May 11, 2024

I started walking the kids (again) in the afternoon last week.  I had problems last fall because Loki was not well behaved and did not know how to walk on a leash.  When Loki had his three sessions with the “treat man” and I told him I was walking him with Zena to let her be the example.  He told me that would never work, and rather than schooling Loki, Zena would more likely pick up the bad habits.  I walked them separately for a while, then the weather got bad, and frankly I got out of the habit.  We fenced part of the yard in January in an effort to provide them with a place to run and play.  This works well except when it rains, and Loki comes in doing his impression of a mudball.  I know I need exercise as well and vowed to get back in the habit of walking.  The first couple of days I walked them separately.  I took Loki around the neighborhood and then went to the park with Zena.  This seemed like a slight to Loki, so I again took them (together) to the lake.  They walked much better together so that is now our “routine”.  Yesterday I noticed an odd flower which seemed to be bursting from a cone-shaped bud.  I IDed this with my camera as the common self-heal.

When I looked online, I found the common self-heal (Prunella vulgaris), also called heal-all, is an herbaceous plant in the mint family Lamiaceae.  Self-heal is native to Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America, and is common in most temperate climates.  It was introduced to many countries in the 1800’s and has become invasive in the Pacific Islands, including Australia, New Zealand, and Hawaii.  The leaves of the self-heal are lance-shaped, serrated, and reddish at the tip.  They are about 1 inch (2.5 cm) long and 0.6 inches (1.5 cm) wide and grow in opposite pairs down the square stem.  The stalks of the leaves are generally short but can be up to 2 inches (5 cm) long.  The flowers grow from a clublike, almost square, whirled cluster with a pair of stalkless leaves immediately below the club that stand out like a collar.  The flowers are two-lipped and tubular, with the top lip a purple hood and the bottom lip is often white.  The flowers bloom at different times depending on the climate, but mostly from June to August in the US.  Self-heal propagates by seed and vegetatively by creeping stems that root at the nodes.  It grows on roadsides, gardens, waste-places, and woodland edges (and around the parking lot at the lake).

The scientific name Prunella is derived from ‘Brunella’, a derivative from “die Bräune”, the German name for diphtheria, which Prunella was historically used to cure.  Vulgaris means ‘common’ or ‘vulgar’.  The common names self-heal and heal-all refer to its uses in traditional medicine.  The herb (called xia ku cao in Chinese), is used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat dizziness, red eyes, dry cough, dermatitis, and boils.  It is also a main ingredient in several herbal teas in southern China, including commercial beverages such as Wong Lo Kat.  The Nlaka’pamux drink is a cold infusion of the whole plant and is a common beverage.  The plant is also traditionally used by some Indigenous cultures to treat various physical ailments.  Self-heal is edible, with the young leaves and stems eaten raw in salads, the whole plant boiled and eaten as a leaf vegetable, and the aerial parts of the plant can be powdered and brewed in a cold infusion to make a beverage.

THOUGHTS:  The self-heal was in full flower around the parking lot at the lake.  No one seemed to be harvesting the plants, and I am sure most (like me) were not aware of its history as a healthy edible and curative.  Pharmacognosy is the study and use of medicinal plants and other natural sources which are a basis of traditional medicine.  While some scientists debunk natural remedies, others explore their use and effectiveness, even translating them into modern remedies.  Many of these plants are collected in wild and diverse ecosystems.  When these habitats are destroyed their potential knowledge is also lost.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

May 10, 2024

I woke up early this morning and decided it would be a good day to get my potatoes in the ground.  We have been under “high alert days” for the last week and are due for a stretch of warm and calm weather for the next three days.  When I got to the patio, I saw the wind and rain had caused some havoc on my tomatoes and feeders.  I refilled the feeders and put the two that had blown down back on their stands.  I straightened the tomato cages and pruned the small branches off the bottom of the plants.  It finally seems everything left will grow, although two of the plants I started from seed appear puny.  I was excited to see flowers on many of the plants as well as tiny tomatoes on two of them.  I took the time to remove the dead flowers off the fruit hoping to avoid the rotted ends I had encountered last year.  Next it was over to my “three sisters” beds.  Only about half of the corn had sprouted.  I did some light weeding and then reseeded corn in the areas where it had not grown.  The corn plants that had sprouted are getting tall enough that it is almost time to plant the beans and squash.  Hopefully, the new corn will sprout before I need to do the secondary plantings.  Finally, I cleaned up after the kids.  I could no longer put it off, it was time to plant some potatoes.

When I looked online, I found that like tomatoes, potatoes can be determinate or indeterminate as defined by their growth patterns.  Determinate potatoes are varieties with tubers that grow in just one layer and therefore do not require mounding of the soil around the plants.  These plants have a predetermined size and structure, and their growth typically stops once they reach a certain height, allowing their energy to be redirected towards the development of potatoes.  They produce early, in about 70 to 90 days.  Indeterminate potatoes are characterized by their continuous growth throughout the growing season and will keep growing and producing foliage until environmental factors (frost or lack of nutrients) limit their growth.  Unlike determinate potatoes, indeterminate varieties do not have a predetermined endpoint for their growth and can continue to produce potatoes as long as the conditions allow.  Indeterminate potatoes grow in multiple layers, so it is important to mound soil around the plants to give a better yield.  Indeterminate potatoes produce late crops, 110 to 135 days out.  You can determine the variety of potato by observing its growth over time.  Determinates will exhibit a more compact and uniform growth, while indeterminates, like Yukon Gold, will continue to grow and produce foliage throughout the season.

I mentioned several days ago that I intended to plant 10 hills of potatoes.  I had found (at last) the seed potatoes at the local co-op on “close out” and when the salesperson saw how few I was buying he gave them to me for free and told me to get more if I wanted.  I did not want to be greedy nor to waste potential seed potatoes someone else might need, but I did pick out three more.  I worked my way over the fence around one of the beds and weeded and re-loosened the soil.  I had my bag of potatoes but realized I had left the cages on the other side of the deck.  “Melissa?!?”  She was kind enough to bring the cages to me.   I like to cage the plants to help me know where the potatoes are supposed to be when I water and to support the indeterminant vines.  I was able to get 13 hills of seed potatoes in the ground, cage them, and mulch them with straw.  Only 120 days to go.

THOUGHTS:  I was again amazed that with all the research I have done on my plants how I learn new things each year.  In my third year of growing potatoes, I had no idea they could be determinant or indeterminant.   Melissa and I watched a documentary video on Apricot Lane Farms (The Biggest Little Farm) last night which chronicled the seven year journey of John and Molly Chester and their dog Todd to reawaken an interactive farm ecosystem focused on diversity.  It inspired me . . . and let me (again) know how far I have to go.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

May 08, 2024

I have come across several articles recently about meat production and the effect on greenhouse gases.  The controversy seemed to start in 2013 when the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimated that livestock production accounted for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  While the analysis was based on studies over 20 years ago (from 2004 and 2005) it is still the most widely cited estimate of livestock’s global carbon footprint.  A CNN article in 2023 noted “livestock farming accounts for 14.5% of human-caused, planet-warming emissions.”  More recent data indicate livestock may contribute a much wider range of emissions, and potentially more, or potentially less.  The FAO has released a new, lower estimate that livestock produces 11.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  Peer-reviewed studies have put the figure higher, at up to 19.6% of emissions.  Whether the true carbon footprint is higher or lower, reducing livestock emissions would clearly provide even larger climate benefits than previously assumed.  These studies and articles got me thinking about the meat I eat and the impact my choices have on my own carbon footprint.

When I looked online, I found there are six sources of greenhouse gas emissions associated with livestock production.  Enteric fermentation is the regular digestive process of cattle and sheep (ruminants) and produces methane.  Over 90% of enteric methane from cattle is emitted through burping and it is the largest source of livestock emissions.  The solid waste of animals produces both methane and nitrous oxide.  Manufacturing fertilizers and other farm amendments produce carbon dioxide, fertilizing crops create nitrous oxide, and there are small amounts of emissions related to transporting and processing feed.  Expansion of pasture for grazing animals and cropland for growing feed crops results in conversion of forest, grassland, and other land, which emits the carbon dioxide stores in biomass and soils.  Energy is used to produce farm amendments and feed, but directly used in animal production for ventilation, cooling, and other activities.  Emissions related to slaughtering livestock and processing and packing the meat for consumers extend beyond the farm, and while it is not a key component of raising livestock it is included in most global estimates.

Global production of (all) food is responsible for a third of all planet-heating gases emitted by human activity, with production of animals for meat causing twice the pollution of producing plant-based foods.  The entire system of food production (the use of farm machinery, spraying of fertilizer, transportation of products) causes 19 billion tons (17.3bn metric tons) of greenhouse gases a year.  This is more than double the entire greenhouse emissions of the US and represents 35% of all global emissions.  The raising and culling of animals for meat is far worse for the climate than growing and processing fruits and vegetables for people to eat, confirming previous findings on the outsized impact that meat production has on the environment.  The use of cows, pigs, and other animals for food (and their feed) is responsible for 57% of all food production emissions, with 29% coming from the cultivation of plant-based foods.  The rest comes from other land uses, like cotton or rubber.  Beef alone accounts for a quarter of emissions produced by raising and growing food for people.

THOUGHTS:  While I am not willing to become a vegetarian, I have made decisions to cut back on the type of meat I eat.  In my 20’s I decided to not eat streak.  Even living in Kansas, it was as easy decision as I never acquired the taste and could not afford the good cuts on my salary.  Now I am trying to cut back on cattle products.  This is harder as I do enjoy hamburgers and I tend to live on cheese.  We have switched to ground chicken or turkey and found when seasoned correctly it is hard to detect in most dishes.  Still, there is that occasional cheeseburger.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

May 07, 2024

I found a USA Today article in the Business Section of today’s local newspaper on a possible supply shortage for chili sauce.  Huy Fong Foods said it halted production of the sauce until Labor Day.  The jalapeno chilies are not red enough and it is affecting the color of the sauce.  Harvesting the jalapenos too soon not only affects the color, but the quality and flavor of the sauce as well.  The riper red chilies are sweeter and have a more complex flavor.  Huy Fong’s processing plant rejects shipments of red jalapenos that are more than 5% green fruit.  Huy Fong Foods said, “all orders that have been scheduled beginning on May 6, 2024, will be canceled and the status changed to pending.”  Huy Fong Foods goes through 50,000 tons (45.4 mt) of chili peppers making their hot sauces and they are only in season four months out of the year.  The factory mixes the chiles with salt and preservatives and seals them in barrels for later distribution.  What makes Sriracha different from other hot sauces is its thick consistency, much like America’s ketchup.  Other Sriracha makers have not reported a lack of red jalapenos or production issues. 

When I looked online, I found Sriracha is a chili sauce that originated in Thailand.  The original sauce (Sriraja Panich) was made by Thanom Chakkapak of Si Racha, Thailand in the 1930’s.   David Tran began making chili sauces in 1975 in his native Vietnam, where his brother grew chili peppers on a farm north of Saigon.  In 1978, the new Communist Vietnamese government began to persecute ethnic Chinese in south Vietnam and Tran and three thousand other refugees crowded onto the Taiwanese freighter Huey Fong heading for Hong Kong.  After a month-long standoff with British authorities, its passengers disembarked on January 19, 1979.  Tran was granted asylum in the US, where he started Huy Fong Foods in 1980, naming the company after the refugee ship that brought him out of Vietnam.  The sauce gets its heat from red jalapeno peppers, but it’s only moderately spicy.  Sriracha measures 2,200 on the Scoville scale, developed to measure the level of heat in chiles, while Tabasco sauce measures 3,750 and cayenne pepper measures 50,000.  Huy Fong makes the most popular version of Sriracha, but several versions can be found at any supermarket.  Huy Fong Sriracha is sweet and tangy with a garlicky taste.  The flavor can vary depending on the brand.

The Huy Fong Foods factory produces 3,000 bottles every hour, 24 hours a day, six days a week, or about 20 million bottles a year.  Problems with Sriracha supply began in 2017.  Underwood Ranch in California had been the sole supplier since 1988, but the alliance fell apart.  After a two year court battle a jury found Huy Fong in breach of contract and Underwood was awarded US$23.3 million.  Underwood now produces their own brand of Sriracha.  Stephanie Walker, professor and vegetable specialist at New Mexico State University, said Huy Fong has been sourcing chili peppers in Mexico and has yet to established solid relationships with dependable growers.  The long shortages that have plagued Huy Fong Sriracha in recent years have frustrated fans, causing them to beg for bottles on social media, pilfer them from restaurants, or pay high prices to spice up their bowls of pho, ramen, or sushi rolls.  As bottles reappeared on grocery shelves, restaurant tables, and households stocked up, the grumbling eased.  Some Sriracha fans say they still feel scared.  Old hoarding habits die hard.

THOUGHTS:  One Sriracha fan recently posted on X, “How many bottles of hot sauce in the kitchen cabinet are too many?” Another responded, “My boyfriend is Vietnamese.  I just counted 16 in the pantry, two in the fridge, and one on the lazy Susan.  He’s still not over the Huy Fong Sriracha shortage.”  I like Sriracha along when I eat in Asian restaurants and have long kept a bottle in the cupboard.  I finally read the label and now it is in the fridge (as recommended).  Maybe I should stock up and get another bottle.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

May 06, 2024

I have grown potatoes for the last two years.  The first year I only had one bed (five plants) but still harvested around 40 potatoes of various sizes.  Last year I put in the second bed with five more plants (10 total) with great expectations.  I also added Yukon Gold to the Russet I grew the first year.  I had cleaned out a spot on each side of our patio door and had caged and mulched them with straw.  For whatever reason, they all grew great tops, but the potatoes were either mushy or nonexistent.  I was determined to have a good potato crop this year and prepared my beds yearly.  I weeded the beds, turned over the top 6 inches (15 cm) of soil, and mixed a bag of compost and manure in each of the beds.  Loki had been getting into the beds, so I fenced them (and then added a higher fence) to try and keep him out.  The problem was, I could not find any seed potatoes even though I had been looking at outlets near me for several months.  This might have turned out to be a good thing as the weekend rain completely submerged both beds in water.  Today I was determined to find enough seed potatoes to plant 10 hills in those (now) drained beds.  My preference is the yellow flesh, taste, and mash-ability of the Yukon Gold.

When I looked online, I found the Yukon Gold (Solanum tuberosumis) a large cultivar of potato most distinctly characterized by its thin, smooth, eye-free skin and yellow-tinged flesh. This potato was developed in the 1960’s by Garnet Johnston in Guelph, Ontario, Canada, with the help of Geoff Rowberry at the University of Guelph.  The official cross bred strain was made in 1966 and ‘Yukon Gold’ was released onto the market in 1980.  The early name for the new cultivar was “Yukon”, for the Yukon River involved in the Klondike Gold Rush in Northern Canada.  “Gold” was later added to describe the potatoes’ color and appearance.  Johnston developed and brought 15 other potato varieties to market while at the Ontario Agriculture College lab.  A University publication states that “Yukon Gold was the first Canadian-bred potato variety to be promoted, packaged and marketed with its name right on the pack”.  The cultivar is resistant to bruising and does not sprout a lot, so it has good dormancy.  If potatoes are stored correctly, they will not lose a lot of moisture compared to other cultivars.  This seems like a good selection for my sustainable garden.

I checked online one last time and was again stymied in my potato quest.  There were several locations that had potatoes in a town 25 miles (40 km) away, but all the local outlets listed them “sold out”.  I decided to make one last try at the co-op before I drove into town.  That’s when I saw two bushel baskets with signs saying, “Close Out”.  One was an unidentified cultivar, and the other was the Yukon Gold I was seeking.  I selected ten of the smaller potatoes with prominent budding eyes and took the bag inside to the register.  I mentioned how I had been looking for seed potatoes and was not finding any.  The man told me they had gotten 2 tons (0.002 kt) in January, and these were the last of them.  When he saw how few potatoes were in my sack, he gave them to me for free and even told me to get more if I wanted.  I went back to the basket and picked out a couple more.

THOUGHTS:  While Yukon Gold are good storage potatoes, I also found they are susceptible to seed decay, blackleg, early blight, late blight, early dying, potato virus (PVY), soft rot, dry rot, leak, pink rot, silver scurf, and black scurf.  I will have to see if they were a good choice for sustainability.  While most plant seed potatoes in late winter (I could not find them), they can also be grown from seeds harvested from the potato flowers.  If you use seeds you need to start them indoors and then transplant them once the temps warm up.  If you use potatoes, you cannot eat all of last years’ crop.  I am not sure I would be good at either.  I am still on that learning curve.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

May 03, 2024

On rare occasions I have found a small bug called an earwig crawling on the wall in our house.  I say this as while scrolling my Edge start page I saw a segment that asked if earwigs are dangerous to humans.  I was intrigued (which is why the article was there) and clicked to find out.  The site said the earwig gets its name from an old European myth that says that the bugs crawl into people’s ears and tunnel into their brains while they sleep, causing fever and insanity.  Other versions of the myth say they crawl into human ears to lay their eggs, and the hatchlings then tunnel their way into the brain.  The term earwig is derived from Old English word “ēare,” which means ear, and “wicga,” which means insect.  There is no scientific basis for claims about an earwig seeking out human ears and causing insanity or other damage.  However, emergency rooms do see patients with a bug in their ear, so the presence of any small bug in the ear canal is not unique to the earwig.  When an earwig is found in a person’s ear, it is likely it has wandered there by chance.  While it does not bite, the earwig can use its pincers to pinch if it is picked up and disturbed.  The earwig is mostly harmless to people.

When I looked online, I found the European earwig (Forficula auricularia) or common earwig is an omnivorous (eats plants and animals) insect belonging to the family Forficulidae.  The common name (actually) comes from the look of the hindwings which resemble a human ear when unfolded.  The species name (auricularia) is a specific reference to this feature.  The earwig is a pincher bug that ranges in size from one-fourth to 1 inch (0.6 to 2.5 cm).  It has six legs and an antenna that measures about half its size.  The earwig is reddish-brown in color with a flattened elongated body and slender beaded antennae with a pair of pincers (forceps) at the tip of the flexible abdomen.  While both sexes have pincers, in males they are large and curved, while in females they are straight.  Nymphs are similar to adults in appearance, though their wings are either absent or small.  The European earwig, which is the most common variety, was brought to North America from Europe around 1907 and rapidly spread across the US.  The insect survives in a variety of environments and is a common household pest because they tend to invade homes and consume pantry foods.

Common earwig females typically show maternal care through guarding and tending to their eggs and nymphs.  The female cares for her young by shifting the eggs and continuously cleaning them with her mouth and forceps to avoid fungal growth and pathogens.  She protects the eggs by staying close to the nest, fiercely defending against predators, applying chemical protection against drying (desiccation) through egg grooming, and relocating the entire clutch under stress.  After the eggs hatch the mother continues to care for the nymphs and provides food and protection until they reach maturity (one month).  In many species, kin bias prevents parents from investing care and energy for foreign offspring to allow them to invest in their own offspring and ensuring their own genes are passed on.  Common earwig mothers will not eliminate foreign eggs and treat them as her own.  This is thought to be a result of the family specific bouquet of cuticular hydrocarbons she applies to the surface of the eggs.  If it smells like me, it must be cared for like mine.

THOUGHTS:  While maternal care dramatically increases the survival and development of the young earwig, it can be costly.  The relationship between parents and offspring is shaped by an intersection of selfish and altruistic tendencies that reflect a compromise of evolutionary interests.  Researchers have found that in groups, selfish individuals beat altruistic individuals, but groups of altruistic individuals beat groups of selfish individuals.  That means we are stronger when we work together to support others than when we try to only take care of ourselves.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

May 02, 2024

On the back side of the front section of today’s local newspaper was an article on Islamic charity used to address climate concerns.  The charity comes from Zakāh, or the third of the five pillars of Islam.  Zakāh means “to purify”, “to develop”, and “cause to grow”, and is the amount of money every adult Muslim (male or female) who is “mentally stable, free, and financially able”, has to pay to support the destitute, the working poor, those unable to pay off debts, stranded travelers, and others in need.  Religious leaders in Bangladesh are trying to harness the generosity of Muslims around the world to help fight climate change.  Bangladesh alone has the potential to raise close to US$9.8 billion.  The country needs about US$9 billion a year to support climate adaptation.  Most provide zakāh by handing out clothes to family members or the neighborhood poor which has limited long-term impact on their lives.  Zakir H Khan, chief executive of Change Initiative, has studied the potential for Islamic charity to pool resources in order “to transform the lives of climate survivors.”

When I looked online, I found zakāh (also alms) is a religious form to donate money, food, or other material goods to people living in poverty and is often considered an act of charity.  In Buddhism, this is called “dāna” and it is one of the three elements of the path of practice formulated by Buddha for laypeople.  The giving of alms is the beginning of one’s journey to Nirvana.  In Judaism, tzedakah (literally “righteousness” but commonly “charity”), refers to the religious obligation to do what is right and just.  Tzedakah, prayer, and repentance, are regarded as ameliorating bad acts.  Christianity says giving alms is viewed as an act of charity and an expression of love and care for the poor and was understood as an act of love for God.  Nearly all Christian denominations have money donated to support financial needs and ministry to the less fortunate.  In Hinduism, dāna is an ancient concept of alms dating to the Vedic period (oldest) of Hinduism.  Dāna is defined as any act of giving what is yours to a recipient without expecting any return.  While dāna is typically given to one person or family, Hinduism also considers charity or giving aimed at public benefit, which is called utsarga.  This giving aims at larger projects such as building a rest house, school, investing in drinking water or an irrigation well, planting trees, and building care facilities, among others.

The article identified Wateraid as an international nongovernmental organization which uses the latter concept for zakāh to focus on water, sanitation, and hygiene and uses Islamic charitable donations to help salinity-affected communities in the Global South that have large Muslim populations such as Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Mali.  Wateraid focuses on girls and young women whose needs are often neglected.  Religious scholars agree on the use of zakāh to combat climate change.  This year Indonesia’s council of religious scholars issued rulings on how to use these funds to build water facilities or endow trusts with land or money to plant forests.  While there have been debates on the legitimacy of its use, scholars and financial experts are joining on the acceptability of the practice.  Zakāh can only be used to help poor Muslims, but other forms of voluntary alms (sadaqua) can support people of any faith.  Technology is going to be the key for every stage of faith-based financing and organizations are raising donations online. 

THOUGHTS:  All of the world’s major religions extoll the need to provide aid to the poor and the underserved.  Whether it is called zakāh, dāna, tzedakah, alms, or utsarga, faith-based giving has the potential to make a huge difference in fighting the effects of climate change.  Those at the lower end of the economic spectrum do not have the capacity to mitigate these effects on their own.  Call it what you will, donations are needed to affect change.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 29, 2024

We had off and on again rain yesterday that was heavy at times, so I decided to check the vegetables that are now in the ground.  I was surprised as I approached my raised beds to see all three of my melons (a Citrullus lanatus watermelon and two Cucumis melo cantaloupe) had sprouted and were about 1 inch (2.5 cm) above the ground.  I have not had good luck growing these in the past and had hoped the beds would make a difference.  My seeded tomatoes are still struggling for the most part and I will need to replace one of my Cherokee purples and another red beefsteak (both Solanum lycopersicum varieties).  On my way past the pool, I noticed what I thought was another dragonfly molt (exuviae).  After checking on my vegetables, I came back and gave the motionless blob a closer inspection.  Rather than being a discarded exoskeleton it was a live dragonfly trying to dry out after the rain.  Now I believe I can discern the species of the molts I saw last week.  This adult dragonfly is a black saddlebags.      

When I looked online, I found the black saddlebags (Tramea lacerata) is a species of skimmer dragonfly found throughout North America.  The skimmers or perchers and their relatives form the Libellulidae, the largest dragonfly family in the world.  Their common classification as skimmers comes as they tend to fly low over the water, and perchers comes as they spend most of their time perched above the water and only fly to get to the next spot, to catch food, or to defend territory.  The saddlebags have distinctive wings with characteristic black blotches at their proximal (toward the body) ends which make the dragonfly look as though it is wearing saddlebags.  The species is a relatively large dragonfly at about 2 inches (5 cm) in length.  The body is thin and black, and the female may have lighter spotting or mottling dorsally.  The head is much wider than the rest of the body and is dark brown in color.  The insect can be found near bodies of stagnant water, such as ponds and ditches (or my pool/pond).  The larvae hatch and eat anything they can catch that is smaller than themselves.  Adults of the species (especially males) congregate in swarms and some populations undertake migrations.

There are over 60 species of mosquitoes in Arkansas, even though not all of them transmit diseases.  The species commonly associated with disease transmission in Arkansas include the Southern house mosquito (Culex quinquefasciatus), the Asian tiger mosquito (Aedes albopictus), and the Yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti).  Mosquitoes breed in standing water, and they can lay their eggs in as little as a teaspoon of water.  Common breeding sites include stagnant ponds, bird baths, and gutters.  Female mosquitoes lay their eggs on the surface of the water, the larvae hatch within a few days, and the entire mosquito life cycle can be as short as 7-10 days.  I try to be cautious about leaving standing water on the patio or in my garden but have never worried about my pool/pond. 

Both the larvae and adult forms of the saddlebags are efficient mosquito predators and are helpful insects to control my water.  I also noticed this morning the gray tree frogs (Hyla versicolor) eggs have hatched, and the water is teaming with tadpoles.  Mama’s got to eat.

THOUGHTS:  I identified the black saddlebags using my google app.  While this app is generally effective, it also provides some off the wall identifications.  The pictures under the identification showed sets of black motorcycle saddlebags.  I ran the ID again and returned the same result.  Then I scrolled down and saw it included pictures and explanation for the dragonfly as well.  There are times when we “know” the experts are wrong and dismiss their advice.  While mistakes occur, often we just need to dig deeper into what is said or meant.  An educated opinion is more reliable than a best guess.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 27, 2024

One of the things I enjoy about being outside in my garden is watching the antics of the animals I encounter.  As I walked out my front door to check my hügelkultur beds I noticed an American Robin (Turdus migratorius) pull a six inch (15 cm) earthworm (Lumbricus terrestris) from the front lawn.  It had just rained, and the robin was taking advantage of the worms coming to the surface.  I startled the bird, and he flew off, dropping the worm in the mulch around the beds used to keep the weeds out.  The bird tried to regrip the worm but flew off in frustration as I approached.  After I passed the worm, the robin landed a little way off and began to walk sideways toward the worm, always keeping one eye on me.  I stood still and waited to see how far he would come.  Over the next minute the bird went back and forth, always advancing.  I stood still as I continued to watch to see how close he would come.  He seemed to reach his limit at about 15 feet (4.5 m) away and still 5 feet (1.5) m) from the worm and flew away to another part of the yard.  His behavior seemed to say it was easier to get a new worm than to risk the unknown behavior of the human watching him. 

When I looked online, I found animal behavior is the way animals interact with other members of their species, with organisms of other species, and with their environment.  Behavior can also be narrowly defined as a change in the activity of an organism in response to a stimulus, an external or internal cue, or a combination of cues.  Both external and internal stimuli can cause animal behavior.  External information could be threats from other animals, sounds, smells, or weather, and internal information could be hunger or fear.  An understanding of how genes and the environment come together to shape animal behavior is also an important basis for the field.  While genes capture the evolutionary responses of prior populations to selection on behavior, environmental flexibility gives animals the opportunity to adjust to changes during their own lifetime.  Scientists are drawn to the study of animal behavior for a variety of reasons ranging from how it sheds light on human behavior to environmental concerns.  Understanding why some animals help others at the potential cost of their own survival and reproduction gives us insight into their behavior but could potentially help us understand the human ideas of altruism and sacrifice.

Another observation is how the gray tree frogs (Hyla versicolor) have been performing their mating calls in the trees around our pool/pond every night.  One of frogs came down from the trees and has taken up residence under the patio chair cushions.  I lifted the pad on one of the chairs and was surprised to see the frog motionless on the seat.  I do not know how to differentiate between a male and female frog but assumed this was a female who came from the trees to lay her eggs in the water.  I left her there but was curious to see if she would still be there the next day.  She was not but moved to the next chair.  I again covered her with the pad but set it on its side to drain the rain.  When I came out later the frog had moved up inside the pad and was crouching on the back of the chair.  I suppose she felt this was better protection.  Regardless, she is not getting any closer to the trees.

THOUGHTS:  I was always told earthworms escape to the surface to keep from drowning.  Then I learned they can breathe underwater and will survive being submerged for over two weeks.  Since drowning is a myth, why do they surface?  The most likely explanation is that it is easier to travel across the surface to find food or a mate.  They need to stay moist, so this is their best opportunity on the surface.  Birds exploit this behavior by mimicking rain by hitting the ground with their feet to encourage earthworms to rise and be eaten.  Behavior can be inherited or learned by animals.  Humans are not confined by the behavior of our culture or even families.  We can choose to change for the good of our species and environment.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.

April 24, 2024

It has been an up and down week as far as my garden is concerned.  I was overjoyed to finally get the tomatoes and peppers into the ground on Sunday.  I spent the entire afternoon working on the project.  I had four varieties of peppers (Capsicum annuum) with 2 jalapenos along with one each of green, yellow, and red bell peppers.  There were four varieties of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) with 4 San Marzano (for sauce), 4 beefsteak (for Pico), 2 Cherokee purple (for eating), and 2 Juliet grape (for salad) tomatoes.  I also used a variety of planting methods.  The tomatoes were planted in growbags (5), new self-watering containers (2), my old containers (4).  The peppers were in two formats, with growbags (2) and old containers (4).  Lastly, I added cilantro in a growbag (1) to use in my various tomato concoctions.  I hoped these different varieties and techniques would help me decide what to plant next year.  I was feeling pretty good about my work and mulched and watered all the plants in for the night.  When I got up the next morning, I noticed Loki had gotten into the containers and destroyed four of the tomatoes.  I had grown most of the plants through germination.

When I looked online, I found Germination usually refers to the growth of a plant contained within a seed resulting in the formation of the seedling.  The seed of a vascular plant (land plants that have lignified tissues (xylem) for conducting water and minerals throughout the plant) is a small package produced in a fruit or cone after the union of male and female reproductive cells.  All fully developed seeds contain an embryo and, in most plant species some store of food reserves, wrapped in a seed coat.  Dormant seeds are viable seeds that require specific internal or environmental stimuli to germinate and resume growth.  Seed germination depends on both internal and external conditions. The most important external factors for any germination are the right temperature, water, air, and sometimes light or darkness.  Different plants require different variables for germination, and these are often closely linked to the ecological conditions of a plant’s natural habitat.

I had spent time and energy bringing my plants to germination, so I felt it was worth the time to spend half a day researching how to Loki-proof my tomatoes and peppers.  It turned out there are two ways the pundits said work best.  One is to put a fence around the plants and the second is to use smells (like cayenne pepper and vinegar) to keep him away.  I put up a fence to keep Loki bask from the plants and then sprayed vinegar in the soil around the small plants.  I decided to wait on the cayenne as it was forecast to rain and that would dilute the effect.  The next morning Melissa watched as Loki again got into the containers.  She also noticed he was not attracted by the plants themselves.  It was the small white tags I used to mark what was being grown (Loki is a chewer).  Melissa moved the tags to the rear of the containers and beyond his reach through the fence.  This will no doubt become a constant vigil.      

THOUGHTS:  After redoing the tomatoes and peppers I got the rest of my plants in the hügelkultur beds yesterday.  These were a mixture of plants grown from germination and other seeds planted directly into the soil.  While I have planted most of my beds, I need to soak the corn seed overnight to help germination of the “three sisters”.  I have checked all of the nurseries in my area, and none are yet selling potatoes.  I made a big commitment this year in preparing the beds, readying the seed for germination, and planning placement in the beds.  There is still the watering and weeding, but I am again hopeful for significant crops.  The more time I spend the more I realize how much I still need to learn.  Like most things we do, to do it well takes a lifetime of learning.  Act for all.  Change is coming and it starts with you.