to coax the dog back down to the end of the road with a ruse about throwing something into the bushes  He never wants to be left out of any game of fetch.  We then headed on back toward the house.  As we passed by the soy bean field on the left I saw Zig Zag the bull considering his chances at getting through the barbed wire fence into the soy beans.  I suppose cows will eat soy beans when they are green but I don't know if they are good for them.  I will keep and eye on him just in case.  Thanks for reading my blog.  I hope you got a chance to go outside today.  Bye.

Why can't every day be Saturday?

Wait until wild persimmons turn pumpkin orange before eating.

On Saturday the dog and I walked out into a cool morning and we headed up to the watermelon field.  The owner of the field is preparing it for a new crop.  What that crop will be I don't know yet but I will keep you informed.  As we walked by R.J. the donkey made a very loud request for a hand full of grass from my side of the fence.  I guess he thinks the grass is tastier on the other side of the fence.  We traveled over to the unoccupied house and had a look at the wild persimmons which are getting very close to being ripe.  I found one that was ripe and it was pretty good.  An unripe persimmon is a very unpleasant experience.  When you bite into an unripe persimmon your mouth feels like you have eaten a mouth full of wax.   As I said these are wild persimmons so they are small, about 1.5 inches in diameter.  Most of them are eaten by squirrels and birds before I can get any so I eat them when I find them ripe.  We traveled back over to my house where I had a full day of gardening ahead of me. 

Mexican petunia in the early morning.

In the back yard I noticed the Mexican petunia looked quite purple in the morning sun.  Later in the afternoon when all of the gardening was done we drove down to the neighbors field and walked the paths.  It was very warm at around 7 pm when we were there.  The weather pattern has changed as it often does this time of year to dry warm days and cooler nights and early mornings.  It won't be long and we will have the opportunity to open the windows at night.  That will be the nicest time of the year. 

The end of a great Saturday.

When the dog and I where leaving the fields this afternoon I took a photo of a colorful sunset.  There seems to have been a lot of opportunities for that lately.  We drove around in the truck a little and then went on back to the house.  Tonight we are having vegetables from the garden. Black eyed peas, yellow squash and some volunteer turnip greens that I picked today.  All in all not a bad Saturday.  Once again I hope you are getting all you can out of your walks and your time outside.  Thanks for reading my blog.  Bye.

Yucky Charms, Green potatoes, Golden orbs, yellow crabs

The Air potato looks pretty as it takes over.  

This morning the dog and I walked down to the west end of the dirt road.   It was a very comfortable morning with fairly low humidity. At the end of the road we turned around and I spotted a vine of interest growing up a magnolia tree.   The vine is what we call the potato vine.  Apparently the correct name is the Air Potato.   This vine according to my research has been in Alabama at least since 1770 when it was first noticed.  I don't know if you can call a plant that has been here over 200 years an invasive species or not so I will leave that one to the philosophers.   The vine grows up and makes big green potato like spheres which hang from the stem.  They do look very much like potatoes but the web site I checked said they were poisonous so do not eat them.   I also noticed an example of our old friend the Golden Orb Spider.

Hard to see from this angle.  

Hiding in plain site.

 I had a chance to get fairly close to this one and I could see that it was very large.   It was slowly and meticulously weaving it's web while as I watched.  When you consider that they weave the web without ever actually seeing it you realize how much of a miracle these things really are.  When we arrived home my quick walk through the garden turned up another of the spider family hanging out on my okra plants.  This was another of the crab spiders that seem to be taking over my garden.   This yellow one was I guess trying to look like a vein in the leaf so a fly might mistakenly land on her.  As many of them as there are in the garden now I am surprised those little flies can survive but, I suppose there are plenty of flies to go around.  Thanks for reading my blog.  I hope you have a good day.  Bye

A walk in the park

The pecan orchard is beautiful in the morning.

Thursday morning the dog and I walked down to the pig farm.  It was very comfortable  with  cool temperatures.  As we walked down  we passed through the pecan orchard on the right side of the road. The shadows cast by the morning sun  through the trees were very long and eerie.  The orchard when the grass is cut looks much like a park only there are no people there.    As we walked along I began to hear a familiar roaring sound.  It was a sound that I have come to know well after 13 years of living on or near a dirt road.

Our old buddy the road grader.  

                                                   The sound was coming from the big road grader that maintains all of the dirt roads in my part of the county.  Although I do not know the name of the driver of the grader we are still friends who know each other.  I wave as he passes and he waves back and continues on with his never ending task.  When I was preparing to go to work I noticed the county dump trucks were hauling in red dirt which is what the roads around here are made with.  The dump trucks put the dirt on the road and the grader smooths it out and then they repeat the process.   The red dirt constantly washes down the road  to the end that is lower and then it washes into the woods. Because the dirt won't stay where it is supposed to it must be constantly replenished.

Very small morning glory.  

We continued on to the farm and then turned around and were  headed home when I saw several groups of pretty morning glory flowers in the brush.  I thought the white ones were pretty because they are just so small.  They are only about 3/8's of an inch across. All in all an enjoyable walk this morning.  I hope that if you are able to walk that you will let me know what you see a comment.  Thanks for reading my blog.  Have a good day

When you reach the end of the road turn around and now you are at the beginning

Crimson glow of prickly pears contrast with the blue sky.  

The shadow puppets dance this morning.  

The weather this morning was feeling very fall like with cool temperatures before sunrise.   As we started our Wednesday morning walk and headed out of the yard I could not help but stop and look at the prickly pear cactus in the front yard.  The little fruits are an amazing shade of crimson and stand out brightly from the green cactus pads.  I think I am going to try and do something with them this year rather than letting them go to waste.  I am hoping to  make prickly pear jelly from the juice extracted from the fruit.  No matter what,  the cactus is a nice addition to my front yard as well as providing a little disincentive for burglars who might want to run around in my yard at night.  We headed out and walked by the Yellow Jacket hive and as I expected the property owner has dealt with them.  I can't blame him for wanting to protect his family.  We walked on down to the end of the road and then turned around and started back when I saw a very nice scene looking down the road in an easterly direction.  The sun was coming down through the trees to the road below presenting shadows that stretched out toward the west.  This part of the road can create some amazing shadow effects in the fall and spring when the wind moves the the leaves on the trees causing a shimmering pattern on the road.  I always enjoy the show when I see it.  As a note to all of the people reading my blog I will be submitting one blog per day now instead of two. I have a second blog for work called "A little help with big prints"  at  bigprinthelp.blogspot.com which I will need to work on each day as well.  I will still try to get both walks into the blog during the weekends though. My thanks to those who stop by regularly.  I do appreciate you reading my blog.  Please remember 9/11 today.   Bye.  

Turtle transportation

Tuesday morning the dog and I walked down to the south end of the dirt road where the pig farm is.   The temperature was very nice and the humidity was acceptable.  We arrived at the end of the road and noticed that the owner has moved in the cattle trailer which means that in a month or two he will be bringing in the 4-H student's pigs to stay till the State fair later this year.  The owner has put in some heavy duty fencing to keep people from driving up to the farm buildings and possibly making off with the pigs.  On the way back home the dog decided to take a detour through the woods.   When he popped out of the woods a few minutes later he had a fairly large box turtle in his mouth.   He ran past me and kept on going all the way to the house and sat outside the gate waiting for me to get back.  When I arrived he picked up the turtle and made ready to go inside.  I had thought ahead and picked up  a piece of wood about the same size as the turtle and brought it with me.  I asked him if he wanted me to throw the piece of wood which made him drop the turtle and get ready to play fetch.   I picked up the turtle walked through the gate and  into the back yard.  I stood by the fence with the woods on the other side and threw the piece of wood out on to the yard and when the dog went after it I threw the turtle into the woods.  Problem solved till the next walk.  Thanks for coming by today.  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.   

   

The morning dew shows a spider's work

Spider webs like this are numerous in the morning. 

Our walk on this Monday morning took us up to the east end of the paved road to look at our passion fruit crop.  On the way I saw a spider web in a field which was hanging heavy with dew.  The dew soaks everything at that early hour of the morning.   I managed to get  a good photo of the web and got all wet in the process.  We continued on from there up to the culvert where the passion fruit has been growing all summer.   It is very important to check it every day as it will become ripe quickly.  When it is ripe any animal that can reach it will take it away.  I managed to get a good look at quite a few of the fruits this morning although they are scattered in a field of unidentified vines that may be itchy.   I will only go out in that area when I am covered completely to prevent an itchy reaction.

Three Passion fruits almost ready.  

 I got a good photo of the fruit while the dog sniffed in the high grass for some type of musky smelling animal that even I could smell.  We headed on toward the house as we went I noticed the pecan tree leaves are starting to fall.  They will usually fall once in the late summer due to a fungus that affects the leaves.  The trees will grow a new flush of leaves which will fall again when the frosts and freezes start later this year.   I hope you have a great day today.  Thanks for reading my blog.  Bye.

Shooting the Moon one more time

The dog says no photographs please!  

Sunday evening we rode in the truck up to the neighbors field to walk.  There was another of those spectacular sunsets we have been having the last few days by it was one that was better to watch than to photograph.  The dog and I walked around the manicured trails which the neighbor has just cut through the high grass.  It really makes walking through the field a lot easier.  The dog on the other hand walked right out into the grass where he continues to add to his collection of ticks.  He has no fleas so far this summer but I expect them at some point.  We used a pill call Comfortis earlier this year for two months and I have not seen a flea for at least four months.  It completely wiped the fleas out in the house, the garage, the yard and on the dog.  I stopped it after he took it two months to see if they would come back and they never have.  It is really the best flea treatment I have ever seen.  The only down sides I saw was that it was almost 100.00 for 6 monthly pills and it seemed to have a sort of depressing or confusing affect on the dogs personality.

It is hard to keep the Moon still. 

Anyway after we walked around for a while we drove the truck back home where I took another shot at photographing the moon with the IPhone and binoculars.  I posted the best photo I took which is not all that great but I am getting there.  I hope you enjoyed your Sunday as much as I did mine.  Thanks for reading my blog.  Bye. 

Hey Love Bugs, have you no shame?

Black swallow tail looks gray to me.  

Wild pea., don't eat this.  

Cypress vine flower  is very red. 

Sunday morning's walk took the dog and I up to the culvert on the east end of the paved road.  My purpose was to check on the passion fruit growing there.  The fruit is doing beautifully and most of them that I can see are bright green and a little bigger than a chicken egg.  We will have to wait till they get a tinge of yellow on the exterior before we can pick any.    Along the way we saw some really nice wild flowers of which I took some photos which I have posted.  When we arrived home I saw another of the swallow tails on the butterfly weed in my back yard.   This one was not quite as black as the one I photographed yesterday.  It did have some really pretty blue highlights on it's wings that stood out when it landed on the colorful butterfly weed. I also grabbed a photo of the scourge or new car owners walking on my peas. It was the love bug.  As you can see in the photo post they are black and orange in color.  The male and female have the same body style but I think it is the female that is usually the larger of the two.  At this time of the year they come up out of the ground with one purpose and that is to mate.  After mating they fly around in pairs while the female starts looking for a place to lay her eggs while dragging the male behind.    On their way to accomplishing their task they wander into the path of cars and trucks and are smashed by the millions.   Their numbers are overwhelming though and they return every year by the millions, maybe even billions, who knows for sure.

The famous love bug on my Black eyed peas. 

They have no known predators that I have ever seen or heard of so they travel everywhere undisturbed by anything but the wind.  When they are plastered on the hood of a car or truck the juices from their bodies start breaking the paint down causing damage to many a new vehicle.   For some reason they are also attracted to white.  So heaven help you if you are painting anything white outside right now. They stick on the wet paint and make a mess out of things.    News stories come on TV every year about the love bug because it is such a pain for people but, once again it is just something we have learned to live with here in the south.  Thanks for coming by today. Hope you enjoyed my blog. Bye.

Throw me something mister

The dog would never go home if I didn't stop throwing dirt clods.    

Saturday night the dog and I walked out into the plowed watermelon field on the paved road.  I took the dog up there because he loves to play catch.  I don't know if other dogs like to do this or not but, my dog loves  to catch dirt clods.  When I till my garden he will watch while I work in the garden and when he sees me bend over he expects that I am going to throw a dirt clod for him.  Any hole I dig or any place I turn the ground over the dog is there standing beside me intently staring at the dirt clods to see if I will throw any to him. I know it is strange but my dog is and always has been strange.   Well when we arrived at the plowed field the dog was in heaven.  I threw the dirt for him for quite a good while until my arm was sore.  Most of the clods I throw to him he drops and waits for me to throw another but some of them he actually eats.  I believe they may have some kind of mineral in them that his body is in need of.  I am not sure what it is but, he enjoys it and has from when he arrived at my home till now.  When I stopped throwing the dirt the dog reluctantly returned to the house with me.  

Hurry up I'm hungry.  

 I went outside to take some photos of the moon at sunset while the dog watched through the front door from inside the house where it was cool.  I am attempting to shoot night time photos of stars and planets with the IPhone.  It is not a very easy thing to do but the IPhone is very versatile so eventually I think I will get it done.  I like a good challenge.  Thanks for reading.  Have a peaceful night.  Bye.

Bitter tomatoes and sweet nectar

This plant looks like a Chinese lantern.  

Saturday morning our walk took us down to the place where the Yellow Jackets have their nest.  They are moving along on their repairs and I will post a photo when the exterior begins to change. This morning was reasonably comfortable with temperatures in the mid 70's and humidity in the 80's.   After looking at the bees we started back and I noticed a plant that is producing a strange fruit that is interesting.  My research shows this is what is known as a ground cherry or wild husk tomato.  Supposedly it is a bitter tasting  wild cousin of the tomato.  Although I have seen it all my life I know of no one who has ever eaten them so, I don't recommend it.  I remember playing with them as a kid but we never even thought of eating it then either.  I took some photos of the plants and the dog and I walked back up to the house to have a look at the garden in the back yard.

Swallowtails love this.  

 I have a good crop of volunteer zinnias growing there and on a hot morning the butterflies, moths, bees and even humming birds come by for a drink.  While we were out there a couple of big swallow tail butterflies came within reach of my camera and I ran around the garden until I took an acceptable photo which I have posted.  They like the butterfly weed that comes up on it's own every year somewhere in the yard.  If you want butterflies to come to your yard or garden plant zinnias and butterfly weed.  They are both pretty much maintenance free and the purple zinnias will bloom from spring to fall.    Thanks for coming by today.  I hope you have a great Saturday.  Bye.

Don't step on the toad or the snake on the road

Bufo Terrestris hides in the grass.  

Friday evening as the dog and I began our walk we nearly stepped on the little brown fellow in my photo post.  It was the Southern Toad.  He was sitting on the warm asphalt driveway catching anything that he could get in his mouth.  Maybe a cricket, some grass hoppers, a roach or two, or any one of a hundred different little creepy crawlies wandering around in the yard at night.  He didn't care for the idea of sitting still for a photo shoot which forced me to crawl around in the grass for the picture I have here.   After the frog fashion show we walked up to the field where R.J. the donkey would normally have been but he was not in. It was a good thing he wasn't because across the street we saw another snake similar to the one I saw on Friday morning.  I am having trouble identifying it so if anyone thinks they may know what make it is please pass that along.

Do you know this snake?

 I am not sure if there is a large number of these snakes that where just born or if I am seeing the same one.  They are not very aggressive and don't try to scurry away when the see a human.  I watched the snake go into the neighbor's yard and the dog and I walked on up the road toward the watermelon fields.  As it was very hot and humid we decided to return to the nice cool house for some supper.  Thanks for stopping in.  Bye.  

Friday already?

Joe cool ambles in the morning sun.  

Dog investigates the geese. 

Very small snake investigates me.  

Well it is Friday morning and the dog and I walked out into some very nice weather.  The humidity was fairly high but the temperature was very comfortable.  We walked to the area where the watermelon field was and I noticed quite a few Canadian geese resting and browsing in the field across the street.  The dog went down the path to have a look at them and they all stood up and began walking away from him in a straight line. The Canadian geese that live here in my area are apparently interbreeding with some domestic geese in a nearby pond.  I see the wild and domestic birds together by the pond but when the wild birds fly off the domestics remain in the pond.  The domestic geese have some of the Canadian markings on their offspring but for the most part they are white.   We headed back to the house found the sun beating down brightly when we turned the corner.  My dog has never been a house dog but lately he cannot wait for me to open the door and let him in.  I think the heat and the thunder storms have just been too much for him.  When I was ready to leave for work I spotted a visitor coming up the brick wall next to the front door. It was a very small snake about a foot long, possibly a baby corn snake or pine snake.  A young lady I work with told me that snakes near the front door would have her putting up a for sale sign in the yard that day.  If had to leave because of snakes I would have ran away screaming a long time ago.  This place is literally crawling with them.  Strangely though since I started seeing a lot more snakes in the yard again there have not been as many mice coming into my house.  I wonder where they went?    Thanks for reading.  Bye.

Magnificent Magnolia may have antebellum roots

A beautiful Magnolia.  

The big tree from about 100 feet away

I rousted the dog out and we walked down to the same pecan orchard we crossed this morning. This time we had to cross the tick filled cogongrass without the help of a trail. The grass which in some places grows chest high is difficult to cross but the destination made it worth it.  We were walking to a very old magnolia the size of which I have never witnessed until I stumbled onto this one.  I photographed the trunk with the dog standing next to it to give some sense of the size.  The dog is about 5 feet from nose to tail so you can see that the trunk is very wide.     A couple of the branches that extend from the trunk are at least 2 feet in diameter and they travel out nearly horizontal for about 20 feet.  This tree is in the middle of the orchard so it must have been very large when the orchard was planted to have been spared.  I have a feeling that someone lived under or nearby because there is a crepe myrtle growing to one side.  There is also evidence that there was some kind of building on the ground in several places around the tree.  The folks who own the orchard almost never come here and I have only seen a few of the family members here once while they were shooting squirrels. A very large wisteria vine has grown up into the tree on one side and appears to be ancient itself.  The vine has a massive trunk of about 5 inches.  I viewed a couple of old magnolias online and I would think that this one probably predates the civil war period.  This area at that time was most likely untamed wilderness with only the occasional hunter passing through the woods.  This tree is a gift to us from the distant past.  My hope is that this old timer will see another hundred years of peace and quiet in the orchard.   Thanks for coming by tonight.