First it was falling leaves from my Maple trees and then falling stems. Now it’s falling branches. Fortunately, the dropped branches are few in number and small in diameter. In examining the breaks, they are suspicious looking. Certainly, there was a weakness at the point of separation that caused them to break. Each fallen branch has […]
A few weeks ago, I shared about leaves falling from my Maple trees (see Raking Leaves). In the spring an insect lays eggs in the stems of Maple leaves. When the eggs hatch, the stems become weak at that juncture and the leaves fall off. That was June 6. At this time, the leaves have stopped […]
Where I live, flooding is a rare thing. When it does occur, it is generally on a small scale, doing minimal damage. Aside from watching flooding video on TV, I have little real comprehension of the wide-scale power of a major flood and the damage a raging river can cause. Last week, on my visit to […]
Last week, my daughter and I embarked on an animal rescue of prime importance. I’m not talking about the kind of liberation you might see on TV, like a beached whale, escaped circus animal, bear on an iceberg, or large game stuck in an inexplicable situation. This rescue was the backyard type; the predicament was […]
Many people concur that at some point in the future we will receive all our television and movie transmissions over the internet. This is often called convergence. Personally, I’m ready and anxious for that to happen. However, there is a stirring afoot that could dampen my enthusiasm—the elimination of flat rate internet access in favor of […]
For the past several years, at about this time, leaves fall from my trees in alarming quantities. Yes, leaves falling in the spring—enough that they should be raked. In our yard are ten Maple trees, which are the culprits (victims) of this phenomenon. Apparently, an insect lays eggs in the stems of Maple leaves in the […]
After my Gopher post on Friday, I was contemplating a clever tongue-in-cheek entry about the assortment of “wildlife” in our back yard. You see, we live in a subdivision in a decreasingly rural setting, which limits wild creatures to decidedly smaller and less wild varieties. In addition to gophers, rabbits are the most common, as […]
Last week something outside caught my eye. Every few seconds some dirt would fly through the air. It was emanating from grass level in the middle of my back yard. Upon further investigation I discovered an industrious gopher furiously cleaning out the entrance to his subterranean abode. I stealthy approached the nexus of the activity […]
My yard is coming alive with color. In addition to the greening of the grass (winter-brown was getting old), I’ve been enjoying flowers of all colors. This starts each spring, reminding me of new life. First up is my Flowering Crab Apple Tree. It has lush white flowers every spring, which last for two or three weeks. […]
Last Saturday, we motored south to Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana to watch Chris (our daughter, Laura’s, betrothed) graduate. The drive there was overcast and dreary, but the sun emerged about when the outdoor festivities began. The campus, at least the part we saw, was most impressive. The ceremony was in two parts. The […]