More summer mowing notes

[deereman63]

As I was mowing this afternoon the swallows and martins were darting in front of me as I stirred up the insects. A really pretty sight and for me finally a symbiotic relationship between man, tractor and nature.

 

[shoppintractors]

<font color="blue">A really pretty sight and for me finally a symbiotic relationship between man, tractor and nature. </font>

I've experienced that same phenomena....

...but have never been able to express it so eloquently.

Well put. /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Don

 

[mathey]

I mow our back fields usually in the evenings...I've had the swallows accompany me many times for the "big feast"...i recently watched a fox hunt prey less than 50 feet from me. He just layed in the grass and payed little attention to me. I am also usually joined by a doe and her "teenager". The mom only glances at me occasionally, but the teen runs away quickly until I disappear around the corner, then comes back only to be repeated again. good stuff...

 

[DrRod]

Man, you make me jealous. All I get when I mow are black hornets and snakes.

We used to have swallows-- the old timers called them "bank swallows" because they nested in holes along the high road banks -- but they aren't around anymore. Also tried to get purple martins without success. Given our large gnat population I would think they'd like it there but not so far.

 

[Nasty135]

Yeah it seems that they are mostly present in they late afternoon early evening , I call them my friends because its like there coming to visit flying close to me as long as I keep the bugs jumpin /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

Also down in the back I have had the deer experience with them hopping out of the woods 50' from me just stop and look (both of us stop and look at each other) then they go on there way /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif

 

[deere_x475guy]

We have the purple martins and swallows every evening feeding on the insects at our place. It is very peaceful to sit on the porch in the evenings and watch them. Glad I take the time now to actully do this. It makes life more relaxing.....

 

[chucko]

why is it you can drive a tractor right up to a bird but you can't walk up to the same bird?

 

[ejtaylor822]

Deereman63,
How nice. Thanks for sharing. Really wish I could experience nature the way you and some of the guys have on this thread. That would be the ultimate.

Usually all I get are crows the next morning. However, last week I mowed a field that hadn't been mowed in several years. I have never seen so many rats in my life. There had to be something there that made them extra fertile - was totally amazing the number of them. The lady who owned the field has cats - told her she needed to fire them as they were not doing their job.

The rats are the closest I have come to a symbiotic relationship between man, tractor and nature /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif.

Eddie

 

[Indydirtfarmer]

The funniest hing I've ever seen "mother nature" show to me was last summer. I was bush hogging a part of my farm that used to be pasture when we still did the "dairy thing". There were dozens of baby rabbits being flushed from the weeds as I mowed. About mid-ways through the job, a "baby" hawk shows up. It TRIED for about an hour to catch a rabbit. The hawk would fly in, then land near the rabbit, waiting for it to move. When the rabbit started moving, the hawk would try to jump on it. The rabbit would just "side-step" the hawk. That went on for, like I said, about an hour. Then the hawk got tired of being made a fool of, and left.

I have a feeling that hawk got better at snagging rabbits.....

And to think some of the "city folks" I work with can't understand why I LOVE spending my "spare time" out in the field....

 

[SPIKER]

I have a cat that follows me around a good deal, smaller barn cat freindly thing for sure. One day she was following me acting very cautoius scanning the sky, I think a red tail tried to get some cat tail /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif she only RUNS between buildings and watches the shy very closely lol... I told her one day you get the bird, next day it's the birds turn lol... /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

I get LOTS of swallows and ony a couple martins when I mow. I aldo have lots of humming birds and wrens that live in the bushes around the place. I can drive the tractor with in 50' of the full turkey flock as well as several deer, but then I can walk almost as close to the turkeys and even closer to a couple of the moma deer on my place. For some reason I can't get within 50 yards of any LIVING woodchucks and to think my 10/22 is sighted in for 45 yards /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif /forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

anyhow it is fun to get to watch the birds eating bugs. this wekend the grass hoppers were out in breading form, anyone ever seenone hop up flying but staying in a HOVER 1~2' above everything making a churpping/buzzing sound??? I think it was males doing some sort of Matting Ritual or something... I was pretty amazied that they had THAT much airial control... they would hover for 10~20 seconds not going higher or lower or even moving forward or backwards... I was fun watching untill I looked at the row where I HAD BEANS that are pretty much ate to point of not producing /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif I forgot to mention they were doing this IN the garden, (hummm wonder if they were ringing the dinner bell? LOL /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

MarkM

 

[DrRod]

chucko, I think the reason is that they don't exactly know what a tractor is -- having evolved before the tractor made its appearance.

I have found the same effect with deer and my ATV. If they don't smell you they aren't sure what you are. I've had them watch me and start walking toward me out of curiosity -- sort of saying "what is that" in deer posture. If you have a helmet that masks your face, they really have no idea what you are.

 

[anthonyk]

I've had similar experiences, and it's been fun to watch.
The best though, was just last week, when a really huge , magnificent, hawk swooped down and perched on a dead tree about 75 feet from where I was mowing. I'd noticed an occasional mouse or rat run from the mowing before and, apparently, so had he. He watched for a bit, and I kept an eye on him, and then-whoosh! He came down like a fighter jet, and there's one less mouse in my field!
That was some treat! /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Anthony

 

[Bird]

I've had similar experiences, too, Anthony, but not with the baby hawk and baby rabbit. When I was cutting hay, it was quite common to see a hawk watching from a nearby tree, and to see one swoop down, quite some distance from me, to catch a rat or mouse in the already mowed areas. But the funniest one I got to see was when I had no idea there was a hawk around, but I looked back and saw a big rat running just ahead of the left end of the haybine. I don't know how long he stayed just barely ahead of the cutters, but I got to laughing because all he had to do to avoid being chopped up was to turn left 6 inches. Well, he finally did turn left, and instantly a hawk swooped in and got him right at the end of the haybine. It just wasn't his day.