This is the trailhead at Meeks Park.  Isn't this Hickory beautiful!!!!  

 

The park is absolutely full of Hickories, Oaks, Maples, and other deciduous trees, all showing Fall color right now. 

 

What a great way to start a walk.

 

HAPPY HIKING!!!

 

Saw these mushrooms the other day on Stonebriar Drive.  They are so striking, I had to stop and get their picture.  While I was at it I put the Seek app on them, just to verify my suspicion that they are Jack O'Lanterns.  Yep, Seek called them Eastern American Jack O'Lantern, Omphalotus illudens.  

 

I love this app, it tells me that:  Jack O'Lantern mushrooms are large orange mushrooms, often found in clumps on decaying stumps, buried roots, or at the base of hardwood trees in eastern North America.

 

My National Audubon Society field guide tells me that:  IT IS POISONOUS, typically causing gastric upset for a few hours to 2 days.  And this:  When this species is gathered fresh and taken into a dark room, the gills give off an eerie green glow.   OOOH.   I'll just take their word on that; I'm leaving them alone.

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

 

 

 

When I saw this the other day, I immediately thought about Halloween spookiness.  

 

We know that Black widow spiders build messy webs.  I thought maybe that's what this is: Black widow web.  But then again...

 

The web is not messy.  See it at the bottom?  It looks pretty neat to me.  I think the messy part is where the spider wrapped up its dinner after it was caught.  Never did see the spider. 

 

What do you think?  Spooky or not?

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!

 

Halloween is just a few days away.  Are you ready?  I am.  I love dressing up like one insect or another for Halloween.  

 

For years, I wore butterfly wings, but they were huge, and got me into trouble more than once.  So lately, I've gone for the ladybug look.  Too bad you can't see the antennae.  They are 2" silver styrofoam balls attached with springs on a headband.  They are kinda wiggly.  :D

 

Besides, I love the idea that the appropriate collective noun is "a loveliness of ladybugs."  This costume always makes me feel lovely.

 

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, a little early.

 

On a recent walk, I saw this great mushroom colony.  I had my Seek app at hand, and found out it is False Turkey-tail.

 

I looked it up in my field guide, and learned that its botanical name is Stereum ostrea, and its common name is False turkey-tail.  It is a fungus that decays bark and wood.  It is found throughout North America, is in season from June-January, and is found on logs and stumps of deciduous wood, especially oak.  

 

What I was really looking for is this:  it is tough and INEDIBLE.  So just look, and don't touch.  But definitely, DO look.  Very pretty and interesting.

 

HAPPY FALL!!!

 

This may not look like much to you, but it makes me happy.  Last week I planted garlic and potatoes for next year's harvest. 

 

Garlic is in the same family as onions, lilies, daffodils, etc.  So we plant it in the fall, just like spring flowering bulbs.  

 

Garlic is so easy to plant.  Just fluff up the soil to about 4 inches depth, and place the cloves pointy end up, about 2 inches apart.  Cover with a few inches of mulch to protect them against the winter cold, and next June-July you'll have garlic bulbs!!!  You can even plant them in your flower beds, they are that pretty.  

 

I read this year about planting potatoes in the fall too.  I planted whole potatoes using the same method as the garlic, and we'll see what happens.  I have $2.99 invested, for the potential of two full rows of potatoes.  I'll let you know how it works out.  

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

It's that time of year, when the Monarchs are passing through.  Love it!!!!!

 

We've seen several lately, in our garden and these up in Rosalie's wildflower bed.  

 

I had a friend in Virginia who worked in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.  He said that when the Monarchs are migrating, they fly THROUGH the tunnel!!!  Love that story.  Hope it's true.

 

I hope you see them in your travels;  they are SO pretty!!!

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

I know it's kinda late to be planting in the garden, but I grew all these seedlings last month, and they are just begging to get into the soil.  Not sure how long they will last, or when the frost will take them out, but from now til then, we'll have baby spinach, kale, mustard and lettuce.

 

I remember Momma saying, "If you plant it, it might not grow;  but if you DON'T plant it, it surely won't grow."

 

I'm running with that.

 

HAPPY GARDENING!!!

 

Hiking up the Creekside Trail last week, we noticed that our friend, the bear, was missing from his tree perch.  We searched the area, and found him IN THE CREEK!!!

 

Jon scrambled down the hill and rescued him from the creek.  He (the bear) was totally soaking wet and bedraggled.  So we squoze him as dry as possible, and replaced him in the tree.  We checked back on him, and he's doing better.  

 

He's drier now, and still a little bedraggled.  But we love seeing him when we're on the trail.

 

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!!!

 

 

 

Have you ever wondered what's under those well covers?  Besides snakes...

 

Well...yesterday we were walking the loop, and saw Jim and CB down by well #7.  It's the one down by the creek, near the chestnut trees.  This is what we saw!!!  

 

They were obviously working on the well, but I asked anyway:  Hey, what's up?  The answer was very interesting, and I thought you might like to know about it.

 

CB was installing an Ultraviolet sterilizer to the wellhead.  See that silver cylinder toward the back?  That is the housing for a UV light bulb.  Well #7 has often failed the bacteria test, so this is a reasonable solution for this well.  Not all our wells need this type of treatment system;  they've tested fine for years.

 

I learned that the UV sterilizer doesn't sterilize the water, but disrupts the DNA of bacteria and viruses, preventing them from performing certain cellular functions, essentially disabling them from contaminating the water.  There will also be a 20 micron filter in line before the UV sterilizer, to filter out most of the particles so they don't interfere with the UV system.  

 

This method for water treatment has been in use since the mid-20th century, and is called Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation, (UVGI).  Wikipedia has a good article if you want to explore it further.  Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation

 

A number of residents have installed UVGI systems in their homes, and they offer a sense of confidence when the natural eColi blooms.  But don't think that it comes cheap.  There are perpetual costs:  the UV tube needs to be replaced yearly, and the 20 micron filter even more often, costing hundreds of dollars.  And that's true with the system installed on well #7.  Perpetual costs are part of solving problems like this, but focusing on the safety of the community is the goal.

 

Oh, in case you're  wondering:  these UV tubes are generally using the spectrum called UV-C which kills lots of stuff, (including COVID).  

 

 

THAT'S WHAT I KNOW ABOUT IT.