Sunday morning’s job: taking down and deep-cleaning the hummingbird feeders.
This year I got new ones that had a lot more bits than the one in the above photo. I have tried various designs and am yet to find one that I would call perfect.
The last hummingbird was seen on September 19th, but I leave the feeders up for any bird that might be lagging on a journey from further north, and also for wasps, but all interest seemed to have dried up, so it was time.
My grandma detested wasps and kept a pair of scissors on hand to cut them in half. Maybe it’s why I have always tried to be more tolerant, – a sort of pay back, despite the severe stings I once got out in Washington, my fault for being careless.
My hand blew up like a balloon and I am quite allergic to all stinging insects, yet last time I refilled the hummingbird feeder and it was abuzz with wasps, I simply carried on, taking down the feeder and replacing it with the one I had just cleaned and filled.
The wasps made no attempt to attack me. They buzzed about until the fresh feeder was in place and returned to drinking from it. I think I had quietly murmured my intentions for some say bees understand, so why not wasps?
Yes, it is far-fetched, but the fact is those wasps did not bother me. Maybe it’s the time of year.
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After taking one feeder to bits in the sink, I picked up the other and was surprised to see a wasp still attached. It was almost comatose but clearly still alive.
Worker wasps die off in the Fall, so perhaps it was on its last legs.
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But not intending to be the cause of its demise, I put a little sugar on a piece of wet paper towel and went outside with the wasp still on the feeder.
The moment I went through the door, the wasp seemed to come alive. I put the paper towel in the flowerbed, below where the feeder had been hanging and the wasp crawled onto it.
Two hours later it was buzzing about happily.
Or so it seemed.
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Ever since owning a property with a garden, I’ve been far more interested in insects. Many of them are very beautiful. Not just butterflies and moths. Most are too tiny to appreciate, but microphotography allows us to enjoy these incredible creatures.
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A few days ago, Grant noticed a caterpillar – with a passenger.
A Hickory tussock moth caterpillar transporting a Pure green sweat bee.
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This, according to AI, is highly unusual, probably a case of mistaken identity.
Mistake, anyway.
They parted company amiably and went their separate ways. Well, the bee fell off.
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Another day, this curious caterpillar was found clutching to the stem of a coreopsis.
Hitches arches, the unlikely name.
Thinking perhaps it was another AI whoops, I looked it up and it does turn into a moth of similar, speckled colouring.
And considering its appearance, perhaps the name makes sense.
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Grant walks down to the bottom field every day and noticed that this is a year for mushrooms.
Fungi can always be found in our woods, but these were impressive and new to us:
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Calvatia gigantea or Giant puff-ball.
If solid, pure white inside, it is edible.
But there are look-alike’s which are toxic.
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Mushrooms are not something I would experiment with! When I was a child we visited Grandma in Wiltshire (the wasp slayer) and I remember being fed huge field mushrooms that my aunt collected out on the hill. Those were the best mushrooms I have ever tasted. AI says they still exist, but I wonder how easy they are to find.
On Thursdays, the fish and chip van came around and Uncle George used to go out to get our supper. That was another of my favourites, all wrapped up in newspaper to keep it warm.
The other delight of a visit to Wilshire was lardy cake. It is described as a tea bread made with rich, laminated yeast dough, layered with lard, sugar and dried fruit. It was heaven. I was not vegerarian in those days, obviously.
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This cheerful-looking fungus is Amanita muscaria.
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Grant found it growing beneath one of the pine trees. Weeks ago, he’d cleared away the overgrowth of weeds and invasive vines.
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Someone had made a meal of it.
Wild animals are said to tolerate it in small amounts. To humans and domestic animals it is toxic and psychoactive.
It can make you very sick while seeing extraordinary things.
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A few days later they had changed shape and I noticed that whoever had dined here had not returned for a second helping!
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I almost choked to death once when a wasp stung my mouth while I was alseep during the day after a night shift. The inside of my mouth swelled up so badly, I was struggling to breathe, but managed to drive myself the two short miles to the local hospital. I was put on a drip for a few hours and the swelling went away. The doctor told me to be ‘very careful’ around wasps in future, as I had a serious allergy to their stings. Since then I have happily killed any wasp that got anywhere near me, and every wasp that has dared to come inside the house. If it’s a case of ‘me or the wasp’, the wasp has to go.
Best wishes, Pete.
Understandably!
It was interesting to see how a bee hitched a ride with a caterpillar! The things you notice when you pay close attention, right? I agree, when I see mushrooms in the field, I might take a photo, but I’m not informed enough to know which mushrooms can be eaten, and which are poisonous – so I’ll just look for them on the store shelves. Fish and chips wrapped in newspaper – yummy, that’s the best!
I can imagine a lot of racoons and ground hogs sitting in the grass looking at the sky with glassy eyes! 🤣🤣🤣