Tales from Easement Acres
Who doesn’t like a fuzzy little caterpillar, even if they might have small amounts of toxin in their barbs? I noticed this on my rain barrel as I was tending to my pumpkins:
It would appear to be an American dagger moth. I reviewed a number of sites, but the general consensus is that it’s pretty benign, content to simply munch on a few tree leaves. Very well, young moth. You may stay, but I shall not extend such courtesies to your hornworm cousins.
–Simon
During the Lubbock years, mom grew a lot of dill. I don’t recall her ever using it, but I do remember her saying that she mainly grew it for the swallowtail butterflies, as they had a preference for it. I still remember those beautiful little creatures and their iconic striped larvae.
So I’m naturally pleased whenever I see them now. They had a fondness of my garden a few years back.
Recently, as I went to harvest some dill for my pickling endeavor, I noticed one of these little caterpillars, so permanently etched into memory.
But, despite me actively using the dill, he can stay.
–Simon
To reiterate, mushrooms are creepy. And yes, that’s based on traumatic childhood events.
Liz was trimming back the mint, which as expected was overwhelming the herb garden, and uncovered this:
At the time, she recoiled a little at the sight, and exclaimed that there was a bee nest in the mint. It did indeed look like a nest of some kind–sort of papery, like a wasp’s. I certainly don’t mind the majority of arthropods, but I don’t relish coming into contact with them either. If it was indeed a nest, and those were larvae within, then…gross.
But I’ve never encountered any sort of nest like that, nor did it seem like a good nesting spot, so I had my doubts. Anything this weird, if not an insectoid machination, must be fungi. I snapped this picture and decided I would look into it later.
Later came after attending a résumé-building session. I was asked to coach. Interesting, that sometimes people want to know what I have to say. I’m more accustomed to shouting into the void. But anyway, I needed a respite, so I pulled up my photos and saw this. The search began.
I did not find any insect nests that resembled this, so I pursued my second theory. It wasn’t long before I discovered Bird’s Nest Fungi. It was one of the easier fungus identifications, due to it’s unique appearance. There’s a variety of species of course, but the family is Nidulariaceae. It’s possibly Crucibulum laeve. Wikipedia says they are not edible, they grow in mulch (appropriate since they were growing in potting soil), and release spores when struck by raindrops.
One more fungus species added to the catalog.
–Simon
Mantises arguably qualify as cool members of the insect class. They’re also really creepy. But, like spiders, they adhere to what I like to call the “Quarter Rule”. That is to say, if they’re smaller than a quarter, then they’re cool/cute. If they’re bigger, then I’m grabbing my 20ga.
But the one I found met the cool size requirement. As I was inspecting my jalapeño plant, I noticed this little guy hanging out, blending in nicely with the bright green:
They’re primarily ambush predators, and I recall from my childhood that once they claimed a spot, they tended to not leave unless hungry. It’s been a week and he’s still there. So it would seem that my jalapeño is lucky enough to have its own guardian.
–Simon
Liz bought me one of those genetics tests for Father’s Day. I’ve been waiting for the results since, but they came in today, thus putting to rest the quandary of whether I’m Irish or Scottish. Turns out I’m definitely not Irish, at least not according to the DNA in my saliva.
I assume Great Britain is referring the the isle, as the regional color indicates, which would naturally include the Scots, thereby explaining the Moorhead surname.
This also confirms the German in me, which is no surprise. That’s mom’s side.
I surmised that there was some Scandinavian blood. They had a tendency to spread their genetics all over during the Viking age. So confirmation on that too.
The Iberian genes were somewhat unexpected, but since we’re going back thousands of years, Iberia was Celtic/Gaulic, so that makes sense.
The test also provided me an analysis of to where my people have migrated within the last several generations. Cincinnati isn’t exactly a surprise (again, mom’s side).
Looks like I’m living with my own. No major genetic shockers.
–Simon