County Fair

Back in the county where I grew up, it's fair week. My friends have been telling me about how their kids have been doing with their animals and 4-H projects, and my parents have told me about what's there this year. 

I have fond memories of the fair, of eating junkfood, walking around aimlessly, visiting the animal barns and being jealous of the kids who got to stay in them with their animals, of blueberry pie eating and watermelon seed spitting contests. I remember going to see how my 4-H projects did, how my dad's open-class plants did, how my mom's open-class bread did. At the far end of the fairgrounds was the horse area, and the horses had a special mystique because they were so far away from the other areas. 

We'll be having the fair here in August, but it isn't a week, it's just a weekend, and it's about 20 times smaller than the fair I went to growing up. Part of the reason is the size. The county I live in now covers almost 8,900 square miles, but has just 9,500 inhabitants. The county I grew up in, located in the Midwest, covers about 560 square miles, but has over 30,000 inhabitants. 

Nevertheless, I enjoy our county fair out here, but it's still not quite the same as walking through the county fair and seeing it through the eyes of a child. Or remembering an aunt throwing up after going on the tilt-a-whirl. Or picking (and eating) so many blueberries before heading to the fair that our teeth and tongues were blue for days. Or getting so excited about getting my first ribbon. 

What are your favorite memories of your county fair?

Pony Express Reride

My nephew, the Pony Express Rider, along with his dad, grandpa, and uncle, went to help reride the Pony Express route in June. They had a great time, and I just have to share these photos with you, because they help capture the romantic feelings associated with that brief period of history when young'uns helped keep the country united by carrying the postal mail through rain and snow, hot and cold, day and night. (Click the link above for a bit more info about the 2,000 mile ride from Missouri to California that took place during 1860-61).This is the mochila, the mail sack. The compartments can be padlocked. During the reride they carried official US mail.
Here's Cousin Pony Express Rider helping another rider get ready. Lots of people turned out to help with the reride, held every June. Cousin totally looks like a real Pony Express Rider, with his slight build, young age, and fearless expression.
The mail is off! The horses had to slow down while going over mountain passes...
...but on the flats they galloped! Look at the little dust cloud that Cousin Pony Express Rider and Jewel are stirring up. Can you imagine trying to gallop through this terrain during the middle of the night or during a snowstorm? Those young'uns were tough! 

Driving Tractors Part II

My son, Desert Boy,  loves to drive tractors, which is quite obvious in Driving Tractors Part I.

He was in need of a driving fix yesterday, so we visited the lower yard and looked around for some tractors for him to drive. We found a few and it was a good morning.

We started out on a Massey Ferguson 275. The red color attracted him immediately. Plus it was the closest one to where we parked. It doesn't have much of a seat left to it, but that doesn't matter much to a one-year old.

This tractor at first glance looks the same, but it's actually a 1964 Massey Ferguson 150. Cousin Pony Express Rider (update tomorrow!) had to come over and give Desert Boy a couple pointers.

Right next to it was an Allis-Chambers 7550. Now we're getting big! Mom gets a workout climbing up all these tractors to let Desert Boy drive.
The little smile makes it all worth it. Note Desert Boy's crossed legs, one of his favorite habits. I wish I had gotten some of his "vroom, vroom" noises. He made a lot of them.

Now he's done smiling at mom and ready to start driving, beginning by shifting.

Okay, three red tractors down, and a  fall in the dirt. Where to next? 

He looks a little wide-eyed behind the wheel of this tractor.
It's a John Deere 4755, pulling some big long red thing. My husband, my technical advisor, isn't around to tell me what the doohickey thing is. Oh wait, he's back and says it's a rotary windrower. 

I said, "What does that mean?"

He said, "Makes windrows."

"Well, what are windrows?"

"Rows of cut hay that can dry and later be picked up."

(See, we have exciting conversations in our house.)

Oh good golly, Desert Boy is now up in a high cab and reaching for the keys. We'll be in big trouble when he actually can start one of these machines.

Especially if it's something as big as this John Deere 6910, which is a forage harvester. The yellow part on the front picks up the windrow and chops it into little bits and blows it into a truck.

Okay, we're almost done, but there's time to play in this huge bucket. Henry doesn't want to be left out (he didn't like Desert Boy driving alone). You can just imagine the size of the machine needed to lift a five cubic yard bucket and its load.

Here it is, the biggest loader on the ranch. Desert Boy can only hope to drive this one day.

Springs in the Desert

Out in the desert, you come to expect miles and miles of dry land. Every once in awhile you come across some water, and that water is a welcome sight.

The water provides water to drink, a resting spot for waterfowl, and home to fish, frogs, and other aquatic organisms.

The green in the foreground of this picture is watercress (Nasturtium officinale). Watercress only grows where water is present year round and in specific water conditions. In some desert springs, it is an important substrate for snails.

This tiny springsnail (Pyrgulopsis species) is one found on the watercress. It doesn't look like much, but it shows that the spring may have been around for thousands of years. I explain a little more about the life of a springsnail in this post.

Viewed from above, springs stand out in stark contrast to the surrounding bleak desert vegetation. Desert animals learn where the springs are and know how far they can go from their water sources and still survive.

Perhaps even skunks! Skunk Spring is located in an especially dry area.

Sometimes springs are developed to provide a water source for wildlife and livestock. To develop a spring, an area with greasewood is usually dug up, a collecting area and pipe installed, and the water flows downhill into a tub or other collector.

Not all desert springs are totally isolated. This spring helps feed a creek that leads into a lake.

Desert springs are hotspots of diversity. After all, who wouldn't like to live by a little water? They are also particularly vulnerable to changes in the water table. If these little green patches dry up, it could be many, many miles to the next water source. That's a scary thought when it's a hot, dry summer day and you've run out of water!

Desert Boy and Henry Learn about Harvester Ants

While we were taking a walk the other day, I noticed the large number of harvester ant mounds among the bushes. Desert Boy and Henry went over to investigate.
Harvester ant mounds are easily distinguished, with a small hill of sand and gravel rising from the ground, sometimes as much as two feet high. Harvester ants belong to the genus Pogonomyrmex, and their predilection to make these mounds make them easy to identify. In our area we have more than 30 species of ants, but just two are Pogonomyrmex ants.
Desert Boy thought it was great to take a look, but because harvester ants have an extremely toxic poison, it's not good for him to get too close. Harvester ants are some of the most venomous animals in the world, with a venom 3 to 12 times as strong as a bee. Or in other words, one ant bite is equivalent to up to 12 bee stings. Ouch! Fortunately harvester ants have tiny mouths and don't bite often, as long as you stay out of their colony.
Henry takes a look at the harvester ant mound. The ants have dug deep into the earth so that they can take the seeds they find. In addition to seeds, they also eat small insects and other invertebrates. In turn they are eaten by horned lizards and some birds.
Here we can see ants coming and going out of the mound entrance. They turn over and aerate as much soil as earthworms.
The ants will stay inside the mound during the hottest part of the day. Then they go out to find seeds and insects and bring them back.
Here's a closeup of a harvester ant. It's a little blurry because the ants move fast! By the way, the head is the square end with the antennae sticking out.
One of the things that caught my eye as I walked past several harvester ant mounds was the entrance. It was always on the south or east side of the mound. One hypothesis about this entrance location is that it warms up faster in the morning than if it was located on the north or west side.
Harvester ants clear the vegetation directly around the mound. Although it might be tempting to try and kill the harvester ants, they are a natural part of the ecosystem, found throughout the western United States. In Texas and Arizona, the red imported fire ant is slowly taking over harvester ant territory, and these fire ants are much worse for humans than the fairly benign harvester ants.
One ant in this photo is carrying part of a plant that is bigger than himself. Ant watching turns out to be a fun sport: which ant is carrying the biggest thing? Which ants go in straight directions and which ones meander?
Desert Boy is enjoying his experience as an ant watcher. Ready to join him?