The Felling of a Mighty Oak Tree

   Back between the original greenhouse and the shed, there stands the remnants of a tall oak tree.  The tree stood strong through hundreds of storms only to fall to a tiny bug.  Insects can do more damage than the raging hurricane sometimes.  A couple of years back, Son noticed that a lot of our living oak trees were infested with termites.  Yep....living trees.  This was a bit disturbing, to say the least.  He set to work trying to save the trees by using the same spray that we have had to resort to for the house, shed and any other outbuildings around here.  As much as I hate to use chemicals around the place, there comes a time when it is absolutely necessary if we want to save the place.  So, he mixed his concoction and set to work.  Well, that was a lot of work as we have a lot of trees.  Some, like the aforementioned one, were too far gone to try to save.  He still sprayed thinking maybe he could contain the infestations. Hopefully.

 Needless to say, the tree died and was soon infested not only with the termites but with black carpenter ants that were eating the termites.  We quit spraying to allow the ants to do their job.  They worked tirelessly in the dead tree but were, at the same time, preyed upon by the woodpeckers.  The entire tree soon became riddled with the drillings of the birds.  The food chain was at work.  Soon, the tree started falling bit by bit. Now, a new form of life has come to the old tree.  On one of the upper parts of the tree, there is a large hole that appears to be the nesting site of either the pileated woodpecker or a family of squirrels.  Down below among the roots, lizards, snails and beetles are enjoying life hidden under the palmettoes and shards of tree bark.

  While out back, I noticed that bracket or shelf mushrooms are rapidly taking down the tree.  The entire southern side of the tree is literally a ladder of orange mushrooms.  These mushrooms are doing the final takedown of the old oak tree.  The fungi will rot the tree as it, itself, thrives.  Soon, the old oak will come tumbling down and that will be the end of it.  However, in the meantime, the tree, even in death, is providing for the life of others.  

That is nutty!

   If acorns were pennies, I am sure that I would be a millionaire by now.  They are not so, instead, I am just the owner of billions of the nuts.  It appears that every oak tree on the hill decided to bear nuts this year and bear LOTS of them. They are everywhere!  

  Back about a month ago, nighttime was perhaps the noisiest it has ever been.  Several oak trees near the house have huge limbs that hang over the rooftop.  As soon as darkness fell, the coons made their way to the oak trees and started munching the acorns.  It seems that they dropped more than they ate.  Acorns pelted the roof all night long.  It sounded as if we were in the midst of nightly hailstorms.  The clatter would last until sunrise then suddenly stop.  Sleeping was not easy, to say the least.

  Now, acorns are strewn about the entire yard and the squirrels are having a heyday.  Dozens of the critters can be seen fattening themselves for the coming winter months.  I have no problem with the squirrels for a couple of reasons.  First, they are out during the daytime hours and are not pelting the rooftop with nuts.  Second, they are cleaning up a mess that makes it difficult to walk anywhere in the yard.  There are so many acorns that I have to be careful not to slip and slide down the hillside.  Try to imagine walking on a floor covered with marbles and you will understand my predicament.  Thanks to the squirrels, things should be better in a few weeks...hopefully...hopefully, they will not get bellyaches and quit eating the nuts!

Free Rodent Control!

   Since the Little Bayou House has been officially void of cats for nigh on a year, rats have decided that the out buildings are free housing.  The greenhouse, shed and pump shed have literally been invaded by the varmints since Hurricane Zeta chased them out of their homes in the palmettoes.  Recently, the pump shed has become somewhat less infested by the critters since a large snake has taken up dwelling there.  The snake is welcome to stay.  It is a gray rat snake that is just doing its job.  Hopefully, next year dozens more of the snakes will be around but, in the meantime, that snake is going to get gigantic! The other two outbuildings still have the resident rats.  I have emptied the greenhouse of everything and set traps.  Three fat rats have met their doom so the traps will continue to be set.  But until some of the other hiding places are cleared, the rats will continue their reproducing.  Ugh!

  I had just about made up mind to go cat-hunting in hopes of finding another rat-catcher but in came another predator.  For the past few weeks, several large owls could be heard at night.  This gave me an idea!  All table scraps are now placed in an open place down by the wild persimmon trees.  Aha!  The owls are feasting upon rats as the rats feast upon scraps.  The free rodent control group is definitely doing its job as there is a lot less "evidence" of rats in the shed.  I am thinking Mother Nature knows when to send in the "big guys" to level the odds.  

  For the past few days, the owls have even started coming to the yard during the daytime hours.  This gives me hope that soon the rats will be gone for good!  I am tired of fighting them so let the predators have their fun.  While they are about it, the predators need to take a few squirrels along with the rats!

The Blossom Munchers

   Barring that infamous "Easter Freeze" that was Mom's warning when Pop wanted to plant the fields too early, I am assuming spring has sprung.  In the past couple of weeks everything has burst forth with lovely blooms.  The pear trees are snow white with loveliness.   This should, by every account, mean a bountiful harvest of pears.   Should but never has.  Plenty of pears are set on the trees but as soon as they get marble sized, the squirrels start gnawing their way through the entire crop.  Nothing...NOTHING...stops those rascals.  I was so in hopes that our resident hawks would take a liking to squirrel meat instead of dove meat but, so far, that has not happened.  I am about to think that squirrel stew is going to be the "new" meat for the meat-eaters in this household. 

  Not only do the critters steal the fruit, now they are munching the blossoms.  Yep, that is a thing nowadays.  Never before have I heard of anything eating pear blossoms but I watched as several of the fluffy-tailed rats bounded into the trees and started stripping the branches.  They cannot even wait until the fruit is formed!   I would fully understand if it had been a harsh winter but that is not the case.  We had one...ONE...hard freeze so there is still plenty for the critters to eat without attacking the fruit blossoms. 

  The overabundance of squirrels is due to the fact that just to the west of my brother's place, the new neighbors have stripped almost every tree from the once wooded acreage.  It sadden me to see the many huge, several-hundred-year old live oak trees felled.  Now, nothing is there.  The place is barren.  It is saddening, to say the least.  Obviously, no one has any respect for nature.  So, I inherit all the critters that have been misplaced by the "progress"...blossom munching squirrels included. 

Now, They've Done It!

  Well, I normally claim that animals are far smarter than humans.  Critters have a natural survival instinct that does not leave them time to meddle in other's affairs.  They do their thing and let others do theirs.  That is the way things should be but humans always have to be nosy....and bossy....and greedy.  Critters have got it down pat...at least, some do.

  Along about mid-morning, I thought it wise to bring Son a cooling drink as he had been working on the pier again.  It is hot work and I can no longer help him.  He was appreciative and as I was waiting to fetch his glass back up the hillside, I noticed something amiss.  Thousands of hickory nuts were strewn across the lower section of the yard.  Odd! Hickory nuts should not be falling for a few months yet and we had no storms to knock them from the trees.  This was a mystery that required investigating.  I assured Son that I would not venture too far and set off on my mystery-solving party.

  As near as I can tell, the nuts were knocked down by hungry critters whether raccoons or squirrels (or both)!  It appeared that some of the nuts had the green outer shell gnawed a bit before being discarded. Obviously, the green nuts were not as tasty as the critters had thought but they were determined to find a "good" one so they kept trying and discarding.  Now, they have done it!  With the nuts knocked to the ground, they will not be fully matured.  The meat inside will wither and dry.  The critters' winter supply is going to be short.   In fact, even the nuts on the ground will be gone by then.  Tomorrow, I shall gather them and store these fine things for winter.  They will not be used as food but as fuel for the old cast iron stove.  Once hot, the hickory nuts last a long time and put out good heat.  Sorry, critters...your loss is my gain!

You Have To Start Somewhere

  Back behind the canebrake, we have a small peach orchard. Well, we DID have a small peach orchard.  Oh, the trees are still there but, for the past few years, we harvested nary a peach.  For a few years, the trees gave us tons of the plumpest peaches imaginable.  Yes, we lost a few to the squirrels and raccoons but the rest were harvested!  Then, the deer found the trees and that was that.  They even went so far as to knock down a six foot tall fence to get to the fruit.  Now, the deer get to the fruit before it ripens. One bite out of each peach and then drop the remains.  We do not get a single peach.

  Well, all is not lost.  Those peach halves that were dropped contained the seed.  Now, hundreds of tiny peach trees are popping up in the lawn beneath the trees.  I am elated even though these tiny trees will most likely not bear the large juicy peaches that we desire.  They ARE peach trees, however, and you have to start somewhere.  A new orchard closer to the house is in the making!  Tomorrow will find me out back with a shovel and flower pots.  The tiny trees will be dug, planted and babied until they grow to about four feet tall.  Then...the work.  Those dozens upon dozens of peach trees will be grafted with limbs from our one remaining "good" peach tree.  We have one tree that I grew from a seed about five years ago.  We had been on a trip to Georgia to visit our new grandbaby when we purchased some peaches to bring home.  On a whim, I planted a seed and the rest is history!  The tree is amazing!  Small cuttings will be taken from that tree and grafted on the seedling peaches from the back orchard.  

  I am sure glad that Pop taught me all of the farm tricks that he knew.  Sometimes I have trouble remembering just how things were done but if I ponder a bit, the information usually comes back to me.  He always had the best fruit trees and the prettiest garden.  One bit of encouragement still rings in my head.  When I would question how to get a nice orchard or a perfect row of beans, he would  always say in his old easy-going farmer's drawl "Well....you have to start somewhere."  Makes sense...just start.  So the new orchard will start tomorrow with a bunch of seedling peach trees!

Winter Provisions

  While it seems that the possums and coons love the wild persimmons as much as I do, they have been kind enough to leave a few dangling on the trees.  These fine, one inch-sized fruits are the perfect snack to find along the path while out hiking.  Down by the east side of the property, I intentionally let the persimmon trees grow where they will.  The seedlings pop up wherever a seed hits the ground and the sandy soil there seems to agree with them.  In a couple of years, the little trees start setting fruit.  The pathway has dozens of the trees scattered along its way so during the late fall, I have instant snacks on hand!  I actually prefer these seedy miniature fruits to the large cultivated ones.  To me, the tartness and firmness of the wild fruits makes them superior to the others.  It is not uncommon for me to grab several handfuls of the fruit as I meander about the hillside.

  Since the critters shared the bounty, I have been getting my fill of the tasty treats but, today, I noticed that someone else must be having a taste for the persimmons.  On the hike down the pier, a bit of orange caught my eye.  Between two of the boards, a plump fruit was wedged in tight.  Some critter had decided to steal a persimmon and haul it all the way to the pier.  Strange???  The coons and possums that raid the trees simply eat their fill and then abandon the area.  They do not carry persimmons with them as they go.  This had to be the work of one of the billion or so squirrels that inhabit the place.  Those rascals are eating everything in sight here lately and I have no doubt one scampered to the pier to dine.  What fruit the squirrels do not immediately eat, they stow away for the winter.  I watched as a female squirrel raided the kumquat tree.  She was picking the ripe fruits and burying them under the Boysenberry vines.  I suppose by mid summer of this next year, dozens of little trees will be found sprouting up there.  Perhaps the same thing happened with this persimmon.  Some enterprising young squirrel decided to stow the fruit between the boards of the pier.  Won't the critter be surprised when it comes back to find its meal had rotted??  

  The persimmon wedged in the pier boards may be a sign that the critters think this is going to be a cold winter.  Usually, when the little female squirrels store a lot of food, they have an inkling that it may be needed later on in the season.  I have noticed that most of this food storage is done by the females.  They work hard at gathering and hiding fruits, seeds and nuts.   The sad part is, most of the time, a male squirrel goes right behind her and eats what she has stored.  The male squirrels are lazy and would rather dine upon what the little female has picked.  Poor little female has to work doubly hard to gather and store enough to last the winter due to the raids of the male.  If she is burying persimmons, she may come back later to find she only has seeds to eat.  The soft pulp is not going to do well in storage!  Hmmm, I am glad I make my persimmons into jam.