All is Fair

 Woodchuck and I went to the land on our scheduled day this week, and instantly knew something was happening by the chewed up driveway. It is not unusual for peeps to use the end of the driveway as a turn around, but if that was the case with this situation, the person was a tad off 😂 and when I say that, I am just playing! I doe why did find out quickly why this happened, so don't come at me 😁 This is something that will happen a lot moving forward! 👇

Woodchuck has anxiously been waiting for the excavator to arrive, but had not received any phone call about the work starting, but we looked at the driveway, glanced up, and we could see it through the trees. Woodchuck nearly ran from my car to the machine, and I have never seen him look so lovingly at a piece of equipment before! 😍

While he jumped out of my car to get pictures of the machinery, I could see that the deer flies were out in full force again. I almost always wear long sleeves at the land. So many things are out to get you here. 👿

This was just going to be a quick trip, since we had plans afterwards, and the temps were hot again. He was going to change the oil in my car while I walked around pulling invasives, marking good things, and taking care of the SD cards. I found a mixture of good stuff and otherwise. So grab your long sleeves and bug spray and let's take a walk! 

                                                                Tall Anenome, native 👇

                                                    Croton Glandulosus, non-native 👇

I could not believe I had an interaction with this little creature! The caterpillar form of the Snowberry Clearwing moth! I was pulling invasives and thankfully it landed on my glove and not in the bag! I watched it for a bit, took pictures, and then helped it onto another plant next to where I came into contact with it. What a gift on this day! 😍👇

It's funny how I can find ONE of a plant. Just one. And in the weirdest spots. Whorled Milkweed, native. 👇

                        I am a sucker for Lichen. The color, the texture, all of it. Swoon. 💚

I know it's the right time of year for the wrong type of bush to be sprouting again, and yep, found Burning Bush sprouting and leafing out. Compared to what I worked on previously, this amount is manageable for me. Some sprouts I was able to gently pull them (root and all) from the ground, but others were from cut main stumps that I will need to cut and treat again. PSA, there are native options of plants that give you the same beautiful, showy colors of the Burning Bush. 👇

I got to enter the world of the two Harvestman arachnids! I used to handle these when I was a child, loving their long, slender legs. It's funny how we were so fearless as children, and as we grow older, so much brings us fear. 👇

                                                        Spiny Sow Thistle, non-native 👇

Tick Tre-foil, non-native. Only found one blooming so far, which is about the only way I can identify them right now. 👇

I found the Spotted St. Johns Wort and caged it. It is not in an area right now where it would not get mowed, but I wanted to be able to find it again and track its progress. It may also be in a spot that might need some clearing when we build the house, so if that's the case, I want to be able to harvest this, the seeds, and replant it later in a safe spot.👇

I filled up one bag with invasives and it's almost time to go, so I need to walk to get the SD cards switched out, and take a look around. 👇

The Spotted Joe-Pye weed, native, is starting to bloom. Unfortunately, most of this will be damaged when the pond work starts, but I remind myself that these good things are capable of coming back again, and if they don't, I have local nurseries that sell native plants and I will be able to put them in places where they won't be harmed moving forward. But let us hope that they come back on their own. 👇

In the same area, along the blueberry bushes, I found the first Jewelweed flower, native. These will always remind me moving forward of my friends Julia and Fred. These will likely be damaged as well, which is heart-breaking for me because I've fought Woodchuck for years to not mow in these areas, but I do understand that fixing the pond is so important in so many ways, and that these too will come back. 👇

Dozens of Blue Vervain, native, have moved farther away from where the mower roams, but again, might be damaged in the excavation process. 👇

I love these spider webs that are built between the stems of plants and look like bowls! 👇

The Heal-all, native, is in its glory right now. Though low to the ground, the colors are vibrant enough to catch my eye. 👇

I believe this is Boneset, native, starting to bloom now (there is another plant that I get this one confused with), with long-horn beetles of some sort. 👇

Farewell for now, land, and trees, and wildlife! Woodchuck and I are going on our yearly date to the fair for lunch! With money being lean right now due to some crazy, stupid scenarios and bills we've been getting, we decided that we would get one meal and split it. Not only would that help save on money, but would also prevent us from overeating. 😂 My cholesterol is coming in too high, and my body is holding on to 20+ extra pounds no matter what I do, so I am trying to make better decisions. As usual, we picked The House of Garlic. Lebanese food, fantastic flavor, large portions, family-ran. WIN! We got the Vegan Falafel Wrap (minus tomato and onions), with some fries, baklava, and each of us got a Lebanese Lemonada. To.die.for. And just the perfect portion (except for the drink, that could have been a tad smaller. We were sloshing as we walked, lol). 👇

We ate as soon as we got there so we could walk the food off, and we started in the ride area. Local flowers were staged throughout, including very, very tall sunflowers! 

I reminisced about going to this fair when I was growing up, and the rides that friends and family and I loved going on. Every year I have to take a picture or video of the swings and send it to my brother because he threw up spaghetti on them in the 80's 😂🤮 My mother always loved the Pirate Ship ride (they change names almost yearly), and I even went on that a few times with her while growing up! 

But my favorite rides were the Scrambler, Tilt-a-whirl, Flying Bobs, and The Gravitron (again, most names have changed since then.)

We were getting a little hot and had seen everything outside that we wanted to see, so it was time to go inside to the Expo building! I always enjoy walking through the handmade stuff, some of those people are CRAZY TALENTED! 😱

Like this gal. She had several different handmade things, but these two were my favorite. I forgot to get her name to give her credit, so I hope she doesn't mind that I'm sharing this here! 

And each year, they have been having a certain spot for very large items. This year it was this fantastic quilt! I can't imagine how long it takes to make the things that these people enter. 

 In between all of the running I/we have been doing, I've been trying to stock up on certain art. This is the last of the mushie ornaments to be made this year, and the last of the vintage ornament frames in red that my mom recently gave me to use. The Mushie art drop will happen in August! 🍄

I am also trying out some Halloween ideas! 

But overall this week? This how I feel and how I see the state of the world and in some aspects, my little world. 

Thank you for being on this journey with us and hopefully the next post will include pictures of pond work! If you would like to make a donation towards land projects, supplies, and such; you can do so at

paypal.me/badassnaturegirl

Transparency, to date we have not received any donations. Our land is home to deer, many types of birds, Woodchuck, raccoons, Fox, Owls, Frogs, Snapping turtles, snakes, as well as many native plants!