Outdoors - Farm improvement

   Part of my farming operation is controlling the invasion of brush and trees in the pasture and hay ground. If left unchecked, I think the whole farm would be timber covered from fence to fence. After getting hay off part of the pasture, I have been brush cutting other open areas of the farm in attempt to keep the forest at bay. It is much like mowing lawn, only on a larger scale. It can be extremely boring, but occasionally something happens to keep it from becoming too mind numbing. There is always the anticipation of dropping a wheel off into a ditch or hitting a log that washed up to keep a person at least partially alert.

   Riding along at slow speed, mowing as I go, it is interesting to see what lives in the tall grass, weeds, and brush that has grown up since last year. The most common thing to find is deer. Fawns will be bedded down in the tall grass, placed there by their mothers. A good thing about waiting until this time of year to mow pastures is that the fawns are old enough to know to run away. In June, they will not move until their mother tells them to and have a good chance of getting run over. When I get a distance away from their bed after they have been chased away, they will return to it, not seeming to notice they are not nearly as well hidden as before I went by. Several does were bedded down in the tall grass yesterday. They were not with their fawns and did not wait to jump up and run from the sound of the tractor. I saw only one buck, bedded near the timber at the edge of the pasture. When I went past him within ten feet, he ducked his head down and pretended I did not see him. After a few rounds, I stopped. That is when he jumped up and ran off. Up to that point, he thought he was invisible as he watched me.

   At one point, my grandson, Zane brought a cold drink out to me. He signaled for me to get off the tractor and look at the front. On the grill of the tractor was the largest praying mantis I have ever seen. We guessed he was about eight inches long. The giant bug sat there for a while and finally flew off. They are not as commonly seen as most insects and are interesting to watch. That being said, a few hours later, another praying mantis flew up and landed on my sunglasses. A person can go for several years without seeing any and see two in one day. This one was not nearly as large as the one on the tractor, but still large enough to make a person flinch when they land on one’s face. It hopped down and looked me over as I did the same to him.

   At the end of the day, I have a feeling of satisfaction of improving the appearance of the land. I am sure not everything that lives there agrees that the mowed look is an improvement, especially the fawn hiding in an open field.