Outstanding In Their Field
Another summer is upon us; so, begins the challenge of living and farming with nature. This will be the first summer of living with my wife, Cora, on the farm. Mother Nature and wildlife has already thrown us many curve balls. My desire to provide wildlife habitat a home and adopt a “live and let live” attitude is being tested.
Rabbits turned my wife’s first planted flowers into a salad bar. We covered them with milk crates. That worked until newborn bunnies arrived and could fit thru the mesh; they dined and dashed. The Rabbits also destroyed most of the bareroot tree seedlings we planted over the winter.
Later this spring, they attacked the 18”-tall pine seedlings within days of planting, so wire netting was installed. The wind from a thunderstorm and subsequent dust storm removed the netting, so now rebar is holding them in place. There may be more steel in my yard than reinforcing the basement walls of my house.
With 5 red outbuildings on the farm, the one closest to my house was given the name, “bird shit barn” for clear identification. This barn is named correctly. Dozens of birds moved in and built nests whenever the doors were opened for access. I tried closing them for the spring, but alas, they paid a possum to dig under the skirt board to create an access, and I must move equipment in and out continuously. The birds have made everything in this shed a target for their bombing runs.
There are memes on social media that try to convince us that possums should be welcome for their desire to eat ticks. Possums are not welcome; the horse world fears them for the EPM virus that they can carry and infect horses with. EPM, Equine Protozoan Myeloencephalitis, is a neurological disease that is passed through opossum feces.
I have a large flock of wild turkeys living in woods and grass on the farm, and they would benefit from an opossum eradication program since opossum love turkey egg omelets.
The smallest red barn where Cora keeps her horses is named “Battlecat barn.” Her orange cat, Battlecat, a Chicago feral alley cat, lives in it with the horses. Battlecat likes to hunt and returns every 10 minutes with another baby bunny. He says it is like shooting fish in a barrel. I want him to catch mice and rats only, but he does not listen. I guess this will thin the herd of rabbits for next year.
The tent caterpillars have started building numerous webs in trees on the farm. I have avoided a pesticide treatment on the hopes the birds squatting in the bird-shit barn will choose to eat them. This is the least they can do since I provide them free lodging.
We thought bumblebees were moving into the run-in shed my wife’s horses were using. A close-up look determined they were carpenter bees. It was obvious once I noticed they were wearing a toolbelt with a hammer and tape measure.
Do not laugh yet; I am not done. I noticed the bees were not union members, so I purchased an inflatable rat, and the bees had to move on to another job site. If they return, it means they have formed a union. Now you can laugh, or groan.
Speaking of rats, they have taken up residence around some old grain bins and a Quonset shed. I am exploring options of buying a mongoose to be trained as a rat assassin. I would try snakes if it were not for the 6 months of winter.
The birds were digging up my sunflower seeds in the dry dirt. The recent rains should help now. Ground squirrels were also feasting on my sweet corn seeds. Invasive trees and thistles are trying to grow unabated in many areas. It is a never-ending battle that guarantees me job security.
Thankfully, it is not all bad news. Twelve years ago, I built about 10 bat houses and placed them on multiple buildings to provide habitat for bats. Bats love to eat bugs, specifically mosquitos. Finally, one of the bat houses has evidence of bats living in it. My patience has finally paid off. They are welcome to stay.
John Kiefner farms in Manhattan, Illinois as the 3rd generation to earn a living off the land in Will County. He believes you are never too old to learn or laugh.