Almanac predictions for winter

Naturally
I picked tomatoes while being thankful I’m not a member of the Flat Tomato Society. Being outdoors focuses my attention. Especially when deer flies are around. It’s all a sinister plot of the insects to survive.
The Farmer’s Almanac (published in Maine since 1818) predicts a “Numb’s the word, just shovels along” winter for us. The Old Farmer’s Almanac (published in New Hampshire since 1792) says our winter will be more wet than white.
A goldenrod patch is a world-class insect zoo. Bees, butterflies, soldier beetles, wasps, ambush bugs, crab spiders, etc. Remember, allergies are caused by ragweed, not goldenrod. Goldenrod is insect-pollinated, ragweed is wind-pollinated. I marveled at the beauty of a black and yellow Argiope. The writing spider had sentry duty on a web she’d built nearby. As I watched the spider hogtie prey, I thought she would have been good with a yo-yo. The colorful orb weaver makes a dandy photographic subject.
Chimney swifts are flying cigars. It has been estimated they fly 500 miles per day. They and common nighthawks vacuum insects from the air.
I miss the sounds of the Baltimore orioles. They are still around but are quiet. Arthur Cleveland Bent wrote of them, “We hear the softest, sweetest voice of all our birds—‘the herald of spring,’ Alexander Wilson calls him.”
The eastern chipmunk is maybe 10 inches long including its tail, yet it can put 31 kernels of corn, 7 acorns or 70 sunflower seeds in its cheek pouches. It might store 1/2 bushel of seeds and nuts in its burrow.
I strolled past lily pads and heard the snapping sounds of sunfish feeding.
The mew gull, common along the Pacific coast, is now the short-billed gull.
Q&A
“Are pelican eyes red?” They are white in hatchlings, becoming hazel to bluish-gray in adult American white pelicans. The bare skin around the eye is an orange-yellow color.
“Are goldenrod soldier beetles good guys?” This beetle is numerous in my goldenrod patch. It’s distinctive with its burnt orange color and two dark stripes on its lower wing covers. It’s a pollinator that feeds on nectar and pollen. It enjoys the occasional aphid. Its larvae feed on yummy things such as aphids, caterpillars and grasshopper eggs. It’s a beneficial insect.
“What is blue-green algae?” It’s not algae, but cyanobacteria. This type of bacteria looks like pea soup and thrives in warm, shallow, nutrient-rich lakes. Reducing the amount of nutrients getting into the lake by limiting the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen from lawn fertilizer, and runoff from cities, cultivated fields and feedlots.
“Are there more Cooper’s hawks than 50 years ago? If so, why?” The few days before writing this, I’d seen several Coop’s hunting house sparrows from roadsides and being mobbed by angry red-winged blackbirds. The hawk's positive population trends are a turnaround from the mid-twentieth century when the use of the pesticide DDT and widespread shooting had reduced populations.
Ken Nelson of Clarks Grove asked if barn swallows reuse nests. The presence of old nests appears to indicate territory quality and suitable nests from previous years are sometimes occupied. Birds avoid heavily parasitized nests. Many pairs switch nests between first and second broods. Those using old nests for their first broods are more likely to switch. Changing nests between first and second broods improves fledging success of second broods. Donna Hagerty of Waseca told me she had watched two broods fledge from the same barn swallow nest at her place this year.
"What do sandhill cranes eat?" I watched the cranes along the Platte River in March turn over dried cowpies to find edibles. They eat almost anything. While stopped in Nebraska on their migration, about 90% of their diet is made up of waste corn in the fields. The cranes are omnivorous with a diet heavy in seeds and cultivated grains, but the menu includes berries, tubers, small vertebrates and invertebrates. Insects, snails, reptiles, amphibians, nestling birds and small mammals are fair game. They aren't much interested in fish, but there are reports of them eating some. Sandhill cranes are doing well, but cranes are among the most endangered families of birds in the world, with 11 of the 15 species threatened with extinction. All 15 species can be seen alive and well at the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin. It’s an incredible place to visit.
Thanks for stopping by
"The constant happiness is curiosity."—Alice Munro
"One hardly knows what quality to admire most in the Barn Swallow. All the dear associations of life at the old farm come thronging up at sight of him. You think of him somehow as part of the sacred past; yet here he is today as young and as fresh as ever, bubbling over with springtime laughter."—William L. Dawson
Do good.

©Al Batt 2021

An eastern chipmunk describes the tomato that got away. Photo by Al Batt

This Blue Jay went bald during a molt, but is getting its head feathers back. We have all breathed a sigh of relief.

The Jack-in-the-pulpit has the Christmas spirit already.

No mere stick can hide the beauty of a Baltimore Oriole.

Katydid, Katy didn’t. That’s according to the song from 1941.