Bats and a Helping Hand

 My children and grandchildren got me a bat house for my birthday!

 It is made from cedar and is approved by Bat Conservation International.  Batcon

 This is the manufacturer.

 I also got some educational materials.

 So the perfect spot is supposed to be at least 15' in the air, facing south or southeast, and near water.  The pond stand is the ideal location.

 It's more like 25' above the pond.

 We mounted it on the landing platform behind where the door opens.  The instructions say that it would be normal if they didn't move in until next spring.  I may have to prune some of those locust trees - I hate them anyway.

Thanks everybody - should be fun to monitor it.

 Another nice rain this week.

 Which really fed the weeds in the pumpkin patch. Ugh.

 But I had help this week - my hunting buddy John offered to come out and lend a hand.

 The field was still a little wet but we tag team worked on in for two days. 

 Cultivator, weedwacker, rototiller, and hand weeding.

 We made a lot of progress,

And the final product shows just how few pumpkins actually germinated this year.

 I also got the main field disked.  The roundup that I hit it with last week did wonders.  Clearly that grass wasn't Johnson grass.

 I finally got the stinky stuff sprayed on the deer tape.

 John and I dipped a line and had some success.

I won't tell you the secret of how I caught this one.

 The prairie plot is patchy - some areas are growing and others aren't.  I don't know if any of it is what I planted or if it is all "volunteer" weeds.

 This grass looks kind of clumpy like warm season grass is supposed to be.

There's a bunch of this which looks like it will flower soon.

And then other random weeds.

 John tells me that this is Johnson grass.  I don't really have a lot of it around.

Do you think that this is the bobcat again?

 First set of twins that I've seen this year.

Same ones?

 Other does and fawns.

A few turkeys were about.

 A turkey vulture.

 Not as many bucks this week.

Thanks John for helping out.  We made a lot of progress this weekend (but it was hot and damp).