Cicada killer wasps

I have seen cicada killer wasp holes for the past couple weeks and also the cicada killer wasps, but this week was the first week I have heard cicadas.
Some people do not like these insects, but if you leave them alone, they leave you alone. They prey on cicadas, paralyzing them with a sting, then hauling them to their burrow. There they lay an egg on the poor cicada, which hatches into a larva that eats the cicada. There are a lot of predatory wasps that prey on other insects in this way, from very small ones to large ones like the cicada killers.
The wasp would not pose for me, but I was able to get a picture of it in flight.

Late summer in the country

In late July I was north west of Rensselaer and saw some day lilies and morning glories growing along the edge of a corn field. I wonder how the day lilies got there--they are not native. The morning glories are weeds. I cannot eradicate them from my back yard. But they did look very pretty with the day lilies.On that day there were storms to the north, so the sky was dark but the field were bright. There were soybeans and corn to the east of the road, and harvested wheat (I think) the the west. We do not have much other than corn and soybeans grown locally--nothing else is as profitable.

Have you ever noticed that if you want to go north from Rensselaer, the highway is the only paved option that exists. All the country-road routes make you travel on unpaved roads.
Along the road there are often some cows. They do not seem to mind me passing by--they give a curious look and keep doing what they were doing, which is usually either eating or resting.
In late summer there are a number of yellow daisy-like flowers that bloom along the roads. I should know what they are, but I do not. Still, almost every year I take a few pictures of them.
Sometimes we just need to slow down and enjoy the little things in life.

Update: I think the last picture is of prairie dock. The large leaves at the base more than the flowers are the identifier.

Building trades starts a new house

The building trades class from the Rensselaer High School has begun their new house for the school year. It is on Warner Street, in a lot that has never had a house.
Last year, and for several years before that, they had built houses in the new Scouts Bluff development.

As far as I know, there are only two new houses presently under construction in Rensselaer. One is on Elm Street, and the other in the new Sunset Ridge subdivision.

Rescue or eviction?

I was given a tip about a photo opportunity recently--a young raccoon was in one of the garbage cans in Weston Cemetery. I found it and woke it up. I do not know if these little guys are able to get out of the garbage cans, so I dumped it over to let it escape.

It did not want to come out. I kicked the bottom a while, and it still did not want to come out. So I rolled the can back and forth. That got results. The raccoon came out and glared at me and then wanted to retreat back into the safety of the can. I eventually persuaded it to leave the can. It decided to climb the tree, but did not seem to be doing very well. It got up about ten feet and fell off the tree. Maybe I should not have woken it. It tried again, and this time did much better, getting up high enough so I lost interest.
I am not sure whether I rescued this animal from a trap or I evicted it from its home. What do you think?

(Speaking of evicting animals, I have a flock of sparrows that are roosting at night in the ivy on the back of my house. I definitely do not want them there. Any suggestions for ways to make them leave? I may also have a raccoon sleeping in the attic of my garage. What is the best way to evict raccoons from garage attics?)

Foggy mornings

In late summer and early fall we get more foggy mornings and more mornings with heavy dew. On one morning not too long ago, Brookside Park was in a cloud. If school had been in session, there would have been a fog delay.
A heavy dew can highlight spider webs. This one was by Owen Street.
Here is a closer look. They show up best when you are a ways away, and as you get close, they are less obvious.
The dew also highlighted a great many ground webs like the one below. Someone who knows spiders would be able to tell what species lived here just from the web.
I like to see spider webs in my garden, as well as wasps and toads. It is good to have bug assassins working for me. The wasps are especially good at controlling the cabbage worms--the larvae of the white butterflies.