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.  

Grand Bay, Land of the escapees

The dog walks ahead in the tall Cogongrass.  

This morning the dog and  I walked over to another of those untended pecan orchards that are near my home.  As we headed into the orchard I discovered that the dreaded four wheeler's have been here before me. But today they have done me a favor by knocking down a path through the high congongrass.   Once again I have to tell you about a plant that has made a new home here in our area.  The high grass you see on each side of the path is cogangrass.  According to the University of Florida this grass got it's start in the U.S.  right here in good old Grand Bay, Alabama in 1912.   Apparently it fell out of some satsuma packing crates from Japan and from there it has spread like wild fire.   It was accidentally introduced into Mississippi in 1926 when a cattle farmer wanted to use it as feed for his cattle.  I have plenty of experience with the grass.  I go into the fields after it is cut by land owners and I gather it and bring it home. It makes an excellent seed free mulch that stays in place after it has been sprayed with water. I have been using the seed free cut grass for years now with no noticeable spread into my garden.   The grass in the fields will produce a tremendous number of seeds in the spring which are covered with down.    The wind blows the down and the seeds far and wide quickly spreading the plants.   Eradication is difficult so the Cogongrass continues it's march.   My view is that if something becomes a nuisance we cannot eliminate,  we should learn how to use it or how to eat it.  So I will use it.  The dog and I continued on down the path to the edge of the forest where the path travels into the woods.   People use this path to bring pig traps into the woods.   This area is in a round about way near the pig farm where the pigs have escaped and become feral.  The more I write about Grand Bay the more it seems like this place has basically been over run by people, animals, plants and insects from somewhere else.  I am discovering that the way things have always been is not always the way things have always been.  It is an interesting journey.  Thanks for reading today.  Bye.

Learning how to live again

This gold you can't hold.  

This evening it was very warm and humid when the dog and I decided to go for our walk.  We drove down to old abandoned trailer park and walked up and down the patchwork of asphalt that is the only sign that civilization ever existed there.  As I walked down the old road I noticed the bushes and trees have formed a wall on both sides nearly ten feet high.  Every now and then something out of place pops up like a beautiful explosion of pampas grass or a crepe Myrtle blooming pink in a forest of green bushes.  It truly feels like a place where we humans have been expelled and nature is returning things to the wild state.  We walked out of this odd place and out onto the road were I managed to get a photo of some sunlit thunderstorms to our north.  The sun had long ago set but these clouds are so tall that they remain brightly lit for as much as 45 minutes after sunset.  We walked on across the road and into the grass field where the paths had been freshly mowed by the neighbor who lives on the adjacent property.  When we walked around the path and back out again we passed by our truck.  The dog walked over and stood by the truck as if to say" I'm tired, let's go for a ride".   So we drove around a little and headed on back home.  I know what you may be thinking, it seems dull and boring and routine to walk every day in the same place all the time.  I have lived the life of rising in the morning to find myself in an unfamiliar town, with unfamiliar people and feeling very lonely and sad day after day.  But now I walk with my best friend along a very familiar road on a warm summer's evening and watch the sun go down, these things are truly food and water to this hungry man and for these things I am truly thankful.  My hope is that everyone will one day have the chance to enjoy these simple pleasures as much as I do.  Thanks for reading my blog.  Have a good night.  Bye.   

The count down continues

American Beauty Berry.  I thought it was Basswood.

The storms from Tuesday evening have blown a few limbs down but otherwise little damage occurred in our area. The dog and I walked down to the west end of the dirt road and saw another sign that summer is drawing to a close.  A plant called American Beauty Berry is producing big clumps of purple berries which are in stark contrast to all of the green leaves in the background.  When these berries turn purple you know it won't be long before the leaves begin to fall and the Canadian cold fronts will be coming our way.  I have read that some people actually eat these berries.  They don't look very appetizing  to me so I won't be trying them any time soon.  

Pastel purple Morning Glory

Pastel blue Morning Glory

 Another sign of the changing seasons is the wild morning glories growing up on bushes and weeds on the side of the dirt road.  I noticed two different colors were present so I took photos of each.   I think the pastel blue morning glory is the best looking of the two.  Maybe that is because I see it  more rarely than the pastel purple version which is everywhere this time of year.  The wildflowers here in Grand Bay are starting their fall season and it promises to be a good one.  My apologies to the allergy sufferers out  there.  I have had allergies in the past that I grew out of somehow so, I can sympathize with your misery.   Benadryl helps a little and is relatively safe.   Please do try to get out and look at the roadside flowers that are growing free for all to enjoy because soon they will be gone, along with your allergies.  Thanks for reading today.   Bye. 

Coupon cutter

My dog the smart consumer.  

The Tuesday evening walk was cancelled due to severe thunder storms moving through the area.  The dog did mange to get out into the driveway and pick up the bag with weekly grocery coupons in it.  He loves to cut coupons.   In fact he loves cutting coupons so much he just can't stop until they are torn into little pieces all over the floor.  Funny thing is I have never seen him returning from the store with any discounted groceries.  He must be sneaking them in under cover of darkness.  The dog really likes these coupons. On the day when the stores drop the coupon bags in every one's driveway in the area where we walk,  the dog will steal them and immediately turn around and run for home.  When he finds one of those bags he looks like he has found a bag of T bone steaks.  He will snap at me if I try to take them from him so I don't even try.  Most of the time he runs home and tears them up on the front lawn but lately he has been coming inside and creating a mess in the back bedroom.  Well I have to go organize the dogs coupon collection in the trash can.  Hopefully we will get to walk in the morning.  I will let you know.   Thanks for coming by.