TBnJ

Somehow this morning became tree trimming and yard work morning. It was gorgeous out-- about 80 and overcast. There was one branch on a crape myrtle that had been damaged and needed to be removed. Ants were living in large numbers around the bases of the crape myrtles, so Daddy-o donated some boric acid to their homes to try and convince them to leave the trees alone. T suggested we try to lead the ants from their nests over to the plethora of spider webs on the other side of the front yard, but we decided that probably wouldn't work.

The crape myrtle work led to one thing which led to another and soon Daddy-o was working on a huge Chinese Tallow tree (the previous owner did a great job of selecting non-native trees that are now banned in the area or which don't have long lifespans) and a live oak, both of which needed some major trimming and dead branch removal.

The local wildlife quickly became apparent. The cat (above left) seemed strangely drawn to the kids and branches, though we're not sure why. It didn't have a collar and it's not one we've seen around a lot before, so I'm not sure where it came from. It didn't take it long to decide that maybe there were better places for it to hang out.

B found a cricket pretty soon after that and was observing it. T chased it away with a branch which made B unhappy because he wanted to watch the cricket. Fortunately another cricket showed up later to entertain B. We also saw leaffooted bugs, a praying mantis, spiders, dragonflies, and more ants.

When the wildlife wasn't around, the kids were building with the branches Daddy-o was cutting off of trees. At first T was calling them "Yeti Tents" but then they became playhouses. The kids prefer the Chinese tallow branches to the live oak branches because they are "softer." The kids were also picking berries and acorns off the branches to play with. T went and got plastic construction cones (or "instruction cones" if you are B) and was setting them randomly around the branches declaring them a construction site, and B kept moving the cones or filling them up with berries and acorns (all of which he declared coconuts).

When Daddy-o's branch cutting muscles were sore, he moved on to attacking a rotting tree stump. The former tree was another Chinese tallow which he'd cut down four or five years ago because there just wasn't room for it and the two trees by it. This morning the kids wanted us to explain this sacrificial killing, and B never really did understand why we cut down the tree if it wasn't dead. But years later, the stump was really rotten and Daddy-o was able to remove almost all of it with a hatchet. While he did that, a frog (above right) hopped out. B and J were thrilled with the arrival of the frog and followed it around the yard watching it carefully. T also found a grub under the rotten stump which he found interesting.

The final bit of fascinating nature was a five-spotted hawkmoth. It was stuck in a branch/spider's web. I managed to set it free. It then just sat on the ground where B and J watched it (right). It's hard to see because of the leaves. These moths are BIG with wingspans of 4-6+ inches. Texas sized. J was very concerned about the moth not moving, and I tried to explain with her that it was tired from fighting the spider web. It just needed to rest for a bit to regain some of its strength. J then wanted Daddy-o to set his watch for five minutes so we could help it if it wasn't flying away in five minutes. I'm not sure if she wanted us to do CPR or what, but I told her it probably need more than five minutes to get some energy back.

Overall, it was a good morning in the yard, though there are a ton of other trees needing trimming and a whole maple tree that has been dead for a while that needs to come down. The squirrels and birds still use it all the time, but it is definitely dead and needs to go.

Labels: around the house, kid sayings