Saturday, mowing and tree frogs

This morning went up to check on Granny pretty early ... Uncle Glenn showed up on his way to town and we had a good conversation.  It is not the same without Uncle Burl though ...

Mowed the yard (push mower) at the house across from Granny ... I am going to have to do something with this house ... it is over 120 years old and just a lot to fix ...

Sue Neal and I mowed our yard after I went to town for gas.  Our riding lawn mower broke down again so I had to push mow a little less than half of our yard. I will be sore tomorrow!

The last few nights I have been listening to the tree frogs (they are in abundance I guess because of the moist spring and summer).  As they are chirping, they become synchronized for a while at about the rate of 120 chirps per minute (probably dependent on temperature) ... hundreds of them!!!  These synchronized periods last for a few seconds before falling apart and then about 20-30 seconds later synchronizes again.  After looking around on the internet, there is a sync theory which I will have to look into.  I have thought all along there is a rhythm or sync obvious in nature.  Something to study later.

Today, I took picts of a wooly mullein plant (Verbascum thapsus) in the field beside where I was mowing.  It has very hairy leaves and has lots of nicknames ... Indian tobacco and cowboy toilet paper ... it is an invasive from Europe.  I don't see it in fields often and since it is invasive, does not get spared.  It is a biennial ... a rosette the first year and bolts the second year ... this one was about 5 feet tall.

Verbascum thapsus