Another Fish

This one slightly larger then that in my last fish post.

Image Courtesy Andy Murch/Big Fish Expeditions

Well, actually quite a bit larger, dwarfing Patty as she swims alongside.

I too got up close and personal with a few of these magnificent creatures.

We were twenty-five or so miles off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Mexico, in a little boat. Our captain would maneuver the boat so that when we jumped off we were in the path of the Whale Shark.

In this case quite close to the shark when I splashed in.

This one passing directly below me as it swam by.

Did I mention it was quite close?

I had to a bit of maneuvering on my own to avoid a collision.

Not as graceful as the shark, I was forced to grab its tail as it swam by, to avoid a nice smack.

Exhilarating.

Bog Beginnings

Remember this post? Well it is time. So I did. Dig that is.

Step one, remove the turf. I wanted a trapezoid. Close enough. Note all the lawn in this image.

Step two, dig.

The dirt went here, to create a raised garden bed, next to Magnus's enclosure.

Note that this garden bed and Magnus's enclosure both continue the theme started with the Mini-Meadow, eliminating lawn and creating habitat.

Step three, four, five, six ... lots of digging.

Deeper and deeper.

The rest of the dirt went here:

This is the view out of the new sliding glass doors that have replaced a wall in our living room.  The dirt covers cardboard. The cardboard covers the turf. This blocks the light and kills the vegetation, while at the same time adding nutrients to the soil. The next step is to add a layer of compost. This layering technique is referred to as "lasagna gardening". This fall we'll transplant many of the native plants from around our yard, along with a few donations from friends and purchases from local native nurseries, and the lawn I noted in the first image above will become gardens. Another variation on the  habitat theme.

But there was still a bit more digging ...

Image Courtesy Patty Rehn

The hole is complete.  Two plus feet, plenty of space for roots and deep enough to keep from freezing. Next step is to fill it up.

Stay tuned.

The Snake

Once upon a time I was the president of the Burlington County Natural Sciences Club. While I no longer hold that august office I still regularly attend meetings. Our September 2016 program was on the reptiles and amphibians of the NJ Pine Barrens, delivered by Robert Zappalorti of Herpetological Associates.

In the question and answer period I asked how to make our yard more snake friendly. Snakes are in decline due to habitat loss, the increase in roads and traffic (they like to warm up on the black top) and because too many people fear and kill snakes. But we have plenty of mice living in our garage and our out buildings. I even found one living in our grill when I opened it this spring. And while I don't begrudge mice a living, they, like deer, can be a problem if left unchecked.

And snakes find mice rather yummy.

So this past Sunday morning I spent some time doing what I could to make the yard snake friendly. Basically it was to provide hiding places about the yard.

It seems to have worked.

I spotted this Black Rat Snake as I was rolling the wheel barrow back to the quonset hut.

It was sunning on a mound in a copse of trees behind our back garden. I called to Patty and she brought out the camera. By then it had made its way to the back of the mound.

It was Patty who re-spotted it, slithering through the vegetation.

I was able to position the camera and capture these shots as it emerged into the open.

It was a big snake, perhaps four or even five feet long.

My lens was not wide enough to fit it all in one shot.

And I would not get the chance to move back. As it found this hole, perhaps a chipmunk burrow, and headed on in.

Bye.

The Fish

I first saw it, at least I thought I did, a couple of months ago. Briefly, just the flash of a tail. And it was gone. Into the the lily pad thicket.

Or was it just hind foot of a bullfrog at an odd angle?

Either way, my curiosity was peaked. And I was on the lookout.

It was a fish. I saw it again last weekend.

It likes to sit still, out in the open, on the western side of the pond.

See it? Me neither. And bigafying doesn't help. But it is there.

Until, of course, a camera finds it. Then it's gone. Back under the lily pads.

This is the only shot I was able to get of it.

Some type of sunfish? Patty remembers Dennis, the prior owner of our home, saying he threw a couple of sunnies in the pond, but I do not recall this (perhaps I was not part of that conversation).

If you know what it species it is please leave a note in the comments. And I'll keep trying to get a better picture.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

While some caterpillars like to eat apples, plums or watermelons, the monarch caterpillars in our yard like to eat the swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnate) we planted in the mini-meadow.

You can see they have stripped these milkweeds bare. The caterpillars eat almost non-stop for 10-14 days.  Just a week ago I counted 10 caterpillars munching away.


But not to worry, these milkweeds are hardy.

They are already growing new leaves.

After the very hungry caterpillars have eaten their fill, they must find a sheltered place to make their chrysalises.  Never fear, these little eating machines know where to go.

They move from the swamp milkweed at one end of the meadow ...

... to the goldenrod (solidago sp.) at the other end of the meadow about 10 yards away.  For us that may not be far, but for those who inch their way along it is about ~ 360 inches.

But down the garden they march to make their temporary jeweled home.

Can you find the 2 chrysalises in the photo above?   (click the image to bigafy)

Here is one of them.  

What smart creatures, Goldenrod (solidago) is an important food source for monarch butterflies, and this Goldenrod is just starting to bloom. During the pupal stage the transformation from larva to butterfly is completed in about 14 days.

Once these butterflies emerge, they will begin an epic 4830 mile migration to the Oyamel fir tree forests in Michoacan, Mexico.

Fueled by goldenrod and other fall wildflowers. 

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Thanks to Patty Rehn for guest blogging. All words and images copyright Patty Rehn.