Sept. 14-20, 2026

Weather | 9/14, 0.15" rain to p. cloudy, 55°, 79° | 9/15, p. cloudy, 74°, 89° | 9/16, 1.92" rain, 65°, 80° | 9/17, sunny, 68°, 89° | 9/18, foggy to sunny, 70°, 84° | 9/19, cloudy, 71°, 85° | 9/20, 0.12" rain, 68°, 75° |

• Monday, 9/14: Red Sky at Morning
  • We saw a brick orange color all across the sky as the sun rose behind clouds east of us. It was a good indicator of the saying, "Red sky at morning, sailors take warning."
  • I shot at one squirrel. It hurried down the tree trunk and ran away. After that, there were no more squirrels. They knew that weather was arriving.
  • It rained this morning as thunderstorms rolled through.
  • Later in the day, I mowed around the compost bins and dumped clippings into the middle bin in order to build up a carbon cushion where future chicken carcasses will go. It's now about a foot deep. I have a ways to go to get it to the three-foot height of the metal roof panels that make up the sides of the compost bin. Grass is extremely tall, since it wasn't mowed during several bouts of high temperatures. About five lawnmower passes are needed to get it all mowed up.
  • Mary picked tomatoes and hot peppers. 
  • She strung up the hot peppers to dry and put jalapeño peppers in the fridge. She made jalapeños picked last week into refrigerator pickles.
  • Mary picked 39 worms off the garden plants, 35 with a UV flashlight after darkness fell. Six came out of the pepper patch. Too bad we're not harvesting and selling worms. It would be a bumper crop!
  • While in the pepper patch tonight, Mary heard the churring sound of a raccoon not far away. She made a racket that silenced it.

   

• Tuesday, 9/15: Rifle Cleaning & Picking Hazelnuts
  • I cleaned the .22 rifle I like to use. It's a Marlin Golden 39A that Mary's uncle Herman once owned. Mary looked up the serial number. It was made in 1964 and is extremely sought after. I like it because it's very accurate.
  • I sharpened two knives. They were very dull and took 40 strokes on each of the three stones to produce a sharp edge. There are only 12 more knives to do to catch up on sharpening all of the main knives that we use. Mary was about to go on strike in cooking meals, due to super dull knives. Plus, we need several sharpened for chicken butchering.
  • Mary picked an overflowing four-gallon bucket of hazelnuts. There are still many more nuts left on the bushes.
  • I shot squirrel at the same time Mary was putting the chickens to bed. I was inside the machine shed, shooting out the open east end of the building at a squirrel in the pecan trees. Even a shot from a small caliber .22 rifle really is loud when you're shooting from inside a metal building!
  • A little later, as I stepped out of the woods on the trail between the two gardens, I saw two great blue herons flying north to south just above the far garden. The nearest bird let out a squawk when it saw me and was flying so low that it barely cleared the cedar trees just south of the garden. Herons have a very ratchety call.
  • Thunderstorms arrived after dark and rain was pouring down by bedtime.

   

• Wednesday, 9/16: Big Overnight Rain
  • Thunderstorms rolled through us all night long, resulting in almost two inches of rain. There was no puddling of water on the ground, so the soil was able to soak it all in, which is good for all plants.
  • Mary and Cooper went outside before I did this morning. As I stepped outside, Mary told me to walk her direction, southeast of the house, where Cooper treed a squirrel while Mary made noises to freeze the animal. Hazelnuts in its mouth revealed that it was eating nuts off the nearest bush. I shot the squirrel while Cooper watched. The gun shot didn't make Cooper flinch. He's a natural gun dog with a long memory. For the rest of the day whenever he went outside, he immediately ran to that tree, sniffed the base around the tree, and looked up to try to find another squirrel. 
  • Mary husked the fourth four-gallon bucket of hazelnuts...what a big year for them!
  • I sharpened another knife.
  • I cleaned my Ruger Model 10/22 Carbine .22 rifle. I looked up the serial number and it was made in 1977. Dad gave it to me as a Christmas present about then. It's not worth quite as much as the Marlin .22 gun.
  • I hunted a little bit as the sun set and saw only one squirrel. There are fewer, lately. I think they're getting wise to my ways and formed a Squirrel Preservation Society. "Don't go near that weird guy with the thunder stick in his hands."
  • Mary found 12 worms with the UV flashlight. We both hunt in our own ways.

   

• Thursday, 9/17: 30-30 Rifle Info & a Canine Beatles Critic
  • Today was hot and humid, with a light breeze that didn't cool at all. I thought this month was hotter than usual. Mary looked up in her records. We always get streaks of high heat in every September.
  • I sharpened two more knives.
  • I looked up details of our two 30-30 rifles. 
    
    • The shorter barreled gun is a Marlin 30AS. This is a lower cost rifle made to be sold by department stores. It has a cross-bolt safety indicated by the letter S. The stock is birch, a cheaper alternative to the traditional walnut stock. The barrel is 20 inches long with micro-groove rifling. This gun was made in 1988. It has a JM stamp on the barrel, which improves it's value. It means the rifle was made prior to Marlin's purchase by Remington and then when it was taken over by Ruger. The gun's value is $550-$750.
    • The longer barreled 30-30 is a Marlin 336 rifle that is known for accuracy in hunting deer. It has a walnut stock and a 24-inch micro-grooved barrel. This rifle was made in 1976. It also has the JM stamp. The value is $650-$800. 
  • I took in a Missouri Department of Conservation Virtual Vise webinar featuring Matt Murray, a St. Louis employee, showing how to make poppers. The first fly he demonstrated how to make was a simple foam popper. He laminated yellow and black craft foam with contact cement and then sharpened a large bullet casing to punch out perfect cylinders of multi-colored foam. Some feathers, thread, stick-on eyes, and super glue finished the project. The second demonstration involved deer hair spinning where bunches of deer hair are splayed out in a cylinder shape around the hook shank, then carefully trimmed into a popper shape with an old-fashioned razor blade. It's a messy project, with bits of deer hair falling everywhere, but very fascinating to experience. UV resin is added to the face to give it a solid surface that plops the water when pulled with a fishing rod. He used deer hair dyed green. I'll have to try it sometime.
  • Cooper hates the Beatles. I played a couple Beatles songs on my laptop in the evening and with each song, Cooper moaned.

   

• Friday, 9/18: Freezing Tomatoes & No Hickory Nuts
  • I used the Stihl trimmer with a steel blade and made two passes to cut down tall grass in the east lawn. It amounted to about half of that lawn. I gathered up the grass with a pitchfork and added it to the middle compost bin to build up an organic sponge. The cut grass is about halfway up the sides of that bin.
  • Mary picked tomatoes and peppers. She froze about a half gallon of tomatoes. There's over a gallon of this year's tomatoes in the freezer.
  • Mary looked for hickory nuts in the west woods, but didn't find any. We thought that the absence of squirrels in the pecan trees the past couple days meant they were after hickory nuts in surrounding woods. Such is not the case. Hickory nuts might still be high in the trees.
  • I hunted next to the pecan trees after Mary spooked a squirrel away from that area. All I did was chase one away with a couple bullets. 
  • I noticed several monarch butterflies settling into tree branches for the night. We're seeing more monarchs than in past years.
  • Two batches of Canada geese flew overhead at sunset. One was a perfect V of about 15 mature geese. The second group involved four youngsters. They were low enough for us to hear their wing beats.
  • Mary looked for worms on garden plants and found 11 worms of all varieties.

   

• Saturday, 9/19: Chicken Butchering Preparation
  • I shot one squirrel this morning. It first appeared on the machine shed roof. Later, it was on a small tree next to the machine shed's north side. I moved so a bullet wouldn't go through the metal siding and was amazed how a squirrel that's still and against a tree trunk blends right into the tree. 
  • Mary picked an overflowing fifth bucket of hazelnuts. There are more, but they're finally dwindling.
  • She also picked and froze more tomatoes.
  • While using the Merlin app on her phone, Mary heard a tree frog and the app told her it was a Caspian tern. It goes to show that sometimes the Merlin app is wrong! She saw two new birds for the year. One was a Tennessee warbler and the other was a yellow-throated warbler.
  • I whacked down two more passes in the east yard and filled the middle compost bin to the top of the metal sides with grass. A tiny bit of tall grass still exists in this yard, but after two days in a row of using the weed whacker, my joints and muscles told me it stays in place for now.
  • I moved lights out to the machine shed that we'll use to illuminate the building for butchering chickens. I also backed up the 8N Ford tractor and trailer to give us an adequate area inside for butchering.
  • I mowed the trails we use at night while butchering chickens and trimmed some tree branches and saplings intruding into these trails.
  • Bill sent us a text that he attended a St. Louis Blues preseason hockey game tonight with free tickets from work. He told us later that there were lots of teenagers fighting on the ice. 
  • Lightning flashed in the west sky as we walked Cooper on his last outing. A heavy rain fell as we went to bed.

   

• Sunday, 9/20: Impressive Hazelnut Harvest
  • Mary made a big batch of minestrone soup that was very yummy. 
  • She also husked her fifth bucket of hazelnuts. The stacked flats of hazelnuts drying in the upstairs south bedroom is quite impressive (see photo, below). Mary says that even though there are more nuts on the hazelnut bushes, her fingers are sore enough for her to call it quits, but she says, "I know I won't."
  • I ran extension cords and installed the five lights we use while butchering in the machine shed. One is hung in the rafters. Two are clamp lights situated on each side in high positions and the last two are freestanding tripod work lights, each with two LED bulbs that replaced halogen bulbs.
  • I also added some aluminum tape to the killing cone and trimmed tree branches near it and to the entrance to the chicken yard.
  • I sharpened five more knives and resharpened three knives sharpened a few days ago, but used recently for cooking duties.
  • We're now ready to butcher chickens. As of tomorrow, the chicks are 15 weeks old. Plus, weather forecasts show lows for us in the low 50s, which are good temperatures for handling this job. 
  • I hunted off and on throughout the day, but saw no squirrels. A couple times I heard husks falling north of the machine shed. I finally spotted movement extremely high in the top of a big oak tree. It involved bluejays that were ripping acorns from the branches that would then fall through branches down below and to the ground.
  • I'm seeing more monarchs as I'm out hunting. We're also noticing that the goldenrod flowers, which usually die off after one week of blooming, are continuing for several weeks this year.

  

  Boxes and boxes of drying hazelnuts...what an amazing harvest.

  
   

Sept. 7-13, 2026

Weather | 9/7, p. cloudy, 65°, 84° | 9/8, p. cloudy, 64°, 93° | 9/9, 0.74" rain, 67°, 71° | 9/10, 0.85" rain, 67°, 75° | 9/11, dense fog to sunny, 62°, 80° | 9/12, sunny, cloudy, take your pick, 63°, 81° | 9/13, p. cloudy, 0.09" rain, 57°, 77° |

• Monday, 9/7: A Laborious Labor Day
  • I shot a squirrel in the morning. Mary heard pecan shells rattling off the grain bin roof and urged me to grab the .22 rifle instead of helping her with morning chicken chores.
  • I hunted squirrels around noon and in the late evening. Both times I saw squirrels running away from the pecan trees, but then didn't see any while watching with a rifle in hand.
  • Bill left for his St. Charles apartment around 1 p.m.
  • I glued the trim on the bottom edge of the pickup topper that was coming loose on the passenger side from the wheel well to the backend.
  • I mowed the trail to the chicken killing cone. Some horse weeds were above my head. I had to run over the trail with the lawnmower several times to get the vegetation all cut down.
  • A more thorough check of the Carpathian walnut tree indicated no leaves on the sapling. 
  • Mary picked a full cat litter bucket of hazelnuts (see photo, below) and reported that there are many more in the bushes. She also saw where the guys who sprayed saplings under the electrical lines actually painted herbicide on autumn olive saplings that were right next to hazelnut bushes. They did a very good job.
  • Using the extension ladder, I cleaned Virginia creeper vines away from our bedroom windows.
  • I helped Mary water gardens by filling watering cans. I watered all of the small cherry trees.
  • Mary picked 28 worms off tomato and tomatillo plants. Four worms came off during daylight hours, along with two worm eggs. The remaining 24 worms were removed while using the UV flashlight at night. Mary steps on the worms with her right foot. She looked at the bottom of her boot after removing it, shined the UV light on it, and the boot sole looked like nuclear waste.

  

  A full 4-gallon bucket of unhusked hazelnuts.

  
  
  

• Tuesday, 9/8: Quincy Trip
  • I shot a squirrel this morning. Several were in the pecan trees. I also hunted close to the noon hour and didn't see anything.
  • Mary picked hot peppers and a few tomatoes.
  • She also moved the Halloween tree from the north woods to the machine shed. It's the top of an old dry cedar tree.
  • Mary watered garden plants and hunted for hornworms. She found 26. All but one were found during darkness while using a UV flashlight. About half of the worms were huge. They are growing so fast in the high heat. 
  • Today's high temperature was 93°. Plants were flopped over and limp in the heat, despite watering them.
  • I drove to Quincy to get Cooper's NexGuard PLUS medication and a few other items.
  • After returning home, I watered six small tree saplings.
  • Mary heard a summer tanager calling in the evening. She thought that they all were gone and thinks this bird must be moving through.
  • We received a package from my cousin, Marjorie, today, which contains photos and items related to her going through her parent's belongings in Clarklake, MI.

   

• Wednesday, 9/9: Wonderful Rain
  • We saw rain pretty much all day until late afternoon. That means there is no need for watering our plants or fruit trees, which is a nice relief. The rain is also good for trees and plants in the woods, where recent heat severely dried the ground.
  • I shot four squirrels today and shot at many more.
  • I worked at building a door into entering the freezer room. We have two cat litter pans in there and to keep the dog out, we use a plastic baby gate that we bought in 1991. We position it six inches above the floor, allowing cats to crawl underneath. It's old and not staying in place, plus, it's a hassle for us aging humans to ease over the top. To replace it, I'm building the lower half of a dutch-style door that we can swing open and close, but does the same trick as our old baby gate.
  • I cut a 36-inch wide interior door to 27 inches high. It's hollow, so I found a one-inch wide board and cut it to fit along the hollow edge of the cut door. I found old hinges and used a circular wire brush on a battery-powered drill to clean off old pink paint. I also used a power sander to smooth all door surfaces.
  • Occasional squirrel-shooting interruptions slowed down making this door. Twice, a squirrel scampered across the machine shed's roof while I quickly grabbed the .22 rifle in time to shoot it after it hopped on the maple tree trunk at the northeast corner of the building. 
  • Mary hung a large bunch of hot peppers to dry. She threads them on heavy sewing thread and hangs the bunches in the upstairs south bedroom.
  • Mary spent the afternoon husking hazelnuts. They are a pretty good size, for the native hazelnuts that we grow.
  • Mary didn't find a single worm in the garden. She thinks they're buried under leaves, due to the rain we received today.

   

• Thursday, 9/10: Another Nice Rain!
  • We experienced another morning of heavy rain that quit in the early afternoon. In the past two days we received 1.59 inches of much needed moisture.
  • Two does and fawn were eating on the leaves of the Empire apple tree in the rain this morning. Mary chased the deer away. 
  • I shot two squirrels and chased several away with missed shots. I am seeing so many swallowtail butterflies as I hunt for squirrels.
  • Mary picked enough strawberries yesterday to warrant my production of homemade waffles for our noontime meal today.
  • I took in a Missouri Department of Conservation online presentation on identifying ducks. The biggest aspect I got from it was that identifying ducks is difficult and binoculars are essential. Duck stamps are needed to hunt waterfowl. Ninety-eight percent of funds from the sale of duck stamps pays for developing waterfowl habitat. They cost $25 at any post office. 
  • There were several large dragonflies hawking in the east yard in the afternoon just after the sun came out. Hawking is when they're zooming after bugs in the air.
  • Mary picked worms in the tomato and tomatillo plants and found six that were all different kinds of worms.
  • When we walked Cooper on his final nighttime outing, we heard a young barred owl.

   

• Friday, 9/11: Squirrel Battle Continues
  • Dense fog filled the air with moisture in the early morning. I guess squirrels don't like fog, because I saw and heard fewer squirrels with thick fog. Moisture from the fog showed off spider webs. They were everywhere, from hanging between trees to all over the ground.
  • Big flocks of Canada geese flew over us just above the trees, both in the morning and during the evening.
  • I shot four squirrels. They're brash. While working on my half door just below and west of the pecan trees, I'd often hear a squirrel munching on a nut.
  • I glued and screwed the one-inch boards into place along the the cut part of the hollow door that I'm working on. I also attached the hinges to the door. For the second day in a row, work on the door was constantly delayed by grabbing the .22 rifle to hunt squirrels. 
  • Mary picked a few tomatoes and a four-gallon bucket full of hazelnuts. She saw where some hazelnuts were pulled to the ground and husked, probably by squirrels.
  • After dark, Mary found 26 worms with the UV flashlight of all kinds and sizes in the tomato/tomatillo plants.
  • Coyotes howled to the east while Mary picked off worms.
  • There is a unique smell of honey in the air. It's coming from goldenrod blossoms.

   

• Saturday, 9/12: Biggest Hazelnut Year
  • Light fog filled the morning air.
  • Two squirrels showed up, then ran away after I shot at them. Then I didn't see any through the rest of the day. I'd like to say I scared remaining squirrels away, but I know better!
  • Mary froze what little bit of tomatoes she's picked so far. Between lateness in planting, high temperatures, and armies of worms, they aren't doing so well.
  • Mary husked a four-gallon bucket of hazelnuts and put them into cardboard flats in the upstairs south bedroom to dry (see photo, below). I helped Mary finish husking these hazelnuts.
  • I sanded the bottom of the half door I'm building. I attached hinges already screwed on the door to the door jamb and screwed on all of the gate latch hardware. The door works great and we now don't have to crawl over the 35-year old baby barrier.
  • Mary picked another four-gallon bucket of hazelnuts. It's the third full bucket load of nuts to come off the hazelnut bushes and there are several more nuts remaining. This is by far the best hazelnut year we've seen since we planted the bushes in 2010. 
  • I yanked an eight-foot stretch of old hog fence from between hazelnut bushes closest to the house. We stuck the fencing between bushes after we first planted them to detour deer from grazing. The bushes are now big enough that it doesn't matter if deer take a nibble. The hazelnut bushes are invading outward from our initial planting line.

  

  Drying two buckets of hazelnuts.

  
  
  

• Sunday, 9/13: Squirrel Army Arrives
  • I shot a squirrel this morning. There was a whole platoon of squirrels in pecan trees that scattered once the bullets started flying. It seems cooler morning temperatures brought on more squirrels.
  • I took down sides of two sections of the compost bin and transferred compost from the middle bin to the easternmost bin. This was three-year old compost that was about a foot deep. We'll start using the middle compost bin section for the upcoming year. The old compost I transferred today will decay further over winter and be ready for use next spring. I wired the two roof metal sides back into place and hosed off shovels and the bottoms of my boots.
  • Mary defrosted the larger chest freezer to make room for freezing chickens that we'll butcher in the near future.
  • She also husked another bucket of hazelnuts.
  • I mowed grass on the south and east sides of the compost bins and added mulch inside the middle compost bin until it started raining. As I ran the push mower to inside the machine shed, Mary rescued some tools I left on the porch to inside the house and out of the rain.
  • Mary discovered 23 birds on the Merlin app on her phone today. Some are winter residents and some are birds that are passing through. A northern yellow warbler's call was identified by the Merlin app...a first of the year. 

August 31-Sept. 6, 2026

Weather | 8/31, sunny, 72°, 93° | 9/1, sunny, 71°, 95° | 9/2, sunny, 74°, 95° | 9/3, sunny, 76°, 95° | 9/4, sunny, 74°, 95° | 9/5, sunny, 73°, 97° | 9/6, p. cloudy, 70°, 86° |

• Monday, 8/31: Heavenly Baked Bread Aroma
  • It's stinking hot! Mary reports that today was our hottest temperature for the month of August.
  • Mary baked four loaves of bread and killed us with the amazing aroma.
  • I drove to Monticello, MO, our county seat, and got new pickup license tags. We're good for another two years.
  • Mary has collected chicken feathers for the past two weeks and threw them in a pile just under the movable closure of my rolltop desk. When I opened it today, it looked like a very large bird recently died, due to all of the feathers heaped in a pile. I sorted the feathers into various sizes and shapes and put them into appropriate ziplock sandwich bags. 
  • I also put all of the larger fly tying materials into the under-the-bed plastic container.
  • One item I bought Friday at the Salvation Army's thrift store was a plastic sack full pink yarn. I thought it was yarn. It's actually chenille in three different diameters. I started to mess with it, but it was kinking up as I unwound it off old soldering reels. Mary took over and rewound all of the hot pink chenille into manageable-sized skeins. She said it was about half a mile of chenille. I have enough for making thousands of hot pink flies and lures.
  • We drank a bottle of 2024 cherry wine to celebrate finalizing work on the pickup and getting new license plate tags. The wine tasted great, as usual. We've decided that in order to open a bottle of wine, we have to have something to celebrate...this is today's excuse!

   

• Tuesday, 9/2: 52 Hornworms!
  • We experienced another really hot day. Cooper's ball fetching only lasted for about six throws and he took the ball and headed for the front porch.
  • While letting out chickens in the morning, we noticed that several smaller persimmon trees in the west yard are covered with hops cones.
  • Mary picked bell and hot peppers, along with zucchinis.
  • In the morning, I joined Mary as we watered the near garden.
  • Mary cut up green peppers and froze 10 sandwich bags of these bell peppers. She also strung up hot peppers to dry.
  • Mary made sliced and pickled jalapeño peppers that filled a quart canning jar. They taste good on bean burritos.
  • I cut two pickup side window shades out of reflective bubble insulation and put them into place.
  • The new pickup battery tray came in today's mail. I left it in the mailbox all afternoon and joked about walking down to get the "hot plate."
  • I added new tags to the pickup's license plates.
  • Mary picked nine hornworms towards evening and decided to wait until it was dark to look for more. She used the UV flashlight and found several more (see video and photos, below). Altogether, she found 52 hornworms. Most of them were quite large. The recent high summer heat has increased their numbers. Unfortunately, one tomato plant was nearly decimated by six worms. 
  Crickets sound off as Mary uses UV light to find hornworms.
   

Mary waving UV light to find hornworms.

Lighting up a tomato plant with a UV flashlight.

 
• Wednesday, 9/2: High Heat & First Squirrel
  • It's still stinking hot outside with continuous drying conditions. We're not seeing morning dew. It's too hot for outdoor activities.
  • While moving filled waterers to the chickens this morning, we heard nut shells dropping on the top of the grain bins under the pecan trees. I walked under the trees while loudly clapping and scared off one young squirrel. Another kept on chewing on a nut, ignoring me. So I got the .22 rifle and shot the first squirrel of the season.
  • I helped Mary water the near garden in the late morning.
  • I pulled together a two-month to-do list. 
  • While Mary watered the far garden, I watered trees that were planted this year and last year. I couldn't determine if the Carpathian walnut tree was still alive, because there are so many tall foxtail grass plants growing around the tree. I need to clean out the grass to find out if it's survived this summer's heat.
  • During a nighttime search with the UV flashlight, Mary found 42 hornworms in the tomato and tomatillo plants. The number is a little less than yesterday, but they're still thriving.

   

• Thursday, 9/3: More Heat
  • We were inside for most of the day, because it's still so hot outside. One of the weather apps on our phones indicates that our high temperatures are 15 degrees hotter than normal for this time of the year.
  • I shot a squirrel this morning after hearing shells drop on the grain bin roof while hauling fresh water to the chickens. There were four other squirrels that ran to the north from the pecan trees after the deed was done.
  • After every late afternoon walk with Cooper, we throw a ball in a game of fetch. Today, I tossed the ball to the west and noticed that Houdini, our escape artist barred rock hen, was in the west yard. Cooper grabbed the ball, took a quick look at the chicken and immediately headed back to me. Houdini continued eating grass. I threw the ball in a different direction.
  • Mary's UV flashlight session in the tomato patch yielded 39 hornworms. Only two were large. Most were small to medium in size. She started picking worms earlier than previous days, in order to avoid swarms of bugs flying into her face.
  • I mowed part of the lane, starting right when the sun set and the outside temperature was in the 80s, instead of 95. I used a hat light in order to see on the last two passes with the mower. There were bugs flying into the light above my eyes, but my speed was fast enough to mostly avoid them. I didn't dare stop or slow down. I'll finish mowing the lane tomorrow evening.

   

• Friday, 9/4: Zucchinis Processed
  • I shot another squirrel after hearing nut shells falling while walking waterers to the chickens this morning. I noticed a extremely green pecan nut on the ground near the grain bins. The jerks are decimating nuts that aren't close to being ready to eat. I HATE SQUIRRELS!
  • I watered small cherry trees while Mary watered the near garden this morning.
  • Mary processed and froze 30 ziplock sandwich bags of zucchini slices. She puts them into the venison General Tzo dish she makes after we run out of snow peas.
  • Cooper diligently sat next to Mary as she sliced up zucchinis, so she tossed a slice to him. He chewed it a couple times, then spit it out on the floor and looked up at Mary as if to say, "You actually eat this?" Zucchini is the first item he doesn't like to eat.
  • I sat at the east end of the machine shed in the afternoon for three hours in a hunt for squirrels in the pecan trees. It was very hot, but I was in the shade. I only heard one squirrel run across the machine shed's metal roof. Squirrels probably sensed me, since wind was blowing from the south and moving my scent into the north woods.
  • At sunset, I mowed the rest of the lane. I started earlier than last night, so there was no need for a hat light.
  • Mary picked just 16 hornworms of all sizes with the help of a UV flashlight.
  • She saw a firefly while she was finishing up watering the far garden at dusk. When we walked Cooper on his final outing we noticed that the grass on the lane was covered with glowworms.

   

• Saturday, 9/5: Baby King Snake in Living Room
  • First thing this morning, I took a shovel and banged on the side of the metal grain bins while yelling and scared four squirrels from the pecan trees. Then I looked down at Cooper, who stared at me with a scared look like he thought I turned loco. I gave him pats on the head and we went on with his early morning walk.
  • Blackie, our oldest barred rock hen, died this morning. She was a chick in 2018. Blackie was such a nice, easy-going hen that we decided to buy barred rock hens the following years.
  • Bill arrived around noon. He's here for the Labor Day Weekend
  • Today was the hottest day of the year at 97°.
  • While Mary watered the near garden, I watered the young trees.
  • I made waffles for our midday meal. They were covered with lots of strawberries from our garden.
  • Mary and Bill picked 17 worms and two worm eggs from the tomatoes and tomatillos.
  • Bill selected two movies that we watched. They were Pride and Prejudice (2006), and Galaxy Quest (1999).
  • Partway through the second movie, cats were scratching at something under the bottom bookshelf in the living room. It turned out to be a baby prairie king snake. Mary grabbed it up with a broom into a dust pan and escorted it outside. This reveals the tightness of our 114-year old house!

   

• Sunday, 9/6: Good Movies
  • I chased 3-4 squirrels away from the pecan trees by beating on the grain bins with a shovel when I started to walk Cooper on his morning outing. The puppy just wagged his tail at me this time.
  • Squirrels were back munching up green pecans around noon, when I shot a squirrel. After that I  sat for a half hour on the garden stool with my .22 rifle in the shade between the pecan trees with a cool east wind blowing. It felt nice after all of the heat we've experienced. I didn't see any squirrels, but witnessed several swallowtail butterflies flying through the branches.
  • I saw two deer running to the east in the north woods. 
  • Mary made venison stew with biscuits for a very yummy midday meal.
  • Mary spotted an eastern wood pewee feeding bugs to two fledglings on the lowest branch of the Granny Smith tree. Later, I noticed that Mama Bird sat on the power line near our house, then flew up to catch a bug, which she fed to her babies at the apple tree.
  • Mary watered all garden plants while Bill and I filled and walked watering cans to her. I watered the intermediate-sized apple trees and blueberry bushes. Bill hunted hornworms on the tomato and tomatillo plants. He found nine worms and one worm egg.  
  • We watched two films picked out by Bill. They were Amistad (1997) and Monsters Inc (2001). The first Steven Spielberg movie was really good. The second one is always fun.