Flora and Fauna

It is one week into spring and already the temperatures are pushing 90 degrees.  Flora and fauna alike are growing fast.  Here are some spring moments captured on camera.

Winston, the Jack Russell, after barking at everything including his shadow for nearly 8 years finally treed something – a groundhog known in these parts as a woodchuck.  This was right off the back deck which slopes down quite steeply.  At first it looked like a beaver until you realize this thing is about 30 feet up a tree.

While on the subject of dogs, Jessie (whose thyroid problem makes her look like a black version of Moby Dick) is taking some stick in these next pics.

 Here is a moment of natural pest control with a spider eating some bug on a plum tree.

The new crop of baby chicks finally went outside.  These included the Buff Orpingtons hatched from eggs along with some White Leghorns (as in Foghorn Leghorn - "Ah say, ah say, boy, that girl's like the road between Fort Worth and Dallas..... No curves!"  or "Ah say, boy, that girl reminds me of Paul Revere's ride - a little light in the belfry!" or "That boy's so dumb he thinks the Mexican border pays rent!") and Rhode Island Reds bought as day old chicks.

The first Aylesbury duck egg.  Notice how the natural dirt markings resemble the letter “A”.  This omen clearly means Alabama will be National Champions again in 2012.

 

The following is an example of companion planting.  This is based on the Native American technique known as the three sisters.  On a raised mound of earth four stalks of corn are planted.  Once the corn is about 6" high alternating bean and squash seeds are planted around the edge of the mound.  As the three plants grow the corn stalk provides a natural pole to support the beans while the Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the root nodes of the beans provide valuable Nitrogen for the corn.  The squash plants radiate over the mound acting as a living mulch to suppress weeds and decrease soil water loss through evaporation.  Different combinations are being tried this year to see what works the best.  One of the combinations includes pumpkins instead of squash.