I started with mowed lawn. I put in a 2x4 border and killed the grass with weed killer. I then spread 888 fertilizer, then newspaper, then a layer of homemade compost and finally some commercial mix. I planted the seed 10/9 and voila - radish.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mike2cons/FallIsABallAndAll?authkey=_RgMdxgD8q4#

A Walk in the Garden

Morning Glory

As the name implies, morning glory flowers, which are funnel-shaped, open in the morning, allowing them to be pollinated by Hummingbirds, butterflies, bees, and other daytime insects and birds as well as Hawkmoth at dusk for longer blooming variants. The flower typically lasts for a single morning and dies in the afternoon. New flowers bloom each day. The flowers usually start to fade a couple of hours before the petals start showing visible curling. They prefer full sun throughout the day and mesic soils.
In some places such as Australian bushland, morning glories develop thick roots and tend to grow in dense thickets. They can quickly spread by way of long creeping stems. By crowding out, blanketing and smothering other plants, morning glory has turned into a serious invasive weed problem.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mike2cons/EvidenceOfFall?authkey=IKWw-qr2CFc#

Things I like about the fall.

Wildflowers are popping up around town. I think it has something to do with the shortened amount of sunshine. Birds continue to move through the area on their way south. The fall garden is sprouting up real fine. I should be eating radish before too long. I need to fertilize and transplant my lettuce.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mike2cons/081026ThingsILikeAboutFall?authkey=MfTBApHkaBo#

Sugarcane Planting Time

Planting sections of the stem propagates sugar cane plants. In planting cane fields, mature cane stalks are cut into sections and laid horizontally in furrows. Usually only one node on a stem piece develops a new plant because of polarity along the stem piece. When laying them horizontally and covering with soil a new stem plant stem sections grows from the bud, and roots grow from the base of the new stem. The stem branches below ground so several may rise as a clump from the growth of the bud at a node.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mike2cons/081019Walk?authkey=e2a_at4OBqo#

New Day Dawning

Bayou Lafourche is almost back to normal after having been severely disturbed by Hurricane Gustav. There are still fallen trees in the water but the ugly septic stuff that was flowing down past Thibodaux from the north has cleared and the mullet have returned from who knows where. October has come and brought with it some blessed relief from the summer's heat. Birds are migrating south to their wintering grounds. I spotted my first Magnolia Warbler not far from where this picture was taken. Amazing that the tiny bird can fly 500 or 1000 miles from some point in or near Canada and pause here on its way another 500 or 1000 miles into Mexico or beyond.

Owl & Kite

This morning's walk was quite interesting. Since the weather looked threatening I decided to stay close to home and so chose to walk the next street over from mine. I walk there from time to time and usually run into the usual mix of Blue Jays, Mockingbirds and squirrels but today I was was in for a treat. First, I spotted an animal on a well maincured front lawn under a live oak tree that was being harassed by Mockingbirds. From a distance I thought it was a furry cat that the birds didn't appreciate being in their territory but as I got closer I realized that it was a Barred Owl. I was able to walk to within 10 feet and could see that it was working a large puddle probably for tadpoles which seem to be everywhere lately. The Owl allowed me to observe it for a while and then flew up into the oak much to the dismay of the Mockingbirds. I decide to move on.

A few houses down I heard a high pitched whistle and observed a Crow sized bird maneuvering in the top of a good sized maple. Walking closer I was able to identify a Mississippi Kite with food in its beak work its way into the center of the tree and quickly depart without the food. I presume that I was observing a parent feeding its offspring but I couldn't see the young bird. There were Blue Jays milling about in the tree perhaps hoping for a free meal somehow or maybe tending to a nest of their own. I didn't have any optics with me so I couldn't get a close look but it was a delightful encounter, nonetheless.

Hawk & Fern

“This is the day the Lord has made; Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24


The new excercise stations at Peltier Park are really nice. I enjoy the stretches described at this station especially.

I spotted this hawk sitting high atop the light standard at Dedier Field at Nicholls State University.

The Resurrection Fern in the live oak trees in Thibodaux are in green phase after all the rain we've been experiencing lately.

War is a beastly business, it is true, but one proof we are human is our ability to learn, even from it, how better to exist. M. F. K. Fisher

St. Joseph Calvary Grotto

The plaque at the Grotto in St. Joseph Cemetary points out that a row of trees was planted in 1865.
This next photo taken from the grotto looking back towards Bayou Lafourche shows two of the trees that have survived all these years. I'm thinking that the cemetary grew to use almost all of the grounds of the original St. Joseph church and claimed the rest of the trees. That would make those trees 143 years old. The trees seem to attract quite a number of birds including a nighthawk that I spotted coming to roost in the branches this morning after a hard nights foraging.This next view is from just beyond the two live oak trees looking back at the grotto. I was standing in the mausoleum which is a favorite roosting site for house finches. I flush them quite frequently on my early morning walks.Mullet jumping in the bayou caused this pattern of ever widening concentric circles interfacing at the perifery.



A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort.
Herm Albright(1876 - 1944)

Barn Swallow

Last week I was admiring the barn swallows that nest under the Audubon Street bridge. I saw at least two dozen sitting on the wire and flying about gathering insects in their acrobatic style. Yesterday and today there were none to be seen. I had read that other birders were reporting large numbers of swallows gathering in the Atchafalaya Basin. I guess they will soon go on their annual migration to their wintering grounds in Central and South America.

The picture above was taken 3/30/08 so I'm guessing that they will be back in March 2009. I wish them good luck and good speed on their journey. In addition, these swallows—not the more famous egrets—have the distinction of having indirectly led to the founding of the conservation movement in the United States: the destruction of Barn Swallows for the millinery trade apparently prompted George Bird Grinnell’s 1886 editorial in Forest and Stream that led to the founding of the first Audubon Society (G. Gladden in Pearson 1923).

Swallow-tailed Kite

• A swallow-tailed kite chose to fly over my house today. I had been seeing Mississippi kites all summer but this was my first local sighting of a swallow-tailed. One of the neighbors had described one to me a couple of weeks ago and here he (or she) was. I ran inside to get the camera thinking that it would be gone by the time that I got set up but it was still close enough that I got these two shots.

Birds of North America states about these birds: "With its striking black and white plumage, deeply forked tail, and extraordinary aerial grace, the Swallow-tailed Kite is rarely misidentified as it courses low over the treetops in search of small vertebrates or twists and dives in pursuit of flying insects."

Report from Thibodaux

Audio Report 7/21/08.

Photo Report 7/22/08.