Tangled

The woods of Northeast Texas are often a tangled mess of trees and vines.  Many of the vines are not particularly friendly such as Poison Ivy or Greenbriar.  Often, however, the most prolific vines are Honeysuckle.

Sometimes the vines wind around young trees to the point of killing them due to strangulation.  They tightly surround the tender bark and as the tree grows, the vines cut into the bark and cut off the flow of sap to higher points in the young trees.  Eventually the trees succumb.

We like the biodiversity of plants growing on our small piece of Texas, but some have been allowed to get out of control.  It seems a never-ending chore to tame them into spaces that make better sense for managing the land.  It also allows less aggressive species to flourish since we are unlikely to use nature's tool of fire to burn the dense undergrowth.  There are far too many houses within range.

I am not a fan of using chemical means for control, so much of our effort is simply mechanical.  It is more labor intensive, but the result is flourishing plant, insect and animal life.  One small example is the Tiger Swallowtails of which I posted a few days ago.  We see many of them daily.  Yesterday we saw our first Monarch butterfly of the year.

The benefits of our efforts will be realized over coming years but occasionally the reward is immediate.  The photo below is of Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens).  The flowers attract Hummingbirds, Bees and Butterflies.  The fruit is favored by many bird species.  Traditional medicinal uses include for asthma (dried and smoked), for bee stings (chewed and applied to the sting) and for sore throats and coughs (a tea).  I just think it is a nice splash of color against the greens and browns of the forest.

 

 Establishing Routine

When I first started Blogging it was a response to being challenged to do so.  I decided that committing to write something every day for 30 days was enough to either establish the habit or to decide that it was not for me.  The result of that commitment led to writing a couple of columns for a trade publication and to writing and publishing a small book of poems and illustrations (the book can be found in a small ad at the top of my Blog page).

There have been times through the years since that beginning that I have lapsed for extended periods for various reasons.  Sometimes it was due to significant life changes such as a job change or a move or both.  At other times it was likely due to discouragement resulting from a lack of readership.  I had to learn, or re-learn, that I was doing this for myself and not for others.  The discipline of writing is certainly a solitary pursuit, and most writers never achieve fame or a great following.

Now that I have entered into a time of retirement the realization that one of my strengths through the years was to write has prompted me to reignite the daily discipline of writing.  That doesn't mean that I will Blog every single day, but I do intend to write something on a regular basis and am attempting to make it a part of my established daily morning routine.

Retirement really isn't something that I intentionally planned for this particular time.  I expected it to be a few more years away.  It happened though and making the best of it is my current focus in life.  The symbolism associated with Spring and the budding trees along with early flowers pushing up through the soil seems especially relevant to where I am in life.  I am choosing to make the best of it in spite of all the challenges which seem to be working in opposition.

Yesterday we noticed the first of the Irises blooming along the road winding through the trees to our house.  They seem to be randomly situated as if they were wild, however I suspect they are the remnants of a deliberate planting by some previous owner of this small corner of the world.  Irises are common throughout the world and prominently appear in artwork.  They have been used for medicinal purposes by many people seeking natural cures -- especially for stomach cramps by making a tea of the dried roots.  Certain varieties are used to help filter water.  The plants remove many particulates and chemicals, clarifying the water.  Mostly, I just think they are a beautiful, showy flower.

 Cleaning

There is an old shed on the property that we purchased this year.  We have been doing some cleaning in order to be able to utilize it.  One corner of the roof has been destroyed by a fallen tree which will need to be removed and then the roof repaired.  I'm sure that will be the subject of a later post.  In the meantime, we decided to clean up and haul off the leftover junk scattered about the floor with the intent of parking a small tractor there where it will be protected from the rain.

Along with the rusted cans, nails and bolts scattered on the floor there were piles of leaves and other forest debris that had fallen through the hole in the roof or blown in through the open front.  We used rakes to pile the loose things and then spent a good bit of time on our knees picking up nails, bolts and other sharp pieces of metal that might potentially damage tires.  I hope we got them all.

I must admit that I get angry when cleaning up messes left by other people.  I was taught that when I left a house, piece of land or anything else that it should be in the best condition that I could possibly leave it.  I was taught to clean up my own messes rather than to leave them for others.  I hope my children and grandchildren have learned to leave things better than they found them.  Just think what that type of attitude would do for our country.

One of the small creatures we disturbed in our cleaning is in the photograph below.  It is an Eastern Bark Centipede (Hemiscolopendra marginata).

 Going Native

As is obvious from my last few posts, Spring is on my mind.  It is planting time.  To the extent possible we want to use native plants which are indigenous to our area for our landscaping.  Our first plantings at this new home are Texas Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens). It is not a true sage but is in the figwort family.  It is known by many other names but the one I find most interesting is "Barometer Bush."  It is an appropriate name because when we lived in South Texas where it is commonly found across the semi-desert scrubland, when it blooms you can expect rain within the next 24-48 hours.  Another name is Cenizo.  Historically, natives of northern Mexico where the plant commonly is found, made tea from the leaves.  Its medicinal uses were for treating colds and congestion.

Below is one of ours which we planted near our front porch.  Over time it can grow up to 10 feet tall.  We will keep it pruned back so that it doesn't block our view.

 Front Porch Rocking

I grew up hearing about sitting on the front porch in a rocking chair watching the late afternoon fade into evening, but I never thought that would be me.  

The place we recently moved to is very conducive to that type of activity especially since we bought a couple of wooden rocking chairs to set on the front porch.  The weather has been absolutely perfect.

In the photo below you can see piles of raked twigs and Sweet Gum seed pods.  I'm not quite through with the task but expect to complete it this morning.  It was certainly relaxing to end the evening looking out toward the pond just enjoying the peacefulness of the birds singing in the trees.

 Springtime

Springtime brings optimism.  It is a time of fresh beginning -- for the year and sometimes for our lives in other ways.  It is a time to clear out the detritus of winter and begin the freshening for what is to come.  It is a time of flowers and budding trees, of yard work and planting, of newborn animals and of re-born hopes.  The air is filled with scents and pollen and the buzzing of insects.  It is butterflies and mosquitos.  Okay, maybe it's a mixed bag in some regards.  But it is Spring and I will let optimism rule.  The Redbud tree in our front yard is the perfect symbol.

 Subtle Differences

It is sometimes the little things that make all the difference.  I'm certain there is some deep application for this minor observation, but this morning as I write, the brain fog obscures whatever brilliant revelation may be hidden there.  Fortunately, I have an illustration.

The bright yellow Tiger Swallowtails have been in abundance here on our small piece of the world recently.  Once the signs of Spring became sincere rather than a quiet creeping of swelling buds and surging stems of daffodils, they began making their way into our view as they fluttered between the early blooms of flowers pushing through the dry mats of last year's grasses, or into the blossoms of early blooming trees.

I thought they were all of the same until I looked more closely at the pictures and did some research.

In the photo is what I believe to be a male Tiger Swallowtail.  He is slightly less showy than his female counterpart and doesn't have the blue and red spots of the female seen below.  Am I correct?

Let me know in the comments.  I know someone out there is bound to be an expert.

 Searching for Relevance

I was once told that the second strongest human emotion is the craving to be recognized/appreciated/seen as important.  Since hearing that statement many years ago, I have noted numerous times that it seemed to drive behavior.

One of the first places to note it was watching a child seek the approval of a parent.  "Daddy look at me!"  It is also sometimes a factor between spouses -- we don't want to be taken for granted but recognized for our contributions -- for the things that we do well.  Too often criticism for failures is more common than recognition of the positives.

I also believe that craving for recognition is what drives many to create on social media.  Arguably, this post might be an example.  I tell myself that I am writing to relieve a compulsion that I feel deep inside me to write my thoughts.  It helps me to organize them, and it is one way that I choose to exercise my mind.

The craving for recognition sometimes leads to competition between individuals that might lead to negative impact on a relationship.  This can happen between siblings or between spouses.  There is nothing wrong with a competitive nature, but it must be balanced.  An individual should find the things that they enjoy and simply do them to the best of their ability rather than being jealous of the recognition others might receive by pursuing the things that give them pleasure or satisfaction.  Instead, jealousies drive wedges.

I don't really know what prompted this post other than it is something that has been rolling around in my mind.  Now, to find a picture to include -- I like the one below which is of three peahens sitting on a fence at Bent's Old Fort National Monument in Colorado.  They were in the shadows, and the photo creates a kind of silhouette that made me think of three individuals sitting and gossiping.  I guess that's a bit like the search for relevance -- gossip tends to put down others in an attempt to make us look better.  It's not healthy for relationships either.

 

Dealing With Obstacles

As I sat at my desk yesterday morning, out of the corner of my eye I caught the movement of a dead tree falling.  The exclamation point of the reverberating crash swept across me as I looked to see just what happened.

The driveway on our small acreage is long and winds around a small pond and through the trees which surround it.  The deadfall occurred about one hundred yards from the house at the edge of the thickest part of the small, wooded area.  It completely blocked the driveway, which is our only way to exit the property.  It had to be dealt with before we could even go into town.

After completing what I had been working on, I loaded up my chainsaw and headed down to begin the process of clearing it.  The upper end of the old dead tree was all that crossed the drive, but it varied in diameter from well over a foot to about ten inches at the narrowest point.

I was reminded of how unexpected obstacles sometimes affect us, creating barriers that must be handled before we can continue our way.  It occurs in business and it occurs in life in general.  There are always reasons for their occurrence.  Sometimes those reasons are obvious and at other times we never understand why they happened.  In this case, as in most cases related to business, the reason was obvious.  It was neglect.

We almost always ask why.  Why did this happen?  In this case it was due to a higher-than-normal wind and a long-dead tree. 

I noticed the tree standing in the small patch of woods a few weeks ago.  We recently bought this place and there is a lot of work that needs to be done.  There are several dead trees that need to be removed, but their urgency is much lower than this one which created the barrier to our ingress and egress.  As I looked at the wooden barrier which lay across the road, I noticed that woodpeckers had been working on it.

The woodpecker damage is a symptom of a much deeper problem – wood-boring insects that likely killed the tree.  The woodpecker holes are obvious in the fallen trunk, but many of the exterior rings looked like the small piece of rotten wood lying in the foreground.  Again, I am reminded of how we often notice symptoms of a problem – the woodpeckers avidly drilling into the tree – but sometimes fail to address the systemic problems that are truly causing damage to our lives and our business organizations.  Woodpeckers should alert us to the termites and beetles which are constantly burrowing into the trees just like symptoms such as a tire which frequently goes flat should alert us to the need for a new tire.  Usually, we deal with the symptoms but fail to pursue the root cause of the problem.

The first step is to remove the barrier to progress.  In this case, it was to remove the fallen tree from the road.  It required a little bit of work but was accomplished expeditiously.

Once the obstacle is removed it is a matter of figuring out how to prevent the problem from occurring.  Fortunately, in our case, it is simply a matter of getting rid of all the dead trees that might fall.  It is going to require some work, but it is certainly doable.

Even after spending the morning clearing the fallen tree, there was a significant portion of it left to deal with.  The tree was well over sixty feet tall and we only cleared the top half of it which was blocking the road.  The bottom half – the largest half – which is over two feet in diameter at the base, has yet to be cut up. 

It will be a task for another day.  Again, I am reminded of the business applications.  Once we remove a barrier and can continue operation, we still need to deal with the root causes which created the problem.

Now, there is plenty of firewood for the fire pit.  It’s still going to require some work to transport it to where it is needed and to split the large pieces into usable sizes, but at least something good can come out of it.

Maybe it’s time to do a little campfire cooking!

Fall Calf

 "Look, over yonder,

Close to the treeline,

Do you see that little dark spot in the grass?

It looks to me like some cow

Just had a new calf!

I'll bet its legs are still wobbly

And its Momma ain't far

But, let's ride on over

To make sure it's fine

This baby's the first; at the head of the line!

Why, look there;

She's several days old!