In addition to our Mallard and Bufflehead ducks we have some new fowl this week. A pair of Muscovey Ducks have taken up residence and while they are interesting they are not ducks one wants around. They are prolific breeders and often crowd out native ducks. They are also super poopers and they are huge and look like turkey vultures but with a red and white head.
This morning I looked out and found we had 7 wild turkeys visiting. They are certainly preferable to the Muscoveys. Pics are bit fuzzy because I took them ffom inside through the window glass.

How nice to watch!!

Our Comet/Goldfish came well through this relatively mild Winter, the pond was only a couple of days frozen and the heater did a good job.
We need to thin this group out a bit, these guys have been "busy".
See the large Goldfish? This one belongs to my grandson, it was one of those 50 cent food-fish ca 5 years ago and it started this population with the help of a red Comet!

@ardesia......ya got the hens.....wheres the gobbler?

LOL, if he was there he was not in the picture..... We have not seen them since that day.

The Muscovey ducks came back but my dog chased them and we have not seen them since. It is strange but my neighbor's dogs knew they did not belong here and chased them also.

Saw this tiny, maybe 1", dragon fly this morning. I think it is a Golden Dragon fly and it sure looked like pure gold in the sun.

Just like Uncle Joe has declared WAR on gas prices, oh brother, I have declared war on my Woodchucks!! You guys have got to go elsewhere. I don't care where. Anywhere but here!
My beautiful red Day lilies have had all of their blooms stripped from them! Now that is bad enough. My beefsteak like tomato has be reduced to a "tornado survivor". It looks just like the remaining trees do after a tornado. The big stems, what is left of them, looks like "Beaver teeth" got them!! Deer would be much neater.
My three cherries in another container look the same. They climb fences so I can't use that as a deterrent so I will spray plants now as if I was treating for rabbits or deer. But all is probably lost for the season. Farmers Market here I come. Darn varmints!!!!!

I also will try to sting them with my Rapid Lead Infusion System if I see them.

Bill, I find the granular Liquid Fence deer and rabbit repellent better than the spray. Also, deer do shred leaves and branches.

Okay, they have that. I will switch.
I didn't want to blame Bambi at first but these two darn woodchucks are around all of the time, each and every day. Deer I would think only once in a white. I just thought that woodchucks were more likely.

It may be the woodchucks and the granular stuff will be down at their level.

We had Mr. & Mrs. Pileated Woodpecker visiting this morning. They move quickly and are easily spooked so it is hard to get good pics. I had to take pics through my dirty windows. They are big birds, running 14" and up.

Alice; I've only seen 1 Pileated Woodpecker in my life... it was going after Box Elder bugs on a dying tree.. They're so Prehistoric looking.. But the Shoebill takes the cake for ugliest/scariest living bird nowadays. ha

Oh my, I agree! I saw those guys on the Animal Planet. I think it was from the San Diego Zoo. And apparently they can be pretty nasty towards a keeper.

I had to look that one us and you are correct, that is one ugly critter.

Having a problem with Spider Webs appearing on my Orchids (including Vandas). Not talking about little red spider webs.. these are even forming under my eaves of the house.

Tried Neem oil, didn't help. Suggestions?

May have to resort to stinky Malathion.
B4 you ask... I have NOT seen any Spiders in my pots or on the plants.

False Spider Mites spin webs. We often do not see those unless their population numbers are high.

While in Florida Glenn, I came out one morning and my row of 30 hanging Catasetums were covered in webbing. Looked like Halloween decoration.
I used 3 treatments with Neem Oil. Each treatment is ten days apart. The first one smothers the adults, the second kills newly hatched ones and the third treatment is for good measure!!
In a gallon pump sprayer, I filled it with water, 3 drops of non detergent dish soap and a teaspoon of Neem goes in last.
Get every single square inch of plant covered. If you miss spots, the population can re-explode!!!
Spray either early in the morning do it dries by the time the sun hits the plants otherwise they will burn.
You could spray after the sun goes down.

You mean you don't like some extra pets?

If they are outside, I probably would brush them away if I was constantly walking into a web. If indoors, I would take them outside, then ....

Actually - in some years I see a bunch of spider webs in my cage. I learned to lift one of the anchor threads of its surface and back-attach it in a more convenient spot. This way I don't walk into their webs. But, your situation sounds more like my first suggestion.

Bill, interesting! I don't think I ever came across them.

Well they thrive in low humidity and on the undersides of leaves. And like I said, in minor outbreaks you might never notice that they are there.
If you take a suspected affected leaf, turn it upside down and look on a sharp angle, down the length of the leaf rotating the leaf slightly, you might see a "silvery sheen". That indicates their presence.
From above leaves like Oncidiums, Paphs., Miltonias or Catasetinae will look sickly on first glance. They have an odd pick marked appearance.

It is like I have often said, my noggin' is full of all sorts of knowledge, 47+ years worth. (Some one should be writing all of this down). If you ask the right question, it just comes spilling out!!!
It is like I don't remember a third of the junk in there!

Heh, hopefully nobody pokes you!