“Heavy infestations seem to be associated with fields with wooded borders, especially if there are concentrations of the invasive weed Tree of Heaven,” Herbert said. “Both are native to China and the (stink bug) seems to be strongly attracted to that host, especially when the trees are putting out their seed clusters. It’s like a happy reunion.”

The highest concentrations of the stink bugs have been found where the invasive plant is also found in high numbers, Herbert noted.

The article does not offer the best advice for getting rid of ailanthus, but it makes an additional case to do so.

If you google “ailanthus eradication”, this blog is ranked #1.  That, and “multiflora rose eradication” are the two biggest reasons people find this blog on their own (over 20,000 hits so far).  So over the next few months I will try to increase the information available on this blog about eradicating these invasive exotics.  VA Tech and Penn State have both done some research on using Verticillium wilt as a natural control of ailanthus, with the main disadvantage being that it also kills mimosa trees.  I will try to post more on that soon.

Green Darner Dragonfly

While working in one of the bottomland farm fields today, preparing to burn the last brush pile from the land clearing, I noticed I was surrounded by hundreds of dragonflies flitting around and feeding.  They were green darners – so named either because they look like darning needles, or because their flight path is reportedly back and forth like a knitting needle’s action – take your pick.

What I was witnessing was the annual migration of these creatures.  Surprisingly little is known about their US migration – where they are coming from and where they are going.  A research scientist in India, however, has documented them migrating there over 10,000 miles, over 4 generations, from north to south and back again to rinse and repeat.  What little is known in the US from one short-distance study is that they appear to follow the same migration patterns as songbirds – how long they fly, how long they rest, the general direction they are headed.  The dragonflies during their migration apparently depend primarily on local food sources like mosquitos and aphids.  Importantly,  the annual hawk migration follows right along with the dragonflies – the hawks apparently depend on the dragonflies for the fuel for their migration.

Otherwise, little is known about these creatures migration, which is surprising to me.  As far as I know, the only other insects that migrate like this are a few moths and butterflies (Monarchs being the most charismatic example).  Given that dragonflies are rather charismatic in themselves, and that they are voracious feeders of many insect “pests” to humans, like mosquitos, one would think they would deserve a bit more study to ensure they stay with us. Meanwhile, I’m very glad they decided that CRF was a good stopping place and feeding ground for them going from who knows where to places yet unknown.

Mama Bear

We’ve been seeing bears off and on at Crooked River, and signs of it (scat) for the past couple of years.  I’ve offered a 6-pack of beer to the first guy who actually got a picture of one, and Jamie Scott, our crew lead, finally caught this one today.  She had a cub with her, but Jamie couldn’t get a picture with her.

Bears are becoming a much more common sight in Floyd lately.  Even though there are fewer bear hunters than in years past, “harvests” have been up almost 8% per year or the past decade or more here in the VA mountains.  In fact, it’s reported that there are more bears in Virginia now than anytime in the past 400 years.

All the neighbors have reported bear sightings.  As a female bear’s territory ranges anywhere from 1 sq mile (640 acres) to 50 sq miles, we could all being seeing just this one bear.  But since territories can overlap, we may be seeing more than just this one.  One nearby neighbor reports a “problem bear”, one that gets into his garbage, pet food, bird feeders, or any potential food source he leaves out.  Since we currently feed some of our cats outside, and have numerous bird feeders, we’ll likely have to change our practices when we move to Crooked River.

Interesting tidbits about black bears – 90% of the food they eat is vegetative, but most of the protein they get comes from insect larvae such as ants, termites, and yellow jackets.  They don’t really hibernate – they can be easily roused in the wintertime, which is when they also bear their cubs, anywhere from 1-5 of them, but only every other year once the female reaches sexual maturity.  There are now an estimated 1 million black bears in North America – the largest population and largest range of any bear.  Unprovoked black bear attacks are extremely rare, and there reportedly has not been a single one in Virginia.

So we’ll be more than happy to “home” this bear, and will appreciate seeing her when she deems to make herself known, and be very careful not to tempt her from her wild ways with such freebies as Purina cat chow on the porch.

Mowed, raked and baled ’till after dark all week, and finally got the last of it up on the 150 acres or so tonite just as we heard thunder in the distance.  Couldn’t ask for anything more.  Great crop this year.  Floyd cows will eat well this winter.

Hay Bales

The 20 acres or so of bottomland that were just 12′ high in multiflora rose and other undesirable species when I bought the farm 3 years ago are coming along very nicely in the grass, forbs and the clovers I planted, but given their previous state, I decided to once again just mow and lay it down to feed the soil, rather than baling it.  It takes several years to “establish” a grassland, where all the biota are working in harmony to build true fertility and sustainability.  We’ll start harvesting when we actually get to that point.  But I’m not in a hurry – it’s immensely satisfying just to watch the fields get richer and richer without taking anything from them.  If I were any happier, I would have to be two people!

The red, white, and yellow clover that we have overseeded over the past couple of years, plus the proper management of it has resulted in just thick, thick, thick masses of it everywhere now where it was hardly seen before.  Having too much clover in your field is like having too much money in the bank – the clover provides a free nitrogen supply to the grasses and forbs, and provides more protein than the grass itself.  I couldn’t be more pleased with the progress.

Mixed Clovers

Proper management of grasslands builds true, longlasting, soil fertility faster and better than anything in the world.  The whole success of mid-west croplands has been entirely dependent on the deep, rich topsoil, (now almost entirely depleted) created by centuries of previously being grassland.  Grassland has in the past built empires, and the loss of them have caused empires to fail.  We’ll continue to maintain our grassland, and continue to build the natural soil fertility of it as best we can.  And clover plays a BIG part.

Now let’s hope that the weather cooperates for the harvesting of this years crop.

Below an aggravating sight – garlic mustard, ailanthus, and multiflora rose all in a 2 square ft area.  Sometimes the task seems overwhelming….

Unholy Trinity

We hired a crew to plant these trees just about this time last year, and Dennis just now sent me pictures of them doing it.  Good job guys – thanks!  Thousands and thousands of trees planted.

Tree Planting

Crew

I designed many of the windows to go all the way to the floor.  Sure, it means you can’t put any furniture up against the wall there.  But older houses often had them, and they are truly wonderful, particularly if you have nice views out of them.  Furniture, other than a bed, a few chairs,  and maybe a few tables, is highly over-rated compared to windows.

South Windows

Breakfast Nook

East Windows

The windows will be delivered in early November.  Until then we have put plastic or sheathing up just about everywhere to start the process of drying the house out.

In the picture below, you can see the porch piers in place – building the wrap-around porch is the next project for the carpenters.  While the  porches are pretty big themselves, we’re hoping they will actually make the house look smaller, as they should tie the house to the ground much better.

Dried In