Mick

          Another week has come and gone and I didn't get around to making an extra posting of just pictures — and that's the nice thing about just pictures. They'll keep. Heaven knows I took enough pictures again this week to fill several letter blogs!

          Last time I talked about the turkeys crossing the road in front of me, then I told you about the bear that crossed in front of my friend Jody. "I should have gotten the picture from you and put it in my letter blog," I told Jody.

          "You should've. I'd've let you."

          So Jody sent me the pictures of her bear, which, by the way, also made an appearance in our local paper.

          "He was walking down the middle of the road, then just stopped and stood right up," Jody told me.

          Another picture I wish I'd've used last week was one I found of my brother Michael. I've been looking through pictures my oldest and much-adored sister Patti brought with her when she came for Momma's funeral. I don't know if this was his first deer or not but none the less, I wish I would've used it.

          Here's the original...

...and one with a little fixing. I don't have any fancy photoshopping tools, I just use Paint and Photos, both programs came with my laptop. Not too bad, eh?

          Our week started with a trip to the doctor's office on Monday morning. After a 12-hour fast, Mike had his yearly blood test. He's on blood pressure meds and the doc likes to keep an eye on it.

          "After we leave here we're stopping at McDonald's," Mike chatted with Melody, the lady taking his blood. "I love the Sausage Egg McMuffin. Did you ever have one?"

          "No, I never did. I always get the Bacon Egg and Cheese Bagel. I love the sauce they put on it."

          At McDonald's, I got Melody's favorite breakfast sandwich. I ate it but I can't say I'm a fan.

          "I don't know why you even tried it," Mike said.

          "Because it's Melody's favorite and I wanted to try it." We were quiet a moment. "Besides, it's a good reminder. Just because something's our favorite doesn't mean it's going to appeal to anyone else."

          On the way home, we had to stop and watch the trucks work for a while. It took a dozen buckets to load one of the dump trucks.

          "They need a bigger bucket," Mike observed. "I've seen buckets where it only took one and a half to fill a truck."

          They didn't have far to go to dump their load and they didn't get in a hurry. "Why should they?" I replied to Mike's comment. "They'd just have to wait when they got back over here."

          Coming in on our little dirt road, we followed these guys across the open-grate single-lane bridge.

          "Peg, would you help me do a job?" Mike asked.

          "I don't know. What is it?" I always ask before I agree.

          "You get in the bucket and I'll lift you up and you use the chainsaw and cut that branch."

          I wasn't liking this. "Why! That branch isn't bothering anything!"

          "I don't want it there. It drops stuff down onto the driveway."

          "What about the branches above that one? They'll drop stuff too," I pointed out.

          "Well, we might have to cut those too."

          "No." I put my foot down. No way was I getting in the bucket of the tractor with a chainsaw — even if it is a small electric one. "I'm not doing it."

          "Then you lift me up in the bucket," Mike said.

          "Okay. Whatever. But I think you should just let the branch be."

          All's well that ends well. I operated the bucket just fine (for the most part). And watching Mike struggle with the reach of the saw on the pole, I knew there was no way I could've done it anyway. I don't have the arm strength of a man.

          On Tuesday, we went to Jody's to pick raspberries. My Mike and her Mike — yes two Mikes! Can you stand it! Jody and I thought the Mikes could keep each other entertained while we picked berries. First, a few road pics.

          "Our place could look like that," I joked.

          Mike was not amused. "No, it can't."

  

          Second, Jody gave me a tour of her house. I love the hats and the dried Chinese Lanterns — I loved the whole house! It's an old farmhouse full of charm.

          Jody's husband Michael is a taxidermist, so their house is full of dead critters. "Just until the new shop is finished," Jody told me. "Then they're all moving out there and I get my room back."

          "What are those things hanging with the turkey feet?" I asked. "Turkey teeth?" I knew they weren't, I just didn't know what bear teeth were doing hanging with turkey feet.

          Jody didn't bat an eye. "They're the spurs from turkey feet."

          "What about the scalps?"

          They were hanging just under the turkey feet.

          "Those are the beards from turkeys."

          "Beards?" I asked. "Like under the chin beards?"

          "Yes, but they're more like on the front of their chest. I think there's a picture..." Jody looked about, "Right there. You can see the beard in that picture."

          I did take a picture of the print on her wall but later in the week, I had a chance to take my own turkey beard picture. See the long beard hanging down the front of his chest? His? Do girl turkeys have beards too?" This calls for a Google search.

         Both domesticated and wild turkeys have beards. It's not 'hair' it's modified feathers or tufts of filaments. The average length is nine inches but they can grow long enough to touch the ground. Turkeys can have multiple beards, two is common, but hunters have reported turkeys with eight beards. And now to answer the burning question, yes, females or hens can have beards but it's not common for them.

          Jody and I got suited up, boots, hats, berry tins that would hang around our necks leaving our hands free to pick, and...

          "I've got the ThermaCells ready," her Michael said.

          "ThermaCells?" I questioned. "What's that?"

          "You're gonna love these. I'm tellin ya. They're the best thing ever. You just turn 'em on, hang it on your clothes and it'll keep the bugs away."

          Rather than make you wait, I'm just gonna tell you now. It worked fabulously! We weren't bothered by misquotes or horseflies or deerflies or anything else! I might have to get me one of those. I hate when those stupid horseflies buzz around my head and I don't always feel the deerflies land on me until they bite.

          Mick was waiting at the pasture gate for us. He knew where we were going. I wasn't taking a picture of him per se, I was shooting the pretty scene of flowers, picnic table, and barn, but I see I caught him waiting. As soon as we get close, Mick scooted between the bars of the tractor gate.

          Scout is old and I wondered if he'd scoot through the bars too.

          "I don't think he can," Jody said. We left him on the house side of the gate.

          When the sheep saw us, they came running. When they realized we weren't giving them a treat, they stopped and watched us go.

          Mick ran ahead, then stopped in the shade to wait for us to catch up.

          Beautiful Jody in the raspberry patch.

          I spotted a moth. I don't know what kind he is but he has an underbite, see it?         

          And a dragonfly. 

           Then I spotted Scout. "Oh, Scout," Jody cried. "He just has to be wherever I am."

          Raspberries.

          The power plant in the distance.

          "I hate that it's ruined my view," Jody told me. "And there's a constant hum coming from it."

          "I know, right! I hear it at my house too!"

          We chat and pick berries for a while. Then, "Peg, there's a spider over here."

          "Cool! I'll be right there!" I believe this guy is a Marbled Orb Weaver, some call him a Pumpkin Spider — I'm guessing for his coloring.

          Then I spotted this.

          "What is it?" you ask.

          This one I know because they are such fascinating creatures. This is a Black and Yellow Garden Spider. The distinctive vertical zigzag down the center is a dead giveaway. In a nightly ritual, she'll consume the circular interior part of the web and then rebuild it each morning with fresh new silk. They reproduce twice a year. The males normally roam in search of females so the females are the ones likely to build the big beautiful webs. After mating, the male dies and sometimes she eats him! She'll encase her eggs in an egg sac and hang it in her web where she can protect it for the rest of her life, which is until the first hard frost. The babies hatch in the spring. Garden Spiders spend most of their time on the web waiting for prey. When something gets caught, she may undulate the web back and forth to further trap the insect. Isn't that cool! Then she'll wrap it up to eat later.

          "Peg, you didn't tell us why the zigzag," you say.

          No, I didn't, did I? And I meant to. It's not certain why they make the zigzag but there are several theories. It could make the web stronger, or maybe it's to help hide her as that's where she spends most of her time, or maybe it's a warning to birds that the web is there so they don't fly into it, destroying all her hard work.

          Look at all the blackberries! It looks like it's going to be a bumper crop this year!

          A Bull Thistle with a little Green Orchard Bee on him.

          Horse Nettle and a Buttercup canoodling.

          "Peg, are you picking berries or taking pictures?" you wonder.

          I know, right!

          "Jody!" I called from where I was picking berries. "I think I found a grouse! He's just laying there not moving." I may have thought that because I saw a grouse-like bird in Jody's house before heading out to pick berries.

          Jody started moving toward me. "Really?"

          He was in the shadows under the berry bushes and all I could see was a small part of him. Carefully I move around to locate his head and realize I was looking at a turtle shell.

          Stop laughing. The shell pattern looked like feathers to me. In my defense, I have cataracts — a defense I intend to fully exploit.

          "Are you girls talking or picking berries?" My Mike wanted to know.

          "Both," Jody answered.

          You can see that these lazy butts didn't hike up the hill like Jody and I did. It just about killed this ex-smoker and I had to stop a few times to catch my breath.

          Jody and I were out there for a couple of hours when we decided we'd had enough. Plus the dogs stayed with us and they were panting heavily, in need of a drink. We decided to head on down.

          "We had a big black snake in the barn and I won't let Mike kill it," Jody told me. "I see it pretty often when I go in there."

          "Cool! Can we go look for him?"

          "Sure."

          When we get back down to the barn, Jody started looking in the places she usually sees him. "Here's a small Garter Snake," she said and traded me places so I could take a picture. I know you guys like snakes.

          Before Jody went into the barn I was able to snap this picture of the rooster standing in the sun, the sheep in the shade. He's so brightly white it almost looks like I photoshopped him there.

          Just then, "MICK NO!" Jody yelled.

          I turned around in time to see Mike with a snake hanging from his mouth.

          "You can get all the water snakes you want but I wish you'd leave the other ones alone," Jody told Mick. She turned to me, "He doesn't seem to know the difference."

          Mick whipped the snake around, dropped it, picked it up, and whipped it around some more. Then he lay down and gave it the old stink eye.

          Then he rolled on it! I laughed at him.

         

          We left Mick to his snake and went in search of the black snake. We never did find it. I did get a picture of a pigeon looking out the windowless window.

          When we left the barn, Mick was there with an egg. "Can he crack it?" I asked Jody.

          "Most times. If he gets one of the Ginny eggs they have a thicker shell and he can't always get into those."

          As you can see, Mick did indeed get into this one and was noisily lapping up his booty.

          We head up to the house, not paying any attention to Mick until Jody's Mike starts yelling. "MICK! DON'T YOU GO IN THE HOUSE!" The door had been left open.

          I turned and see Mick's covered in algae. He'd taken a dip in the pond. Once he was dry, the algae came right off.

          We sat on the deck and chatted for a while. "When do you want to come to my house and play in the glass shop with me?" I asked Jody.

          "I don't know. I'm going to see my mom this weekend." Her mom lives a few hours south of us.

          "Perfect! You can make something to take to her!" The only day that was going to work for us before she left was the next day.

          I made a cheesecake that afternoon. I wanted to be able to serve something to Mike and Jody when they came the next day. And I have to tell you, I'm always more nervous when I cook or bake for others, especially if it's something I don't make that often, like cheesecake. I know my oven runs hot so I turned the temp down a little. I can't remember if I did that the last time I made cheesecake or not. When the time was up I peeked in and it was just slightly brown. Perfect, I thought.

          That evening, Rosie called. "You want to see a semi jackknifed on the bridge," she asked.

          "Yeah! I'll be right down!"

          Lamar was standing there watching when we got there. "I told him he'll never get a 53-foot trailer across that bridge," he said. "I told him to back up to the top of the hill, turn around and go out the other way."

          "Mike could do it," I said with a hint of pride. "In fact, he has. We had that 42-foot RV and pulled a 23-foot trailer and made it across."

          This poor guy backed up and went forward several times while we watched.

          "Aren't you going to help?" I asked Mike. Mike told me what the guy needed to do and I told the guy what Mike said.

          After several more attempts to get his trailer moved over he was only getting himself into a worse pickle.

          "Won't you help him?" I begged Mike. "You can get him out of here, I know you can. If he has to wait on a wrecker he could be here for hours!"

          I guess Mike finally felt sorry for the guy, heaved a sigh, and went to help. "I can probably get you out of here," Mike told him, "but you have to listen to me and do exactly what I tell you when I tell you."

          It wasn't ten minutes until Mike had him across the bridge and on his way.

          The next day Jody and her Mike showed up. I invited the Kipps to come have cheesecake with us and I was so disappointed! My cheesecake was a little underdone. Everyone was kind and ate it anyway.

          "Vernon didn't get any," Mike said of his buddy, who he invited but couldn't come.

          "I'll make another," I offered. I thought I could do a better job.

          Jody and I went through my patterns and settled on an owl. We went through the myriad stacks of glass and picked out a pretty green for her mom. I made one for Jody so I could demonstrate. Jody's Mike had to leave early so I volunteered to take Jody home so she could finish the owl. She's a good student and did a great job.

          It was early evening when we finished. "Let's go feed Vernon's fish," I said. "We can sit on the end of the pier and dip our toes. Maybe we'll even see his giant Koi." It was fun to feed the fish and I had a couple of them nip at my toes. It didn't hurt but it did startle me the first time they did it. When the bread was gone, we walked around the pond to see if we could see the Koi and we did spot one.

          "There's a Green Heron," old eagle eyes says.

          "Where?" I asked.

          "In the top of the tree. See him?"

          I did see a black blob against the sky. "Are you sure?" I asked. "He looks like a crow to me." Again, cataracts.

          "No. It's a Green Heron," she affirmed.

          I could see better through the zoom on my camera and intended to take a better picture when we got closer, but as we strolled and chatted, I forgot until he took flight. A few more steps and I'm kicking myself for forgetting. A look back and I see another one!

          I did make another cheesecake the next day and set the temp to what the recipe called for. Much to my chagrin, it was over-baked! It didn't go to waste though and it was still eatable... edible. "Lamar and I liked the one that was a little under-baked better," Miss Rosie told me.

          "I know, right! The over-baked one was more compact."

          I used to have such good baking skills, I don't know what happened!

          "Cataracts, Peg?" you say.

          Yeah! Let's blame it on that!

          Chicory. I can't decide which one I like best, so you get two.

           I don't know what this one is. I looked and looked and couldn't find it. It grows on a runner, much like Sweet William, but it's not that. Maybe I'll find it what it is later.

           Like this one. I showed it to you last week and this week I know what it is. This is Tall Meadow Rue.

          This is another kind of Beardtongue. Its lavender color says this is Hairy Beardtongue.

          The Touch-me-nots are blooming. This is the Spotted but I have Yellow ones too. They're not blooming yet.

           I call them Touch-me-nots but they're Jewelweed. When the seeds are mature, they'll 'explode' when you touch them.

          "Sometimes you'll find this growing close to poison ivy," my cute little redheaded sister told me once. "The 'juice' from the Jewelweed is a natural remedy for poison ivy."

          In folk medicine, it is indeed used for rashes.

         

          A pretty shot of the daylilies.

          Someone hung monkeys on one of the trees along the drive-through lane at the bank. I couldn't figure out what I was seeing and as I was puzzling it over, we were past it.

          "Mike, there's something on that tree back there. I'm going to walk back and get a picture."

          Mike, the good husband that he is, parked and waited for me.

          Little things like this tickle me.

          Look at this neon green guy. He's just a little flower or crab spider and I must have caught his 'parachute' because I was walking back from the mailbox when he landed on my arm. I wonder if he walks in circles, I thought when I saw he's missing his long front legs on one side. Will they grow back?

          Time for another Google search. Spider legs will grow back, it says, as long as the spider is young. Any time they molt they'll re-grow missing legs. They'll be shorter than the original but if he goes through several more molts they will increase in size every time. If he's already an adult he won't grow legs back but most spiders can do well without them. Most crab spiders are ambush predators. They're often the same color as the flower they sit on and they wait for their prey to come to them. Crab spiders can also walk forward, backward, and sideways with ease.

      

   

          There's another spider that's not a spider.

          "What are you talking' about, Peg?" you ask.

          I'm talking about Daddy Longlegs. A lot of people think he's a spider but he's not. His real name is Harvestmen and he's more closely related to a scorpion. Harvestmen don't build webs and only have two eyes, unlike a spider that has eight. 

          Have you ever heard that Daddy Longlegs is the most poisonous spiders in the world but their fangs are too short to bite us?

          Well, guess what? According to the University of California, it's completely false. They eat decomposing vegetable and animal matter for the most part. But they're also opportunists. If they can get something else, they will. They have no venom glands and in fact, have no fangs. So they can't be the most poisonous spider in the world.

        

 

          Let's end this time with a sunset photo, courtesy of my husband. Sort of. He's the one that took me over to Vernon's field where the Walkers had left a hay wagon and suggested I use it in my photo. So, if you think about, I owe the Walkers a thank you too! Thank you, Walkers! One of these is my favorite; the other is Miss Rosie's.

           Let's call this one done!