June 11, 2024

At the beginning of June, I mentioned how we were being inundated by house flies (Musca domestica) and fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster).  Melissa mentioned how her work mates and friends have also been complaining about the same infestation.  I have been trying different approaches to get rid of the flies and have been relatively successful with the house flies (keep the door shut).  I cannot say the same about fruit flies.  We have cleaned the counters and flushed the sink drains.  I keep the kitchen composter closed and regularly run the processed remains outside to my inground composting bin.  I have tried glue strips and apple cider vinegar traps.  These have worked but do not seem to be keeping up with the growing number of fruit flies that are making my kitchen sink and counters home.  This morning, I reached my limit when Melissa called me into the kitchen to find around 30 fruit flies covering our sink.  I swatted them with a towel, went to my office to research the best ways to get rid of the fruit flies, and then took off for the market to buy a more effective ways of getting rid of the pests.  

When I looked online, I found the common fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) is among the common types of flies in Arkansas and the US, but they are also found around the world.  These flies are about 0.12 inches (3 mm) in body length with the females are generally larger in size compared to males and have a more rounded abdomen.  Both have brick-red eyes and a yellow-brown body.  The fruit fly has a lifecycle of 10 to 14 days.  They are commonly found near decaying fruits and vegetables where they feed on the yeast and bacteria that thrive in those environments.  Fruit fly eggs are only visible under a microscope, measuring 0.04 inches (1/2 mm) in length.  The eggs are oblong (like a piece of rice) and pale yellow in color.  The female can lay up to 500 eggs at a time, primarily in the fermenting or decaying, sweet, organic material found in the fruits and vegetables that attract the adults.  The fruit fly is usually attracted to moisture and light.

Many of the remedies I found online to combat my fruit flies involve using the fly’s attraction of moisture and light.  Several of these involved a combination of ultraviolet blue light and sticky traps.  The theory is the light will attract the flies who then settle on the scented sticky trap and are unable to get off.  I also renewed my effort of placing a cider trap to provide the liquid they find appealing.  Jody Green, a contributor to the journals of the Entomological Society of America, specializes in urban and industrial entomology or “the bugs that people love to hate the most.”  Green said, “They don’t just magically appear like most people think they do, but you can find them inside when you have fermenting foods.”  If you want to get rid of fruit flies, all you need to do is remove the rotten fruits or any rotten organic matter from your home.  Cleaning habits are an important step in getting rid of fruit flies.  My cleaning habits will never receive the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.

THOUGHTS:  I discovered while researching how to get rid of fruit flies that I was making my apple cider trap wrong.  I poured the cider into a trap and watched as dozens of fruit flies swarm the trap in the morning, but there were only a few dead ones inside the trap.  Then I read you need to add a few drops of dish soap in the vinegar to break up the surface tension of the liquid and allow the flies to sink rather than float on top.  So much for the person who refuses to take STEM classes in school because they “will never be useful in real life”.  I am banking on biology and surface dynamics to resolve the problem with my fruit flies.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

June 07, 2024

The back page of the front section of my local newspaper ran a USA Today article on a new US$40 million housing campus that just opened in Detroit, Michigan.  The complex broke ground in 2022 and officially opened on Monday, but the planning for the center has taken place over the last nine years.  Rev. Tim McCabe, president and CEO of the Pope Francis Center (PFC) toured 27 other shelters from around the US to gain insights and ideas for the facility.  The site includes a specialty “hot room” for disinfecting blankets and clothing upon arrival or heat lamps that warm a covered patio designed for people seeking shelter from the cold but who are just not ready to come inside.  McCabe said, “We’re going to change the conversation around what it means to be homeless . . . and we do that with radical compassion and love.”  In Detroit, this radical compassion is on display at the Bridge Housing Campus.

When I looked online, I found PFC’s Bridge Housing Campus is a 60,000 foot² (5574 m²) campus that sits on 5.3 acres (2.1 ha) of once vacant land.  Residents are greeted by a building with gable roofs and contrasting exterior bricks to convey a sense of residence.  Each of the 40 residents (men for now) will be assigned a separate studio apartment connected by wide inside hallways painted in calming neutral blue and green colors so nobody feels closed in.  The 336 feet² (31.2 m²) units feature a bathroom and living area, bed, television, kitchenette, and bright windows.  Three of the units are designated as anti-ligature rooms (cannot be used by someone to harm self by bind or tie) equipped with fixtures to keep residents safe such as sinks with no knobs.  Bridge Housing not only provides residents with a place to live for 90-120 days but services to promote their independence and well-being such as a medical and dental clinic along with a team of social workers, addiction specialists, and psychiatrists.  Other amenities are an 8-bed respite center for those discharged from the hospital but needing time to recover, a full kitchen for meals and culinary training, classrooms to provide for job preparation and financial literacy, a library, computer lab, art room, meditation space, barber shop, and a gymnasium for fitness or social activities.  The PFC’s regular services at the nonprofit’s downtown location will continue once the campus opens.  The downtown day center provides two meals, laundry and shower facilities, medical and dental clinics, and legal clinics to help people to find housing. 

A major difference of the Bridge Housing Campus than other facilities designed to address chronic homelessness is a partnership with the surrounding community.  McCabe said the campus will not only benefit its residing guests but their neighbors who consented to have the project built.  The neighborhood will also have full free access to the campus’ health clinic, classrooms, cafeteria, and gymnasium.  “I can’t wait for the kids in the neighborhood to see this and to come and throw a basketball around,” McCabe said, “The community needs to see these people, not as scary”.  The interaction between residents and the community will help tear down the stereotypes that add to the trauma already experienced by the homeless and allow the community to see them as people.

THOUGHTS:  The potential success of Bridge Housing comes from the willingness of the community to act as a partner in the project.  We have had several attempts to build housing communities (tiny houses and community center) on vacant land in the city near us that have been shot down by residents near (not in) the areas suggested.  They decried the bad element that would be brought to live in these communities even more than any potential loss of property values.  Both reflect the stereotype Bridge Housing was able to overcome through cooperation.  People in crisis need a hand up, not a push down.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

June 06, 2024

My sister-in-law dropped by today for some good conversation and since we have a thriving Food Truck court in town (8 separate trucks) we decided to go there for lunch, so we could each pick the food (bar-b-que to Cajun to Asian to American) of our choosing.  On the way to her car, I stopped to pick up the free local newspaper that had been thrown into our driveway.  Once int the car, both Melissa and her sister mentioned how this paper had been a staple when they were growing up.  It had carried stories of local interest and notes and pictures on school events (it still does today).  I later opened the newspaper, and the Outdoor News section had a full page article with stories and pictures of local anglers participating in the southern tradition of noodling.

When I looked online, I found noodling is fishing for catfish using bare hands or feet and is practiced primarily in the southern US.  Other names for the method are used in different regions (South and Midwest) and include hogging, dogging, grappling, grabbling, and tickling.  The method requires the noodler to place their hand or foot inside a discovered catfish hole in order to catch the fish.  While the term noodling is primarily used for the capture of flathead catfish, it can and has been applied to all hand fishing methods, regardless of the method or species of fish sought.  Noodling has also been applied to various unconventional methods of fishing which do not use bait, rod and reel, but this is less common.  Noodling has also been applied to the hand capture of snapping turtles.  Due to concerns over the safety of noodlers and sustainability of fish populations, the technique is illegal in some states where it was once traditionally practiced but is legal in some form in sixteen states, but with restrictions on the species or sizes of fish, of the specific methods used (Arkansas is one). 

Other than drowning, or being injured by underwater hazards, noodling has other physical threats, including the potential for fatal injury caused by other forms of aquatic life that may be residing in the abandoned holes of cavity spawning catfish, such as snapping turtles, snakes, beavers, and alligators.  Loose fitting clothes may get tangled or snagged on roots or rocks, and various physical injuries may be incurred while underwater, ranging anywhere from superficial wounds to losing fingers.  Several articles suggest precautionary measures, such as using the buddy system, wearing tight clothing that hugs the skin, and inspecting potential holes with a stick.  Other recommendations include noodling shirtless or while wearing a short sleeve shirt, to wear gloves that offer some level of protection for one’s hands, and to not wear any jewelry.  The mortality rate per capita for noodling indicates it is extremely dangerous in comparison to other forms of fishing and noodling related deaths have been reported.  The Oklahoma lake record catfish that was caught by noodling and weighed 87.85 pounds (39.85 kg), was 53-3⁄4 inches (137 cm) long, and 38-1⁄4 inches (97 cm) in girth.  A typical weight for a flathead catfish caught by noodling is 40 pounds (18 kg). 

THOUGHTS:  I always wanted to try noodling when I was younger but never liked the idea of being bitten by a large catfish.  I found a 2020 master’s thesis on noodling mortality in Oklahoma.  The study states, “Human fatalities occur while noodling every year in our state, with the most common cause of death being drowning.”  Noodling deaths are difficult to gauge, as most are listed merely as underwater drowning.  Other Noodling deaths are recorded as “missing” as the bodies are swept away by the current and never found.  The overwhelming pattern for a noodling mortality is a white male in their mid-30’s.  The other constant is a blood alcohol content of over 0.1%.  Young males fishing for cats with coolers of beer seems to be another tradition throughout the South and Midwest for this demographic, so it is not surprising that would hold for noodling.  I guess you have to find courage somewhere.  “Don’t Drink & Noodle”.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

June 05, 2024

In the middle of the back section of my local newspaper I found a USA Today article reporting how Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being used to fight invasive plants in the Florida Everglades.  The changing climate has produced stronger and more frequent hurricanes which can open areas of the dense everglades foliage and allows invaders to take control.  Researchers at the University of Florida are using AI to gather data combining ground-level research with hyperspectral sensing.  The study is focused on two of the Everglades worst invaders, the Old World climbing fern (Lygodium microphyllum) and the Brazilian pepper.  The pepper is particularly abundant along the fringes of the Mangrove swamps (biome associated with various salt-water tolerant species).  The team plans to examine post-hurricane conditions with remotely sensed data and map the distribution of invasive plants in an effort to help identify and eradicate them. 

When I looked online, I found the Brazilian pepper (Schinus terebinthifolia) is a species of flowering plant in the cashew family (Anacardiaceae) that is native to subtropical and tropical South America.  The plant is a sprawling shrub or small tree with a shallow root system that may reach heights of 23 to 33 feet (7 to 10 m).  The branches can be upright, reclining, or nearly vine-like, all on the same plant, and its plastic morphology allows it to thrive in all kinds of ecosystems.  In swamps the pepper grows as a semi-aquatic plant.  The leaves are alternate, 3.9 to 8.7 inches (10 to 22 cm) long, pinnately compound with 5 to 15 roughly oval leaflets that are 1.2 to 2.4 inches (3 to 6 cm) long and 0.79 to 1.38 inches (2 to 3.5 cm) broad.  The leaflets have finely toothed margins, an acute to rounded apex and yellowish veins.  The plant has separate male and female reproductive organs in different individuals (dioecious) and produces abundant small white flowers in clusters.  The seeds are a stone fruit (drupe) 0.16 to 0.20 inches (4 to 5 mm) in diameter and carried in dense clusters of hundreds.  The pepper tree was introduced as an ornamental outside its native range and is now considered an invasive species, including the US states of California, Texas, Hawaii, Arizona, Nevada, Louisiana, and Florida.  It is another one that got away.

Violent storms can shape plant invasions in two ways.  The storms can make the landscape more receptive to invasion by killing native plants communities and allowing more sunlight for invaders to capitalize on.  Storms can also spread invasive seeds and spores to new areas.  If resources can be allocated before or right after a storm the invasions can be managed more efficiently, and that is where AI comes to play.  According to researcher Susan Meerdink, a method called “multitarget multiple-instance spectral match filter” (MTMI-SMF) is a machine learning approach that can detect invaders using multispectral imagery.  “Our study demonstrates that remote sensing technologies and multiple-instance learning algorithms can provide managers with critical tools.”  Data is collected using a remote flyover, like a drone, helicopter, or satellite.  Some invasive species give off a unique and detectable spectral (light) signal different than native species.  AI can in turn plot their presence.

THOUGHTS:  The researchers describing the use of AI to detect the presence of Brazilian Pepper appear caught in technospeak.  Technospeak is an informal term for a prose style used by high-technology industries, their associated media, and the marketing and publicity groups around them.  Many outsiders consider it a nonsense language consisting of buzzwords, esoteric words, and technical jargon.  The style does give clear meaning while reducing the words otherwise needed to make your point.  While this can make communication concise, it creates also US vs THEM.  If you do not understand, I am not talking to you anyway.  If you want to be understood, you need to speak to others in a way they can understand.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

June 04, 2024

You can imagine my surprise when I was driving the kids back from the lake and came across a “new” store on the outskirts of our town.  It was prominently placed at the grade school crosswalk that led to a growing new subdivision.  Although the market front had a new look, it felt familiar.  It surprised me I had not noticed new construction at the site, although I had not been to the lake for several weeks.  I was even more confounded when I saw a large “Clearance” sign attached to the building.  How could you have a clearance sale at the new store?  I went home without thinking much more about it, but when I returned to walk the kids the next day, I realized what was going on.  This was not new construction or even a new store.  The building had been a Dollar General the last time I had seen it.  The clearance was possible as the store liquidated its sundry inventory to make way for the meat and fresh produce that comprised a portion of the refurbished DG Market.

When I looked online, I found that although the DG Markets are built (or refurbished) as modestly sized buildings, the inside looks more spacious because of its new, clean, and organized arraignment.   The sections of the store are labeled and there are visual zones to create the illusion of more space.  DG still uses the practice of making sure their markets are strategically located to ensure each location will continue to meet “their customers’ price, value, and selection needs.”  According to their publicist, DG’s offers the top 20 items typically sold in traditional grocery stores and covers approximately 80% of produce categories of most other grocery stores.  While the fresh meat section does not stack up to the local butcher shop, they do carry some staples (even baby back ribs!).  The Health and Beauty isles provide ample (name brand) items that are not marked up over the local box markets.  Even if you are not after groceries, the DG Market still carries a lot of the same items you bought from the regular Dollar General, like home decor to trash bags to party supplies.

Over the last two years Dollar General has opened new DG Markets and replaced several regular Dollar General locations (like mine) with this updated store concept.  Matthew Simonsen, Dollar General’s senior vice president of real estate and store development said the company is aiming to provide communities with “closer access to fresh foods” through its DG Market stores.  While the exact number of DG Markets opened is not clear, there are well over 100 locations listed on Google as of June 2023.  These markets are not the only spinoffs under the Dollar General brand, either.  The company also has DGX stores in a few urban locations that are laid out more like a convenience store.  Then there is “popshelf” that debuted in 2021 in response to the pandemic and had 30 locations by the end of the year.  Popshelf sells beauty products, home decor, party supplies, and other discretionary items, with products mostly for $5 or less.  The chain’s target audience initially skewed female, with the outlets located in suburban markets with household incomes ranging from US$50,000 to US$125,000.  DG has received criticism for exploiting lower income food deserts (and even causing them), but they are one of the few ventures that is willing to provide access to these underserved communities.

THOUGHTS:  Melissa and I had a game of guessing how many cars would be parked at the DG at the entrance to the small town we visited each Sunday.  It was always between 7 to 9 vehicles.  As I pass the new DG Market in our town, it is usually the same even with our two chain supermarkets.  Food deserts are a serious problem for rural and low income consumers, especially when there are limited transportation options.  Underserved communities need to be supported with access to inexpensive quality goods and services.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

June 03, 2024

With the overcast days filled with intermittent rains we have been inundated by house flies (Musca domestica) and lately fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster).  Melissa likes to keep the patio windows open along with the kitchen door to take advantage of the breeze.  While this still provides a barrier from the outside, the kids put a kink in the system.  Melissa works in our bay window to watch the action as the birds (and squirrels) come to the feeders.  During the morning the kids tend to run in and out the door between the kitchen and outside fence where Melissa is working.  That means Melissa must either keep the patio door open (allowing flies), keep the kitchen door shut (depriving of breeze), or get up and down every time the kids decide they want to go outside after coming in 5 minutes ago.  That means the doors are often open and inviting the flies to enter.  We occasionally get other visitors who take advantage of the open doors, like the paper wasps (Polistes fuscatus) and black and yellow mud daubers (Sceliphron caementarium).  Melissa is highly allergic to bee and wasp stings, so when she saw something that looked like a wasp land on the windowsill next to her head, she called me into the kitchen to investigate.  I later found out this was actually a robber fly.    

When I looked online, I found the Fan-bristled robber fly (Dysmachus trigonus), or assassin fly, are part of the larger robber fly family.  They are powerfully built, bristly flies with a stout proboscis enclosing the sharp, sucking mouth parts (hypopharynx).  The name “robber flies” reflects their predatory habits as they feed on other insects by waiting in ambush to catch their prey in flight.  The Asilidae are a family in the order Diptera (true flies) and are cosmopolitan (around the world) with over 7000 described species.  French zoologists Pierre Andre Latreille established the family in 1802.  Robber flies have stout, spiny legs and three simple eyes (ocelli) in a characteristic depression on the tops of their head between two large compound eyes.  They also usually have a dense moustache of stiff bristles on the face (mystax).  The mystax is suggested to afford protection for the head and face when the robber fly deals with struggling prey.  The family of flies attack a wide range of prey, including other flies, beetles, butterflies and moths, various bees, ants, dragonflies and damselflies, ichneumon wasps, grasshoppers, and some spiders.  Many Asilidae when attacked do not hesitate to defend themselves and may deliver intensely painful bites to humans if handled.

When I saw the robber fly sitting on the sill, I was at a loss for how to deal with it.  I could tell this was not a wasp, so that danger was alleviated.  Still, I did not know what it was, and I am not too fond of large insects (or spiders) having free range of my house.  With all of the succulents, pots, and potting material there are too many places for such critters to hide and thrive.  I could see the large mouth parts (probosces) on the fly and knew even the bite of the common house fly hurt if it chose to bite.  I finally just gave in and whacked it with a fly swatter.  It was only after I researched the photo of the fly that I learned one of the robber fly preys is the house flies we were trying to get rid of.  I felt a little better when I learned the robber fly was also aggressive and would bite humans if handled.  I had no idea how I could have gotten it outside the house.

THOUGHTS:  My whacking the robber fly is typical of most human reaction to an unknown.  If something is unfamiliar and appears threatening, it is best to “whack now and ask questions later”.  I would have been better off trying to move the robber fly outside and allow it to control its prey (and my pests).  Human evolution created an innate tendence to practice “fight or flight” when facing the unknown, but neither is always the best approach.  Positive interactions with the environment (and other humans) often require “stop, wait, and learn” before proceeding.  This does well for us, and for whatever we were going to whack.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

June 01, 2024

When I decided to build my hügelkultur beds I knew it was going to take large amounts of branches and debris for the first layer.  I had purchased my electric chainsaw to prune my trees, so I had this covered, even though I did not anticipate the amount of work involved.  I also knew it would still take 3 yards³ (2.25 m³) of compost and an additional 1 yard³ (0.75 m³) of potting soil to fill the raised beds.  Looking at the price of compost and potting soil in my local hardware store told me it would be cost prohibitive to buy the small bags offered (1 or 2 feet³, .03m³ or .06m³).  However, I did find several locations which provide bulk amounts of both types of fills.  The problem was I did not own a trailer or even a pickup to transport the fill to my yard.  That was when Melissa reminded me our friend had a trailer that he used to transport his motorcycle.  I called him and he was more than willing to let me use the trailer for as long as I needed.  Several (long) days later the beds were full, and the trailer was washed and returned.  My friend did not expect payment, but I felt I could provide some sort of renumeration.  Since his gift enabled me to finish my containers, I thought the best way to respond was to provide them with some of the “first fruits” from my garden.

When I looked online, I found First Fruits is defined as a religious offering of the first agricultural produce of the harvest.  In classical Greek, Roman, and Hebrew religions, the first fruits were given to priests as an offering to deity.  In Classical Athens the First Fruits offering (aparche) was a major source of funds for the temples of the mystery (Eleusinian) goddesses, Demeter and Kore.  Much of the agricultural offering was sold by the temple with the proceeds being used to pay for the daily upkeep of the temple complex.  In Rome the first fruits of the field were offered to Priapus, a minor fertility god from Greek mythology who became a popular figure in Roman erotic art and literature due to his permanent erection (priapism).  In ancient Judaism, first fruits (bikkurim) were a sacrificial offering, and the first grown fruits in each agricultural season were brought to the Temple and laid by the altar as commanded by the Torah (Exodus 23:19 and Deuteronomy 26:1–11).  The Hebrew Torah became the Christian Old Testament and the practice continued.  The Teachings of the Twelve Apostles (Didache) instructed first fruits be given of “money, clothes, and all of your possessions” (13:7).  Having the First Fruits blessed at the church has been celebrated through the feast of Lammas (Loaf Mass Day) in Western Christianity and the Feast of the Transfiguration in Eastern Orthodox Christianity (August 6).  It is still practiced by other cultures (by other names) today. 

While I have begun collecting the first fruits from my raised beds, the only thing ready is radishes.  While my friends may enjoy some (8) radishes, this did not seem like a proper dedication.  I have other fruits that should provide a proper gift that should be ready (?) shortly (cauliflower, beans, peas, carrots, and brussels sprouts).  I have also received the first fruits from my container crops as the cilantro and jalapenos are producing, but my friends have a large garden that will produce tomatoes and jalapenos.  Instead, I made my first Pico of the season.  I am looking forward to more.   

THOUGHTS:  Beginning in 1966 a unique “First Fruits” celebration brought the Ancient African harvest festivals to the US with Kwanzaa, celebrated from December 26 to January 1 and culminating in a communal feast called Karamu on the sixth day.  This is based on traditions from various parts of West, Eastern, and Southeast Africa.  A 2019 poll in the US by the National Retail Federation found 2.6% of people who planned to celebrate a winter holiday would choose Kwanzaa.  First fruits celebrations are a reminder to be thankful for the earth’s bounty and for our willingness to share that bounty with others.  Whatever you call it, it is a good reminder.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

May 29, 2024

Today I went to my raised beds to check on them and give them a drink.  I knew I needed to thin the radishes (Raphanus sativus) and carrots (Daucus carota).  The seeds of both had been tiny (pen point) and had tumbled out of the packet as I carefully tried to space them in the one inch (2.5 cm) furrow.  They were now massed together and would never provide enough room for the root vegetables to grow.  While the carrots remained clustered, the radishes had grown and bullied the other plants aside and pushed out of the soil.  I thinned the carrots and thinned the radishes by harvesting eight radishes that were around 1-1/2 inched across (3.75 cm).  On my way back to the house I noticed a small beetle crawling along a leaf of the Garden Phlox (Phlox paniculata) my mother-in-law had planted in the front flower bed.  I assumed it was a type of ladybug (Family, Coccinellidae) that I was unaware of.  When I checked on my phone ID, I found it was actually a spittlebug.  

When I looked online, I found the two-lined spittlebug (Prosapia bicincta) is a species of insect in the family Cercopidae that is widespread in the eastern half of the US.  Adults are black with two red or orange lines crossing the wings and reach a length of 0.3 to 0.4 inches (8 to 10 mm).  Nymphs feed on various grasses, including centipedegrass (Eremochloa ophiuroides, bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon) both common in lawns, and corn (Zea mays).  Nymphs progress through five instars where they feed from within foam (consisting of their own spittle, hence the name) produced from juices of their host plant.  Adults feed on the leaves of both native and introduced species of holly, as well as on the leaves of the eastern redbud tree.  Spittlebug is a pest of forage (pasture) and turf (lawn) grasses and consumption of these plants causes economic damage throughout the southeastern US. 

While I had been happy to see a ladybug on my phlox, my mood changed when I identified this as a spittlebug.  Ladybugs have been valued in biological pest control (they prey on agricultural pests like aphids and scale insects) as far back as 1814 in England.  Several species have been introduced to areas outside their native range, beginning with the vedalia beetle (Novius cardinalis) introduced to California in 1887 from Australia to protect citrus trees.  Ladybugs have been used in 29 countries with great success due to their high prey specificity, fast development, multiple generations each year, efficient discovery of host patches, and larval development completed on a single host insect.  The two-lined spittlebug is just the opposite.  Both the nymph and adult spittlebug use their needle-like stylet mouthparts to penetrate the plant tissue and suck out sap.  Adult feeding can cause ‘froghopper burn’ (phytotexemia) of the plant tissue.  Turfgrasses with froghopper burn will gradually wilt, followed by the blade turning brown and dying.  Turfgrass damage is usually sporadic and patchy, and the infestations more often causes aesthetic damage in the US mainland.

THOUGHTS:  While my one spittlebug is not a problem, an infestation like what happened on the pastures on the island of Hawaiʻi in 2022 is.  Spittlebug infestation reached more than 172,973 acres (70,000 ha) and caused serious, long-term damage to large areas of the island’s rangelands and pastures.  There are no known natural predators in the eastern US, much less when the species is introduced into a new environment.  Invasive species control is imperative if we are to preserve the natural ecosystems to also help ensure human survival.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

May 27, 2024

Memorial Day (originally Decoration Day) is a federal holiday to commemorate military personnel who died serving in the US Armed Forces.  This began in 1868 and was observed on May 30^th until Congress standardized federal holidays in 1971, and it is now observed on the last Monday of May.  Many have taken to decorating the graves of family on this day as well.  As a contrast USA Today also published an article today commemorating tree longevity.  Scientists use dendrochronology (tree ring count) to determine age and the size of the rings is a sign of the tree’s endurance in the face of change.  Trees that survive through extreme weather, pests, diseases, and human interactions provide lessons that may protect future forests.  One Florida southern live oak (Quercus virginiana), named “Big Tree,” is over 400 years old.  It was struck by lightning at least three times and survived multiple hurricanes and yet remains healthy.  According to Guinness World Records, the oldest tree species in the world are the bristlecone pines, found in the White Mountains in California.

When I looked online, I found the bristlecone pine (genus, Pinus) covers three species of pine tree.  All three species are long-lived and resilient to harsh weather and bad soils, but Pinus longaeva is among the longest-lived life forms on Earth with examples more than 4,800 years old.  As the oldest known individuals, scientists study the trees to find how they live so long.  One study found bristlecone has higher levels of telomerase activity, which slows or prevents the attrition rate of telomeres, or the repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes.  The Bristlecone is a “first succession” species and rapidly occupy newly opened ground (fires) but compete poorly in less-harsh environments.  Bristlecone grows in scattered subalpine groves at high altitude in arid regions of the Western US.  The three related species are the Great Basin bristlecone (Pinus longaeva) in Utah, Nevada, and eastern California, the Rocky Mountain bristlecone (Pinus aristata) in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona, and the Foxtail pine (Pinus balfouriana) with two disjunct populations found in the Klamath Mountains (subspecies balfouriana) and the southern Sierra Nevada (subspecies austrina).  The species can hybridize in cultivation, but the ranges of wild populations do not overlap and they do not do so in nature.

Bristlecone pines are known to scientists as “extremeophiles” because they are slow-growing and can endure harsh environmental conditions, including cold temperatures, high winds, dry soils, and short growing seasons.  The world’s oldest living tree is “Methuselah.” The tree’s exact age is unknown, but the US Forest Service (USFS) experts believe it is around 5,000 years old.  Dendrochronologist Edmund Schulman found and named the tree in 1957.  The tree is named after a biblical figure who is said to have lived to 969 years.  The ancient tree dubbed “Prometheus” was cut down in 1964 (with USFS permission) that they later realized was an estimated 4,900 years old.  Methuselah is alive as of May 2024.  Officials do not provide photos or exact location of this oldest living tree to protect it from damage and human vandalism.

THOUGHTS:  Climate change is threatening the longevity of the Bristlecone along with many of the world’s oldest trees.  The Rocky Mountain population is severely threatened by an introduced fungal disease (white pine blister rust) and by mountain pine beetles (Dendroctonus ponderosae).  Climate change may also affect the species as temperatures have increased 0.9 to 1.8F (0.5 to 1C) over a 30-year period in the southern Rocky Mountain range, especially affecting trees in higher elevations.  Old specimens of bristlecone pine have survived previous warmer periods, but the loss of younger trees will affect genetic diversity.  Even the old trees will not survive increased forest fires.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

May 24, 2024

It is not surprising that with the bird feeders I have along the patio fence we would also have a number of bird nests in our yard. This included the bluebird (Sialia sialis) house situated above the container tomatoes.  We have several nests in the trees in the front yard.  The one in the Japanese maple (Acer palmatum) was hidden until I pruned the tree while making my hügelkultur beds (I kept the branch with the nest).  For the last several years the Northern mockingbirds (Mimus polyglottos) have made nests in the cover of the snowball bush (Viburnum macrocephalum) and the rose bush (genus, Rosa) that I have cleared out along with an annual pruning.  As I rounded the corner to check on my raised beds yesterday, I was startled as an American robin (Turdus migratorius) flashed by my head.  When I looked up, I saw a cup nest resting atop the curvature of the drain spout.  While I do not want this to be a permanent nest, I thought I would wait until the eggs hatch and the fledgling leave before I take it down.  That makes at least four nests from three (known) species of birds.

When I looked online, I found the study of birds’ nests is known as caliology and defines nests as the spot where the bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young.  While the term generally refers to a specific structure made by the bird this definition is too restrictive.  BirdChronicle describes 14 different types of bird nests, ranging from a shallow depression in sand, a burrow in the ground, a chamber drilled into a tree, a rotting pile of vegetation and earth, a shelf made of dried saliva, or a mud dome with an entrance tunnel.  The smallest are hummingbirds (genus, Trochilus) nests at 0.8 inches (2 cm) across and 0.8 to 1.2 inches (2 to 3 cm) high.  These nests are dwarfed by the mounds built by scrubfowl (genus, Megapodius) found on the Pacific Islands which can measure 36 feet (11 m) in diameter and 16 feet (5 m) tall.  Some species do not build nests and use the empty nests or burrows of other birds.  Pygmy falcons (Polihierax semitorquatus) and red-headed finches (Amadina erythrocephala) move into sociable weavers’ (Philetairus socius) nests while the brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater) lay their eggs in other birds’ nests and then abandon the eggs.  Birds like the White tern (Gygis alba) and emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri) never build a nest and lay their eggs on the open ground.  Nest diversity has a function and purpose specific to the species.

While I have not seen any nests, we have a house sparrow that flies off when I exit the front door.  On inspection I found a 2-1/2 inch (10 cm) hole in the overhang.  My immediate thought was how to get rid of this intrusion.  While researching bird nests, I found US federal law makes it illegal to remove or destroy any active nest (a nest with eggs or brooding adults) from a native bird species.  If the nest has been abandoned or has no eggs, it can be removed or destroyed.  It is also illegal for anyone to keep a nest taken from a tree or found on the ground unless you have a permit issued by the US Fish and Wildlife Service.  Migratory birds (and native species) are protected, and tampering with or removing a nest or eggs can lead to fines or other penalties.  Nests of invasive birds, like house sparrows (Passer domesticus) or European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris), are not protected at any time.  Interestingly, starlings and sparrows are commonly found building house nests.

THOUGHTS:  I had different reactions to the nests around my house.  I placed the bluebird house to attract a nesting pair, avoided the nests in the tree and on the downspout, and left the nests of the mockingbirds until pruning.  I felt different about the house sparrow, perhaps as it made a hole and caused damage.  Humans often invite and embrace nature until we are faced with a negative impact.  Then we allow economics or expedience to dictate our actions.  Protecting the environment is both a global and individual response.  I can legally remove any sparrow nests, but should I do so morally?  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.