All one has to do these days is walk into the dry lot,
and you'd swear you walked into a kamikaze attack.
From every direction, barn swallows swoop and dive...
coming within inches of your head.
Yesterday, there were six of them on the attack...
doing their best to move me along as I picked up manure
in front of the barn.
We have four active barn swallow nests in the barn.
These eight parents and their babies
(potentially 2 broods of four to five babies per pair of parents).
could grow to as many as 48 swallows by the end of the summer...
unless the barn kitties have their way.
Typically, the cats are their targets as they nap in the barn driveway.
The barn kitties ignore the dive-bombing and go about their normal routine...
unaffected.
It's no wonder I keep finding bird poop on the top of my horses' backs.
The earth must have heard my plea on Monday,
because Monday night we had a shower followed by a cool, cloudy Tuesday.
It was heavenly... and timed perfectly, as I am a bit under the weather
with a brand new upper respiratory infection.
I spent the morning picking berries.
Cool weather and no bugs made the morning the perfect time for this
time-consuming task.
Happily, all of these are stowed in the freezer for later use.
You asked how big the Mexican sour gherkins are....
Very small!
It looks like we might get a good amount of grapes this year.
The strange thing is...
we have a terrible Japanese beetle infestation
(on EVERYTHING!)
I put traps out and they are filling up quickly.
I am happy to report that the traps successfully pulled the beetles
off of the blueberry bushes for the most part.
The grapes are another story.
However it may play to our advantage.
Without the leave covering over the grapes, they should
ripen nicely this year.
Fingers crossed.
It's always something, isn't it?
Comments
Do you feed the beetles to your chickens? I've heard they consider them a real treat.
Ooooh, those blueberries look scrumptious!
.........anyway, the wrens made a nest. When the babies got big enough to holler, our 2 yard cats tried to get them.
So, I picked the cats up and put them in prison so they could not get the nest or the babies when they fledged.
We have a 3-6 x 12 caged area's on one side of the building that use to be horse stalls. This is where our feral (now tame) cats were put after they were spayed and neutered.
Bob and Wave are now in prison. I'm tired of them killing everything in the yard. They have huge fans on them and I know where they are all the time now.
My chickens LOVE Japanese beetles! Your chickens will thank you if you dump your traps in an area where they have access! My chickens will not touch potato bugs and many others, but they love, love Japanese beetles!!! Glad you had some rain too!
That pan full of blueberries ... OMG
Your blueberries look delicious, and love the little pickles! Look just like mini watermelons.
Lots of Japanese beetles around here too - ugh!
Our garden is under attack from the relenting sun here in the desert and from the mice that are eating everyone of my tomatoes before they have a chance to ripen. Very frustrating. I think our cats prefer larger prey.
I hope you get well quickly and this isn't anything serious.
I am so sorry you are not well. You take care, and rest.
Oh those blasted beetles! I have been having trouble with cut bees on my roses.
Be well, my friend
Blessings,
Penny