Hummingbirds, etc.

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.