We had an all-day rain last Sunday, as I mentioned in my last
post. We were lucky in that we only got 1.6” of rain out of it. Other places in
our area got upwards of 4”. I went for a walk Monday. The creek had not flooded,
but I heard the sound of rushing water from the path and bushwhacked my way to
the creek to find this little waterfall over a downed tree.
Rushing water in the creek
It was too soggy to work on the high tunnel Monday. We
waited until the dew was off the grass on Tuesday. While I was puttering in the
kitchen, I saw two deer far out in the field. I’m not sure what spooked them,
but if it was me reaching for my camera, they have exceptionally good vision.
They took off, followed by two more deer for a total of 4. They were not kind enough
to pose together for a photo.
One of four deer crossing the field Tuesday morning
Our next step in high tunnel construction was, in Terry’s
opinion, the most difficult. We had to put the header above the door. In the
first step, we put in one post on each side, and Terry filled the hole with
cement.
Putting in the first door post
On Thursday, after the cement had cured, we put up the other
post and the header. We followed the same procedure for the side post, except that
it was not cemented in yet. We needed to have that post mobile until the header
was in. To keep the post from moving, we put in two “jigs” that Terry made from
two 2x4s. He marked the exact width of the doorway on the jig. We lined up the jig
with the new post, checked that the jig was level and the post was square, and Terry
screwed it in place. He then measured up the same distance on both sides and
made a mark.
Measuring the distance from the jig to position the second jig
We put the second jig at the mark on both sides, made sure
it was level, and the post was square.
The second jig, square and level
Terry measured again and put a bracket on the posts on both sides to hold the header.
Attaching a bracket to support the header
Now for the header. We put one end on a ladder on one side
then lifted the other end to a ladder on the other side. We climbed up the ladders,
trying not to bump our heads on the header (I was unsuccessful), and then, one
side at a time, hoisted the beam on top of the bracket, where it was held in
place by a clamp. Terry secured each side to the bracket.
Attaching the header to the bracket
And there we are!
Door frames finished on both sides
More flowers are blooming all the time. My great white trillium
(Trillium grandiflorum) is living up to its name.
Great white trillium
Wild geranium is getting started, as are shooting star (my
fav!) Jacob’s ladder, and moss phlox. (The phlox I just got from Jane is fall phlox,
which as the name suggests will not flower until late summer/early fall.)
Wild geranium
Shooting star
Jacob's ladder
Wood phlox
The grosbeaks (Mr. and Mrs.) have finally found our feeder.
Male and female rose-breasted grosbeaks
It’s hard to believe that May is almost over. The chicks
will be coming soon. That’s always good for some excitement.
It is a soggy day here in northern Illinois. The radar shows
a huge band of green all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico and heading
straight north. Flooding is possible. Nothing we can do but watch and wait.
Our last episode mentioned a failed reproductive event for
toads. Between Wednesday and Thursday, we got 1.4” of rain. The puddles filled
again. On Friday, the froggies were a-courtin’ again. This time I heard the toads first, and the chorus frogs started up later in the day. As with the previous
event, I saw only one female toad. I compared the two photographs. The male is
definitely different. Last week’s male was almost black. This one is tan. I
think the female’s markings are different as well. It would not surprise me if
females only got one shot at it per year. Eggs are a big investment. This
couple must have just been getting started. No eggs were in the water.
The only female who came to the party, with her escort
I noticed this year that the males find a place to elevate
their head out of the water. Perhaps their song carries better that way.
Hey, Baby!
I took a walk to the south end of the property. I heard
numerous toads and saw 6 males at one time. I saw some curled black threads in
the water. I thought they were strings of black plastic that had unraveled from
landscape cloth. I thought I’d better pick it up before it got wound around inside
the mower. Imagine my surprise when it turned out to be eggs! Not toad eggs,
though. In last week’s post, the toad eggs are larger, have a clearly visible,
almost white vegetal pole, and are in a straight line. The vegetal pole of
these eggs was only slightly lighter than the black animal pole (the difference
is not visible in the picture), and the string is not straight.
Putative chorus frog eggs in the water
Eggs close up
(Time out for
embryology: amphibian eggs have a vegetal pole with a lot of yolk and an animal
pole with less yolk. These two poles set down the body plan of the embryo. The yolk
content slows cell division, so the cells that arise from the vegetal pole end
up being larger and less numerous than the cells of the animal pole. All cells
will eventually become part of the tadpole.) The only other frog I’ve heard is
the chorus frog, so I’m guessing these are chorus frog eggs. I decide against
raising tadpoles again.
We had a little setback on the high tunnel. On Tuesday, I
helped Terry measure where the posts for the roll-up door needed to be. He
drilled a hole…
Drilling a hole where the door post needs to be
And put in a stake.
Stake to mark door post location
As he puzzled through the directions for assembly, he
noticed that the steel door posts were not pre-drilled. The posts needed A LOT
of holes. He tried to drill the first two holes and failed. More equipment (a
drill press with carbide bits) than we had at our disposal. New plan: use 4”x4”
posts. He got some at Menards, and by Friday was making 16’ posts out of 9’ timbers.
First he cut one off square.
Measuring for the door post
Then he patched the two together with plywood and metal.
Joining two posts together to make one
Now “all” we have to do is get the posts and beam into place
on each end.
Last Sunday, I saw an unfamiliar animal run across the
field. I thought it was a fox. I watched to be sure it was not interested in
our hens, which it was not. If it had been, I would have had to…what? Hit it with
a stick? Anyway, it was very far away when I took this picture, but it was
enough to positively identify it as a fox.
A rare fox sighting in the middle of the day
The white trilliums (trillia?) are blooming.
White trilliums
So is the red trillium. This is the first time I’ve
remembered to check on it long enough to see the flower.
Red trillium
The wild ginger and geranium are duking it out next to the
tractor shed. This is how a knock-down, drag-out fight looks in the plant world.
It’s all about real estate.
Wild ginger (heart-shaped leaves) vs. wild geranium
The apple trees are started to bloom Friday, which was a
nice, warm day for pollination. The tree was a-buzz as I took this picture.
Saturday was windy and cold, which probably meant fewer pollinators. No bee in
its right mind would be out today!
Apple blossoms
I saw my first hummingbird this week! I rushed right out with
the feeder.
Mr. Hummingbird
I saw a female a few days later.
Mrs. Hummingbird
Here’s the male resting on a stake in the lisianthus. So
cute! How can a person feel glum looking at a hummingbird?
Mr. Hummingbird on the lisianthus stake
The jelly feeder has been crazy town with all the orioles. I
love how the orioles slide down the pole to the food.
Baltimore male threatens orchard male, female Baltimore waits her turn
The yellow birds are female orchard orioles.
Two female orchard orioles (left and on post), male Baltimore oriole in the jelly dish, goldfinch male at the sunflower seeds.
You might want to put your speakers on mute for the video. All you will hear is the fan from my oven.
And the rain comes down. We had an inch at lunchtime. Watch
and wait. Perhaps another cup of tea. It’s that sort of day.
Terry has been busy this week putting in the rafter supports.
After the first one, he learned to do as much assembly as possible on the
ground. He prepared the horizontal piece by putting on three of the connectors.
Putting one of three connectors on a horizontal rafter support
He then hoisted this piece on top of a purlin and used a
square to mark off exactly where the support had to be positioned.
Using a square to mark the final position of the horizontal support
Working on one end at a time, he installed a connector over
the rafter. The two connectors allow the rafter support to move a little to
reduce stress in heavy winds.He put tape over the connector to decrease wear on the
covering.
Taping the joint
The final assembly, which allows some motion of the support
In the center of the horizontal pipe, he put two angled
pipes to finish the support assembly.
The assembled rafter supports
The migratory birds have returned. It is always like seeing
old friends. The orchard orioles and Baltimore orioles vie for position at the
jelly.
Baltimore orioloe
Orchard oriole
Here is an orchard oriole and a Baltimore oriole waiting for
an opportunity at the jelly on the weather vane next to the feeder.
Side-by-side comparison of the two orioles
These two males are having a face-off on the ground. I saw two
males fly at each other, fall from the air, and wrestle on the ground. It was
all over before I could pick up my camera. It made me appreciate how awkward it
is to fight with your feet.
What are YOU lookin' at?
Sometimes goldfinches line up for a turn at the sunflower seed
feeder.
Goldfinches on deck
The ground squirrels fill their pouches on the seeds that
the goldfinches throw to the ground.
13-striped ground squirrel forages for sunflower seeds under the feeder
Hilda has seen as many as 5 rose-breasted grosbeaks on her
feeder.
Rose-breasted grosbeak
Three white-crowned sparrows have been hanging around. They
will move farther north before long.
Two of three white-crowned sparrows that have been hanging around
The red-bellied woodpecker is a strange jelly thief. His bill
is so long that he can hardly get at the jelly, but there he is.
Oh, come on! That jelly is not for you!
You may recall that in my last post, we were worrying about flooding. I took a walk on Sunday and the chorus frogs and toads were making such a racket it almost hurt my ears. Here is a recording. The toads produce the long, single tone. The chorus frogs are usually described as sounding like a thumb dragged across a comb.
For all that noise, I only saw one female. There were lots
of males. Here is the female, coupled with one male while a second male is
trying to displace the first. A string of eggs is visible in the water. Sadly,
after a few days, the puddle dried up. This reproductive effort was all for
naught.
Female with two suitors and a string of eggs in the water
The Jack-in-the-pulpit is blooming.
Jack-in-the-pulpit
Also on Sunday, I saw bird I had never seen before. There
were three of them. I was able to identify them as solitary sandpipers, even
though they didn’t seem solitary at all.
Solitary sandpiper
Two not-so-solitary solitary sandpipers
I harvested rhubarb for the first pie of the season on
Tuesday.
First rhubarb pie
With the hens in summer quarters, I take a walk to the
orchard every evening at dusk to close the coop. On Wednesday, I saw not only a
beautiful sunset, but also the full moon rising.
Full moon rising on Wednesday
We planted our potatoes yesterday. This was the first time
we managed to get it done by Mothers’ Day. Terry furrowed the soil with the
rototiller. I dropped the potatoes in; Hilda covered them, and I put down a
marker. Good to have that done.
Newly planted potatoes under the markers next to the garlic
The tomatoes and onions are looking good. We have
tentatively planned to plant onions on Wednesday.
Tomatoes (front) and onions (back) in the greenhouse
I made caramel rolls for Hilda to celebrate Mothers’ Day.
Happy Mothers' Day!
We are getting some welcome rain today. It doesn’t take long
to go from too wet to too dry. Hopefully, we will get the half inch that is
predicted. The plants need it, and we need a rest day.
