Waved Sphinx

August 24, 2026

Before Melissa retired, our breakfast nook table was her computer workstation in one half and the other served as a dedicated workstation for her succulents.  The computer is now gone, and the succulents took over the whole.  The table sits in front of a large bay window that allows Melissa to watch the birds come to feeders placed just outside.  While we have always had numbers of house sparrows (Passer domesticus) these have recently been joined by a flock of young house finches (Haemorhous mexicanus). Over the last two weeks Melissa has noticed an increase in ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) coming to the hanging basket of button sage (Lantana involucrate) that sits among the feeders.  I find this species interesting as the male is brown with a ruby throat and white belly, while the female is green with a white belly.  With the increase in birds, Melissa cleared a spot for me to sit and read the morning paper and do my crossword.  I have also noticed several bumble bees (genus Bombus) and large moths (order Lepidoptera) on the same flower.  While I failed to document these fast birds, I did find a waved sphinx inside our porch.

When I went online, I found the waved sphinx (Ceratomia undulosa) is a common large moth in the family Sphingidae.  The species was first described by Francis Walker in 1856 and can be recognized by its mottled gray-brown wings and distinct wavy lines, with a small centered white spot on each forewing.  The moth has a 3 to 4.25-inch (7.6 to 10.8 cm) wingspan.  Despite its large size, its camouflage allows them to rest safely against tree bark.  It is native in the US and southern Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains.  Adults are strictly nocturnal, hiding with the dawn.  The Sphingidae family of moths are informally known as hawk moths because of their fast, strong, and hovering flight style, which resembles how a hawk flies.  They have long, narrow wings and streamlined bodies built for rapid movement.  The most common predator is the Guiana Striped Scorpion (Centruroides guianensis) which feasts on the moth’s egg clusters.  As the two species seem to arrive at the same time, the scorpions show up as the moth lays eggs, there was a wrong conclusion the moths give birth to the scorpions (i.e., the name Scorpion Moth).  Many Sphingidae caterpillars are known as hornworms from a distinct, horn-like spine located on their last abdominal segment.

I was concerned when I learned the waved sphinx was a horn worm.  The five-spotted hawkmoth (Manduca quinquemaculata) caterpillar is a major pest often referred to as the tomato hornworm and uses tomatoes as the host plants.  The food of the waved sphinx larvae are trees, and include ash (Fraxinus), privet (Ligustrum), oak (Quercus), hawthorn (Crataegus) and fringe tree (Chionanthus virginicus).  The caterpillars (larvae) go through five distinct growth stages (instars) over 3 to 4 weeks, shedding their skin each time.  When ready, the larvae crawl from the plant and burrow a few inches/centimeters into the soil to pupate.  In colder regions, the pupae overwinter underground in this chrysalis stage until spring.  In warm months, this stage lasts 1 to 3 weeks.  The adult moths emerge from the soil in spring or summer and live for 1 to 3 weeks before they reproduce and start the cycle again.  Adults feed on flower nectar using a long mouth tube (proboscis). 

Thoughts: When I tried to get close for a photo of the waved sphinx moth, I realized it was dead.  Even if it had been alive, it posed no threat to my garden.  I remember seeing the large green tomato hornworms in our garden when I was a child.  While I did not understand them as a pest, I was awed by their size.  The same was true with the adult sphinx.  It is common for humans to fear large creatures before we determine whether they are a threat.  We can treat other humans the same way.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

Metricus

August 22, 2026

We used to use a pest control company to spray our Arkansas house several times a year.  We quit spraying inside when Melissa began growing succulents to protect her many plants.  I would watch the technicians as they put granules in the yard, sprayed around the base of the house, and swept the eaves for wasp (Suborder: Apocrita) nests.  I realized the task was straight forward and being retired I could spare the periodic 30 minutes, so I took over the role.  We still get canvassers saying, “We happen to be in the neighborhood . . . “, but I tell them I do it myself.  When they ask what steps I use, I tell them same as they do, and their response is they have better chemicals.  Frankly, I am wary of commercial chemicals, and they leave.  I occasionally find a mud dauber (Subfamily: Sceliphrinae) nest that I spray and then knock off the house.  While I have not seen a paper nest in a while, I did see a metricus paper wasp on my tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants last week.

When I went online, I found metricus paper wasp (Polistes metricus) is a wasp native to North America.  In the US it ranges throughout the southern Midwest, the South, and as far northeast as New York, but has recently been spotted in southwest Ontario.  A single female has also been reported from Dryden, Maine.  The metricus has a dark rusty (ferruginous) color with black markings on its thorax and a mostly black abdomen.  The lower portion of the legs (tarsi) are yellow, and the upper leg (tibia) is black.  A black spot (separate from the antennae) contains three simple eyes (ocelli).  Females have six abdominal segments, while males bear seven.  Swelled parts of the abdomen of this species are a key defining element.  Like other Polistes (genus), metricus has a high level of socialization (eusociality), including cooperative brood care, overlapping generations of adults within a colony, and a division of labor into reproductive and non-reproductive groups.  Like other hymenopterans (Order), sex is determined by if the egg is fertilized (haplodiploid genetics).   The preferred prey to feed young is soft-bodied, and especially caterpillars.  The International Union for Conservation of Nature has not evaluated this species’ conservation status.

Nests of the metricus paper wasp can be found attached to almost anything, the sides of buildings, trees, and shrubbery.   Nests have been observed to be shared between two species of Polistes.  The different species of wasp were seen to coexist without conflict.  The evolutionary significance of joint nesting is unclear, but hypotheses include it might represent the beginning stages of interspecific sharing to the benefit of each (mutualism) or exploitation.  Nest reuse has been observed in the species.  It is common for a foundress to use the nest multiple times within a reproductive season, but it is unlikely for the foundresses to return to a nest in a subsequent season.  Another distinction is metricus foragers take off from their nests in different directions depending on how long their trip will be.  They exit the nest flying horizontally for short flights but exit the nest flying straight up to a high altitude before pursuing their direction for long flights. 

Thoughts: One of my memories as a child was my brother and I trying to knock down the metricus paper wasp nests on our porch.  The original front porch now faced a dirt street, and a side door faced a paved street, now making it the main entrance.  That meant the large wraparound porch was rarely used.  This seemed to be the perfect location for the paper nests.  We were too afraid to approach the nests directly, so we would toss a broom at them until they fell to the ground.  I can never remember being bothered by the wasps unless we were trying to knock down the nests.  When I saw the metricus on my tomato it was not bothering me, so I left it alone as.  That would have been a better reaction as a child as well.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

Uses for Second

August 19, 2026

After I finished canning my salsa yesterday, I was disappointed to find that only four of the eight jars I processed in the steam bath had sealed.  With the other jar of fresh salsa that gave me a total of 5 pints (2.7 l) of salsa that I would have to store in the refrigerator.  Since these jars only had a shelf life of 3 to 5 days, there was no way I was going to be able to eat the salsa before it went bad.  That meant a huge waste of time and money that I was not going to accept.  I search online for a way to salvage all (or as much as possible) of my effort.  What I found was that it is possible to run the salsa recipe a second time.  That meant I needed to pour the unsealed jars back into a pot, check and wash the jars, change the lids, and then repeat the entire process.  I always save the water in the canner to use on my garden, so I reheated it to boiling.  I sterilized the jars and new lids and poured the reheated salsa back in, along with the fresh salsa I had kept in the refrigerator.  This time I gave the canning an extra five minutes (35 total) and let the jars cool in the pot for another ten, just to be sure.  All five jars of the second batch of salsa sealed, for a total of 9 pints (4.25 l).

When I went online, I found the word second can function as a noun, adjective, adverb, or verb.  It is most used as a number or order position (adjective and adverb) in a series and means an ordinal number after first.  As a rank or quality second means next in importance, authority, or precedence.  Second can also be used as a measurement of time and space (noun) or as an informal expression for a short moment (e.g., wait a second).  Second is used as a unit of angular movement in navigation and astronomy.  In manufacturing second refers to items with minor flaws sold at a discount or the second forward gear in a motor vehicle’s transmission.  In music second represents the interval between two adjacent notes on a musical scale.  As an action (Verb) second can mean a formal statement of support or agreement for a motion so it can be debated or voted on (e.g., do I hear a second?) in a meeting.  For the British military second means transferring an employee or military officer to a different temporary reassignment duty (pronounced se-COND).  Just a few of many uses.

In a duel, a second is a trusted representative, advisor, and witness chosen to arrange the terms of combat, ensure fairness, and attempt to resolve the dispute peacefully.  Dueling was never legally sanctioned under English common law, but statutory bans and constitutional prohibitions were passed from medieval times through the 19th century as individual nations and US states outlawed dueling.  Dueling was globally outlawed by the Catholic Church in 1215 during the Fourth Council of the Lateran, but it was not until the 17th century that dueling was made illegal across various European nations where it was practiced.  In the US, several states passed prohibitions in the 19th century and by 1859 it was explicitly banned in at least 16 American states.  It was not until after the US Civil War that dueling effectively ceased and was universally banned across the US states and territories.

Thoughts: I was glad the second attempt to reprocess my salsa ended better than the three attempts it took to finish the duel after Kentucky Representative William Graves slapped Maine Congressman Jonathan Cilley in the face with an empty glove in 1838 (Cilley died).  Another famous duel was between Vice President Aaron Burr and Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton.  Hamilton was said to have shot in the air, but Burr shot Hamilton in the stomach.  Hamilton died the next day.  Burr was charged with murder but never went to trial, although it did squash his run for the presidency.  Not a duel, but in 1856 Massachusetts Senator Charles Sumner gave a fiery anti-slavery speech called “The Crime Against Kansas,” after which South Carolina Representative Preston Brooks beat him bloody and unconscious, polarizing the nation and became a major step toward the American Civil War.  And we think congress misbehaves today.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

Salsa

August 18, 2026

I have been keeping a close eye on my garden during the “feels like” 100+F (38+C) weather we had for the last week and predictions it will continue for the next 10 days.  I have been watering daily to keep the new seeds moist, but nothing has come up except the two zucchinis (Cucurbita pepo) planted in containers on the pool deck.  While my Roma tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum) are producing, the fruit is coming in spurts followed by a lull.  I have tried to let the tomatoes ripen and stay on the vine as much as possible to get enough to process “something”.  I already have 7 quarts (6.6 l) of pasta sauce from earlier this year, and 1 quart (0.95 l) left from last year, so pasta sauce is not a good idea.  I used the green tomatoes to make salsa verde last fall, but we gave away or ate most of those jars.  I have already made fresh Pico de Gallo several times and I felt I needed something with a longer shelf life.  I collected the rest of the tomatoes and enough fresh jalapenos (Capsicum annuum) to try another version of salsa.

When I went online, I found a salsa is any of a variety of sauces used as condiments for tacos and other Mexican and Mexican-American foods, and as dips for tortilla chips.  The salsa may be raw or cooked and are generally served at room temperature.  The word salsa means any kind of sauce in Spanish, but in English it refers specifically to these Mexican table sauces.  Tortilla chips with salsa are a ubiquitous appetizer in Mexican-American restaurants, but not in Mexico itself.  Using salsa as a table dip was popularized by Mexican restaurants in the US.  In the 1980’s, tomato-based Mexican-style salsas gained in popularity and by 1992 the dollar value of salsa sales in the US exceeded those of tomato ketchup.  The World Health Organization says care should be taken in the preparation and storage of salsa and any other types of sauces, since many raw-served varieties can act as growth media for potentially dangerous bacteria, especially when unrefrigerated. 

After picking my tomatoes I searched for an easy recipe for canning my salsa online.  The recipe combined 9 cups (9.1 l) chopped tomatoes, 2 cups (0.5 l) green bell peppers (Capsicum annuum), 2 cups (0.5 l) white onion (Allium cepa), 4 medium jalapenos, and 4 cloves of chopped garlic (Allium sativum).  One cup (0.25 l) of white vinegar provided the acidity to can the salsa for storage.   I chopped up the tomatoes and realized although it seemed like a lot, they were only 3 cups (0.7 l).  The recipe specified white and not red onion, or it would alter the color.  The same was true for the green pepper rather than the red ones from my garden.  I went to the store for more tomatoes, the “right” colors, and more pint canning jars.  This afternoon Melissa and I set about our water-bath salsa canning.  I (graciously) allowed her to cut up the jalapenos, and after I peeled the tomatoes (boiling and then ice water) she cut the tomatoes while I cut up the bells and onion to combine with minced garlic from the refrigerator.  The combination was simmered for 20 minutes to cook the vegetables and meld the flavors, placed in sterilized jars, and into the water bath for 30 minutes. We ended up with 8 canned jars and another fresh in the refrigerator (would not fit).  It was easy.

Thoughts: The contamination now at US restaurants made me think about my salsa.  A 2002 study by the University of Texas–Houston found salsa contaminated with E. coli in 66 from restaurants tested in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and in 40% in restaurants tested in Houston, Texas.  In 2010, the CDC reported 1 in 25 foodborne illnesses between 1998 and 2008 was traced back to restaurant sauces carelessly prepared or stored.  A 2010 paper on salsa food hygiene described refrigeration as “the key” to keeping the food safe.  This study also found that fresh lime juice (add for a salsa pH of 3.6) and fresh garlic (but not powdered garlic) combined would prevent the growth of Salmonella.  I am meticulous when I can, as you should be.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

Planting

August 10, 2026

I blogged several weeks ago about tearing the last of the plants out of my raised beds to prepare them for fall planting.  I purchased the seeds after cleaning the beds but was hesitant to plant them in the ground with the searing 100’s+F (37.8+C) heat.  Yesterday I decided to move ahead.  Like most things I do, the beginning of one project cannot happen until others get done.  The raised beds use the hügelkultur (logs and brush) and while I do not have any collapsed holes, the beds all sank since I refilled them in April.  That meant I needed to get a load of potting mix from the mulch yard.  By the time I got ready it was too hot to work on Saturday, and the yard is closed on Sunday.  The onion sets (Allium cepa) were starting to go bad, and I did not want to wait another week.  I calculated what it would cost for a half cubic yard (third cubic m) and found it would not be much more to purchase 40-pound (18 kg) bags of mix.  I knuckled down and bought 15 bags to refill the beds, and the six new potato grow bags.  I needed to know when I should be planting the various seeds.

When I went online, I found The Farmer’s Almanac provides a Fall planting calendar for my zone (7b).   The 9th and 10th were the most favorable days for planting beets (Beta vulgaris subsp. vulgaris), onions, turnips (Brassica rapa subsp. rapa), and other root crops so I was good there.  I am also planting radishes but with their short growing period (30 days) I decided to wait and try to harvest everything together.  The 18th and 19th were recommended for my peas (Pisum sativum), so I guess I jumped the gun on those.  The broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) recommended I plant seed starters and replant them in 2 weeks.  I instead planted them directly in the ground now (we will see how that goes).  The 25th to 27th are barren days, and a good time for killing plant pests.  If the squash vine borer (Melittia cucurbitae) comes back, I will be ready.  The 28th and 29th are excellent for any vine crops like my squash.  Again, I already planted zucchini and straightneck squash (both Cucurbita pepo).  Hopefully, this will work intuitively rather than by the Almanac (it could happen).

When I was clearing my beds for planting, I mentioned I had five (really) small heads of cabbage (Brassica oleracea) that I cleaned and put in the vegetable bin.  All I needed was inspiration for what to do with them.  With my other crops in the ground, I decided to try another batch of sauerkraut.  I made one quart (0.9 l) a month ago and it is fermenting well on the pantry shelf.  I sliced the cabbage last night, then got distracted.  I had put salt on the sliced cabbage, and it sat on the cabinet all day yesterday.  I was too tired to deal with it last night, so I placed it in the refrigerator.  That proved to be a mistake.  When I took it out this morning the cut leaves needed to be kneaded for 5 or 6 minutes to break them down and bring the water out.  While I could have let it raise to room temperature, I had already procrastinated enough, and I moved ahead.  The cold nearly froze my fingers.

THOUGHTS: I seem to treat planting the same way I do cooking.  There are recipes out there, but what is the fun of that?  There are planting guides out there, but what could it hurt?  Both the recipes and planting guides follow proven methods.  While chefs often improvise for new tastes and cuisines, unless you are trying for a new cultivar, gardeners rarely do.  There is also wiggle room built into the planting suggestions.  If my unorthodox schedule works, there will be plenty of vegetables for the food bank.  If it does not, we already support them monetarily.  You always need a backup plan.  In graduate school I was frowned upon because I did not support a specific theory, instead preferring to be eclectic.  Eclectic is harder because you need to understand multiple theories and be willing to see what works in each situation.  While this may not be the safest approach, it can produce a better result.  Being open can also be valuable in life.  Act for all.  Change will come and it starts with you.

Carnivorous

August 05, 2026

My NYT feed The Morning included a blurb about the vindication of Charles Darwin’s hypothesis about carnivorous plants.  Darwin called Venus flytraps (Dionaea muscipula) “one of the most wonderful plants in the world” and once remarked that he cared more about sundews, plants that sport sticky, flypaper-like traps, “than the origin of all the species in the world.”  Darwin published a treatise on carnivorous plants in 1875 that featured several species he thought could be flesh-eating flora, including the hardy alpine plants (genus Saxifraga) that had sticky hairs.  Darwin tempted two European Saxifraga species with insects during feeding experiments, but he was unable to prove they were carnivorous.  Scientists have now vindicated Darwin’s hypothesis. A team of researchers recently served tiny flies to another Saxifraga species native to China. Their findings were published on Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications revealing the Saxifraga candelabrum does digest and absorb sustenance from trapped prey, expanding evidence of a new family of carnivorous plants.

When I went online, I found Saxifraga candelabrum is a species of flowering plant in the family Saxifragaceae native to northwestern Sichuan and northern Yunnan, China.  Candelabrum is a perennial herb reaching 6 to 15 inches (15 to 38 cm) in height.  The species grows in a variety of habitats, including forests, forest edges, high meadows, and rocky crevices at elevations from 6,600 to 13,800 feet (2,000 to 4,200 m).   The 2026 study found that it is carnivorous, trapping insects in the glandular hairs of its leaves and digesting them.  The plant’s flowers attract tiny flying insects in the dipterid suborder Nematocera (aka gnats) and traps them with their sticky glandular hairs.  Larger flies (order Diptera) are too big to be captured and instead serve as flower pollinators.  The Saxifraga candelabrum can attract, trap, digest, and absorb nitrogen from insects, supporting a prediction made by Charles Darwin more than 150 years ago.

Many plants exhibit carnivorous traits like prey capture, but to be formally classified as carnivorous they must show adaptations for attracting, catching, digesting, and absorbing nutrients from prey.  Hang Sun and colleagues studied Saxifraga candelabrum and field observations and surveys of existing plant samples showed that insect prey was present on the glandular hairs of 43 out of 45 surveyed specimens.  Mature plants displayed an average of 71 trapped insects, predominantly on these hairs.  The authors used fluorescence tagging to identify a digestive enzyme (phosphatase activity) found in carnivorous plants, suggesting that the plant can potentially digest prey.  Small flies (genus Drosophila) labeled with a stable form of nitrogen were fed to the plant to analyze whether it could absorb the prey’s nutrient.  The authors observed a notable rise in labeled nitrogen levels among candelabrum and control plants from another carnivorous species, and no rise in the non-carnivorous controls.  Genetic analysis also found genomic similarities with other independently evolved carnivorous plants.  These findings provide strong evidence to support Darwin’s hypothesis.

THOUGHTS: Carnivorous plants have independently evolved in 14 families of flowering plants and are defined by the trapping and digesting of prey for nourishment.  Being a meat eater allows a plant to live in depleted soil and harsh habitats.  Humans have an even greater advantage as they can eat both meat and plants (omnivorous).  This flexible diet helps us survive when one food source is scarce or when the environment changes.  However, we cannot digest tough plants as herbivores do and are less skilled at catching fast or dangerous prey as carnivores.  Humans have instead learned to adapt to their environment more than being shaped by it.  Now we need to ensure our adaptation does not destroy the environment.  Act for all.  Change will come and it starts with you.

Nocturnal

August 04, 2026

I have mentioned how when I let the kids out back, Loki immediately begins snuffling around beneath the ramp we placed over the steps.  The ramp consists of an 8-foot by 4-foot (2.4 m by 1.2 m) sheet of 1 inch (2.5 cm) plywood with 2-inch (5 cm) retaining walls for sides.  While this may not meet American Disabilities Act standards, it served for my father-in-law’s electric wheelchair, and we still use it to help wheel things in and out of the house.  We have had several critters who have taken up residence under the ramp, from a Fowler’s Toad (Anaxyrus fowleri) to an Eastern chipmunk (Tamias striatus).  Over the last weeks the trees on our property line are home to a North American opossum (Didelphis virginiana) that drives the kids crazy at night.  It sits above the squirrel feeder unafraid and stares down at them while they bark.  Last night something got into the window bird feeders and the kids went nuts.  I figured it was the eastern gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) that has become braver of late.  I opened the door and followed the kids out as they rushed to the feeder.  Loki was trying to crawl up the wall, so I shined my flashlight toward the eaves.  I noticed two new nocturnal invaders clinging to the side of our house.

When I went online, I found common animal nocturnal invaders include raccoons (Procyon lotor), opossums (Didelphis virginiana), and skunks (Mephitis mephitis), which search yards and homes for food after dark.  Raccoons are smart climbers that raid trash cans, chimneys, and attics.  Opossums are slow scavengers that look for pet food or shelter under decks.  Skunks are burrowing mammals that dig up lawns looking for grubs and insects.  At night, all three can be heard rummaging through the yard or even scratching or thumping in ceilings or walls.  The biggest problem is property damage as they topple trash cans, tear house insulation, or dig up the lawn for grubs.  They also give off unusual musky smells, especially skunks.  Nocturnal wildlife is adept at moving under cover of darkness and can be tough to track or manage.  All three should be avoided as they are carriers of rabies, an infectious viral disease that causes severe encephalitis in humans and other mammals.

I have been using the pool skimming pole to help the opossum off the fence to calm the kids.  This is easy enough and he falls outside the fence so there is no danger from the dogs.  Our new nocturnal invaders were different.  Two immature raccoons had scrambled up the brick wall and were now hanging below the house eaves.  There was no way I could get them down without them having to run about 30 feet (9 m) across the deck to safety.  I put the kids inside and fetched the skimmer.  The first one dropped easily and quickly scampered across the deck and under the fence, but the second one gave me a harder time.  When I finally got it down, he was frantic and misjudged the side of the pool and ended up in the water.  The water is down about 4 feet (1.2 m) from lack of rain.  I could see no way for the raccoon to get out on its own.  I did not want to fish a drowned animal out the next morning.  When I tried to catch him with the skimmer net, he started screaming and hissing.  I finally swiped him out and he took off to freedom.  He did not turn around to say thanks.   

THOUGHTS: I have retrieved several nocturnal invaders out of the pool/pond during our 8 years here.  Many were not as lucky as the raccoon and were found the next morning.  Raccoons are known to return until you clean up or put away the food they have located.  We had an adult rummaging in the bird seed on our screened porch in 2022 until I resolved the problem by putting the seed in sealed 5-gallon (20 L) buckets.  I wonder if the pair will try their luck again tonight.  Humans will also take huge risks to secure food.  The world needs to treat adequate food as a right and not a “for profit” luxury.  Act for all.  Change will come and it starts with you.

Farm School

August 03, 2026

After I blogged last week on my gardening not (yet) being at a “sustainable level”, I read a front-page article in today’s local newspaper on learning what it takes to farm.  The nine-month program (February through November) is designed to provide beginning specialty crop farmers foundational knowledge, hands-on experience, and the business training needed to launch or expand a farming operation which will serve local and regional markets.  Aspiring farmers interested in growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, and herbs can apply for a program offered by the Center for Arkansas Farms and Food (CAFF).  Heather Friedrich, director of the CAFF, said, “We need farmers at the very core of building our food system.  We can’t build on the other aspects of our food system if we don’t have farmers.”  This program is appropriately named the Farm School.

When I went online, I found the Farm School was created to help strengthen local food systems as Arkansas’ farming population ages.  The CAFF was developed to strengthen and expand our food and farming system by providing new opportunities to shape our current and future farmers, food entrepreneurs, and food system leaders.  The program is part of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station through the University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture (UADA), and is part of the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the (UADA).  According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the average age of Arkansas farmers is 57 and an estimated 70% of the nation’s farmland is expected to change ownership in the next two decades.  The program does not require formal farming experience, although applicants are encouraged to have worked or volunteered on a farm to better understand the demands of agricultural work.  Each cohort is limited to 15 students to allow for more individualized instruction.

The Farm School offers hands-on instruction on a teaching farm that includes intensive market gardens, tractor-scale production fields, greenhouses, high tunnels and perennial fruit plantings.  The curriculum combines classroom instruction with field experience, covering sustainable farming practices, commercial fruit and vegetable production, season-long crop planning, business management, marketing, legal risk management, and food safety.  Students also learn how to access agricultural resources and develop business and crop plans for their own future operations.  The classroom and field instruction is led by educators with commercial farming experience, with additional lessons from University of Arkansas scientists, local farmers and agricultural resource providers.  Students work in small groups to manage their own plots throughout the growing season, making decisions on crop selection, planting schedules, pest management, harvesting and labor needs.  As part of the program, students also operate a seasonal farm stand, selling produce they grow while gaining experience in customer service, merchandising, inventory management and cash handling.  Revenue from the stand helps fund scholarships for future Farm School students.

THOUGHTS: The 2026 Farm School class opened its farm stand July 16 at the Arkansas Union Mall on the University of Arkansas campus.  “It’s a really great opportunity for our aspiring farmers,” Friedrich said. “They get experience with the public, and it helps raise money for our incoming students who need financial assistance.”  Applicants must be at least 18 years old and reside in the US.  Because of the physical nature of farming, participants should expect regular lifting, bending, kneeling and working outdoors in varying weather conditions.  Applications are due September 30, and scholarships are available for qualifying students.  Additional information and applications are available at LearnToFarm. org.  If only I was only younger and had a larger field . . . Act for all.  Change will come and it starts with you.

Electroculture

July 31, 2026

This week I tore out the last of the plants in my raised beds.  The first to go were the remaining onions (Allium cepa) I had left in the ground.  I found it was a mistake to leave the mature bulbs in the ground as the sun and high temperatures (95F+/35C+) burned the tops of the bulbs that stuck out of the soil (another learning experience).  It became clear the cabbages (Brassica oleracea) were done forming into heads and were just soaking up water.  I joked with Melissa that I had raised “tiny cabbages”, my cutesy name for brussels sprouts (also Brassica oleracea).  They came out, and the small heads are waiting in the vegetable bin for me to do something with.  The volunteer cantaloupe (Cucumis melo) only produced two viable fruits and there were no new flowers, so out it came.  The last to go were the two cucumber plants.  They had produced well, including 14 pints of canned dill pickles and numerous pounds to donation.  Now I need to prepare the beds and get ready for my fall planting.  Thinking about what goes where always puts me on alert, so my interest was perked when I came across a Facebook reel touting the virtues of Electroculture Gardening.  

When I went online, I found electroculture gardening is an alternative practice involving placing copper wires, antennae, or magnetic coils into the soil to capture atmospheric and geomagnetic energy.  Proponents of the technique claim it accelerates growth, increases crop yields, and repels pests.  Mainstream science views these claims as lacking “robust” empirical proof.  The copper antennas are simple enough to make and are readily available for purchase.  They consist of copper wire wrapped tightly around an 11 inch (37.5cm) wooden or bamboo stake that is then pushed about 3 inches (7.5 cm) into the soil.  In the Northern Hemisphere you twist the wire in a clockwise spiral to supposedly match local magnetic forces.  You can also place open loops of copper wire (Lakhovsky-style coils) around the bases of individual plants.  This coil is a simple open-ended loop of wire with overlapping ends that do not touch, invented by Georges Lakhovsky, to act as a passive resonant circuit.  Controlled tests and academic agricultural reviews find no verified mechanisms or consistent data showing that passive copper wire acts as an effective power antenna or nutrient booster for soil, and suggest standard alternatives (organic compost, maintaining proper hydration, and rotating crops) work as well or better to improve harvest. 

I have tried several trendy methods to grow or increase the produce in my yard.  This includes raised beds using hügelkultur (built over logs), cloth grow bags, the three sisters (corn/ Zea mays, beans/ Phaseolus vulgaris, and squash/ genus Cucurbita) grown in mounds, 5-gallon (19 L) buckets, and containers.  I even have gone so far as to plant directly in the ground (ha ha).  All these methods have been successful at times, and at other times not.  I am constantly trying to increase yields to make our household more sustainable and less dependent on outside resources.  I have yet to be consistent.  

THOUGHTS: Electroculture gardening seems to be another attempt to improve crop yield.  Some have made a stark claim that the world only has a limited number of harvests left (100, 60, or even 30).  While the claims are overblown, soil erosion rates from across the world span five orders of magnitude.  Around 16% of the world’s soils are eroding quickly and have an estimated lifespan of less than 100 years.  Half of the soils are eroding slower with a lifespan greater than 1000 years while one-third have over 5000 years.  As with my garden, we need to protect our soils with agricultural practices like cover cropping, minimal to no tillage, and contour cultivation.  While it is feasible for me to test electroculture, extending the world’s soil will require a proven and cooperated effort across every country.  Act for all.  Change will come and it starts with you.

Triceratops Beetle

July 27, 2026

When I go out the back door it is always a mad scramble for the kids to race out into the yard.  Sometimes I will stop at the door and hold up my hand (command to sit).  Loki is usually reluctant but will slowly obey my command.  Zena often instead crouches down a bit and whines in protest but will then sit.  I did not require them to sit as I walked out to water the back garden today.  When I opened the door there was the immediate scramble as each tear through the door, through the sun porch, and out into the yard, hoping to catch a slow gray squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis) on the bird feeders.  As I walked out after them, I noticed they had both run over a large black bug lying on its back.  It appeared to be in distress as its legs were flailing in an apparent attempt to right itself.  As I was watching the bug the kids noticed me looking and came back to investigate.  First Zena and then Loki came in through the door, and I had to shoo them away.  I was reluctant to pick the bug up as I did not know what it was, so I swept it into a dustpan and turned it back onto its feet.  After turning the bug over I recognized it as a triceratops beetle.

When I went online, I found the triceratops beetle (Phileurus truncatus) is a species of beetle of the family Scarabaeidae (scarab beetles).  The beetle ranges across much of southern North America, up to the central south.  It is known for its three horns present on both sexes.  The name is a reference to the triceratops dinosaur (Ceratops horridus) that lived in the Late Cretaceous period (68 to 66 million years ago) on the island continent of Laramidia, now forming western North America.  Adult beetles range from 1.25 to 1.5 inches (32 to 38 mm).  Males have thicker, more blunt horns that curve more aggressively towards its body, while females have thinner, straighter, pointier horns.  The horns have a divot running down the center of their prothorax dividing both sides, with a very small bump just before the divot.  When they beetles are disturbed that produce sound (stridulations) by rapidly rubbing their hardened forewings against their abdomen.

The triceratops beetle is considered good for your yard and garden.  As grubs, these beetles live inside rotting tree trunks (oak preferred) and consume the wood.  After pupating into adults, they consume the grubs of other beetles.  Hopefully this one has been feasting on the squash bugs that invaded earlier.  I set the dustpan down and took a picture of the beetle.  I had planned to safely release the triceratops back into the garden (and out of my house), but when I turned back to look, it was nowhere to be found.  Our porch stores my bird and garden supplies, along with several hundred of Melissa’s succulents, and it apparently flew off and hid somewhere in the room.  We keep the outside door open most of the time for circulation and we do have the occasional house sparrow (Passer domesticus) or paper wasp (Polistes dominula) that attempt to make this area their home.  The triceratops might have done the same thing.   

THOUGHTS: Having a triceratops beetle on our sun porch is not a bad thing, but I hope she (smaller horns) finds her way back outside.  To my knowledge there are no beetle grubs living on the concrete floor.  The ancient Egyptians revered another scarab beetle (Scarabaeus sacer) as a powerful symbol of rebirth, the morning sun, and creation.  They connected the dung beetle’s habit of rolling a ball of dung across the sand to the sun moving across the sky.  When young beetles hatched from the buried dung, the Egyptians saw it as a sign of life coming from nothing.  When I visited the great pyramid at Giza there were several people selling terra cotta beetles with a bright blue glaze (faience).  One gave a free beetle to each of the three ladies I was traveling with.  After they walked off, he turned to me and said, “As you will.”  They were gone and “free” beetles cost me US$1 (EGP51.37 Pounds) each.  Another cultural lesson learned.  Act for all.  Change will come and it starts with you.