A full moon rising tonight and as we are want to do my husband and I went on one of evening wanderings around our property. Mike had told me about a large hornet nest suspended from a tree he thought I might be interested in.
So, off we went in the truck across the corn field and boy was it worth it.
An amazing example of hornet ingenuity approxiamately the size of a basketball.
Paper wasp or hornet nests are made of masticated plant fibers. The saliva of the hornet or wasp has a sticky substance that when mixed with the plant fibers becomes waterproof. As is normal in the fall and winter, these nests are virtually abandoned as the hive dies off. The Queen will survive in a ground nest or crevice in a tree for the winter and start laying the eggs for a new colony the following Spring.
This particular nest was probably the home of the bald-faced hornets I had seen earlier around the bee hives and indeed a few stragglers could be seen flying in and out of the hive.
Next, we drove back though the corn fields to pick up a few cobs left over from harvest for the chickens.The fields were littered with leftover corn cobs that many smaller creatures have been feeding off of.
Watching the sun set on one side of the property while the moon rises on the other is my favorite way to enjoy the end another day here at the farm. I am truly blessed!
