all things outside

In honor of today's three-digit forecast and air-conditioning (where I'll be), today's post is about the great outdoors. 

First up: the incredible effects of wasp spray:

 This picture doesn't quite do it justice, but the spray ate/dissolved 1/2 the depth of the nest, including the white cells.

Second: Arborvitae

 The above picture is of a healthy, dwarf arborvitae.

 It wasn't supposed to get over 5' tall. I'm 5'2.5"  I think somebody in the labeling department goofed.

And this picture is an unhealthy, dwarf arborvitae.

 

 A year or two ago we noticed these little pine cone thingies on the tree. I thought perhaps the tree had finally matured from the little funny looking ball seeds to miniature pine cones.

 I was wrong. Turns out these are bagworms. They build the bag out of the material they eat and silk they spin. Even while eating, they stay in their bags (as you can see in the above picture). During the winter they hibernate with their eggs. The females stay in place. The males become moths and fly to the females, mate, then die a few days later. One bag can hold a huge amount of eggs. So now we know why we had so many moths this spring. And while we can hopefully save the arborvitae next to it, I fear this one is too far gone. I spent two hours spraying 1/6 of the tree yesterday, but I fear it won't make a difference. Reference articles on line recommends to simply pull them off one at a time during the summer season, but there are simply too many to that. The more I learn about outdoor plants, the more I realize the seriousness of diseases and predators.

And last: speaking of predators, stray dogs. Someone put out a starving dog Sunday afternoon. Our chickens were out and he never bothered them. Bobby was all for trying to lock him up with food and keep him. Yesterday I heard the most awful racket, and discovered the dog going after one of the buffs. I managed to the run the dog off and the bird got away, but judging by the pile of feathers I wasn't optimistic about finding her in good shape. I did a quick scan of the yard and discovered all the feathers for one of our "babies" and all the other birds either camping out on the back porch or hiding under the ramp. On my second trip around the house, I found the terrified bird in hiding. Other than having all her rump feathers pulled out, she appears to be okay, and even joined the rest of the birds later. (I was afraid for that to happen due to hen's pecking problems, but she seems to be okay.)  Animal control came out last night but were unable to find the dog, though we saw him later that evening. They're supposed to come back again today with a cage trap. Meanwhile, no more free-ranging for the Bryan birds, and they are NOT happy about it. I know the dog was just hungry, but we can't have a dog around that will kill our birds.

And speaking of birds, maybe one day this week I can introduce you to our newest addition.