Unbased first run on 08/05/2015
Pap told me skunks ate moles. Small holes in tops of meandering mole runways in Big House’s front yard were made by hungry “Woods Pussies” as he sometimes called them. I’ve never seen a skunk dig out a mole, but I have no reason to disbelieve him.
Lots of moles this year. Early garden and lawn were criss crossed with tunnels. So many I thought for sure I’d catch one digging, but I didn’t. Don’t think I ever did see a mole in process of tunneling.
Anyway, lots of moles, but few skunks. Haven’t seen many this summer. Not near as many as last year. Another of natures cycles, I guess. Last year small black and white striped stinky kittens were rampant. Wandering streets of Moorefield, hiding in shrubbery, generally stinking up neighborhoods at random. Highways were littered with super stinky small black and white grease spots.
Groundhogs are back this year. My dogless homestead is generally free range for “Whistle Pigs”, but last year they were scarce. I and other folks shot two or three around farmstead buildings, but not close to prior years. This year nasty tunneling rodents back in full force.
Watched a squirrel in Big House’s front yard dig up a buried walnut a few minutes ago. I’ve noticed two walnut trees without nuts on them this year. Nut trees and oaks seem to bear fruits in cycles, and I’ve never figured out what causes those variations. Late frosts, too much or too little moisture at crucial times in tree’s life cycle might be culprits.
I’ve noticed grass covering bare spots I’ve tried to cover for years. I’d given up on a couple of patches near Doghouse where folks and cows walk. Past years, I’ve scattered grass seed, covered it with potting soil, broken up cow pies and left them in place, been careful not to throw hot water out there, everything I could think of to help grass hair over lawn’s wounds. No success until this year. Didn’t do a darn thing and grass galore. Not the fescue I planted, but grass nonetheless.
Cycles, cycles, cycles. Numbers of animals, quantities of mast, growth of ground cover. All local, small scale.
But then there are larger scale cycles. Droughts. Old folks said weather ran seven year cycles of wet/dry, hot/cold. Varying combinations of those weather factors gave us weather mixes which confounded forecasters. Those four variables combined with four seasons produce more possibilities than my poor math skills can discern.
Those cycles of varying duration happen on regional scales too. California droughts or this year’s wet weather in small grain growing country are examples. Not long ago grain harvests were short due to dry weather and California was washing away in mudslides. Forecasts are near worthless a year in advance. They gain accuracy over periods of several years, because it’s safe to predict changes which historically have always occurred.
So, how about Global Warming? Another natural cycle and even larger scale? Providing there were warm and cool climatic cycles long before there were people on Earth. Coal fired power plants and SUV driving soccer moms didn’t show up until after advent of humans. Any political bullshit changes to our way of life mandated now will do nothing to alter Earth’s natural climate cycles.
I’ve decided Donald Trump super is skunk digging up establishment Republican moles for the 2016 electoral season. He’s popular now, but I think the GOP will reject him as their Presidential candidate. Rejected, Trump will use his money to run an Independent campaign. Running as an dependent, he’ll not win, but he’ll split the Republican vote. A split Republican side will let Democrat candidate win handily.
Keep in mind there is a long and shady history connecting Don Trump and the Clintons.
