140831 Labor day: end to a very wet summer

“There are, it seems, two muses: the Muse of Inspiration, who gives us inarticulate visions and desires, and the Muse of Realization, who returns again and again to say "It is yet more difficult than you thought." This is the muse of form. It may be then that form serves us best when it works as an obstruction, to baffle us and deflect our intended course. It may be that when we no longer know what to do, we have come to our real work and when we no longer know which way to go, we have begun our real journey. The mind that is not baffled is not employed. The impeded stream is the one that sings.” 
― Wendell Berry

So sad and frustrating that this project is not completed.

Dozer needs work. We seem stymied....

140830 Gray Tree frogs

Gray Treefrog (Hyla versicolor) are variable in color owing to their ability to camouflage themselves depending on the substrate where they are sitting. The degree of mottling varies.They can change from nearly black to nearly white. sexually dimorphic. Males have black or gray throats, while the throats of the females are lighter. Tadpoles have rounded bodies (as opposed to the more elongated bodies of stream species) with high, wide tails that can be colored red if predators are in the system. Metamorphosis can occur as quickly as two months with optimal conditions. At metamorphosis, the new froglets will almost always turn green for a day or two before changing to the more common gray. Young frogs will also sometimes maintain a light green color and turn gray or darker green after reaching adulthood.They prefer to breed in semipermanent woodland ponds without fish, but also lay eggs in swamps, vernal pools, The gray tree frog is capable of surviving freezing of their internal body fluids to temperatures as low as -8 °C

 H. versicolor have bright-orange patches on their hind legs, which distinguishes them from other tree frogs, such as H. avivoca.^[3] 


Found this hiding in a water bucket tire. The American toad (Anaxyrus americanus) is a common species of toad found throughout the eastern United States and Canada.The eggs of the American toad are laid in two strings and can hatch in 2-14 days. When hatched the tadpoles are recognizable by their skinny tails in relation to the size of their black bodies. They may advance to adulthood in 50-65 days. When metamorphosis is completed, the "toadlets" may stay in the water for a short period of time before they become mostly land based. Tadpoles have several mechanisms to reduce predation .  They avoid predators by swimming in very shallow water, and by swimming close together in schools during the day. Tadpoles also produce toxic chemicals in their skin that discourage some potential predators. Fish have been reported to die after consuming one tadpole; however, most fish quickly learn to avoid eating American toad tadpoles. The call or voice of a breeding male is a high trill, lasting 6-30 seconds, similar to a ringing telephone. From Wiki

1400828 of Walnut, Bitternut and Basswood trees

PHOTOS TO FOLLOW

140828 Scottsville Swamp monster captured on media

Rarely seen spotting the Scottsville Swamp monster.

140817 Moved sheep to meadow view

RYE GRASS FIELD AFTER 7 DAYS GRAZING

Oak Thicket after sheep grazing

Hill top showing grazed area and ungrazed area with nut trees

Upper & Lower Switchgrass Field recovering after grazing

Rye Grass field getting post graze brush hog, fertilization and liming

Clover field: Dante is not feeling well

New Hay rack at Hill top ready for hay stockpile

Sheep using new grain feeders 

140815 Still not finished

Round wood hay rack

If you build it they will come

140807 Finishing off Hill top and then to Ryegrass

 FINISHING OFF HILLTOP

RYE GRASS IS READY FOR A WEEK OF GRAZING