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Post by BuckSkin on Nov 24, 2024 5:30:46 GMT
Good picture.
I am pretty sure that is what we have around here that I have always heard called "Locusts" like the plague in the Bible.
Every seven years, they are a lot more plentiful and you will find their entire "hull" where they have shed it, eyeballs and all; the shed "hull" will be a very dark shiny brown or sometimes a transparent honey color.
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Post by BuckSkin on Nov 24, 2024 5:48:35 GMT
Blue jay hanging in a "slinky" peanut feeder.
It looks like he is having to work to get the peanut out.
That red-cheeked bird in the second photo is a pretty bird.
As for squirrels, we have them by the hundreds, feed put out or not.
There are two big Walnut trees right across the driveway from the porch that are always loaded with Walnuts, plus probably fifty more Walnut trees scattered around the perimeter in the fence-rows, so plenty of Walnuts.
Then, there is that huge Hickory that I have pictured here before that is absolutely loaded with big Hickory nuts.
As for peanuts, I haven't noticed the price lately, but in the last four years, prices of everything have skyrocketed beyond reason; but, I am sure they are still cheaper around here than most places.
A knowing person doesn't buy them in the little bags at the grocery store; my father-in-law, who works on farm tractors at a shop at his home, buys them at the local feed mill in big 50-pound bags; he always gets the roasted/salted kind unless the kid loading them messes up and loads the wrong thing.
In the fall and winter-time, between him and his many loafers that hang around, the peanut hulls will be ankle-deep around the tractors he is working on.
Why the un-salted for the birds ? I believe the birds around here eat more of Henry's salt blocks than Henry himself does, especially the Mourning Doves. |
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Howard
Established Forum Member
Posts: 594
Open to constructive criticism of photos: Yes
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Post by Howard on Nov 24, 2024 6:10:05 GMT
Good picture.
I am pretty sure that is what we have around here that I have always heard called "Locusts" like the plague in the Bible.
Every seven years, they are a lot more plentiful and you will find their entire "hull" where they have shed it, eyeballs and all; the shed "hull" will be a very dark shiny brown or sometimes a transparent honey color. I'm sure they are the same. They are deafeningly common here in summer but rarely seen except as a "hull" as you say, usually attached to a tree. The have an amazing lifecycle, larvae underground for years before emerging, multiplying and dying within days. An amazing food source for birds. Along with Christmas beetles and roadside mangoes for $20 a tray, they are a sure sign that, love it or hate it, Christmas is on the way! We love it but will be enjoying it in NZ...volcanoes, hot springs and mud! Actually, more like wineries, restaurants and relaxation (and maybe a bit of Hobbit throwing). |
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Post by BuckSkin on Nov 24, 2024 6:54:32 GMT
I'm sure they are the same. They are deafeningly common here in summer but rarely seen except as a "hull" as you say, usually attached to a tree. The have an amazing lifecycle, larvae underground for years before emerging, multiplying and dying within days.
That's very interesting; I did not know that about them.
Thanks. |
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