Life Will Go On

One of the morning rituals at our house is to open all the blinds to both let in the light and allow us to see the early sun begin to reveal the scenes of the day.  This morning as I sat down to my computer, I observed a pair of Cardinals in a mad dance of courting flight among the large Sweet Gum trees which grace my view.  He was in close pursuit when they disappeared among the leafy green of the canopy.

They must have disturbed one of the Eastern Bluebirds with their antics because one darted from the vicinity where the scarlet pair had disappeared and dashed to the ground where it snatched some morsel from between the blades of grass before returning to a limb where he could enjoy his repast.

Since those scenes, as I sit here, I have observed a duck glide through the trees to land on the pond and disappear somewhere along the shore.  A small woodpecker -- possibly a red-bellied woodpecker -- circled the trunk of one of the large trees in search of his morning meal -- a female cardinal landed briefly on the bird waterer which stands beneath the trees and numerous other small winged creatures continually dart both near and far within my vision though I am unable to determine their species.

In the hormonally driven spirit of spring, a pair of Mayflies briefly appeared just outside my window, locked together in flight.  Maybe the Swallows will thin their ranks before the new crop arrives.

The proliferation of life results in the fruits that maintain the living.  The photo below is of a Tiger Swallowtail finding sustenance within the flowers of a wild blackberry.  His quest for life will spread the gametes which continue the survival of the species which sustains him which in turn will feed the birds, mammals and insects which will then feed others.  Life goes on.

Maintenance

One of the pitfalls of ownership is the need for maintenance.  Perhaps that is why society has moved to more of a disposable mode rather than one in which quality is demanded but also comes with requirements for continued investment in its care.

The demand for maintenance extends to our bodies, minds, spirits and emotions.  Taking care of our health in these areas is needed if we are to live quality lives.  Hopefully we each demand quality in life.

 Perhaps that genetically programmed need for maintenance of our bodies should serve as a model for the things in our care.  Instead of a disposable society we would begin to see a gradual improvement of quality that would result in less demand for landfills and scrap yards.  We would see products that lasted for lifetimes rather than months.

Such an approach to economy might require slightly higher expenditure up front but considerably less over a lifetime.  It would demand a complete change in the operating philosophy of manufacturing.

Most maintenance is simply the expenditure of labor.  As a society we seem to prize our leisure much more than we do pride in our ability to maintain that which is given into our possession or, better yet, which we have earned through our efforts.  It seems strange that we would work harder for someone else in a job that is often thankless in order to purchase things which are of low quality and designed to wear out (functional obsolescence) in a short period of time requiring us to work even harder to earn the funds to replace that item.  Why not live more simply and focus on quality as opposed to amassing quantity?

I suppose I'm wandering off into the woods a bit with my topic, but that is relevant.  Each day we seek to invest at least some time in maintaining our property.  Yesterday was a return to a task which started shortly after we acquired this place.  It is the removal of a massive fallen log.

It is one of many that have fallen through the years prior to us purchasing.  It was one of the reasons we could manage the acquisition -- neglect by the previous owners.  At this stage in life my labor is not as highly valued by the public as it might have been previously, but it is something that I value.  The physical efforts invested in returning this land to beauty and productivity helps to maintain and improve my health physically, mentally and emotionally.  I find peace in the efforts and peace in the results.

The large log that you see fell at some time in the past.  In the foreground is the tip of an oak tree that was flattened to the ground when it fell.  The base of the small oak was at least 4 inches in diameter and it was around 20 feet tall at least.

After a period of labor, you can see that the small oak tree is now gone and the process of cutting up the large fallen pine continues.  The cut pieces in the foreground are something over 2 feet in diameter.  They will be split into pieces for burning in our fire pit.  There is another 40-50 feet of large pine yet to go.

 Opportunistic

Despite the challenges of seasonal allergies, I masked up yesterday and mowed the front lawn/meadow.  I hate wearing a mask.  It was one of my greatest pet peeves during COVID and remains so today.  Even today, six years after the so-called pandemic we continue to see masks -- often for no reason but to hide one's face.

Masks can make it difficult for me to breathe.  In the case of mowing, however, breathing through a mask is better than dealing with lungs full of dirt and congestion as a result of foregoing one.

I struggle with calling the area in front of our house a lawn.  To me it is more of a small meadow with its mix of native species such as vetch and clovers, and the occasional single pea interspersed throughout the common Bermuda.  There are early buttercups and fledgling weeds of many species such as the giant ragweed.

Near the gnarled roots protruding above the ground near the large Sweetgum trees, there are vines and seedling trees sprouting through the soil in their quest to gain a toehold on life.  Most are gone now, mowed to a nub of their former selves where many will succumb for lack of light and room as they are crowded out by species that thrive from the artificial grazing to which they have now been subjected.

As I mowed, I noticed a pair of Crows land near me.  Crows tend to be very standoffish and untrusting of humanity, but in this instance, they saw me for what I represented in the moment -- opportunity.

Being one of the more intelligent species of winged creature, these Crows saw that my mowing stirred up potential morsels of nourishment for their varied palettes. Crows, like humans, are omnivores and eat a wide variety of things such as seeds and nuts, insects, carrion and sometimes even small animals such as frogs or rodents.  My activity sent many small insects into motion in their effort to escape the whirling blades of my monstrous (to them) machine and as they scurried to safer environs, they sometimes met their fate in the crushing beaks of the sleek, black winged demons.

One even allowed me the opportunity to photograph him as he strutted across the lawn.

In Arm's Way

 Spellcheck wants to correct my title to "In Harm's Way" rather than the way I intended.  It must not understand subtle humor.

Most people don't understand subtle humor either.  For many, only the purest "slapstick" humor is necessary, but to me that is the worst kind of humor because it is usually based on harm of some kind or another.  Maybe in the case of my title that would be appropriate since the word in question is actually "harm."

Along with the beauty of Spring come subtle irritants -- dangers if you will -- that slip in without notice unless one is acutely aware of the potential.  Sometimes that danger is disguised as beauty.  The pollen in the air which has driven my allergies wild is one of those dangers, but another which is a severe irritant to me lies lurking in the woods where I have been working to clear out old deadfall and unwanted brush.

It has lush green foliage and decorates many of the larger trees.  It is the Toxicodendron radicans -- also known as Eastern Poison Ivy.  As the "Toxo" portion of its name implies, it carries a toxin that is an irritant to those who are susceptible.  I am one who is.

Growing up in the Texas Panhandle I never had to deal with such a plant.  Most of our irritants had thorns.  Here, in the northeastern portion of the great state in which I dwell there not only are plants with thorns, but there are also plants that attack simply by touching them.  Springtime is the worst time for it because the toxic oils are at their highest level.

I usually try to wear long-sleeved shirts while working near the lurking vines, but even that is not always enough preventative.  The oils can get on the cloth and even be spread to other areas -- such as the face when I wipe the sweat from my head.  But the most common place that I seem to receive doses of the toxin is my arms.  It takes a few days before they break out into blisters but often begin itching within just a few hours.

There are multiple species of toxic plants that inhabit our woods.  Poison Oak, Poison Sumac and other varieties of Poison Ivy can be found.  The most common on our place is the Eastern Poison Ivy.  If you've never seen it, it is pictured below winding up the side of a large pine tree.

Raining

This morning we awoke to rain.

Steady, gentle rain.

I love the sound of rain.

It cleanses the air.

It quenches the thirsty ground.

It relieves the heat.

It drips and trickles and splashes.

It washes away the pollen, the dust, the leaves.

It renews us and it soothes us.

It sluices the cares of the moment into the growing stream.

The birds are silent, but when the cloud lifts, they will sing.

Sometimes we need a storm to wash away the debris.

Sometimes we simply need a gentle rain.

 Allergy Daze

For the last few weeks pollen has coated the surface of everything outdoors.  The thin yellow film on vehicles lets you know what you are breathing when outside.  Those pollen spores are major irritants to many allergy sufferers such as I am.  Despite the beauty of the Spring, it is a miserable time of year.

All of us must deal with irritants in life.  Hay fever and the various complications of a persistent cough due to perpetual drainage from my sinuses is an easy one to identify and is part of my life since as long as I can remember.  For some reason, this year seems worse.  Perhaps it is a heavier load of pollen, but more likely it is just another symptom of aging.  My body doesn't resist the onslaught as it once did.

In order to manage the allergies, I frequently resort to various over-the-counter medicines.  Those remedies -- or I should say, symptom mitigators -- often leave me feeling somewhat dazed and not completely clear-headed.  Hence, the title of this post, "Allergy Daze."  Aren't you glad I spelled that out for you since it wasn't obvious (ha).

Sadly, the current wave of allergens is only the beginning.  Blooming plants will continue to spew forth their gametes throughout the Spring and Summer and the only brief respite I can anticipate will be sometime after a heavy frost next Fall.

A couple of days ago I spotted the plant in the photograph posted below out in the meadow in front of our house.  It presages that ongoing battle.  Ragweed.  It will meet an early expiration if I am able to get to it in time.

The Pond

This blog is a place where I express some small piece of my thoughts as I start my day.  Yesterday I mentioned our Texas Sage (Barometer Plant) and showed a photo of it blooming which is a strong predictor of rain.  It started raining around 4:00 a.m. this morning and was still lightly raining at 8:00.  Ah, if only I could be so accurate in my predictions!

As I look out my window this morning I see our pond in the distance.  It has been mentioned in previous posts and is a comfort to the eye.  This time of year, everything is green and the leaves are becoming fully unfurled on the trees which are abundant on our property.   That abundance occupied much of yesterday as we spent several hours of the day clearing away dead, fallen limbs, tangled vines and unwanted vegetation.  It is a lot of work but is something that I enjoy doing because it is easy to see progress as small pieces of the puzzle begin to show signs of becoming what we want them to be.

The pond on our place is one of those pieces of the puzzle that I haven't yet decided how to handle.  On one hand, I like it as it is.  It has the character of a pond lost in the deep woods of East Texas.  On the other hand, it doesn't teem with life in the way I would expect.  The water is full of tannins from fallen pine needles and trees. We see many turtles perched on the logs which have immersed themselves in the water at the behest of the Texas wind and in the shallows, you can see small fish -- minnows or shad -- darting along as if seeking shelter from something larger.  What we don't see are clear signs of larger fish.  Sometimes a small silvery creature will make a splashing leap above the surface, but it is rare.

In asking a friend what he thought it would cost to clean out the pond and do some rehabilitation, he stated that it was going to cost over $20,000 for his own and thought ours might require an even larger expenditure.  We don't have that kind of money laying around for such a purpose.  There are numerous other things that take a higher priority.  So, for now, I think we will enjoy the pond as it is.

Like so many things in life, we have to weigh the current investments against the expected future benefits.  With a lengthy list of priorities, that can sometimes be a challenge.  In time we will deal with it.

Given the title to this post, you may have expected something more along the lines of what Thoreau would have written.  

"It is life near the bone where it is sweetest." -- Henry David Thoreau

 Forecast

The other day I posted about using native plants in our flower beds around the house.  Texas Sage was the one in the photograph that accompanied the post.  It is known as the Barometer Plant and in South Texas it is known for predicting rain with its blooms.  Well, ours is blooming like crazy even though it has only been planted a short while (photo at bottom of post).

We certainly need the rain, but not as desperately as most of the rest of the state and the Southwestern U.S. in general.  Drought conditions continue and rainfall deficits have left many lakes far below their desired levels.  This condition doesn't bode well for the cities and small communities that depend on those lakes for water.

It also continues to pressure the cattle industry.  High beef prices in the grocery store are directly related to declining numbers of cattle and a growing population that demands high quality protein.  We will not see significant rebuilding of the national cow herd when severe drought limits the availability of suitable forage for grazing.

I am concerned that many people both within and outside the cattle industry will seek to blame the problem on something other than the weather.  Generally, it is the beef packers who are saddled with fault when it comes to beef prices.  It is simple economics surrounding supply and demand with production constraints affecting both sides of the equation.  Most don't see it that way and will call for government intervention.  Such intervention will be directed at the packers because they are everyone's favored whipping boy.  It should instead be directed at urban sprawl which is removing suitable grazing land at a pace faster than drought.  The politics don't work so instead of fixing the problem, government intervention will likely only make it worse.

Oil prices are another issue which is constraining not only to cattle production but to almost every industry.  The blame will fall squarely on the current administration and their actions in Iran which have temporarily caused supply disruptions.  This is one where political pressure again will dictate how and when we withdraw from that action rather than suffering the short-term pain in order to receive the long-term gain of curbing the radicalized regime which has long declared "Death to America."

There are many other issues that we currently face, and everyone has their opinion on how they will turn out.  We all have a "forecast" for the future, and it is based on our personal experience, education, and otherwise gained knowledge.  It's too bad that none of it is as reliable as our little Texas Sage, the Barometer Plant.

We had to cage the sage in order to protect it from rabbits as well as a dog that thinks the flower bed is his napping ground.  Pardon the rusty T-post -- I believe in endless recycling.

 Things That Make You Go, "Hmmm...."

This morning I spied a duck on our pond.  It is a good way down to the pond and it was impossible for me to make out any detail -- even with the aid of binoculars.  It didn't look like any duck that I was familiar with.

We did a little quick research on the computer, and I still was unsure of what it might have been.  I suppose it will go in my "Hmm..." category for the day.  It was interesting, made me stop and think, but it remains in the unknown category for me.

I find that in a lot of things.  The Internet has made researching the unknown much easier than it once was.  I look up things frequently and often find that my preconceptions needed adjustment.  One of the keys to learning is to realize that what we know may not be accurate and must be refined as additional knowledge is accumulated.  With the duck in question, I can only hope that he returns to give me a better look at some point in the future.

They say that curiosity killed the cat, but I find curiosity to be the fire that kindles learning.  You likely will note in the things I write that I am curious about many subjects.  Sometimes my travels down the trails of trivia border on the ridiculous, but even those things can provide some minor enjoyment.

Yesterday I continued on my current task of cleaning up dead and fallen tree limbs and brush on our place.  The neglect of years created the opportunity for us to acquire this piece of land but also came with the added price of the work necessary to bring it up to our expectations.  Since we are currently not under a burn ban, I am trying to burn as much of the gathered debris as possible.

The photo below is the last of a pile of limbs that were present when we purchased the place.  We have only been out of the burn ban a short time which delayed me in disposing of them.  I took a photo of the fire late yesterday as I sat enjoying gazing into it.  I don't know what it is about a campfire, but most people enjoy gazing into the flames.  This morning as I looked at the photo before posting it here, I noticed that one of the stones bordering it is unique.  I don't know where it came from, but it appears to be a broken piece of statuary.  It's just one of those things that make me go, "Hmmm...."

 Contemplation

What is it that sometimes causes us to become so lost in thought that we lose track of time?  It seems to go against the natural "wiring" of our brains that is a result of survival through the eons.  Alertness, awareness of surroundings, those should be constant since the genetic lines which resulted in the survival of our ancestors must have had something going for them in order to beat the odds against oblivion at the will of some predator.  Survival is wired into our DNA.

Perhaps it is the protective nature of our species that has allowed those who might lack the basic survival skill of awareness to thrive and reproduce.  Those who have strong doses of that survival skill tend to provide protection and oversight which allow those less suited to continue on their merry, oblivious way.

Those woolgatherers are often the ones who end up espousing some of the strangest causes.  It is likely that their mind travels into realms where those more attuned to survival simply ignore the irrelevancy of the errata and move on to more important things.  The softness of our society has allowed those "thinkers" to proliferate and fill the air with their invectives against perceived injustice when the reality is, they are protecting those even less fit for survival than themselves.

Maybe that's it!  Part of our genetic wiring is telling us to protect those less capable than ourselves and so we are shepherding in the slow degradation of our species through such behavior. It is a built-in mechanism that will result in the eventual cleansing of the species when civilization collapses.

Why would we be wired that way?  Maybe it is because none of us would survive without that basic tendency to protect each other.  It is too bad that tendency has been corrupted with greed and the self-serving manipulation of those less capable.  The strong tend to exploit the weak or less capable.

The photograph below is of a large Loblolly Pine tree (Pinus taeda) located on our property.  The Loblolly is native to much of the Southeastern U.S. and is a very important source of wood for construction and for pulping to make paper.  It is fast growing and may reach heights well in excess of 100 ft.  Some of the pines on our property have been there long enough to be approaching that 100 ft. threshold.  They annually shed seed-filled cones to continue the spread of the species.  If left un-thinned, they will be surrounded by younger trees ranging from seedlings to those many 10's of feet in height.  Eventually, most of those seedlings will die and only the hardiest will survive.  Survival of the fittest once again.  Maybe humans need to mimic nature in that regard.