stubbed toes and mud pies

[flowerbug]

i did get the livetrap set for the groundhog. i made sure to chain it to the fence so it won't get dragged away by something else (raccoons) or roll down into the water. not sure the groundhog will go for the bait with the change in habitat i did next to that spot where i placed the trap.

apple slices, peanut butter and carrots. i'll admit i ate some of those as i was putting them in the bait pan.

then the other part of the "behind the fence operation" got going. i needed to remove a honeysuckle bush and some grape vines. took about an hour for just the one bush and those grape vines and then i found another grape vine to trim and in the process of throwing all that over the fence and hauling it away and pulling some stalks off the rhubarb i found some poison ivy and when tying the fence door closed i noticed there was even more poison ivy right there, so perhaps now i know where Mom and i may have picked it up a few times and not known where it was coming from. so i pulled that out of there and came in and washed my hands and put all those clothes in the sink to wash with soap a few times before they go into the laundry. and now that i'm laying here and taking a break i think i forgot to close that gap in the fence well enough so i'll have to go back out there and do that when i get back up. i also found out the maximum number of times i'll wash my hands if i think there's poison ivy sap on them (13)...

am i going to get anything done for the onion patch i was hoping to plant tomorrow? the mystery continues... it's only 3pm, there's a chance...

p.s. working near the lilac tree and in the honeysuckle bush (both in bloom) really pissed off my lungs.

 

[flowerbug]

Feeding our flying friends has changed them rather quickly:

https://www.science.org/content/article/bird-feeders-have-caused-dramatic-evolution-california-hummingbirds

10 generations is quick...

now, without looking how long do you think hummingbirds have been around and where do scientists think they started out?


Answers which surprised me, 42 million years ago and in Europe.

Note though that there is still a lot that is not known so these answers may change if new fossil evidence comes along.

 

[flowerbug]

and then... i went out to close the fence to make sure the groundhog would not find yet another way to get into the garden and frontside of the fence areas. as i was walking up to the house i heard this crashing noise and saw two large deer trying to run through the fence out front near the far corner. that fence is around the cedar trees.

they eventually made it through. at the same time Mom just came home so perhaps she startled them into a panic and otherwise they'd have just gone out the gap where the driveway is at... ? anyways, dunno as i didn't see or hear them at all the whole time i was out there until right at the end when the noise happened.

based upon how the day started and continued i'm not sure i want to go out around dark to check on the trap... i may get et by a barrr...

 

[flowerbug]

to be more positive...

today when i went out to check on the peas and beans the killdeer back there were having conniptions so i thought that perhaps the babies had hatched and my timing was perfect. there was only one baby already running around and the other three were still in the nest just getting used to being hatched.

i took a few moments to talk to them and told them how beautiful they were and that i'd never hurt them. i do not want them to imprint on me, but i do want them to at least know me. based upon past experiences the birds that i've talked to are much nicer to be around and spend a lot less time wasting energy on doing things which will not help them survive. also based upon many years of dealing with the same bird it has managed to survive and come back for all of these years so i don't think i'm doing any harm by talking to them for a few moments.

the momma out front is still sitting on her eggs.

 

[flowerbug]

Rocky Raccoon was in the trap this morning. i'm not surprised. i let him go and then reset the trap - i hope i scared him enough that he'll stay out of trap now, but ... we'll see.

then we spent four hours fixing the fence where the deer went through, made a mess of things and i must say that chicken wire is not really deer fencing...

i did get some weeding done here or there because i did not want to let some bedstraw or some other weeds i was seeing get going even more than they already were. break time now, i'm probably done for the day, a nap would be a good idea if i had enough brain cells to accomplish that.