Farewell Mighty Grasshopper Hunter

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Amidst our busy summer, our pet rooster Stuart went over the Rainbow Bridge.  Stuart was one of our original Mottled Javas that I spent all day driving to get from the breeder (yes, Texas is really that big).  Stuart was named for the cute little mouse Stuart Little of Hollywood fame.

Stuart was a runt from the start, but very cute and affectionate – even without us spending a lot of time with him.  Stuart enjoyed people and wanted to be with us even more than he wanted to be with the other chickens.  Whenever the flock that Stuart lived with was allowed to free-range, Stuart would come running to find us anytime he heard us outside.  He could run out of the coop to meet us faster than we could get the people-door to the chicken run open.  Stuart was always underfoot and I did manage to step on him more than once, but that didn’t keep him from rubbing up against my legs while I refilled food and water containers.  Stuart LOVED chasing and eating grasshoppers more than any of the other chickens – earning him the title “Mighty Grasshopper Hunter” from his proud human father.

Our best guess is that Stuart was taken by a hawk, based on finding a feather trail (no blood or anything else) in a direction where a hawk could have swooped down from the oak tree by the pond, grabbed Stuart, and flown across the pasture (and because the dogs did not alert me that there was a coyote, which would have been the other predator we have here that could have carried a chicken away without leaving anything other than feathers).  Even though we knew that predators were a possibility (which is why the breeding stock is not allowed to free-range without supervision), we had not had any actual predator attacks until now.  And unfortunately our favorite chicken was the one sacrificed in our first predator attack.  Knowing Stuart, he was so busy chasing grasshoppers and clucking happily between the garden and the pond, he probably never even knew there was danger nearby.

So we say goodbye to Stuart.  Who would have thought that a runty, late-blooming chicken would have such a big personality and become one of the family?  We sure miss you Stuart!

STUART ROBINSON   March 26, 2012 – July 13, 2013

Posted in Animals, Chickens, Farm Life, Javas, Poultry

Vacuuming Grasshoppers

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Anybody that has known us for a while, is generally aware that there is a grasshopper horde that plagues us every summer.  The grasshoppers are so thick that they jump up as we walk outside, and when they land, it sounds like rain.  While we do have some of the non-breeding Java chickens roaming in the garden for grasshopper control, we still have plenty of grasshoppers to spare.  And then some.  When walking outside and getting literally covered in grasshoppers, it is almost impossible not to think of various Bible stories involving locust plagues.

I was really getting frustrated with the windows on the back of the house being covered in so many grasshoppers that you could hardly see out.  GROSS!  While discussing the grasshopper plague, my friend Laurie up in Maine gave me an idea – get a shop vac and VACUUM THE GRASSHOPPERS and feed them to the chickens!

Upon mentioning this to the hubby, he dug around in the garage and found the small portable shop vac we have.  He promptly proceeded to the back of the house where the hoppers were congregating.  It took a bit to be able to get the rhythm down to sneak up on the hoppers and suck them up before they jumped away.  But he figured it out and was soon divesting our poor house of its obnoxious, annoying, disgusting, abhorrent hopper horde.

In the end, an estimated hundreds of grasshoppers were sucked up and then deposited into a chicken run.  At first, the chickens were really freaking out and didn’t know what to do with a huge pile of sluggish (dying) grasshoppers.  But after their initial alarm wore off – those chickens had a feast and went to bed that night with very full crops.

Moral of the story: If you find yourself with disgusting things like hordes of grasshoppers or maybe crickets, don’t underestimate the power of the lowly vacuum in your pest control plan!

 

Posted in Farm Life, Gardening, Nature

Nature 101: Legacy of Lady Bird

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Texas Bluebonnet - state flower

Texas Bluebonnet – state flower

 

Spring and Summer is wildflower season in Texas.  Wildflowers are found on our busiest highways  and the loneliest back roads.  Texans love their wildflowers so much that we have wildflower trails and even Bluebonnet specific touring trails.  We even spend money for official road signs that mark wildflowers trails.  Nearly every store with a gardening section will have special Texas wildflower seed packets for sale.

Bluebonnets, the state flower of Texas, are especially popular with both Texans and visitors.  In April, before the grass gets too tall and drowns the color of the flowers, there are seas of Bluebonnets waving their heads in the breeze.

During peak Bluebonnet season, you can find cars lined up on the shoulders of even the busiest of highways, with people taking family photos surrounded by a Bluebonnet ocean.  These days you even see family pet portraits with Bluebonnet backgrounds.

Growing up in Texas, I learned early that the reason we had such beautiful flowers growing on the sides of our roads was because of a special woman.  Lady Bird Johnson did a lot of work to make sure that wildflower seeds were planted every year.

Back then I didn’t know exactly what Lady Bird did to make sure we had pretty flowers, just that she was the reason for the pretty flowers.  But I knew she was special because she had been a First Lady and she was from Texas.  Not only was she from Texas, but Lady Bird grew up where I lived.  To a kid, that’s a pretty cool thing.

I got to meet Lady Bird Johnson when I was about 6 or 7, while on a school field trip.  It was a dedication for a historical marker in Jefferson, Texas.  I don’t remember what her speech was about or even what the historical marker was commemorating, but meeting her was something I’ve never forgotten.  It was very exciting that such a celebrity would meet with “normal” folks while TV cameras were rolling.

Today, I know more about Lady Bird Johnson’s legacy to make the world a beautiful place.  Every year when the wildflowers bloom, I can’t help but think of a woman who I met briefly more than 30 years ago.  As a kid, I was wowed by the chance to meet Lady Bird.  As an adult, I am grateful that she made wildflowers and nature such a priority.

To some people wildflowers are “weeds”.  But even weeds can be beautiful if given a chance to bloom.   Because of one woman’s desire to preserve nature for the future, Texas highways and by-ways burst forth in a stunning color palette of God’s creation each Spring and Summer.

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center is a wonderful place to visit.  At the center you can learn about wildflowers and nature conservation, view spectacular flowers, and even buy unique gifts.  But you don’t have to go all the way to Austin to enjoy what they have to offer.  Thanks to the internet, you can even learn how to make your own wildflower seed balls and carry on the tradition of nature conservation that Lady Bird Johnson was passionate about.

Posted in Nature
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