More Random Farminess
I just love that there is no shortage of amazing things to see and do here on the homestead, farmstead, house and land thing. We have numerous old stumps in our yard. Trees die. It’s part of the life cycle and this is the beginning of understanding and coming to grips with the idea of the end of a living thing. Or it might just be a great opportunity to attempt to break your neck and send your mother into cardiac arrest. I guess it depends on who you ask.
This is Josiah. He is a boy and by nature a very reckless person. Speaking of living and dying…on numerous occasions Josiah (and other males in my home) have participated in dangerous behavior that risked life and limb. Then, when I find out, I threaten to kill them should they ever do that again. Now that is a life cycle.
Gather the children around, school is about to begin. And since school is all about finding answers for yourself (don’t get me wrong, I did not say "There are no wrong answers." I’m not that open minded.) I’ll not tell you everything about the following pictures. In fact I may tell you nothing as I have no clue about several. I’m hoping someone can help me out. If *I* am asking questions of internet blog readers can I still count that as school?
I know the below is an Orb Spider or Garden Spider or Zipper Spider. Since there are agajillion (and I NEVER exaggerate) different orb spiders it is probably better to refer to this one as a Zipper Spider. Will some smarty pants please give me the Latin for these? I’d love to call them by name. These spiders are amazing. And big. If you are spider phobic you may not want to walk to the pond. Keep that in mind when you come visit.
Grasshoppers on the other hand are not amazing. Ok, maybe they are a little bit. But they are big. Everything is big here in Missouri. I don’t enjoy grasshoppers the way I do a good orb spider. The only reason I took this picture is because of the great joy I felt watching them scatter when Jeff and the boys cleared my garden area. Do you see them clinging to the fence post. The chickens were gathering underneath them just waiting for one of them to be foolish enough to relocate to the ground aka: the chicken dinner plate. I did take a close up picture of a grasshopper as they were all over the fence and great models in that they stand very still when they want to. But I could not post it because when I looked at the picture inserted in this post I started to itch and twitch and shiver. I didn’t want to subject you to that. You’re welcome.
This thing I got nowhere near. Talk about itching. Jeff took this picture and I posted it quickly and avoided looking at it the entire time I typed on this post. Anyone know what it is? I mean, besides entirely ugly and scary.
Mystery number two of this post. What is this? Are they edible? Not that it matters because we only have 3 berries but maybe next year we can cultivate it. Or not.
Ah, and finally we head back to the house. This is the back of the house. This is the view you have when you are standing where the kids were when they were visiting the neighbors cows. I may need to drag a chair down there and gaze at the homestead.
Then I can gaze at the anti-itch cream. I love country life
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I am not sure, Katie, but that plant looks like a very sick rose bush with the worst case of black spot that I have seen in a very long time. If it is a rose, then cut it back, be brutal, give it a nice dose of your next door neighbours cow “do” and it should recover. Remove all leaves with the black spot. I feel sorry for that plant. Oh, the berries look very much like the berries that roses get after the flower has finished. They are, if I am correct, rose hips and make a very nice tea. But then I may be completely wrong.
When it comes to berries, if the chickens don’t eat it, YOU don’t eat it! They are worth their keep! Those grasshoppers will be gone shortly!
Katie,
I think that scary looking bug is a wheel bug, which is a type of assasin bug.
You can look here, http://www.whatsthatbug.com/assassin.html
This summer while gardening I was bitten by an assasin bug and it REALLY HURT, for days! Thankfully my son loves bugs and told me what it was. They are wonderful for your garden though, they eat the other bugs.
Margaret
Hmmm… I don’t know about those questions and I am too tired to be Mrs. Smartie Pants and try to find them. But they are interesting. :)
Hope you find your answers.
~Chas
My first thought was also a rose.
Will you put in a post what that crazy black thing is so we all find out the answer? Actually, that would make sense for both of your questions!
the big ugly gray bug is just a good old stink bug……they’ll fly on you and kind of stick, it is not pleasant. they smell bad when you kill them, they will also get on your laundry and come in the house………..i don’t know their real name.
don’t eat the berries.
Bean wants to know if that spider bites. That is it. She didn’t want to know if Josiah was falling or jumping…I do.
She wasn’t particularly interested in the black bug, other than, we had one sort of like it on our screen yesterday, but ours had orange tips on it’s antennae…we’re looking ours up today…so maybe they are related.
Neither she nor I know what the berries are…I agree that they look a touch like rose hips, although TEEENY TINY compared to any rose hips I’ve ever seen.
She cares not about the grasshoppers, other than to mention those are pretty big…but she only said anything because I pressed.
And oh, that last picture sure is pretty.
I’m working on a new blog…see above…in case you wanna change your favorites.
Talk to you later.
Stack
we call that ugly bug an assassin beatle. If you have a fireplace..get the chimney swept. The love to hang out there. Don’t step on them because they do stink, hence stink bug name. Wow I knew this slighly useless information would come in handy someday.
Okay I had to look up the bug:
Binomial name
Arilus cristatus
(Linnaeus, 1763)
The Wheel bug (Arilus cristatus), in the family Reduviidae, is one of the largest terrestrial true bugs in North America, being up to 1 1/2 inches, or 38 mm, in length; it is the only member of its genus. A characteristic identifying structure is the wheel-shaped pronotal armour. They are predators upon soft-bodied insects such as caterpillars, japanese beetles, etc., which they pierce with their beak and inject salivary fluids that dissolve soft tissue. Because most of their prey are pests, wheel bugs are considered beneficial insects, although they can inflict a painful bite if handled carelessly.
Wheel bugs are common in eastern North America, although many people have never seen them. They are camouflaged and very shy, hiding whenever possible. They have membranous wings and fly with a clattery flight which can easily be mistaken for the flight of a large grasshopper. The adult is gray to brownish gray in color, but the nymphs (which do not yet have the wheel-shaped structure) are reddish in color.
Contents [hide]
1 Characteristics
2 Reproduction
3 Gallery
4 References
Katie,
we have ten children and have the possibility of 10.3 acres but the house is four bedroom 2 bath 1200 sq feet…Could you clue me in please on how it is on the inside? Is it really cramped? Ok…i will wait…you could email me :D
I agree with the first person. That was a rose bush with rosehips which I thought could be used to make rosehip tea. We also have tons of grasshoppers here and a plot with 5 of those orb spiders all in a row of various sizes. They actually helped us notice what was around them – raspberries and grapes. Not that we will be clearing that area out right now. Blessings.
Jean is right, it’s a wheelbug.
I also thought it was a rose bush with rose hips.. for what it’s worth, that is what wild roses look like around here in MN. They are short to the ground, often less than a foot tall. They almost always look spindly and scraggly. I have to say, I am thankful that I haven’t ever seen either of the other creatures ;) We aren’t that much into bugs, thank you. Sure wish you lived closer, we could help you populate your pastures much faster!
Yellow Garden Spider – Argiope auranita Typical Orb Weavers, Family Araneidae
This distinctive spider is often noticed because of its large size and its habit of building webs in gardens and grassy areas near houses. It is most typically found in tall grasslands.
The small cephalothorax is tipped with silver hairs, and the slightly oval abdomen is patterned yellow (sometimes orange) and black.
I love wheel bugs!! If you ever find a tobacco hornworm with wasp eggs all over its back, put it in a jar with a wheel bug… that’s enough school for one day.
My first thought for the black bug was an Assassin Bug. I see that several other readers also think so. There are a bazillion different types. They are generally good guys (they eat bad bugs) but have a nasty bite if you get too close.
The red things are rose hips.
What an ugly bug! We were sitting here reading posts and looking at pictures when Luke says, “I see THOSE bugs in my room all the time!” YIKES! I had no idea! Thanks to whomever posted the link about those ugly critters! Katie, your place looks just so beautiful and serene!
Katie, how can you contain your self with all of this “school” right out your back door? I am so loving the pictures and stories of your day! I am a little jealous :)
<3
I dare you to throw one of the grasshoppers into the orb spiders web:) Gather the kids first!!!
My gardener sister & I think they look like rose hips – full of vitamin C – you may possibly have a wild rose plant there! :) I’d check more to be sure – but that’s our best guess! Tabitha
That kind of spider (Banana spider?) landed smack on my chest the first day of school when I first moved to Arkansas. I never saw anything like it in my life at that point, and there it was sitting on my chest. Oh you can imagine the screams. Good thing I had a friend around to flick it off, lol.
Wild roses! We have them all over Kansas but nowhere near as sick as that poor plant. :( Please prune it this year! As a girl I used to eat the pale pink petals just for fun, but never made tea out of the hips.
I don’t remember what we called those bugs. ‘Ugly bugs’? Me and my brother were always making up names for insects we found. If you spot any “giant” mosquitoes, those are pretty harmless. Actually, we called them “Critters” and loved them because they ate flies. We milked cows and hated flies.
The end.
Definitely a wild rose bush and I think those grasshoppers are actually locusts, but would need to see them closer up ;)
Do watch out for assassin bugs. I got bit by one about two years ago and it was extremely painful.
Probably is a wild rose bush . If it starts growing purple flowers though, make sure none of the kids eat the berries they are very poisinious.
My 10 says that unknown bug is a “Bug Saw Louie”. Nods to BuzzSaw Louie from The Toy that Saved Christmas Veggie Tales movie. :giggle: