So this post was supposed to be about the lovely walk from the barn to the crush pad that I’ll be taking three times a day now that we’ve had a first harvest and I need to do thrice daily punch downs and readings. I was going to amaze you with beautiful photographs of woodlands, flowers and vistas. You would almost be able to smell the fragrance of Sonoma in Autumn. See what I mean in the photo above of the road past the vineyards? Gorgeous.
Then Oscar came along for the walk. And like most terriers, he can be a game changer.
But first let’s set the scene. One of the best parts of the walk is the Insectarium. This is an extensive planting, all along the upper vineyard, of native plants that attract beneficial birds and bees. As in those good guys who pollinate the grapes or eat all the nasty vine-eating bugs . The trick is to arrange for year-round color (or a year-round buffet if you are looking at it from the insect/bird point of view). Not as easy as you would think in a place where the fierce summer sun burns everything to a crisp by July. But our landscape expert has managed to find a great collection of natives that are indeed providing color all year.
Look at these pretty plants! I love the way some of them bend over like a flower waterfall.
How about this one that just burst into bloom?
I even know the name of this one. It's Echinacea.
The interesting thing about our native plants is that they don’t have sweet, flowery smells like those you’d associate with flowers growing in more temperate and rainy climates. Here in semi-arid Sonoma, our flowers and plants have sort of a peppery, spicy smell.
But wait, what’s that whiff I’m getting? It’s not peppery or spicy. It’s distinctly rotten and horrible. And it’s coming from the area of our harvested lavender.
It's Oscar holding some large, furry, decidedly dead thing.
It's the head and full backbone of a baby deer. And Oscar is not going to share with Lucy.
But he will share with me. At least he'll share the aroma of his "kill", as he waits patiently for me to open the gates.
Behold the Mighty Hunter. Or is it The Day of the Jackal?
Quick. Think nice thoughts. Don't think about Bambi. Hey, look at the view!
Take some readings. Think wine. Think nice thoughts.
Then walk back to the barn through the flowers. Behind a terrier. And the wafting smell of carrion.
ACK! this blog needs to come with a warning for the faint of heart; although my grimace on today’s post isn’t too pleasant either 😀
BTW, it’s Cody and Cassidy – and they are 16 and 20 – not that I keep up with such things 😉
I don’t know what’s scarier: Oscar with carrion or Kathy Lee Gifford. Thanks for updating me the one celeb(?) I desperately try to avoid.
Ugh. Oscar must be a joy to hang around! The second flower picture is of lantana. It grows well in the heat down here. There’s a pile of it at a house we walk by. It really doesn’t smell so yummy, but is pretty, and definitely smells better than dead baby deer.
Crap! That cracked me up so much I almost forgot the question I need to ask.
What type of birds eat grasshoppers? My garden is a haven for these beasts that eat everything from grape leaves to peppers. Any suggestions are welcomed.
Swallows are big “meat-eaters”. And they are known to love grasshopper. I have clouds of swallows that clean the vineyards out if insects and I’ve seldom seen a grasshopper.
Now i have to follow your tip and see if it is pill bugs that are getting my bean sprouts. I was blaming mice, but the mouse nets aren’t stopping the eaters.
Please let me know what the varmint is. I’m curious.
I try to keep an open mind about beneficials and native plants. But my association with Lantana is “roach haven” in the desert.
Someone might consider that beneficial – but I do not agree!
I hope the carrion smell didn’t infuse itself into Oscar’s coat. I’d be letting him sleep outside where the baby-deer-feeding beasties live if it did. 😉