"We need 500 of these quickly!"

   Yes, indeed.  We do.  Darling Daughter made that comment when I sent a (poor) photograph of the Eastern Kingbird and told her that there were several in the yard doing fantastic aerobatic maneuvers around the old, dead oak tree.  I was a bit entranced by the birds' antics and figured there had to be a specific reason behind their actions. I watched as long as I could before I had to make a dash to the house due to being eaten alive by mosquitoes!  It was time for a bit of research on the type of bird and what it may be doing.  I found that the Eastern Kingbird eats those dratted mosquitoes!  Needless to say, I was elated but I continued reading and soon became even happier!  It seems that the birds love to eat swarming termites!  Oh, happy day!  These birds are heroes!

  By this time, it was just about dark.  I sent the photograph to Elizabeth and told her of my recent study.  Her comment was almost a desperate plea..."We need 500 of these quickly!"  Yep, the termites were swarming with a vengeance at her place.  She and Robbie were vacuuming termites from their house in hopes to rid the place of some.  That is when I decided to check our "outdoor termite light".  Oh, goodness!  To explain, years ago, I found that termites were attracted to lights so in the midst of "lights out" inside, a shop light was rigged far down the hillside in hopes that perhaps the critters would mosey on down there.  It worked!  Last night when I checked the light, thousands of termites were swirling under the light!  We literally had a termite cyclone down there!  What made it better was lizards and frogs were devouring many of the bugs!  Oh, yeah!  This was good. 

  I now figured out that the Kingbirds were catching the termites as they were coming out of the old oak tree to swarm. For two hours before dusk, the birds did their aerial stunts while consuming the termites. I hope the birds stick around and reproduce here.  I welcome them all!  Should I mention that I love Eastern Kingbirds?  

  Note...the photograph of the termites was taken from an upstairs window.  What appears to be a small tree decorated with white lights is definitely something far more sinister!  That is the shop light facing downward with a cyclone of termites flying underneath.  The light is glinting off their wings making interesting patterns albeit a bit disturbing when you know that those wings are attached to critters that are eating the houses down here on the Coast.

Orange Tree Frogs!

   No, our tree frogs are not orange.  They are green just like most tree frogs in our yard.  But!  These little froggies seem to really love living in the citrus trees so...hence, the "orange tree" frogs! 

  Actually, I am really happy to find the frogs living in among the leaves of the fruit trees.  For a while, the whiteflies were causing major problems for all of the citrus trees and I resorted to spraying apple cider vinegar on each tree in the small orchard.  The vinegar did the job after several sprayings but it was quite the chore to reach the tiptop of the trees.  The grapefruit trees especially since they are some thirty feet tall.  Climbing fruit trees is not something I wish to do.  Well, climbing trees in general...I am old.  Anyway, after two seasons of battling the whiteflies, I thought I had won.  Then...two years later, the bugs were back making a mess of the trees.  Sickened, I prepared to wage war again but, as I began to spray, I noticed the frogs were eating the critters!  Well, now!  Immediately, the apple cider vinegar went back to being a kitchen staple instead of bug spray!

  That was several years ago and since the froggies have taken up residence (and immediately started multiplying), there are a lot less bugs of all kinds.  Yes, I have thousands of frogs climbing everywhere but I do think they are better than the garden pests...and...they are a lot cuter.  Carry on, Little Froggies! 

Spiders or Mosquitoes...Which Do You Prefer?

   With the almost constant rains of spring, mosquitoes are now a huge problem.  The county (and city depending on where you live) used to have leaders smart enough to call for spray trucks to make their rounds at least weekly.  It kept the mosquitoes down somewhat but then folks started complaining about the spray killing the lightning bugs (fireflies for those not in the south) and other critters.   So, in an effort to be "environmentally (and politically) correct" the spraying came to halt.  I agree, the spray used was not species specific so it did kill other critters and something needed to be done but to quit spraying altogether was not the brightest move.  The mosquitoes are now in giant swarms and literally start eating you alive if you are not careful.  There is no entertaining outside which is pretty much mandatory with the pandemic situation that is upon us.  That added another stress on folks.  Anxiety levels are escalating for folks.  Me, not so much as I am accustomed to both being isolated and being with mosquitoes.  I live on the Bayou so both are a constant thing.

  Well, with that onslaught of mosquitoes (and midges) something had to be done.  Now, my life has taken a turn to trying to attract spiders.  I admit to being one of those folks who used to "dust" the cobwebs from every nook and cranny but now those critters are free to web anywhere they please.  Pretty soon, the place is going to look like some horror film set!  Just today, a lovely orchard spider decided to pull her webbing across a potted rose that sits on my outdoor plant shelves.  As I was watering the potted plants, she happily spun her web.  I was all for this so was careful not to disturb her.  She and I will coexist just as I do with the orb weavers that have strung webs across the doors and windows.  These webs give visitors the heebie-jeebies which is all fine and well since no one is supposed to enter anyway...(city mandates about social gatherings and doctor's orders for me.)  The spiders and I have a mutual understanding that they can stay if they do their jobs of catching the biting bugs.  This evening, the small orchard spider had a lovely web that spanned between the rose canes and the night blooming cereus.  She should soon be fat and happy!