Improving Our Knowledge of Botany

Confession: Bow and I don't know much about botany. We are not that good at identifying  plants. My friend Kathy was here the other day, and she told me at once that those flowering trees by the woods were not Bartlett pears. She was not sure what they were, but not that. Later we found out they were service berry,  also known as shadbush, also known as wild pear or chuckley pear. Their scientific name is amelanchier arboria.

Luckily, Kathy brought us a small gift when she came, a book called Trees of Missouri. We have been studying up.

The service berry does give fruit, and the berries do look a little like very small pears. I am going to watch it fruit this year and see if I can pick some before the birds get it all. The tree does not get very tall usually, though it has been known to reach a maximum of thirty feet, which in my opinion is quite tall enough. I have it growing in my pasture as well as near the woods.

In other news, it rained last night, and before the rain, there was a lot of wind. Bow was outside when it started to storm, and he did not want to seem to retreat before the aggression of nature, so he put on a lot of displays before he discreetly went inside, under cover of bluster.

I left the pea plants outside to enjoy the rain, and this morning they are in the act of trying to climb the grid.

The plant has already attempted this once before, and Bow tore it from its moorings by moving the pot when I was not looking. Now the tendrils are gingerly reaching out again.

Bow and the pea plants have an uneasy truce. Bow tolerates their existence, but he is not overly protective of them.

The natural chimpanzee attitude toward food giving plants is to exploit, not nurture them. It is also the human way, because, after all, we are not so different.

From Dawn till Dusk

Bow and I have a fairly peaceful life here, from dawn till dusk. The sun rises behind out woods, and we get up and have breakfast in the inner pen. And then, after all the dishes are cleared and our morning email has been checked, Bow asks to go outside.

Bow is a very quiet fellow most of the time, but he does have to get a certain things off his chest before he can become calm again and enjoy the quiet contemplation of nature.

Most of the time Bow is happy and satisfied and calm and satisfied.

We have lunch at noon.

Bow eats heartily.

After I clear the lunch dishes, Bow allows me to go for a walk. In fact, if I don't show signs that I am going, he kind of pushes me gently toward the door.

Yesterday afternoon on my walk, I spotted a butterfly in the second cherry tree.

My friend Kathy identified it as a Western Tiger Swallowtail.

Kathy is planning to come see us soon, but I decided to give everyone else a tour of the orchard here.

When I get back to the pen, I usually show Bow the footage I have shot. He watches it with interest, then asks to go outside again.

Usually Bow is quiet and happy outside, except when he thinks he sees intruders. For instance, today a young fellow on an ATV stopped by to ask if we needed our grass mowed. I told him we already have someone helping us with that. Bow was very upset that this stranger was there.

When the mowers he knows come, he wants to talk to them. He also protests if anyone he doesn't know is  helping them with their work. Everything has to be predictable, and only personnel that Bow has approved can be on the property.

If the neighbors drive heavy farm equipment with no muffler on the adjoining property, Bow gets annoyed. Of course, they have every right to do that. And Bow has every right to protest very loudly every time they do.

However, most of the time it is very quiet outside, and the birds chirp and the dogs frolic, and Bow is happy. The pea plants reach up toward the sun and send tendrils out looking for something to climb on.

I am not yet sure if it would be a good idea to allow them to climb the grid of the pen, but I bet that is already what they are plotting to do.

Bow has a snack at 3:00 pm, and we have dinner at five o'clock, and  then after clearing the dishes, we unwind. By 6:30 or so, Bow is ready to go to bed. If I delay in closing up shop in the pen, he reminds me. I sing him a lullaby and leave him with his blankets and rug, and he is happy. After Bow has gone to bed, I can go for another walk. In the dusk, birds sing their good night calls and moths flock around the redbud tree next to our house.

It's a pretty good life.