Trapped

When our gray squirrel population got out of control and they decided that our screen room was their jungle gym, we bought a humane box trap and began catching and relocating them to uninhabited areas nearby---but not too nearby.

Well, to date, 27 squirrels have been relocated!

But we also have managed to catch a fair number of cardinals, especially females. They are released as soon as they are discovered.

The other day, a large flock of blackbirds (Brewer’s, I think) were passing through the neighborhood and one of them was curious and got caught. I took this picture before I freed it.

Then one morning, we awakened to find this little possum VERY calmly waiting to be discovered. B relocated it just down the road in the swamp.

Last night when we returned from our walk, there was a deer grazing at the end of our cul-de-sac. We joked that it was here to ask directions to our vegetable garden that the deer have recently been visiting. I don’t think the trap is going to be much help with that.

Who You Gonna Call?

Remember the old “Ghostbusters” ?

Doesn’t this look like it should be part of their equipment?

Our son uses this in his doctoral research to measure the amount of carbon coming out of soil. It fits snuggly on top of this 8-inch PVC collar that he cuts himself.

Each carbon measurement is timed and then recorded along with the  soil temperature and the soil moisture content. Then there is a slim interval of time before the Li-Cor must be over the next collar. There are nine collars in a plot and there are nine plots at this location. Other plots are in other forests in Florida. Plots within each location are in areas burned each year, every two years, and in areas that have never been burned---the control. Each must be done three times a day during the few days each month when the data is collected.

The idea is to try to determine if forest burning affects the amount of carbon released from the soil.

From the time our boys were in kindergarten, they participated in science fairs in school. Several years they advanced to the regional fair and once went to state competition.  Yessir, we are fluent in the scientific method in this house. I bet, if we looked, there is still an old foam board display still around somewhere.

To me, this is just a continuation of years of projects, taken to a much higher level of work.

Below: A man outstanding in his field!

Of course, there are critters to be dealt with in the process. D pulled this large American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) off him while he was showing us around.

This research has been going on over a year, and we look forward to the results, if not its completion. The reason being, while it is going on, we are guaranteed to see our son (whose home is hours away) at least once a month. Oh, and, yeah, we like research!

Moth Mama

B discovered this white moth laying her eggs on the roof of my car in the garage.

I was not sure about the identification of this moth and sent pictures to UF. My contact there gave me three possibilities:

tiger moth

flannel moth

fall webworm

I guess I finally know what the LE on the Camry LE stands for: Lepidoptera Eggs.

Lovely Lilies, Poisonous Spiders

 

These two swamp lilies are just a little ragged, but still caught my eye as we drove past them.

Hymenocallis littoralis is also known as Beach Spider Lily. Lycorine alkaloids, which are highly toxic and found in this plant, are being used in genetics research. Lycorine was first found in Hurricane Lilies (Licoris Radiata) by a Japanese man, Morishima, in 1897. It was later found in Narcissus, Amaryllis, Crinums and other plants.

Cukes to Pickles

The cucumber frame B built worked out quite well and we had more cucumbers than we knew what to do with. 

The dill pickles we made look a little cloudy because this jar was straight out of the refrigerator.

They are not bad. We used instructions from a recent Better Homes and Gardens magazine. I think the seasoning could be improved upon. But they are not bad for our first ever dills.

The hardest part turned out to be locating dill seed. Our Publix did not carry it. Two Wal-Marts had none and one had one jar but we needed more. One store told us the warehouse was out. ( I guess it is pickle-making time!) I finally called New Leaf Market and they have it in their bulk containers. So once there, I measured out the seeds into a tiny plastic bag and it cost only a fraction of the price of the McCormick jars. When we had emptied the jar making the pickles, we refilled it with the seeds left in the bag.

Now the cucumbers are done and our son cut the old yellowing vines off the frame, but we will have pickles for some time to come.

Mailbox Monday: Happy Snorkeling!

 

Assassin in the Garage

This wheel bug, (Arilus cristatus) a kind of assassin bug, was on my car.

B discovered it. That is his heavy work glove attempting to detain the bug for pictures. When I snapped what turned out to be its last picture, it flew straight at my face. Mind you, I was not sure what kind of bug it was at the time, but a little squeal escaped my mouth as it suddenly flew at me! I jumped aside and it flew past me. I had to send a couple of pictures to UF for identification.

The round body part behind the head is thought to look like a cog-wheel, and thus the common name. Wheel bugs eat a variety of other insects, some of which are helpful, like honey bees and ladybugs and some of which are harmful, such as aphids. They may also be cannibalistic. Their saliva contains toxins that quickly kill their prey.

Once long ago, an assassin bug flew through a car window and bit me. It was a painful bite and the swelling was rather impressive, so I had identified it at that time to know what in the world had attacked me. Apparently, they are well-known for their bites.