Backyard Tree Frog and Insect Melodies

This is a short recording of the ambient sound in my backyard tonight. Every night sounds like this, but the tree frogs and insects are especially loud after a heavy rain like tonight.

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Weekend Survival

Sometimes we are just happy to have survived the weekend!  We had lots of plans for how we might spend this weekend, all the projects and things we could do, perhaps even heading into DC for the cherry blossoms.  Alas, this was not to be our fate...

To start things off, we have a new dog in our family (Duke), who is a big male from the first litter we raised close to three years ago.  The owners had to give him up and we had asked that all buyers look us up if there was a chance a dog would be given to a shelter or pound.  We agreed to take him in and have quickly found he is in need of a LOT of training.  

Along with the training, Duke and his mother have been having stand offs over who is the new pack leader.  She is 15-20 pound lighter than him, but fully undeterred.  Finally Saturday morning it reached a climax and they went full bore for several minutes.  When I finally headed down with gloves on to bring things up, they separated and Duke went scurrying toward the house, looking like the beaten dog.  Both dogs had bite wounds to their ears, but Duke was way worse and had a wound on his chest as well.  

SO, Maranda and I spent several hours midday Saturday cleaning dog wounds, flushing them, and applying antibacterial salve.  Maranda did the lion's share of the work, I did the restraining when the worst wounds were addressed.  We have continued to rinse and clean the wounds since, and antibiotics will be here tomorrow....wheeghh.

Today Kieran and I scampered away after church to try and put a hurt on the local bluegill population.  We had tried one spot with no success, and had relocated to a place that clearly had a MOTHERLODE of big bad blues...  Shortly into the afternoon, with only two decent fish on the stringer, I suddenly heard a big splash next to my elevated position near the shore.  Kieran had been playing with a stick in the water when his straw hat blew off in the wind into the pond.  

Instead of calling to me he had rushed into the pool and was up to his armpits in water.  I jumped down and fished him out, and then saved the hat.  He was rather distraught over the hat, and then became distraught over his soaked clothing.   So I stripped him down to his briefs, packed up, and headed home.

So hear I sit after burping a fussy baby for the last hour, with a late dinner in the oven, wondering where the weekend went!  I actually am thinking how nice it will be to ease into my cube tomorrow with a big cup of coffee.  I guess the one thing I can say is that all creatures in our home survived the weekend, everything will soon be fed, and tomorrow is another day....

Baby Goat - 3 Days old

The baby goat is three days old and doing great! She has taken to the bottle feeding quite well and is already growing. She is adorable and is just experimenting with running and half jumps. Check out an adorable video of her following Kieran around, she really likes to play with him (but is a little critical of his speed).



The one interesting development is some jealousy from Kieran when mommy or daddy are feeding or taking care of the baby goat. Good preparation for baby Tristan in another 8 weeks!

Baby Goat Surprise!

In the strangest of outcomes, we are now owners of a baby goat. It is a story with mixed emotions, as the nanny goat that has been in our care all summer passed away shortly after delivering this adorable little creature. We are not sure yet what happened, possibly complications trying to deliver a second baby (twins are quite common).

We are not aware that our nanny was pregnant, as we assumed she had given birth this spring based on the milk in her udder. This morning Maranda discovered the baby and quickly tracked down some baby goat formula as well as some goat collostrum. So far we have had pretty good success with the bottle, although as any anxious parent of a newborn we are fretting that she isn't eating enough.

Check out an adorable clip of Kieran snuggling the goat this evening.

Garden Update

Every year that we garden we learn a little bit more about the soil, the plants, and especially the pests that are particularly abundant in the warm and wet Virginian climate! Over the past couple years we have battled vine borers, powdery mildew, and squash bugs. This summer we lost our squash plants to squash bug infestations not once, but twice! The beautiful squash and zucchini patch in the picture below was our third replanting attempt in early July! Thank goodness we appear to be winning this time, thanks in part to our relentless effort of handpicking the squash bugs, spraying the base of the plants, and reduced bug activity later in the season. Now if only we can get our first generation of plants to survive next year!!!




This is what it is all about, tender squash waiting to be steamed!



Some volunteer pumpkins from our compost pile that we transplanted into one end of our strawberry bed have done fantastic, we have several rapidly growing pumpkins that we hope to harvest for October holidays, we just hope we can still get around the garden the way these things are growing!




Other end of the strawberry patch with our recently planted everbearing strawberries (Quinault cultivar).



Maranda picking cherry tomatoes. Our tomatoes have done very well this year, although the dry summer did slow down fruit production quite a bit, even with our best efforts at keeping their "feet" wet.



Pepper plants had no problems with the hot, dry summer!



A welcome guest in our garden, enjoying the wet mulch under the tomatoes.



Some happy gardeners looking quite proud of their efforts. I should note that Kieran is already a bonafide horticulturist, he inspects plants for bugs and then asks us if they are the "good or bad" kind, and points out damaged or dying leaves, "sad" plants, etc.



A day's harvest. Radish leaves are poking out the back, their are fresh eggs under the tomatoes (with a cloth cushion that Maranda improvised).



A fair winning bell pepper that Master Gardener Kieran is showing off.



A garden is a lot of work and each year I eagerly start out, only to ask myself about a month into the effort if it is really worth it? For us, though, the answer is always yes. It makes for wonderful family times most evenings as we gather in the garden to water, weed, and harvest as a family. There is invariably some kind of discovery for us to wonder at together, and eating the healthy and fresh vegetables brings a kind-of satisfaction that you can't measure monetarily. Realistically I doubt we save any money by growing our own vegetables, and probably expend a little if you count the time and effort as well as equipment, but it is cheaper than cable and a whole lot more satisfying! :)

Housing Market

The following trend is based on actual 4-bedroom home sale prices in our hometown of Manassas (we are just a few miles outside the city). The trend starts in March, 2007 and looks really close to what we have observed over the past 18 months. This home value slide represents a 40% reduction in home value for our area/size of home! So even for those folks who put 20% down (like ourselves), our home value to mortgage is now well upside down.

click on image to enlarge


Of course, this wouldn't be a huge issue if the home value corrected in a similar fashion over the next couple years, but that is anyone's guess at this point. *My* guess is that with rising transportation costs the suburbs will not show dramatic rises in the next few years, especially the "way out" suburbs (we are 1.5 hour commute to D.C.). Instead I would guess we will see some flat lining in home values or perhaps marginal increases for several years (I am personally pretty convinced that a 40% drop puts us somewhere very near the bottom, at least I hope so).

All in all, it is a pretty depressing situation for anyone who bought a home from 2005 to early 2007, or those who refinanced against their equity in that same period (a lot of folks fall into that second category I am sure). What irks me is that the sub-prime mess created by unscrupulous lending has now really impacted those with traditional loans and significant down payments. Yet those unscrupulous lenders that hawked teaser rates and no money down to people who couldn't afford a home, are now being bailed out by the government. Sorry if this is starting to whine a little, but it just doesn't seem fair in a country where we pride ourselves on talking about "market forces" and the ilk.

For the Tennyson family, as we wistfully look back West and start to think about future plans to move nearer our families, this economic "blip" has very real consequences. Pretty damn depressing if you ask me.

Updated: Here is the LINK to the site where you can pull similar trends for your area/size of home. Once you select the city closest to you, click on the "view graph trend" link next to average home price. Make sure to select the # bedrooms for your home once graph is up and then update.

First Fruits

Our garden has had a rocky year so far, we got a late start and have been fighting various challenges ever since. We lost our first crop of radishes, carrots, and green onions to agressive weeds, our beans were lost to cutworms, and we lost 6/8 squash plants to a squash bug invasion (we have since replanted.

Therefore it is with GREAT satisfaction that we begin to enjoy our first fruits of the harvest season. Kieran is a proficient and expert picker (especially when it involves picking blueberries for his mouth!). Our tomatoes are loaded with fruit, and our peppers are also going gang busters, so we should have a productive August!

Here are a couple pics of Kieran and I planting some more rows of radishes, green onions, and beans.

Dancing in the Rain!

Kieran and Maranda having some fun during a passing thunder storm! Note Maranda is encouraging the boy to splash in puddles, way cool mom!

Goat Visitor

So our neighbor down the street had a goat wander into their garage this afternoon. A short while latter they stopped by to see if by chance, it was OUR goat. Apparently we have a bit of a reputation on the street... After informing them that we were not the owners, Maranda volunteered to house the goat overnight if they could not find the owners.

Well, they couldn't. So now a goat is visiting the Tennysonian Ranch. She was pretty sweet, but while I was carrying her in my arms down the street (I suddenly felt transported back to my ancestral sheperding days), she did try and give me a couple nips to let me know she wasn't thrilled with an overweight man squeezing her in his arms while stumbling down a perfectly black street! We put her in one of our dog kennels and brought the dogs in for the night. She is quite friendly and Kieran is really excited to spend some more time with our NEW GOAT tomorrow!

Bluegill Fishin'

Kieran, Mommy, and Daddy went fishin' this past weekend at the Shenandoah river in Northern Virginia. We were visiting a friend in Front Royal, and decided to throw our fishing rods in and try our luck. Kieran was really excited at the adventure, insisting on packing a rod over his shoulder and hiking with Daddy to find a good spot. We tried our luck in a little slough off the side of the river, and within a cast Daddy and Kieran landed a mighty bluegill. Joined shortly later by Mommy and our two friends Rod and Mercedes, we proceeded to "slay" the fish, landing fat bluegill and green sunfish on every other cast.

Kieran did a great job helping to land fish, holding the pole and turning the reel handle, as well as proudly lifting them out of the water. We caught several dozen sunfish, a little bullhead catfish, and three good sized small mouth bass! We took the big ones home to eat (this area is actually overpopulated, so thinning the fish out is a *good* thing biologically speaking).

The picture above is one of of the green sunfish we caught, a close relative to the bluegill with beautiful markings! Needless to say, both Mommy and Kieran caught the fishing bug (Daddy has it permanently), so this should bode well for other fishing trips in the future (inbetween our toading trips that is!)

I shot the following picture in the car after Kieran passed out. Clear indication of a little boy that had a good day! :)

Toading

So the other night there was a massive thunder storm that swept through northern Virginia, with close to hurricane strength winds! Kieran and Mommy watched in awe as lighting lit up the afternoon sky and dark thunder clouds dumped half a foot of rain or more in a couple hours! Daddy talked to Mommy and Kieran on the cell phone, as the home power was out for a couple hours, it was quite an adventure!

When Daddy got home that evening, another storm had just swept through, and the doppler radar showed things would be clearing up as we headed into dusk. So Kieran and Daddy did the only sensible thing any redneck family would do in a similar situation, we went frogging! Toading to be more exact, we droved up a country road and into the forest near our home, and then the adventure began! Invigorated by the fresh rainfall and warm temperatures, literally hundreds of tree frogs, pond frogs, and toads were in full chorus. Some were on the edge of the road, enjoying the warmer temperatures of the road still warm from the day. Daddy was the spotter, and when a toad sized amphibian was spotted alongside the road, we threw the emergency lights on and leaped out into the still lightly falling rain. Armed with a flashlight and a five gallon bucket, we would quickly survey the situation and plan our attack. A typical approach was Kieran taking the road, with Dad sweeping into the ditch to cut off escape points. Kieran would pinpoint the amphibian with a flashlight, and after a brief bit of conferencing, we would mutually decided if it was a toad (there was occasional disagreement, but we were able to work through it).

Kieran was the master toad catcher. As toads rely on their unpleasant taste as their main defense, they often squat patiently for a toddler to snatch them up. These toads were feeling frisky though, and Kieran had to perform several stunning maneuvers to grapple them into the bucket. Daddy did stop a couple get aways, but Kieran officially caught two toads outright, out of our final total of five toads for the night!

Okay, so about now you might be wondering...why in the heck would anyone want to catch toads? Well, our large garden is full of pesky slugs, beetles, crickets, and other insects that like to dine on our young vegetable plants and flowers. Toads have a voracious appetite and are a great, chemical free way to reduce the pests in your garden! After showing mommy our evenings catch (of course Kieran had to hold each one up for her to see), we all walked down in the garden and carefully released them. Safe inside the fence from our dogs, the toads are faced with a vast array of dinner options, and pretty much zero risk of being flattened by a passing car! Now if only we can convince that garter snake that we saw eating a toad in our garden to leave our new comers alone!!!

Luna Moth on our House

An amazing Luna moth on our house, spotted by Maranda. They only live for 1 week, so a rare find!!!

Attic Storage

Last weekend Kieran and Daddy worked to install a floor in the attic over the garage. We then moved a bunch of boxes up into the attic for long term storage. Kieran had a lot of fun "fixing" in the attic, including some very tenacious work with a small crowbar and removing loose tape from any box that required such treatment. Here he is proudly displaying the fruits of our labor.

Daddy's New Bee Suit

I have been interested in beekeeping for a couple years now, and have recently participated in a bee keeping class through our county beekeepers association. As part of the class we have had a couple field days where we have opened live bee hives, requiring us to purchase basic protective gear. I will also be helping maintain a couple hives at a local monastery throughout the coming year, so it will be quite an adventure. No stings yet! :)

Here are some pics of Kieran and Daddy checking out his new bee suit.

Injured Barred Owl

We had an amazing visitor to our house last night. Driving home from a party Kieran and Daddy spotted a large bird lying on the edge of the road. When we turned around and came back we realized it was a large owl, and it was alive (though barely)! It was lying face down on the edge of the road and had clearly been hit by a car. As it was going to fall below 20 degrees last night, we rescued the owl and took it home to our warm, darkened basement.

Within an hour the owl was standing up, and by morning she was moving around freely. This is a barred owl, and is truly a magnificent creature! She is very large, standing about eighteen inches tall, and has the darkest brown eyes we have ever seen, we were ally mesmerized. She didn't like us too close to the front of the plastic dog kennel where we had her housed, but other than that, she seemed to quickly accept our presence.

We tracked down the Virginia Raptor Conservancy and arranged to drop her off today. Kent is a licensed Raptor rehabilitator and allowed us to stay and watch while he did a full inspection of the owl, even asking Ken to hold her for a while (see picture, it is a special grip that controls their feet and tail feathers, so you can't get bit). He did not find any broken bones and the wings appeared functional. In fact, she was quite frisky (a good sign). I don't know about you, but throw me against the windshield of a car moving at 35 miles an hour and you would cause plenty of damage. He did say that she would have died from exposure last night, but now that she has recovered some, he will try and release her back into the wild if her eyesight tests okay (that is on of the biggest concerns with owls, as their large eyes are very vulnerable). All in all, it made for an exciting Saturday, with Kieran pretending to be an owl and imagining with Daddy that our Subaru was an Owl ambulance as we sped to the owl hospital. :)

Here she is in our dog kennel in the basement, look at those eyes!



Here we are at the home of a licensed raptor rehabilitator in Falls Church, VA. He has just removed the owl from our vehicle.



While the inspection of the owls skeleton was not terribly pleasant for the owl, it did not show any fractures.



Here is Ken tickled to death after being asked to hold her while she is hydrated (he placed a tube down her throat to give her water).

Our Puppy is Here!!!

Our female German Shorthaired Pointer puppy is here, after a long journey from California! She is a sweetheart and has been a lot of fun! We can't wait to get into showing with her, as she comes from top lines.

Archery Success

I am happy to report that I have had my first success archery hunting for deer! This is great news as the Tennyson household will greatly benefit from some super healthy and tasty venison!

Five Cords Later

So it is wood splitting season at the Tennysonian. Maranda and Ken spent most of the weekend using a rented wood splitter to reduce a bunch of hardwood rounds into fireplace sized pieces. We split the labor as we believe in equal opportunity when it comes to back pain! ;) We split about 2.5 cords each for a total of five cords, with Maranda doing the work with infinitely more grace than Ken's huffing, puffing, and cursing.

The end result is a nice pile of hardwood that should last us through winter. We look forward to reducing our dependence on oil for heat, something that both dents the pocketbook and the environment. Of course we are aware that wood smoke is also bad for the atmosphere, long term we will try and find a greener solution (wood pellet stove?), but for now, necessity leads us to utilize the readily available hardwood in Northern Virginia (thank God for Craigslist!).



Content by Ken

Kieran's B-Day

Kieran had a great Truck n Tractor themed Birthday! He had a lot of fun with all the friends that came over, and he is still enjoying their gifts of tractors, dump trucks, construction equipment, etc.

A Tomato Worthy of Praises

The Tennyson's have discoved an amazing heirloom tomato called Kellogs Breakfast Tomato. This tomato is truly fantastic and has changed the way we view this fruit staple (yes, tomatoes are fruit...). It has a firm texture and slices into wedges quite well. Dipped into humus this mild, slightly sweet flavored Tomato is TOO DIE FOR. Needless to say, we will be including Kellog's Breakfast Tomatoes in all future gardens. For other horticulturists out there, check them out!



P.S. I will be enjoying these luscious beauties as soon as I hit submit on this post!!!