Tag Archives: Nature

Crummy snow

Like about a quarter of the US population, we got hit by the snow event named Jonas 2 weekends ago.  For at least a week beforehand, we heard hype and warnings and altered forecasts.  At first, I think we expected a good snow but not too bad as predictions seem like they are often overblown, at least around here.  As the week wore on and we grew more and more tired of hearing about the storm of the decade, it became apparent that we were going to get a good covering with a really good chance of a wet snow which would lead to widespread power outages.

The snow was just starting
The snow was just starting

Starting Wednesday or so, people started to really pound the grocery stores to stock up on milk, eggs and bread…I guess to make their emergency French toast.  We shop on Sundays most times so we avoided the mess, but I hear a lot of places were cleaned out.  Thursday was a really weird time as all forecasts pretty much pointed tot he same thing…we were going to get a lot of snow.  I went to the office on Friday morning as usual.  The sky was dark but there was no snow at that point.  Almost on the hour, at 9. the snow started.  I think by 9:07 we had an inch.  Well, that might be an exaggeration, but it came quickly.  We closed the office by 9:30 and by 10 when I left, it was questionable as to whether I would make it home.  My car had no problem, but lots of folks in two-wheel drive vehicles were pretty much screwed.  I weaved through a developing parking lot on the main road up the hill to my neighborhood.

Piling up against the door
Piling up against the door

We hunkered down and basically waited and watched.  Snow piled up very quickly.  Fortunately, the temperature didn’t rise enough to produce the wet snow they expected so we never lost power.  We stepped out occasionally to measure snow, but it was accumulating so fast that we quickly gave up.

Ugh...my yard showed around this, but the official measure was 18.6"
Ugh…my yard showed around this, but the official measure was 18.6″

Saturday morning, we found that it was still snowing, but not nearly as hard.  I tried to open my front door at some point but found it was snowed closed.  I had to go out another door and shovel my front door open.  That sucked a little.  I took a few quick measurements which pretty closely coincided with the official measurement of 18.6 inches when it was all said and done.  I measured as high as 21 inches but all things vary of course.

It looks like a bunch
It looks like a bunch

The city was a bit of a mini-disaster as people had abandoned cars all over.  Plow trucks were working hard but we don’t usually see snow this deep and fast so they just couldn’t keep up, try as they might.  We started baking cookies Saturday sometime and baked our way out of butter so, by Sunday, wanted to get out so we could bake/eat more.  Our road had not been plowed at all though, and we figured that, with the chaos all over, they wouldn’t be getting to us any time soon.  Our driveway is maybe 50 feet long and very steep.  We started with it, hoping that would entice the plow trucks to come and plow us in, much like washing a car encourages rain.

Buried
Buried

Finally, we decided to just go for it and we shoveled out our neighborhood road from our place to the main road which was somewhat passable.  I’d say that road is maybe 100 feet long where we were interested.  My wife, my amazing workhorse of a wife and I shoveled out the road as well.  It wasn’t a lot of fun, but we had eaten a lot of cookies so figured it balanced out pretty evenly, calorie-wise.

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First the driveway

 

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Then the road
Then the road

A lot of roads are still not passable, but I was able to get to the office.  Schools are still closed, wisely.  The biggest problem now, is where to put the snow that the highway crews are plowing.  Our road was finally plowed out after dark, about 60 hours after the snow started.  That’s not terrible with all things considered, but I am glad we dug out ahead of time.  Let’s hope it takes at least another decade before we see this again!

We survived!
We survived!

My bumblebees

About a month ago, I got a call from a local woman who had a bee problem.  As a flower gardener, she knew she had bumblebees rather than honeybees, my usual bugs of choice, but she hoped I could help her.  In her gardening efforts, she was getting stung as she worked near their colony.  You see, in her beautiful flower garden, a nest of bumblebees had taken up residence in one of her birdhouses.

Bumblebee house?
Bumblebee house?

I’ve never kept bumblebees, but I like all of the flying creatures with the word “bee” in their name so I said I would come and take a look.  From talking with my grandpa a dozen or so years ago, I remembered that bumblebees do indeed make honey.  As a kid, he said he and his siblings used to follow bumblebees back to their nest to collect the small caches of honey they made.  Grandpa described their unusual-looking nest (better pictured here than my trying to describe it) and talked about the fun he had chasing after them.

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A bumblebee nest
A bumblebee nest

Isaac and I entered the woman’s garden and found, on an eye-level shepherd’s crook, a little birdhouse filled with a bumblebee nest, just as she reported.  I told her I didn’t think I could get the bees out and she said, “Oh no, of course not, just take the house and all if you want to.”  Of course, I wanted to so Isaac and I wrapped it in a sheet, returned home and placed it on a shepherd’s crook in my yard where it remains, still full of bumblebees.

A bumblebee nest

Bumblebee helping my raspberry blooms
Bumblebee helping my raspberry blooms

I am not sure how/if they will winter there, but I am inclined to leave it alone and see what happens.  They have been a delightful addition to the yard and garden and we have enjoyed seeing them on blooms all over the yard!

Fish Hawk Acres

West by God Virginia is full of all sorts of interesting delights that often go overlooked.  While we are not technically a “fly-over” state as they are traditionally defined, we really are pretty much overlooked for everything except as the butt of jokes.

Fish Hawk Acres

There are so many things in WV that I would consider gems that most people passing by just miss.  A few weeks ago, we discovered one – Fish Hawk Acres.  Fish Hawk Acres is a combination catering service, organic farm and outdoor restaurant…at least 4 days a year.  We had the pleasure of driving to Rock Cave, WV a small town near Buckhannon…another small town in central WV.  Emily and I met in Buckhannon 25 years ago so I reference Buckhannon whenever I can.  Anyhow, we drove into Rock Cave and through a few fields to an un-assuming pavilion where Dale Hawkins, the chef and owner of FHA was preparing a gourmet meal with items that were all grown in one of 14 farms nearby.

Vegetables
These vegetables were for sale…fresh from the field

Dale talked some about his theory on sustainability and farming, food and cooking, and his pleasure in returning to the family farm in WV to do what he loves.  He found that he was more a chef than a farmer so he partnered with Patti and Lupe Espinosa who took the endeavor from a 3 acre row-crop farm to a 30 acre farm to supply his cooking.  Before we ate, Dale and Pati took us on a walking farm through a few fields to describe how they manage and conserve water and soil as well as how they plant vegetables and manage weeds.  It was an incredible operation and one that made me wish I could undertake such an adventure.

Fish Hawk Acres outdoor dining
Fish Hawk Acres outdoor dining

We returned from the field, ready to eat.  I guess there were 100 or so people that dined on beef tips and pork loin, asparagus and fresh roasted potatoes.  We had cucumber-basil mojitos (not bad) and salad made from fresh greens.

Vegetables
This struck me as beautiful…simple foods

After dinner, Sarah Loudin Thomas,  a WV-native who has authored two books read a few segments from each novel for us.  In her blend of WV and now-NC accents, she told us a story of life in WV in the early 1900s.  After she read, a number of people asked for her to sign their books including her 5th grade teacher who was in the audience!  It was one of the coolest things of the night!

Junk food!

On our way back, we had to stop for gas.  For some reason, I felt the need to pollute my palette with ultra-processed ice cream.  Still, we had a wonderful time as a family, enjoying one of the many gems that WV has to offer!

 

The best of Spring

I have long disliked winter, but without winter, I guess I wouldn’t have perspective to properly enjoy the best of all seasons, spring.  It’s hard to beat that special color of purpley-red that hints on the trees before any other colors show.  And the fresh green of newly forming buds and leaves is like none other.  And probably my favorite of all natural spring things is the look and especially the smell of new daffodils.  I wish I could find a way to bottle the clean smell that is daffodil.  If someone made daffodil perfume, I would wear it myself!

Daffodils

Well, maybe not…

Anyhow, I also love to hear the spring peepers, tiny frogs that call all night in the spring looking for love I suppose.  Winter gets awful lonely after all!  I happened to be out in early March and was able to hear the first peep-frogs of the season.  That sound is almost as special as the smell of daffodils.  Both generate sort of emotional responses in me.

Well, maybe not…

Spring Peep-frogs in March (click)

But still, I really like both.  Among unnatural things, I also find a few favorites in spring!  From December 26th until Easter, there is a chance that one will find Cadbury cream eggs.  I love Cadbury eggs…almost as much as bacon and Hank Williams, Sr.  The problem, of course, is that they don’t really last long enough.  Their growing season, so to speak, is only 3 months at best.  A depraved Cadbury egg lover like me has to resort to ridiculous measures in order to survive from Easter until December 26…I stock up like a mad man!  The other day, I took a picture of my stash at the office…I have a similar stash at home as well.  While this probably won’t last until next season, it will set me well on my way!

My Stash of Cadbury Eggs!!!

And finally, and I know there are haters…I present my other spring-time favorite, black licorice jelly beans.  I know we are a rare breed, but I love black jelly beans.  I got some mediocre ones at the store this year, but truly good ones are hard to find but so worth the hunt!

Black jelly beans!

With all of these wonderful spring things, I don’t even mind my allergies when they flare up a little…and I don’t mind watching my son mow the yard.  Spring is so worth it!

Horny little buggers

I guess they aren’t technically horns, but check out the protrusions on these buggers I found!

Bedstraw Hawk moth caterpillar
I think this is a Bedstraw Hawk moth caterpillar
Sword-bearing Conehead
I think this is a Sword-bearing Conehead

I am definitely a live-and-let-live kind of person.  That basically applies to my dealing with creatures as well as people…I think I like critters better, but I am willing to leave people or critters alone to do as they please as long as it doesn’t hurt me or my family.  I don’t think it hurt these guys, though, when I picked them up for a little inspection.

He bit me!
He bit me!

The grasshopper actually sort of hurt me a little…I picked him up and he wandered around on my hands for awhile…and then he bit me!  It wasn’t a big deal, but I saw his tiny mouth reach down and just take a taste!  I didn’t fling him off or mash him but I figured that maybe it was time to set him free!  I know I am sweet and all, but he wasn’t my type!

Stuff I’ve seen

I’ve seen things…strange and wonderful things.  Well, I wish it was really that dramatic, but I was just leafing back over some old pics the last few evenings, and I came across a few pics that I thought were cool.  We have been running so much lately with band and cross-country and soccer and work stuff.  It feels like there hasn’t been time to do anything …I almost said fun, but of course, all of that running is fun.  Sometimes it’s pretty easy, though, to lose sight of that.

Yeah fun!

Anyhow, a month or so ago, we were at my parents house visiting.  They like flowers and have a really nice flowerbed out front.  I took a few pics of the crop they had around there.  Pollinators were about gathering what pollen they could.  I love yellow flowers so their Black-eyed Susan’s were exquisite.  Yes, I just said that…shut up.

Black-eyed Susans

Pollen on the flowers

Pollen on the flowers

I was messing in the  bees awhile back and this time of year is interesting.  After spring and summer blooms pass and before fall blooms start, bees and hornets and wasps and yellow jackets all compete for limited resources.  I always see bunches of yellow jackets in particular, “make a go” at the beehives to try and steal a little of the honey they keep inside.  In a healthy hive, the bees keep the yellow jackets away easily.  In one hive box that was empty, but in my apiary, I took a look in to see if any bees or other critters were collecting any of the wax scraps that were about…Imagine my surprise when I saw these lovelies…They were not aggressive so I just put the lid back on and walked away…that’s how I roll.

Waspers!
Waspers!
Wasp larvae and eggs
Wasp eggs
Wasp larvae and eggs
Wasp larvae

I did find another nest in other bee stuff I had at the house and found a really cool looking nest.  It showed all stages of waspers inside…capped brood, larvae, and eggs.  You can kind of see them if you look hard and use your imagination.

This stuff fascinates me…I am always amazed at the wonders that are right under our noses!

What the heck is this…redux

Way back in 2008 (that’s 6 years ago…seems like last year), I was digging potatoes and found a big brown wormy thingamabob…I asked, what the heck is this?  Someone answered it was a tomato hornworm.  We often plant tomatoes and potatoes and sometimes they are fairly close together…no big deal.

Tomato hornworm pupa
Tomato hornworm pupa

I thought it was weird the other day, however, when I dug this year’s potatoes and found another big ugly brown larval whatchamacallit.  Granted, the potatoes are near the tomatoes again this year, but maybe tomato hornworms which eat tomato plants like to grow up near taters rather than maters.

Hornworm pupa video
Click to see the video

Just like last time, I decided to pick this guy up and torment the kids with it.  Emily is desensitized enough that she doesn’t even flinch around me any more but the kids are still subject to my weirdness.  I probably should have mashed this one since they ruin tomatoes, but I do not often mess with much of anything if it isn’t directly necessary.  It took brazillions of years to evolve the way it did; why should I mess with mother-nature?

Honey moon

So last night at 12:11 am, we witnessed the first honey moon (also known as strawberry moon) that happened to fall on a Friday the 13th, in almost 100 years.  I stayed up until around midnight to try to take some pics of the moon hoping to see its yellow tint, the reason it is called a honey moon.

The full moon nearest the Summer Solstice is at its perigee or the time when it is closest to the Earth and lowest in the sky.  Since it is low in the sky, it appears to be much larger than normal, due to a trick that our brains pull on us…it’s called the moon illusion (see possible explanation here).  Add to that the effects of pollution and dust in the atmosphere which reflect light differently, and you end up with a larger-than-normal yellow colored moon.

Full honey moon
Full honey moon

So I wandered out late last night in my boxers and gum boots to take a few pics.  They aren’t high def amazing shots, but I think they came out pretty neat in a creepy-cool kind of way.

Right before our real honeymoon
Right before our real honeymoon

The other fun fact is that today, Emily and I are taking a sort of get-away weekend to celebrate (a little early) our 20 year wedding anniversary…so we have a honey moon kicking off a second  sort of honeymoon!  It must be a good omen!

No squeamish daughter here!

When I was a kid growing up in the country, we pretty much stayed dirty all the time.  We picked up worms and snakes and drank from the hose and ran barefoot.  We ate wild teaberries and jungled around on grape vines…stuff a kid ought to do, you know?  We currently live in the city so it’s not quite as easy for the kids to explore the woods but I am so pleased when we get out to the cabin.

A girl and her toad!
A girl and her toad!
A girl and her toad!
She’s such an encourager! “You’re a good toad…”

Abigail has a couple of really great girlfriends that live nearby out there who all like to explore and enjoy all that the woods has to offer.  She ventures over to their place as soon as we get to the cabin and we don’t see her until we ring the dinner bell.  When she finally does come back home, she is filthy and exhausted and absolutely full of joy!

A girl and her toad! A girl and her toad!

Last weekend, our neighbors were working on some old fence.  They moved some slabs of wood and found four toads and a turtle….the toads were the biggest I think I have ever seen!  In typical fashion, those three girls saved the toads and turtle and made a regular home for the critters.  Each one had a name and, by the time I came around, a label on their personality…

A girl and her toad!

I am so glad that Abigail is not a girly girl, squeamish around such lovely creatures.  I am thrilled that she climbs trees and enjoys the mud between her toes while she catches salamanders near the pond.  I am delighted that she has some fellow girl-explorers who love to spend time in the beautiful creation all around them!