Header Competition # 41 - "Memories of Childhood"

The header theme this week by Gail's Man and is ""Memories of Childhood".  Mac, Darla, Gail's Man,  Lanny and I have a little contest to show a new theme header each week.

Martha and Tom are on a break. Come back as soon as you are able my friends.

The reason I have a Ohio Buckeye Tree in my yard is that there was a Horse Chestnut Tree in Raymond's yard. He was one of my best friends and I thought I would like to have a similar tree in my yard. I wish I had a Black Cherry Tree around back. There was some delicious fruit on that tree. So, what could you find to use a nut from the tree. Well one thing is to play catch. Another thing was to put a hole in it and tie three of them to strings. You could tackle someone with that Australian weapon. We used to load the electric lines full of them.  

One of my favorite places to get hot dogs was Coney Island. It used to have some wicked sauce that would really clean you out. I know it isn't as strong anymore, I tried it yesterday.

The real thing about your childhood is you can't go back. I lived on a dirt road and we had a hill behind us that was weed covered. Now this was a pretty big hill and our hunting dogs lived on top. All the beagles were called Rip, no need to think up a new name. We also had bird dogs which were Spaniels. So in relating the story my header shows the big hill (LOL) and the dirt road that is now paved. Everything shrinks from your childhood. The only thing left is the garage that was behind Dave's house were we worked on his 49 Chevy for the drag strip.  My house burnt down to the ground and Dave's house was torn down. You really can't go back, there is nothing left but a memory.

See the other neat post above.

Camera Critters # 78

Camera Critters by Misty Dawn, go here to see who's participating.

My Black and Gray Squirrels have been very busy in this wet weather stripping my Ohio Buckeye Tree clean of the nuts. It only took them a week to do it. Here is one on a branch getting ready to open the buckeye. Did I tell you it was wet and dreary all week.
This one had gotten a nut and was going to bury it in the yard.

This is one in the tree that had stripped the shell and was now ready to have a treat in the tree.
The Ohio Buckeye is poisonous to humans but the squirrels love them. I saved a few for a picture later on my deck railing. I hope it works. I will show the gray Squirrels next week.

You can see a lot of neat critters above.

Mr. Grey Squirrel

I was in the middle of a snow storm and during the break I noticed something in the Ohio Buckeye Tree. Do you see it? It is Mr. Grey Squirrel with a buckeye he had buried in the yard.

The wind was blowing and the snow on his face didn't seem to bother him.

He finished the buckeye and high tailed it across the yard.

The snow was really flying as he went. I thought this was a cool action shot.

I'm home from the hospital and had an angioplasty on my heart which will limit my visiting. I thank you for your visits.

The Buckeye Tree in Winter

The winter allows for some unusual growths on the Ohio Buckeye Tree. Here is some green lichen that is on part of the trunk and branch. Here is another area that has both the green and white lichen.

I think the fungus has an interesting pattern.
The final shot from the tree is a branch that I had trimmed previously.

The final thing I wanted to show was a floating log that had been drug off the fishing lake. I think it adds to the look in my Hostas and Sedum bed.

There is a reason I was drawn to this log because of its size and character. It kind of has a bull look at this end with the two horns.

A Steamy Morning After the First Frost

We had our first frost last week and then the Sun came out. You can still see the frost on the neighbors yard. The black cover on the BBQ started to send up some steam. The Sun was putting on a neat show on the deck.
The table was also effected by the frost and the Sun.
The Sun was quite bright and put on a show through the an Apple Tree.
I thought the Sun and the frost added up to a neat show on the deck.

Buckeye Trees

The Buckeye Tree Flower went over well on Monday and my friend Joann of the 'Joann and Jack' Blog wrote a poem in the comments I wanted to share. This is an interesting site with a lot of interesting stories from Virginia. They have an Ohio connection so we visit quite often. Here is her poem:
(I changed one word (has from is) and capped all the Buckeyes but it's her creation for sure.)

Come to Ohio to see
Buckeyes thicker than flies
Many kinds you will see

One is a nice green tree
That grows up to the skies
With blossoms for a bee

One is a football team
Scoring touchdowns way high
And winning with a scheme

One has a wild fan club base
When red and white colors fly
All Ohioans keeps pace

Here's to all the Buckeyes
Columbus is the place
Let football fly her skies

And when the game is done
And Buckeye leaves do fall
The Bucks are number one

Thanks Joann. I do hope the Bucks are number one again.

This is my Ohio Buckeye Tree today in my front yard. We planted it when we first moved 35 years ago as a 6 foot tree. Ohio Buckeyes are slow growing and very sturdy.
This time of year the nuts are the important part of the tree and they loose their leaves first.
This is an Ohio Buckeye I planted at the rear of the property. It will be three years old next Spring and you can see the new buds are growing, it is one foot tall and I have to keep the weeds down through grass mulching around the tree. It has lost all its leaves for this year and during Winter will be covered with snow. Tipper of 'Blind Pig and the Acorn' had planted an Ohio Buckeye Tree in the Appalachian Mountains and thought it looked poorly. If it has new buds like this one it should be fine.

Visitors To The Buckeye Tree

The Bumble Bees are buzzing around the Buckeye Tree. I'm not exactly sure if they are Bumble Bees or Carpenter Bees but my friend Abe Lincoln would know. Check out Abe's' Bird Blog for some great pictures. The Ohio Buckeye Tree is in full glory and should produce a lot of Buckeyes this year.
The Bumblebees are the most frequent and hardest working visitor.

You can see the pollen build-up on some of the legs.
They really dig into their work.
Check out this guy reaching way in to get the nectar for the nest.
There are a few Honey Bees on the tree but not as imposing as the Bumblebees. It has a red pollen build-up on it's leg.
There is also this black and white striped bee on the tree. I'm not sure what it is but it takes a different attack on the blossoms. Maybe Tom from Ohio Nature would know, he is a very knowledgeable naturalist and I learn a lot at his sight.
I made this rare find on one of the leaves a Lady Bug in all its glory.
These bees perform a valuable service to the tree by spreading the pollen throughout the tree.