Tag: grasshopper plague

Toad-a-palooza. Forward Progress Despite Carnage All Around.

A good friend floats in the basil seedling basin

Despite the ongoing carnage wrought by the grasshoppers, I try to focus on the good things, like the myriad of frogs and toads in the garden. They are so cute to watch, and I know they are eating the grasshoppers. Although there are not enough of them to make a dent in the population of billions, I think the reason the willows and potted plants near the trough are only partially eaten is because Erma and her children live there. Yes, I said children. Guess what I saw…small toads hopping around! Our dear Erma is a mama. Before we get too sentimental, it is important to know that toads eat frogs and that they each eat their own. But…let’s hope each one of them focus on eating the abundant hoppers.

Keeping moist on the seedlings
“Hello”
Young toad pooping
Young toads cruisin’, huntin’ and poopin’

Rock and Log Drops Installed

Log drop with rock behind
Rock drop. There are three along the arroyo

I am so grateful that the log drop and rock drop structures were finally installed. They were planned in 2021, approved for install in 2022 and finally done in 2023. It took so long, but they are in, and I love them. The idea is to slow runoff from storms so that more moisture seeps into the ground water fractures and stays deep instead of in the first few inches. Secondarily, the rocks will capture sediment to build up to the level of the creek banks over time and become a more lush location for plant life. Keeping sediment from washing downstream also helps to keep the water clean as well as eroding the banks more. There are many benefits, and I am excited to see what they do in next year’s storms.

RCD and Fish & Wildlife Visit

l-r: Me, Melinda and Rosie

Some of my favorite people came to look at the log and rock drop structures and some of the other projects I have on the ranch. Melinda Barrett from Mariposa County Resource Conservation District and Rosie Gonzalez from Fish & Wildlife were pleased to see the progress being made and some of the benefits of the riparian fencing. After checking out the structures, we explored Odom Creek, Spring Creek and some downstream check dams. I really appreciate their extensive knowledge, so was grateful they were interested in seeing the status and outcomes of some of the practices I have been doing. Flora and fauna are thriving in Odom Creek. There are no grasshoppers in that area of the ranch and plants are still in bloom. We saw abundant California Hairstreak butterflies, Buckeye butterflies, some Red Admiral butterflies and native bees. We saw a doe on the hillside, which is rare even in the more forested midsection of the ranch. I found a narrowleaf milkweed covered by expended thistle that seems to be doing well. I was wrong about what I thought were black oaks. It turns out they were fig trees. They were next to a willow seedling. There was even one fruit on the young tree. We walked to the property line and found abundant watercress. Yum! The water in the creek is still running well. There are many deep pools for animals to propagate, water and soak.

Deep pools
Red Admiral Butterfly
Red Admiral
Watercress!

Wanderings

Bumbles still visit
Guzzler still filled plus evidence of birds continuing to use the resource
Happy dog
Tracks in the dried soil in Swale Pond
Tarantula hawks protecting their nectar. They eat grasshoppers too
David almost done with the carport
Taking a break from the heat. Going swimming in McSwain reservoir with an audience of geese

The Pain of Loss

I keep telling everyone that I have turned a corner in my emotionality, that I am not as broken as in years past when the hoppers have brought their deadly visits. I say I have finally put these losses in the category in which they belong, the one that says, “That’s the cycle of life.” In some ways, I have. However, the more I walk amongst the skeletal remains of plants, who were, only a week ago, strong, vibrant and filled with foliage, the more I feel that knot in my stomach. No, I am not crying, but it is because I have shed all the tears I can. The loss of my great grandmother oak in December took all the tears from my body, which has made me numb to all the other sadness that prevails here lately. It is my nature to be happy, so my psyche automatically attempts to buoy itself with the goodness I see – the mass of bumbles, native bees, abundance of toads, frogs, the cooler June, the still flowing water, the running of milkweeds and other native plants. But I also see the back-breaking work, the expense and the hope of help for monarchs all going down the esophagus of the grasshoppers. It isn’t just the plants that are now shriveled sticks, no leaves to turn the sun into energy and joy, that is me too for now.

Empty stems on budleia and yarrow
A native bee tried to find a meal in the carnage
Gorgeous markings but destructive
Woolly pod milkweed still intact
Narrowleaf milkweed almost finished off by the hoppers
Moved the seedlings indoors. Re-homes the toads/frogs
Hope in the form of narrowleaf milkweed seed pods. I will need to get them before the hoppers do

Grasshoppers Decimate Plants

California Milkweed seedpod eaten through by grasshoppers

This year is bad for grasshoppers. Even after 21 years, I cannot discern a pattern to which years will be plague-level. They can be bad in drought years and in water years, hot weather or cool weather. If someone knows more or has a theory, please share.

All new plants and many mature plants are eaten. Even sage, with its gorgeous fragrant secretion, have been consumed. Some of the Xerces hedgerow bushes and most of the plants closest to the house are still surviving – but it may only be a matter of time. Perhaps Erma, my toad friend, is keeping some of the hoppers at bay. Most of the plants in her section are still intact. Sadly, the sage and wormwood are being consumed. It is near complete devastation. In years past, this level of destruction would crush me – since so much time and work has been spent in making a healthy, full-spectrum native plant habitat. However, I have seen the plants reemerge in subsequent years. Perhaps not all survive, but most come back, and this level of sustainability is exactly what I want to see. This reemergence of milkweeds and nectar plants demonstrates establishment, which is a huge success.

Even so, I still need to intervene to give native plants the advantage. The grasshoppers are so bad that they are eating the seedpods of the crucial California Milkweed — before they are ready to open and disburse. I took a closer look to understand how complete the decimation was, and found that they are eating the seeds as well.

Immature seeds that have been partially consumed. Seeds should be a dark brown

In late June, I went to the large plots searching for pods to save. I had to act fast; many plants had been consumed already.

I trudged up the hill finding intact pods on plants. Some were still small. The cooler temperatures delayed milkweed growth resulting in some plants emerging later and not having as much time to mature, develop flowers and seedpods. I picked pods knowing they were not quite mature. Since it is this late in the season, I know they will continue to dry in the bag and produce fully mature seeds. I did this in other years when grasshoppers were bad. When I pulled, most pods had limited resistance, but still secreted the “milk” from the plant. It felt as if I was detaching a baby from its mother’s umbilical cord – separating it from its nutrients. I promised the plants I would return the seed when it was safe.

In total, I collected 24 pods. With approximately 8 seeds per pod, I will be able to distribute up to 192 seeds back to their locations. I will fulfill the promise to the mother plants probably in October when the hopper danger has passed. As I went back down the hill, wind whipping around, I ensured the bag was folded tightly, and placed under my arm. The wind had tried to take the bag from my hands several times already. The lightweight treasure is easy to roust. Today, at least, I could claim victory.

Partially eaten Ca Milkweed
Fully eaten
Cool spider on partially eaten milkweed
Hopper!
Chewed up seedpod
Seedpods with outer layer eaten, leaving the pod crispy
Partially eaten immature seeds inside assaulted seedpod
Mother’s milk oozing from disconnected stems
Left: pod with outer layer beginning to be stripped. Right: more mature, intact pod
Bagged and protected
The future

June Bumbles

David gets into bumble watching too!
More sightings of our unique yellow friend

June was a great month for bumble bees. I had many sightings to add to the citizen science project Bumble Bee Watch. If you want to make a difference for bumble bees, besides ensuring habitat and nectar, you can also help scientists track them. Set up an account today and upload images as you find these critical, fuzzy friends doing good work in your garden.

Wanderings

It is remarkable how a place can change in just two weeks. I was gone on vacation and came back to more skeletal plants and even brighter yellow grass. As dry as the grass is, the soil continues to hold moisture. I placed my hands in the dirt as soon as I got home just to check in with the land. Springs are still flowing and areas with a high water level are still green. There was a horrific 110 degree day while I was gone, and David made one fatal mistake. He did not double check the seedling trays. The water can evaporate rapidly from the shallow basins drying out the media in the same day. With the temp so high and no additional infusion of water, the seedling media dried out. I lost half of the seedlings that were sprouted. Fortunately, several still made it though. Life on the ranch can be tough especially if you are not always monitoring.

Standing water in June!
Still moist in July
Yet another surface on which to capture water
Stripped salvia
David did his best
I can plant more radish. They grow fast
Sunflower before hoppers
Same sunflower two weeks later

David has been building a carport, which is another opportunity for rainwater catchment. We will add some screens, PVC pipes and tanks in the coming months. This week, hopefully, my log and rock drop structures will be put in the arroyo to slow runoff in storms. This will preserve soil moisture and build the channel back up. We will be prepared for next year.

As I write this early in the morning, the birds are beginning to sing. The coyotes just finished their morning chorus. The young ones have now joined in. Another generation will take their place on this land, helping the ecosystem by eating rodents, rabbits and other fare to keep populations in balance. If only they ate grasshoppers too.