A heartfelt "Thank-you" to those of you who are veterans. I salute you.
Deer that I saw at The Property
He stood while I pulled out my phone, tapped in the password, zoomed and snapped three pictures. He isn't very smart...but that would be true of all of us when we are thinking about pretty girls.
He is about 70 yards out which is a chip-shot, even shooting off-hand. Quite a fine rack on that fellow!
 |
| A couple more pictures of the big guy from a local who has trail-cams out |
I was planting Horseradish roots in the orchards at the time. Horseradish, turnips, raspberries and Rugosa Rose are prime nectar plants for parasitoid wasps that kill orchard pests. Planting Horseradish in the orchard is one way I can increase the population of "good bugs" exactly where I need them. And Horseradish will persist for year-after-year-after-year.
Nectar is mostly water and sugar. Sugar emits a very distinctive type of infrared that bees and wasps can see. Early nectar sources include apricots and some species of willow. The sources listed above bloom over a long period which is important as not every day is "prime" for foraging wasps (prime being warm, sunny and not too windy). They also overlap in terms of time. Horseradish first which overlaps turnips (which will self-seed) which overlaps the raspberries (perennial) and Rugosa Rose (perennial).
Rhubarb is incredible in terms of the numbers of pollinators and pest-controlling species it brings in but its bloom only seems to attract them for a few days.
Supposedly horseradish is hardy in Zone 2. I'll have to try it.
ReplyDeleteAs an amateur beekeeper I'm amazed at what the bees bring back. It's very relaxing and interesting to just sit and watch them... But you'll swear there isn't a single thing in bloom, and see them coming back with legs FULL of brightly colored pollen.
ReplyDeleteTree's provide a great deal of early-season and late-season pollen as most tender plants can't survive the extreme portions of the seasons. Maples are the first source bees can access if the air temp is high enough. Little tiny indescribable things in the forest will be loaded with them at the right times of year. Creeping Charlie is another favorite you probably already have, unfortunately!