Could it bee my latest version of a Motel 6 for the tiny bees and wasps that do alot of important pollinating for us?
Could bee!
I hope the little pollinators like this version, 'cause I do.
I'll let you know how it goes of course.
With honey bees greatly reduced in number, I am trying to make it as easy as possible for the other native pollinators to keep their populations high around here.
If you're new to this concept, it's real simple. A whole bunch of our tiny, native pollinating wasps and bees use reeds and other stems for egg laying. The idea behind the bee house above is to provide them with lots of snug nesting sites. Simple.
Don't know if it is truly having an effect, but I know this:
A. The old bee houses I put up are used heavily.
B. My blueberry crop is a record breaking one this year.
The cluster above is a good one, but there are others where there is no space between the berries. I expect them to have flattened sides from being squished against each other.
The early varieties are already blushing too.
It won't belong before I'm boring you with, "LOOK AT MY BLUEBERRIES" posts.
Tuesday evening, just before the sunset, I stepped outside for a post dinner Bear walk. It was the final act of a perfect spring day, just before the night shift kicked in.
A gentle, but steady breeze was blowing in from the Gulf of Florida. You could track it's direction by the scattered puffy clouds that rushed by on their way inland.
In short, it was the kind of low humidity, mild temperature evening you'd kill for during the steamy summer months ...
... with one big exception.
The normally sweet air of PFHQ had a distinct paint thinner/varnishy smell to it.
(Note, this was before any Coast Guard burning of the slick)
I stopped on the stone walkway and sniffed left, right, left, right. It was everywhere.
Now, where PFHQ sits, deep in the Nature Coast woods, I can't smell anything my neighbors do ... short of burning down their homes ... I could probably smell that if the wind was right.
... AND there is nothing wrong with my sniffer.
The smell was everywhere on our extensive walk and at the time I wondered if it might be coming from the oil spill in the Gulf.
After all, the wind direction was right and the oil slick had been baking in the clear sunny spring weather for days.
My guess was the volatile components of the petroleum were evaporating ... essentially a natural version of what a refinery does in a fractionating tower.
I pondered it, but did not mention it to anyone.
Yesterday, a Gainesville Sun article headline about a "Strange Smell" caught my eye, so I clicked.
Sure enough, the article reported that people in Gatorville were reporting an odd chemical smell and that even folks in Tampa had noticed it.
Last night I mentioned the article to Junior as he sat internetting while I cooked supper.
Before I could get very far, he interrupted me saying that he had smelled it also and he described it as smelling like wood finish, before I had ever mentioned what I thought it smelled like.
So, you may be wondering ... How are those Macrobrachium rosenbergii doing after a month in FC's classroom RAS?
The prawns arrived on March 19. At that time, the biggest one I measured was around 5 cm, tip of telson to tip of rostrum. (I'm not measuring long delicate claws or antennae.)
This guy is a solid 7 cm and he's not the biggest, just an average size prawn who was slow enough for me to net him.
(He's alive by the way, and was returned immediately to the RAS.)
There is a huge alpha male BC (blue claw) living under the biofilter in the tank. The students have named him, "Goliath". He's got a centimeter or two on the photo model prawn above.
They are great fun and the kids are getting the basics of recirculating aquaculture systems down just by working with them.
Today, if they don't make me cover an absent teacher's class during my planning period, (where have all the substitute teachers gone? Isn't there a job shortage out there?), ... where was I? Oh yeah, ... IF I actually have a planning period today, I am inviting the TMH (trainable mentally handicapped) kids and their teachers into my empty room and we are going to feed the shrimp, feed Stewie the best snake ever, and look at the fish and critters in my aquariums.
I like to include them whenever I have something neat going on. We've tried to do this for a few weeks, but every time I picked a day, I got called to cover a class.
Hopefully I won't have to break our date this afternoon.
These two were kanoodlin' in a small retention pond at the track meet last week.
The track facility is built adjacent to (probably partially on) a cypress wetland in the city of Orlando. It was a moderate walk from the parking area to the actual track, so I had my eye open for life along the way.
As I strolled toward the track and field events, a small retention pond caught my eye and I crossed the asphalt to check it out. I really was expecting to see tilapia or some other exotic, but instead, I was treated to a pair of our native largemouths doing the spring thing.
That was a nice surprise ... as was the sight of a woodstork in a large drainage ditch next to the track and field.
I could also hear a few sandhill cranes just beyond the cypress trees that bordered the field ... all of this was giving me a case of TADD, but the MOST distracting sound at the track was ...
... a pair of ospreys nesting in the stadium lights. There was a constant chatter from the nest all day long.
It made it hard to concentrate on the track events ... unless it was a Junior event of course.
These two largemouth bass and their hoped for progeny will need to be alert.
I staked my vigorous tomato plants Saturday, which turned out to be pretty good timing as we had some strong windy storms Sunday.
I pulled the datils down from the "system" to protect them after I saw the radar bands on Accuweather. The possibility of hail seemed strong and the datils are fragile and harder to replace than tomatoes.
The datils sheltered under the old hog hut while the tomatoes bravely endured the storm. All plants came through it well, but we did get some nice rain and a short, but truly sweet little hail storm.
Below is a little bit of the hailstorm that rocked Laya's chicks' world.
Does he look stressed? He has a good reason to be.
The Blue Blur Of Owl Harassnicity has arrived!
Note that this is not the same day as the Jay Attack video, nor the same location. This is in a dead willow down by the pond ... a dead willow that was sporting TWO barred owls side by side last week as Bear and I took our dawn walk.
I don't take my camera on those walks since they usually take place in the dark, but we were a little late that morning and when I glanced towards the pond, two barred owls were side by side in a rising mist from the water.
Acckk! It WAS a picture.
A picture I did not get.
So, the next morning I carried my camera out, (without Bear) and a single owl sat on the tree. Well dang.
I went for the shot anyway and again, I did not notice that the jay was in the willow with him. The light was almost too dim for photos that early, but when the jay mouthed off, I thought I would try for a little more action video.
I mistakenly set the camera on the Automatic (brainless snapshot) setting when I switched to video and as I pushed the shutter the Jay attacked.
I try never to post blurry videos here for my discriminating audience, but I just couldn't NOT share this photo.
I think the blurry jay nebulosity communicates the hell bent fury of a jay in action.
Anyway, it sounds like a good excuse for a less than perfect photo. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.
The blue flag iris that I transplanted to the pond has set in and is in full bloom. With the variability of water levels in the pond, I have decided to think of it as a wetland more than a deepwater pond.
I won't fuss of course if this hurricane season fills it to overflowing, but in the long gaps between floodstage, I plan to keep adding desirable wetland plants to it.
5 weeks to hurricane season! Yippeee!
Floridiots, do you know where your emergency supplies are?
My box is empty mostly ... so this month I will be restocking .
You should do the same ... or at least do an inventory.
Senior year is a mix of bittersweet and impending liberation.
Remember?
It is the same for Junior.
The regional track meet in Orlando last week was the final event of his high school athletic career.
The level of athletic strength and skill at this level was pretty amazing and this was not the final level (state). Those who win or score high enough here would go to that final test.
Junior did not make it out of this level, but he threw well and obviously, we are proud of him for just making it to this regional meet.
As often happens at these events, the written schedule of events and times fell by the wayside as little delays added up.
By the time the warm ups for the shot put event started, 2 hours late, Junior was obligated to be across the field preparing for the 4 X 100 meter relay.
He warmed up, and then he and his coach informed the officials that due to the delay, he had to leave the shot put line up and go participate with his relay team, but he would return as soon as that was over.
The shot put clipboard official guy got a little confused about that as time went by and began calling for Junior ... even as he stood poised to take the baton and run his part of the 4x100m relay.
I let his coach lawyer for him when the official wanted to disqualify him. Parents are supposed to stay out of this, but it's hard when your baby is poised to miss out on his main event. I behaved myself. In the end, a compromise was reached. The other shot putters completed the first round, but Junior was allowed to throw in the second and third.
Of course, he threw after running his 100 m leg of the relay as fast as he could and then running across the field to the shot put site.
He threw well, but didn't quite get past his personal best of almost 40 feet.
The winners of the shot put were in that 42 foot+ zone, so the competition was pretty tough.
I was proud of him though. He never fussed about the schedule mix up or hassle and when I said something like, " Well, maybe if you had not had to run the relay and then immediately step up to the shot ring." , he brushed that aside saying it wasn't really a factor.
On that particular day, he threw the best he could and he was okay with that.
More pride.
Since he was threw (pun), and the rest of the team had to stay, we said our goodbyes and good luck.
Then we escaped to a Texas Roadhouse where he devoured vast quantities of peanuts, yeast rolls, a steak and a salad.
I posted stills of this scrub jay awhile ago, but I was unable to upload this short video via Blogger, so it sat for a while.
Here it is courtesy of YoTubular.
I chose the scrub jays for today's post because of where I am.
I'm playing hooky from school today ... using a little personal leave so I can watch Junior run and throw the shot in the regional track meet in Orlando. He made it through the District Tournament and this Regional Tournament is the last step before state competition.
He's a senior, so this could be the final chance to see him compete in high school athletics.
And THAT is why I am blogging to you this morning from the Winter Garden McDonalds on SR-50.
THAT is not why I chose today to use the little Florida Scrub Jay video. I took back roads all the way down, not worrying about the road numbers, just keeping the sun where it's supposed to be as I passed through farms and small towns ... Sumterville, Webster, Center Hill, until I bumped into SR-50.
Fifty cuts across the state, in an East-West sorta way, and it will get me near my target, The Payne Stewart Athletic Complex at "The First Academy" in Orlando. Junior doesn't compete until about 1:00 pm, so I am taking a few minutes to blog and enjoy McDonald's pretty darn good coffee.
I chose the Scrub Jay, because once SR-50 brought me near Clermont, a rare thing happened.
Hills.
Usually, you can't see too far from a Florida road due to our flat terrain and abundant trees.
Here, on these sandy hills, you get "vistas" as you drive.
The view all around was pretty depressing, rampant sprawl construction adjoining the highway and hill after hill covered with cookie cutter homes that almost bump up against each other.
The sandy hills of Florida's central ridge were once prime habitat for the scrub jay ... and a host of rare plants and animals that need that habitat.
Not anymore.
Without preserves like Cedar Key Scrub where that video was shot, the scrub jay would be a doomed species.
Just a reminder of how important habitat protection and the Florida Forever program is to future generations of wild things and ... human things too.
The barred owl was perched in the black willow tree overlooking the pond last week as Bear and I finished our walk. When I noticed the owl, I quickly steered Bear up a woodsy path in the direction of the house.
I had not carried my camera along for our walk/run, but I HAD left it on the porch. As soon as he was in the house, I slipped back to the pond with the camera and got a few photos.
The owl was patient for a while, but then he lifted off and swung back into the oaks between the pond and PFHQ. I followed him (on foot) and found him enjoying a preen as the trees around him shook and swayed in brisk winds.
I already had still shots, so I decided to shoot a little video, even though I knew it would most likely consist of staring, blinking, and looking.
Expecting little, I swung the camera up, braced against the nearest amiable tree, and began filming.
For a few seconds, it was just as I suspected ... staring, preening, blinking ... but with a neat breeze that whooshed the fresh green spring foliage and fluffed the owl's feathers.
Then out of nowhere ... ACTION!
And again ... ACTION in an owl video!
It's a cool little video, but Blogger video upload has not been cooperating at all for me lately.
SNORT!!
UPDATE: FC does an end run around Blooger's foibles and loads the ACTION VIDEO INVOLVING AN OWL at Yo'Tubular!
Blue-eyed grass with a token anemone. These were growing near a tiny creek called, "Flat Branch".
A closer look.
Lyre Leaf Sage.
This plant grows near my gate and is one of many. It is the 22nd generation of seeds I collected along A1A when I was an NPS Ranger at Fort Matanzas in the 80's.
Blue Flag iris is kicking in all over around here. This one was in Mule Creek near Gulf Hammock, but my iris down at the pond (yes, it is still a pond!) is just about to bloom.
Not really blue, but the token Anemone deserves a shot here too!
Hold your breath and hope they listened to the safety message.
Laugh as they learn to work together.
Accept that your tape measure may not survive too many dunkings, but the goal is worth it.
Reassure your livestock that it will be okay.
Try not to look too astonished when the plan comes together.
Act like you knew they would accomplish the mission the whole time.
So ...
A few weeks ago, we had a brief discussion of the territorial nature of Macrobrachiumrosenbergii, the giant freshwater prawn.
I explained to my 3 Marine Science classes that the tiny prawns in the Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) are very territorial and have a definite social hierarchy.
Dominant males become the alpha prawns. These are called BC's because they will have long bright blue claws. The BC's rule the roost, get all the girls, and will eat smaller interlopers ... like the OC's ... orange claws. OC's are the second level down from BC's.
There's actually a third and lowest level of smaller individuals ... I think they are just called L7's, cause they are SOL (shrimp out of luck).
In a crowded aquaculture situation, you can wind up with just a few jumbo prawns rather than a lot of big prawns if you don't give them room to spread out.
The way to increase their available surface area is to add some kind of mesh substrate that the prawns can crawl on. That way, they don't constantly bump into each other on the tank bottom.
BC: " Oh hello, OC. Didn't I just see you at the other side of the tank?"
OC: "Yessss sir , but it's a small tank and I was just foraging."
BC: "Ya' know, constantly meeting like this makes me want to rend you cheliped to cheliped and feast on your liver."
OC: "Well, sorry Mr. BC, I really am trying to avoid you, but there's only this bottom area to walk ... and it's crowded in here."
BC: "Yeah, yeah, fascinating. Now hold still while I devour you."
This kind of encounter is what we want to avoid so we harvest more shrimp, hence the need for substrate.
We decided on 3 mesh panels that could be easily lifted out of the tank for cleaning, etc.
Each class built a panel on the day before spring break when their minds are usually already at the beach a day ahead of their bodies.
I tricked them though ... gave them a project that was hands on, cooperative (mostly... LOL!), and a little competitive since each class was building one.
It worked like a charm.
I only wish I could share the other photos I took with beaming faces, stressing faces, concentrating faces, and finally proud faces.
Their privacy trumps that, so I picked and cropped to share what I could.
It was the kind of day when the kids and I both walk out of the room knowing that we got something done.
Education can be a pretty nebulous thing sometimes.
Yo, why didn't ya' tell me I forgot to share these? You're slipping. Last week in St. Augustine, dropping crossbars stopped me at the RR crossing just down the road from where my grandparents once lived. It happened that I was the first vehicle and it also happened that my camera was sitting next to me in the passenger seat ready to go.
I shot this short train as it approached the crossing, all the while thinking, that might be my cousin Rick driving it. I couldn't identify the folks in the engine as it went by, but he's a Florida East Coast railway guy and makes this trip routinely.
The spires in the background are Flagler College (The old Ponce DeLeon Hotel) and the tall building just to the right and behind the engine is one of the old Florida East Coast Railway office buildings. These days they are dorms for Flagler College I believe ... might be wrong on that, but I doubt it.
Well, it's been about 2 years since I posted the heartbreaking video of the wounded deer that wandered into my front forest to die. In a series of icky posts, we checked on the decomposition of the deer over a year, (remember?) and then I let that series die.
Last week when I was tracking down that Barred Owl's location, I came across her remains again and thought you might just be wondering how she was doing.
Emma couldn't be here on her official birthday last month due to other fun obligations, so we toasted her a little late, but as soon as we could get her. The menu was BBQ ribs, mac and cheese, yeasty rolls, and fresh green beans. Dress was casual.
Look at Katie with her paper towel bib. "Baby, is that your best T-shirt or something?"
Junior's plan seems more environmentally friendly, no waste of paper, just eat with abandon and then go shower off.
Here's a view looking uphill from the owl tree towards PFHQ proper.
I love the way the palms hide the junk on the porch.
Here's a young datil pepper in it's new home, a 5 gallon bucket filled with a mix of bare naked sand from the artifact dig mixed with some homemade compost and topped with a 6 inch layer of commercial potting mix.
This is a grape tomato hybrid ...Jelly Bean...Jubilee ... something like that. Tomatoes seem to struggle in my ground between deer, disease, etc. So these are bucket bound.
The sweet white dog in the pic is "Lady", the neighbor's dog and a love interest of "Bear". She just dropped in for a visit and a tummy rub as I was finishing up yesterday.
The "system" looks like this. Years ago, I had it set up with drip irrigation and grew some peppers this way. Later, I planted a grape vine too close and just let it take over the shelf as a trellis.
When I first used this system, I used the typical black growing pots and I think they just got too hot in the Florida sun. Last year I grew my datils in white buckets and the soil mix I just described and they made me swarms of peppers. Those buckets sat in the back of a broken down truck near the barn and they did so well, I decided to cut the grape vine way back and seize control of it again.
My seatbelt system.
The old drip tubing is cut away and the white pvc carries water but, not yet to these plants. I will be picking up a little bit of drip stuff soon and hooking this up the rest of the way.
I will update you as the system progresses ... or regresses ... you know how gardening goes.
If you are local, be sure and hit the Spring Art Festival in Gainesville this weekend and look for the Southern Sisters booth.
Mrs. FC will be there with her posse slinging some amazing food. Yesterday she baked a couple of Key Lime cakes and about three Buttermilk Walnut pies.
That's not the whole menu, but as official taste tester, I can vouch for these two items!
