Endless Summer

It is October 24th, and we are still seeing 80 F + days. My body is tired of being warm. Surprisingly, there is still water in the seep and in the spring creek, but their reach is far less than just four weeks ago.

With the exception of the temperature, autumn is all around us. The ground is littered with leaves, webs float through the air only to get tangled among the grass, and tarantulas are out looking for mates. Sadly, the grasshoppers ate much of the tarweed on the west side of the ranch. Consequently, the air is not heavy with their perfume, one of my favorites.

When the temperatures cooled, more animals and insects came out or at least appeared more active. I hear coyotes singing much more since the nights cooled. More raptors in the air, more bees and of course, the spiders. David and I installed a game camera on the wildlife guzzler overhang to see who was using it for water, and a large hare climbed up the wood pile and down the ramp to take a sip. That was exciting.

There is also considerable activity on the milkweed plants. I have looked at them daily for signs of monarchs, but there has been nothing. It has been too hot, and now the window is closing. The plants are winding down, and seed pods are opening. I did see a remarkable sight however. It was lacewing eggs. The lacewings love aphids, of which there are many on milkweed. They lay their eggs perpendicular to the stem of the milkweed and place the egg on the very tip. A special shout out to friend and bug knowledge bearer extraordinaire, Sean Werle. He helps identify the many things I do not know.

The other day, I was washing dishes and looked out the window to the east. I saw some large black specks on the side of the hill. I thought, “Oh, that’s where the cows are now.” As I looked, I saw them move much more agilely than a cow. Then, the shape was wrong as they made their way further up the hillside. I ran to get my binoculars and confirmed what I thought; it was wild hogs. There were several adults that had to be 400lbs and a lot of babies. My neighbor saw them too, and they counted 20 in the unit. They had been down in the spring creek ravine. I wondered what havoc they were engaged in. After they were well-over the ridge, I walked to the creek and found the entire lower half of it rooted out. All the vegetation was gone and the soil turned up. Where it was dry just the other day, was now wet with the removal of the plants and grasses. On the bright side, there is more space for animals to find water along the creek. On the down side, how can I ever expect to re-vegetate that space with oak saplings and milkweed if the pigs can come in and destroy all vegetation in an hour or less?

Wanderings

Oh the heat. Each year, it seems to get worse on some level. I feel so bad for the nature relatives that depend on us to use our sense in maintaining this beautiful world. I cannot tell if this year is more miserable than the one before. With the grasshopper incursion and my father’s illness, everyday is just something to move through – not much time for soaking up the joy of stewardship.

Although there is a great deal on my to do list, my priority is my family. Dad has been in the hospital twice since I last wrote and the list of medications, doctors, support staff and paperwork grows exponentially. I only have time for the ranch “must dos” and not the “wish list”. With good medicine, a will to survive and a little luck, Dad may get more stable, and a predictable schedule will be established. Until then, I will look longingly across the ranch and at photos of times past wishing for the best of health for all of us – monarchs and mammals, dads and daughters – all of us.