Posted on 06/09/2022 9:40:28 PM PDT by lightman
NATURE IN THE YEARS OF COVID
“and there will be signs in Heaven above and on the earth.…”
+ + +
2020
1. The overabundance of cloudless, crystal clear (and contrailess) days.
2. Fewer than normal fireflies.
3. Almost no blue-stemmed wild raspberries.
4. Katydids began to holler July 25--a week ahead of normal
5. Fall webworms exploded around July 27--ahead of normal.
6. Webworms attacking mulberry and hickory (normally only black walnut)
7. Black walnuts appear much lighter than normal.
8. Warmest July/warmest month EVER in 25 years.
9. Very few Deer Flies (not a bad thing)...appeared in August not June.
10. Very few yellow jackets (not as bad thing)
11. Early frost - September 21 & 22
12. Hickory tree did not begin to turn on October 4—October 9
13. Black walnuts holding leaves through soaking rain to mid October...few nuts.
14. Black walnuts with GREEN leaves in mid October
+ + +
2021
15, No Severe Weather/Storm Spotting April – May 22 A.D. 2021
16. Again, many cloudless, crystal clear (and contrailless) days.
17. Almost no deer flies
18. Wild day lilies began flowering June 7 (2-3 weeks early)
19. Crickets beginning in June. More fireflies than 2020. Few deer flies in July
20. Chickory blooming July 9. Queen Anne’s Lace July 11.
21. A few Katydids hollering on July 24...even earlier than 2020. Full force July 30
22. Almost NO webworms (not a bad thing)
23. Red climbing rose reblooming August 10—a first!
24. Abundance of spice bush berries...turning red August 31
25. Violets blooming in early October
26. Bumper crop of hickory nuts, walnuts, and acorns
+ + +
2022
28. Everything pretty much “returned to normal.
29. A few deer flies in June (no loss!)
30. Depopulated grey squirrels beginning to return.
May have been true in Pennsylvania was not accurate for Georgia
I started noticing a lot of weird 5hit around the start of the lockdowns and began to keep a log.
This year is almost “back to normal” although I could do very well without the deer flies.
Northern black walnuts produce larger crops every other year.
Not necessarily.
I’ve watched this ground for just shy of 60 years.
Yes, there is an overall alternate year pattern but that is affected by drought and “other” influences.
Ping.
Have you been diagnosed with schizophrenia?
Regards,
Depends on who is doing the observing. Schumer only sees what he wants to see. He could declare himself a woman, because he observed it. Others notice what is important. Generally, people with higher IQs.
What happened to number 27?
It was carrying a white, disposable lighter, and joined the 27 Club. :P
BKMRK.
I see what you did there...
There’s a product—a blue band—designed to wear on your hat. (Where Deer Flies land first).
It’s sticky, so you can collect them!
So nearly one full week into the month of August and I have yet to see ANY webworm nests, which most years up to and including 2020 would adorn black walnut trees, appearing as though by magic suddenly on August 1.
As noted in the OP (point # 6), in 2020 they expanded their hosts to include hickories, then all but disappeared last year.
And now, so far...NONE.
Also significantly less “mile a minute” vine aka “triangle razor vine” (an Asian invasive pest).
I’ve seen a few webworm nests in crabapples, but nowhere the tens-of-thousands I’ve seen in previous years in trees everywhere, especially in the woods.
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