Baby Bunny

Last evening, as I was walking out to close one of our garden gates, I spotted this little critter.

A young Eastern Cottontail Rabbit.

We've seen it hopping about the yard for a few days now.

I froze, and then slowly lowered myself. And the bunny seemed more curious than afraid. These are all shots I took with my iPhone. Yeah, I was that close.

It decided I wasn't a threat, and went back to chowing down on the clover.

I slowly got up and backed away. And it continued to dine.

A nice close encounter.

What's Wrong With This Picture?

I hear ya, "What could be wrong with that picture?"

Image courtesy Steve Mattan

Well if you are planning to hike in the Pines, below is a picture postcard of the well dressed hiker. I know Sexy Time! A slave to fashion, Steve is feeling breezy and comfortable in long pants tucked into his wool [editor: synthetic] socks. [editor: spoiler alert, two days later and who's feeling comfortable now?]

Avoiding the long pants in socks haute couture can result in the itchy look of chiggers.

And the kicker is my legs were 95% scab free for the first time this summer! [editor: speaking of Sexy Time!]

My friend, and long time Piney, Terry had some solid chigger advice.

It started with rubbing alcohol, duct tape, and bleach. [editor: I'm enjoying a different kind of alcohol.]

First you rub the alcohol on the welts [editor: first you pop open the can.]. This irritates the critters under the skin [editor: this soothes the brain cells.] In my case, it caused a dozen of more to come to the surface and start crawling on my leg [editor: again, who's more comfortable now?]. I certainly did not want them to look for another place to go. Following another bit of advice from Terry, Steve and I tried using duct tape on my legs to remove them. Fearing they would get away, I went to the bathroom and rubbed bleach on my legs [editor: I went to the fridge and got another beer.] Fun fact, bleach kills chiggers [editor: sad fact, alcohol kills brain cells].

And when these three pieces of sage advice fail, get scratching!

[editor: or switch to something harder. I suggest vodka.]

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Thanks to guest blogger Patty Rehn [most] of the 
words and images are hers.

Smug Alert!

Steve and I were out and about in the P³ this past weekend where I was getting over 200 MPG.

And we delivered the tiny tailless baby raccoon ...

... to the Cedar Run Wildlife rehab center.

In P³.

Later that morning we took P³ to the Pinelands Preservation Alliance ...

... to pick up some native plants at their bi-annual Native Plant Sale.

And since they have a charging station there ...

Note the rainbow and sunbeams.

... my P³  took part in the sacrament of electricity.

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Thanks to guest blogger Patty Rehn. The words and images are hers.

#Who'sReallyPiousNow!

Last Friday I traded in my 2010 Pious for a 2018 Pious Prime Plug-in (hereafter referred to as the "Pious Prime Plug-in", aka P³).

Out with the old and in with the new!

The Prius was first manufactured in 1997, but did not hit the US market until the early 2000s. They quickly became a popular green car. So much so that in 2006 South Park made an episode about hybrid cars entitled "Smug Alert!". In this episode "The citizens of South Park resolve not to drive hybrids, since they can't do so without being smug." The hybrid car in the show looked exactly like a Prius; however it was called a "Pious".

It is pretty cool to plug in my car and use solar power to charge it.

And MIKE DROP ...

My mileage this past weekend. I'll let you know when or if I ever have to put gas in my tank. 😉

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Thanks to guest blogger Patty Rehn. The words and images are hers.

The Future Is Now

Monarch Madness Continued

After being in their chrysalis for almost two weeks, the butterflies have started emerging.

I can tell when this is about to happen because the chrysalis will begin to change color. One day it will be light green.

Then it will begin to get darker.

And then a little translucent.

Finally, when it looks like this the butterfly's metamorphosis is complete and it is ready to break out of its now thin shell.

The chrysalis above looked like this a 8:00 am.

By 9:00 am the butterfly had emerged and was unfolding, drying and pumping up its wings. At noon I released it into our garden.

Coincidentally, moth chrysalises that Steve and I have raised emerged in the late afternoon in order to be ready to fly at night.

You can determine whether a Monarch is a boy or a girl.

Look at the two above photos. Each is a different sex. Can you see the difference and guess the boy and girl?

The dots on the wings are diagnostic that this is male.

So far 15 butterflies have emerged. Twelve males and three females. Fifteen more chrysalises are left. Four have started to turn darker.

I wonder what their future will be?

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Thanks to guest blogger Patty Rehn. The words and images are hers.

Yard Critter of the Week - Mason Wasp

Euodynerus megaera, the Mason Wasp.

Several Months ago, Steve put up this bee house for the native bees and wasps in our yard. Many of these critters are solitary and nest in dead plant stalks or in cavities created by woodpeckers. This bee house has both nesting type cavities for the discerning bee or wasp.

Mason bees and wasps will lay an egg with food and make a wall to create a chamber. They will fill the hollow cavity with larval chambers.

The Mason Bees will put pollen cakes in the chamber for the larvae to eat. You can see the yellow pollen on the hairs of this bee.

This is not a bee. There are two easy ways to determine if you are looking at a bee or a wasp. Wasps, unlike bees, have thin waists and little to no hair.

Unlike Mason Bees, Mason Wasps larvae consume living but paralyzed caterpillars. The female Mason Wasp lays her egg in the chamber. She then hunts for caterpillars and uses a potent venom to paralyze her prey. When the larvae hatch they feed on the living albeit paralyzed caterpillar. Due to the shorter developmental time of the male larvae, male eggs are usually placed near the opening of the cavity and female eggs are placed deeper within; therefore the female wasp is able control the gender of her offspring. Mason Wasps are considered beneficial because the caterpillars they collect are often pest species.

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You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

Thanks to guest blogger Patty Rehn. The words and images are hers.

Yard Critter of the Week - Common Walkingstick

What's green and sticky?

A Common Walkingstick!

The Common Walkingstick is a slender, elongated insect which camouflages itself by resembling a twig (although not very helpful when on the siding). There are three pairs of legs, but at rest, the front pair is extended forward beside the antennae, forming an extension of the twig-like effect. It is native to North America.

The Stick is herbivorous and feeds mainly on the leaves of trees. They are leaf skeletonisers, eating the tissues between the leaf veins, pausing for a while, and then walking on to new leaves. They are most active at night.

Walkingsticks overwinter as eggs in leaf litter. In May the hatch and climb up trees to feed and grow. And then to mate and start the cycle all over again.

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You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

Thanks to guest blogger Patty Rehn. The words and images are hers.

Yard Critter of the Week - Tobacco Hornworm

A Yard Critter of the Week detective story.

This morning, while walking in the garden, I noticed the tomato plants looking a bit ragged. When we were away, deer had gotten into the garden, but after a week home the damage was suspicious. This called for some investigating. Investigating means looking for the telltale signs of caterpillars.

Frass (aka "caterpillar poop).

And after looking around I found the source, a Tobacco Hornworm Caterpillar.

Not one but three, on two different tomato plants.

At about four inches long, it is almost fully grown. Fully grown caterpillars climb down from plants and make cocoons in the soil. The pupal stage can take a few weeks up to a few months, depending on the time of year. In the fall, pupae will stay in the ground until the spring, and in the spring the moth will emerge in about two to four weeks.

The pupae turn into large moths with four- to six-inch wingspans. They often are mistaken for small hummingbirds when they fly during the day and hover helicopter style to nectar on flowers, which is why they are also called Hummingbird or Hawk Moths.

I have yet to see the moth. But the caterpillars sure are voracious eaters, making their presence obvious.

This younger instar has lots of eating still to do. It's good that I planted four tomato plants for these caterpillars!

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You can find all of the Yard Critter posts listed here.

Thanks to guest blogger Patty Rehn. The words and images are hers.

It's National Moth Week!

So I went mothing.

Polyphemus Silkworm Moth

I spent the weekend in the Poconos with my friend, moth and all things nature enthusiast, Edie.  She has a great nature blog: http://backyardsfornature.org

She has a beautiful house and yard full of native plants and trees.  Great for supporting the local fauna. There is plenty of Virginia Creeper growing in her yard, so it is not surprising to find a Virginia Creeper Sphinx Moth.

National Moth Week is happening now.  Many parks, preserves and nature centers are hosting moth events. David Moskowitz and Liti Haramaty, along with The Friends of the East Brunswick Environment Commission started National Moth Week in 2012. Yay for New Jersians!!  You can check out the web site for locations to moth:   http://nationalmothweek.org

Virgin Tiger Moth

Mothing is such an easy activity. Set up a bright light and sheet and let the moths come to you! 

The Angel

The Smaller Parasa is in the slug moth family. What a name for such a cute moth.

Notice the green lines on the nape of the this Banded Tussock and the delicate translucency of its wings.

There are over 12,000 species of moths in North America, so IDing them can be a challenge.  How the moth sits on the sheet is helpful in making an ID.  The Lesser Grapvine Looper sits with its tail up.

Where the Mottled Prominent is tented. Look for the subtle green hues.

While both this Lunate Zale and the Basswood Leafroller below have their wings spread out.

Other moths are quick to identify.  You can see why this moth is called the Harris's Three Spot.

Confused Hapola

Not all moths come to the sheet, but they are attracted by the light, so it pays to look around.  

Beautiful Wood-nymph

Tulip-Tree Silkmoth

Other insects are attracted to the light.  I love this mayfly's googly eyes.

One of the most colorful and beautiful moths of the night was the Small-eyed Sphinx. This moth has purple and blue colors plus what looks like an orange star right in the center, just below its head. 

We had such a fantastic night of mothing.  Get out there!

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Thanks to guest blogger Patty Rehn. The words and images are all hers.