Mr. Reed's Birthday

Our grandson Evan "Reed" Beebe is now 3 years old and it's time to celebrate.



Since one of Reed's favorite books is "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" by Eric Carle, why not a caterpillar cake?



And of course the grandparents will always give clothing as a present.



Little boys and dinosaurs ...



and superheros. Reed tries on his Batman mask.

Trapped Wren

I found this House Wren trapped in the basement of our barn and trying to escape by repeatedly crashing into the windows. I was able to catch and release this wren.

Monarch Butterflies

The Monarch Butterflies are migrating through the neighborhood and I'm seeing more Monarchs than I did this summer. I found this one on some goldenrod at our West Hill property.



I've been checking the milkweed in the neighborhood for Monarch caterpillars and this is the only caterpillar I've been able to find.

Beware of This Caterpillar

Known as the White Hickory Tussock Moth Caterpillar, this white/fuzzy caterpillar contain a venom in its black spines that will irritate human skin. An encounter with this caterpillar is not deadly, but can cause a burning, nettle-type, itchy rash of mild to moderate severity. Some people may experience more severe symptoms such as swelling and nausea.

I have found several of these caterpillars on the walnut trees around our barn.

Chinese Mantis #2

I found another Chinese Mantis in our yard while I was removing some old landscaping. I know this is a different mantis from the one I found last week, since mantis #1 is now our grandson Reed's pet.



It didn't take long before this mantis was willing to climb onto my hand for relocation to another bush. The mantis remained on the bush as I did clean-up and it climbed onto my hand several more times. Very friendly.



A close-up head shot of the mantis cleaning one of its antenna.

Chinese Mantis

I was doing some yard work in our apple orchard when I came across this large Chinese Mantis. This is a species of praying mantis native to Asia and accidentally introduced to the area by a nurseryman at Mt. Airy, PA in 1896. This is the largest mantis species in North America and can grow to almost 5 inches. The Chinese Mantis is a common pet and can become tame enough to perch on one's hand and even be hand-fed.

Wildflower - New England Aster

The New England Asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae) are starting to bloom in our neighborhood. I tend to mark the time of year during the spring and summer by what wildflowers are starting to bloom. The blooming of the New England Asters indicates the autumnal equinox and the cooler days for autumn are near. The New England Aster is native to almost every area in North America east of the Rocky Mountains.

Young Turkeys

I had just stopped my truck on the cabin property road to spray some weeds when I heard a flutter of wings in the brush. I grabbed my camera and soon this hen turkey and her poults came out and slowly walked across the road.

Sunflowers

The field of sunflowers along U.S. Route 6 near Wysox.

Making Sauerkraut

Years ago a neighbor gave me this "Kraut Cutter" cabbage slicer and I'm finally using it. Several heads of my early cabbage started to split open so it was time to make some sauerkraut.



The "Kraut Cutter" made quick work of slicing the cabbage and I soon had 10 pounds of sliced cabbage. I added 1/4 pound of canning salt to the sliced cabbage and mixed it thoroughly into the cabbage to extract the liquid from the cabbage. The cabbage and brine solution were then packed into a food grade bucket. I then covered the packed cabbage and brine solution with a layer of cabbage leaves and placed a second weighted bucket on top of the mixture. I will let this sit for 4 to 6 weeks and maybe make another batch with my last season cabbage.