It's That Time of Year (almost)

Several years ago I read a fascinating book about Charles H. Wilber, the Louisiana man who holds the world record for growing tomatoes. I was impressed with the amazing story of his life, his skills as a gardener, and in particular his ability to produce 1,368 pounds of organically grown tomatoes from only four plants! I used my own version of his methods for several years and grew plants that were eight to ten feet tall and produced so many tomatoes I was having trouble finding enough people to give them to! If you're a gardener or just interested in a very entertaining read, I'd highly recommend this book.

It may be a little early for this, but WTF. I saw these healthy plants at the local grocery store yesterday and just had to buy them. I've got Wall 'O Waters to keep them warm for the next month, so unless we have a late spring blizzard in the next few weeks they should be OK.

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I'll keep everyone updated on how well these do in the weeks and months to come, and will surely post pictures of the BLT's D and I (and Jer!!!!) will be gnawing on later this summer.

Armadillo-Brillo

Saw this little guy a few weeks ago while looking for points at Fall River. I was pretty much ignored until he caught me sneaking up on him while attempting to get a decent picture, and then he started running towards the creek while exhaling loudly and frequently. After a few minutes of solace he decided to come back into the field, and then proceeded to continue digging for insects.

Chautauqua Hills Yummies

Derek and I hiked on the eastern shore of Toronto last winter and encountered all these strange, lovely galls growing on the underside of the blackjack oak tree leaves.

The Gall Wasps lay eggs on the oak leaves and secrete a chemical which causes the leaf to form a spherical shell around the larva, protecting it until it eventually matures and chews its way out.

More information here, at one of my all-time favorite websites:

What's That Bug?

Retro Kansas: Frogs Eat the Darndest Things

In the spring of 2000 I found a floating mass of Bullfrog eggs in my brother's pond and decided to scoop out some of them and put them inside a floating wire basket in my garden pond. They hatched in a matter of days, and by the end of the summer the tadpoles were 2 - 3 inches long, so I dumped them into the pond, and for several years after there were bullfrogs everywhere in my yard. This frog, unlike many of the others, grew to a huge size very soon after he transformed. One day I was in my yard and heard a lot of splashing so I went to have a look, and was amazed to see this frog wrestling with a full grown starling. I watched in fascination as the frog used his front legs to slowly shove the bird down its throat, then realized I should have retrieved a camera to record this moment for posterity. I told several people about the gluttonous frog and got the old "Yeah, Ok..." and an eyeroll from them.

Then a few weeks later, I just happened to be near the pond when a group of starlings came in for a drink, and no sooner than they had landed the bullfrog jumped out of the plants and took one of the starlings underwater. I ran into the house and grabbed my camera, and took several pictures. Here's one:


He sat there very still for a long time and I got bored waiting for him to finish his meal, so I went back to working in the yard. A few hours later I checked on him and he had once again managed to swallow the entire bird! I knew bullfrogs would eat anything that would fit in their mouths, but a full grown starling?

Pottawatomie Lake #1 in Konzascope!

Spent a night here with Isabel and Curtis last summer and snapped this panorama on the way out. It's a nice little lake. I caught a black bullhead just after sundown, but didn't have great luck fishing after that. I remember making some really good chili and being greeted by every local that would drive by with their horn honking. It was an enjoyable experience.