Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Fall is in the air

Here ya go Bob

First freeze/frost warning of the season for here tonight. Looks like I will be cutting back the asparagus soon and mulching it in for the winter. Have to do something with the blueberries and raspberries as well I suspect. First time for me growing these so looks like I will be hitting the net for info.

I've never mulched my asparagus and it's been in the ground about 8 years.

FWIW I mulch pretty much everything to keep the soil loose and the nutrient content of the soil up. First year for these crowns so I want to especially give them the best chance possible as well.

I also maintain two compost piles, spaced one year apart, and empty one each year to add additional goodies to the soil. First time ever I had FA to add to a pile this year so I am interested to see how that works out.

Everything is in raised beds gardens no wider than 4 ft so I never have to walk in them and compact the soil....Whether it be a fish I put in the pond or a plant I put in my garden, my philosophy is the same, give them the best habitat and food you can to let them thrive not just survive.

I also bury the remains in the garden when I clean a fish!

Why would you guys care what happens to asparagus. My wife likes it but I consider it inedible.

29.0°F this morning and they say snow should be flying in the next 2 hours.

31 degrees here this morning, with heavy frost.

Then you haven't had freshly picked asparagus!

JKB, we got lucky last night. We are getting lake effect clouds, and that kept the temps in the upper 30's. They were calling for 28°F in areas where the clouds were absent. Even colder for tonight - possible 26°F. We are getting lake effect rain showers on occasion too.

The wind was screaming off of Lake Michigan on Thurs. I lost a few trees in the woods because of it.

Got a few flakes about 7:00am.

I was out on the back deck during the event and heard the bear make it's bear noises. That's the closest I've heard it, but still too dark to see anything.

You mean like " Someone's been sleeping in my bed" kind of thing?

Seriously though, I'm not familiar with bears. Is it a grunting or sniffing type of noise?

Kinda like a grunting/huffing sound that is pretty deep.

This is the first year a bear has hung around since spring. They are out foraging on acorns this time of year to build up fat reserves for winter hibernation. I sure hope it has another place to snooze all winter.

There's been one roaming around Northern Indiana for the past few months, at times it's been sighted around 30 miles from here.

We had one here in Northern Illinois last spring. He seemed to be on a mission going somewhere as he was constantly on the move. There for a few weeks he was on the local news nearly everyday with videos of where he is now.

This bear was dropped not too far from here and apparently ranks the 7th largest in the US. Took the guy 9 years to draw a tag, and was 500 lbs.


Not too far from this location, a young girl was out jogging by her house a few years ago and was attacked by a black bear. It messed her up pretty bad. She said she played dead and it started to leave. She then got up and started to run to her house and it attacked her again. I think her father chased it off.

I was reading a few studies on black bear and if they sense a human, they generally stay their distance or split. About 90% of black bear attacks are male bear's that are stalking humans as a food source.

I won't walk out in the woods here without a healthy sidearm. Just don't want to happen on a critter that could kill you and only piss them off.

They are getting bolder and making their way south, so expect sightings and encounters to be more common in the future.

As long as they don't steal my picnic basket

From what I've read, black bear attacks are usually more dangerous than grizzly attacks.

This bear was taken within 50 miles East of where I went to college.
http://www.postcrescent.com/story/sports...-hunt/16207813/

This one about 40 miles West from where we deer hunt in Wisconsin.
http://www.onwisconsinoutdoors.com/TravelWisconsin/blackBearRecord

There was a 711 pound bear shot roughly 50 miles south of where we deer hunt in Wi.
http://www.jsonline.com/sports/outdoors/103797379.html

This one was about 90 miles South of where we hunt. shot in 2010.
http://www.fieldandstream.com/photos/gal...ags-record-bear

That's 4 over 600 pounds with the largest almost hitting 800 pounds.

My niece sends us videos of black bears wandering around her yard in their Hartford Connecticut suburb. She has two small children.....