So we have hollow logs and trees on our land and this can be a real problem. We honestly had no idea that this was even a thing until we started clearing the land to put our private driveway in. Turns out this is a pretty common problem. It is also a dangerous problem, but I will get to that in a minute.

Why are the trees hollow?
This is a question that I needed an answer to. I guess this is why I am a science teacher....I need reasons and answers. I not only wanted to know why, but exactly what causes it, how to prevent it if possible, and how to recognize trees that might be hollow inside and pose a danger.  

Ok, so the reason they are hollow is because they literally have a fungus eating them from the inside out. Yup, sounds gross. But apparently that is what it is. It is sometimes called heart rot because it is eating away at the 'heart' of the tree.  

There are actually different circumstances that can cause the fungus to eat away at the inside of the tree quite rapidly. For example, too much water will allow the fungus to thrive and this was one of the most common answers I was given when I asked people who live in the Adirondacks - it's caused by too much water. The answer makes sense if you have ever been in the Adirondacks in the spring. Have you ever heard of the muddy season? When the snow melts the Adirondack park becomes a giant mud puddle. It was even hard to walk around our land in the spring - only high spots could be navigated without sinking in. 

But the water just helps the fungus to grow, it is not the cause. 

What causes the fungus?
The Adirondacks can be a pretty dangerous place when the weather suddenly changes and the winds pick up. Especially in the spring when the ground is so wet and soft. The trees tend to be very tall and the roots are not necessarily deep due to the bedrock being near the surface in a lot of areas. During this time trees can fall very easily.

Seriously, I know this first hand. We were hiking around our land this past spring when this happened. I was standing in what is not our clearing listening to trees crack as they began to fall. It was one of the scariest moments in my life. I heard it, but I didn't know where it was. I just stood still urning in circles to see what was falling so I would know if I needed to run or not. Luckily it fell a good 20' away from me. I was also fortunate that it did not hit another tree and cause it to also fall (also a very common occurrence). So anyway, as we spend more and more time on our land we are learning more and more about the dangers that lurk beyond the beauty and peace of it all.

So back to the fungus. When winds blow and trees fall, branches also tend to break. Trees can also be damaged by vehicles and work equipment, and even humans when clearing a path. Anywhere a branch has been broken or cut off an open wound is literally left behind for the fungus to grow and enter the tree.

The fungus is always out there and is referred to as shelf fungi or fungal conks. They come in different shapes and sizes and can also be beneficial in some ways. However, the conks are how we are going to be able to identify the trees that are most probably hollow. All we have to do is identify the trees with a lot of conks going up it and that would be the one we want to cut down because it is not healthy and has the potential to fall easily in the next storm.

What to do?
Well, we will begin harvesting the trees that we believe to be hollow or damaged and we will use the wood! It could simply be burned, but we prefer to be more creative. I have already made some beautiful picture frames (video and post coming soon) and we have plans to make some end tables and maybe even a coffee table. Nothing goes to waste! Even the soft material inside is great for the garden!   Check out the video we made of us harvesting the wood, laying it out to dry, and even cutting a few slices to make picture frames and please subscribe to our YouTube channel! It would help us out a lot :-)

Here is a video of the photo frames I made with some of the slices my husband cut:

Thanks for visiting!
Sincerely,

Sources: 

• https://homeguides.sfgate.com/hollow-tree-fungus-64419.html
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_rot
  

We have bats. I know for a fact because they have literally flown past my head. This mostly happens ad dusk when we are swimming in the pool. The bugs just love to hover right above the surface of the pool so the bats just love to swoop in and "chomp" on them!  I don’t mind though.  In fact, I am actually thrilled because with all the mosquito born illnesses being discussed on a daily basis in the news we certainly want to get rid of them. So we welcome the bats because, well, they eat this nasty mosquitoes right up!!! 

Think about it.  Have you ever heard anything good about mosquitos?  I certainly haven't. I just 'googled' the question and the only good thing that came up is that they are part of the food web.  Yup, they are good food for birds, fish,frogs and, of course, bats!  Their purposes on Earth is to be food for other animals.  Sort of the bottom of the food web.  

So I guess it makes sense that we (humans I mean) do everything we can to either get rid of or to minimize their presence. On a community level they spray neighborhoods regularly where we live.  I don't really like this, but even with the spray the mosquitoes are horrible. On a personal level people use all kinds of sprays and lotions, burn citronella candles, buy mosquito zappers, and more. In our yard we make sure there is no standing water, we make natural DIY mosquito repellant (essential oil recipe here), and of course use citronella in lots of places.

And now, we finally have a bat house that holds up to 100 bats!  But we are not hanging it at our current house, we are hanging it on our future homestead! Yes, that's right, we have decided to hang the bat house on our land in the Adirondacks. We chose to do this because the summer is when the mosquitoes are the worst and last summer when we were working on the land we were literally eaten alive. So this summer we are hoping to decrease the mosquito population by luring bats in the area where we plan to build our house.

Check out our video on You Tube of How NOT to Hang a Bat House:

Click here to subscribe to our YouTube Channel!

What are the benefits of a bat house?

1. One single bat can eat up to 600 to 800 mosquitoes an hour.  Thats an average of 6,000 - 8,000 mosquitoes per night! 
2. They also eat moths, gnats, and other annoying little buggies that bother us at night.
3. Their poop, called guano, is nitrogen rich and that makes it perfect for the compost pile or to be used as fertilizer in the garden! The guano will be easily found at the base of the house.
4. The bats will live in the bat house rather than in your house which could lead to destruction and other problems like bats getting loose inside.

What are the negatives?

1. Like raccoons and many other animals, they can get rabies.  For this reason bats should never be handled in any way, especially if the bat appears sick or can't fly.  If a person or pet is ever bitten, or just comes in contact with a sick bat in any way it is very more important to safely save the bat somehow in a container (so it can't bite anyone)  and bring the person and the bat in for rabies testing immediately.  The most common method for people getting rabies from bats was when he bats were sick inside the home. This fact makes a good argument for having a bat house in the yard away from the house!
2. Bat guano can grow a fungus and cause histoplasmosis.  Note that bird droppings can also grow this fungus and cause this as well! The fungus grows on the feces and if the spores become airborne and are breathed in they can be dangerous to anyone with a compromised immune system.  The Mayo Clinic stated not their site that most people feel no ill effects.  If this is a concern, just wear a mask when cleaning up the guano. We already wear a mask when we clean out the chicken coop so this is no big deal for us!​

Check out our YouTube video about why you NEED a bat house! Please be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for future videos!

What next?
Buy or build a bat house – some links for plans and some links to buy it
   1.   Build a Bat house with one of these plans:     
     - Single Chambered Bat House by Bat Conservation International
            - Plans, Tips and More from from the Organization for Bat Conservation   ​
   2.  Buy a Bat house at this link (same one I have):
      - Single Chamber Bat House by Organization for Bat Conservation $49.99
​
Paint the Bat House:
Depending upon where you live and the average temperatures, the color you paint it will vary. We painted ours black because of our location.

Hanging the Bat House

• Install facing South or Southeast
• Must get at least 7 hours of full sun a day
• Should be high up on a pole or on the side of a building (preferably not your house) – minimum is 10 feet, but up to 20 is better

If You Build it They Will Come....Maybe
"What?" After all that work there is a chance that no bats will move in?
​This is true, thats a possibility.  So here's how to increase your chances of having bats move in:

• There should already be bats in the area. If you have NEVER seen a bat at dusk then your chances are slimmer.
• Make sure that there are trees around and available fresh water within .25 of a mile (a pool, river, stream, pond, etc.).
• The best time to put up a bat house is during the winter since bats will move in during the spring.  It gives the house a chance to acclimate to the weather and for any odor from painting to wear away.  
• Note that it can take up to a year for bats to move in depending upon when you put it up, so be patient!

Update! We have purchased a new ladder (Gorilla Ladder 22') and relocated the bat house! Check out our new video of us using the ladder to relocate the bat house :-)

Thanks for visiting!
I would love to hear if you have a bat house and how it has worked out for you :-)
Check out our Bats and Bat Houses Pinterest page for more information and tons of other plans and ideas.
​Sincerely,

Sources:
http://www.cdc.gov/rabies/bats/education/
www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/histoplasmosis/basics/definition/con-20026585​

Ways to Conserve Water at NO COST to you:​

• Turn it off - when you are brushing your teeth there is NO need to keep the water running.  The same holds true if you are cleaning in the kitchen or anywhere else.   

• Don't turn it on all the way - If you're only getting the toothbrush wet, you don't need to open the faucet full force.  Only opening the valve part way will decrease the amount of water that comes out.

• Don't water your lawn -  the grass will not die if you don't water it.  It goes into a dormant state and will come back in the fall.  Unfortunately, your neighbors might not be so happy with you, so maybe it's better to not have a lawn at all!  Grow native plants that do not need a lot of water and skip the grass if at all possible.

• Water in the mornings - water plants in the morning, before the Sun is strong enough to evaporate the water too quickly (And burn the sensitive plant parts in the process!).

• Take Shorter Showers - Since I refuse to turn off the water and freeze during my shower, I compromise by taking a shorter shower which of course uses less water as well.  Check out this pdf from the EPA about shower and the "drops to watts" connection: http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/docs/ws_waterenergy508.pdf

• Displace Water in Your Toilet Tank - depending upon the size of the tank, you can use different items to do this.  In our upstairs bath we have an old bottle filled with water, and in the downstairs bath we have bricks.  They are different because the position of the free space in the tank was different.  However, both of them now use a lot less water to flush.  Note: if you do this and find that the toilet is not flushing your waste, then you are displacing too much water and need to decrease it.  Of course there are fancy things you can buy at the store to help you do this, but we figured why waste more money?

• Full loads only - When you do laundry or run the dishwasher, make sure it is FULL.  Running them for a small load is a total waste of water.  Unless you have a setting that specifically decreases the amount of water used, wait until it is full, but note that every load generally uses the same amount of electricity, so only running full loads will save on both your water and your electric bill.

• Drinking Water - like it cold?  Then keep some refrigerated.  It's a waste to run faucet and wait for it to get cold every time you want a cool glass of water. *But note that if you have any pipes with lead you MUST run the water for up to 2 minutes depending upon when it was last used if you are using it for drinking or cooking. Check out this flyer from the United States Environmental Protection Agency titled Lead in Your Drinking Water (https://nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPDF.cgi?Dockey=20001R4V.txt​).

Ways to Conserve Water at a Minimal Cost (but are worth it!):

• Use a rain gauge - this will help you keep track of the inches of rain so you know how much to water your plants and garden each week. You need to remember to record the inches and empty it after it rains.  

• Mulch your plants - We have mulch available from our town for free (We need a truck to get it though.), but you can buy it too.  Putting mulch around the base of plants keeps the soil moist.  NOTE: not all garden vegetables and plants should have mulch around them.  
• Plant Native Plants - native plants, which means they naturally exist and grow in your area, should not require any additional watering! Check out the Native Plant Finder Site to see what native plants grow where you live.
  

• Outdoor Water Faucet Timers - we use these for our sprinklers to water our vegetable garden.  I love them because I can go out, turn it on for an amount of time I choose depending upon the rain received recently, and then I can walk away and forget about it.  They shut off on their own!  

• Irrigation System - we tried this in our garden.  We purchased all of the stuff and set it all up and we absolutely despised it.  It clogged up.  The plants blocked other plants when they got bigger so some areas got too much water and other got none.  For us, it was a waste.  We are still looking for a better option as this would save a lot of wasted water (The sprinkler even waters the walkways.). However, to date we have not found what we need in a way that is cost effective. 
• Rain Gauge - This is a very simple, yet helpful, tool that we use to determine how much rain has occurred. If we have had an inch or more in the past few days then we know that we can modify the amount of time that we water our garden.
  

• Rain Barrels - you can collect rainwater to wash your car and water your plants.  We have not tried it yet, but it is one of the things on our future TO DO List.  Here are instructions (pdf file) from the EPA with a parts list: http://www.epa.gov/region3/p2/make-rainbarrel.pdf

• Fix Leaks - fixing any water leaks can save a lot of water believe it or not.  The EPA says that "one drip dripping at the rate of one drip per second can waste up to 3,000 gallons per year."  That's the amount of water needed to take more than 180 showers!  And if you pay by the gallon, you can save a lot too.  Here's a link to the EPA's fix a leak fact sheet (pdf file): http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/docs/ws_fixaleakfactsheet508.pdf

• Water Saving Shower Heads - We bought the Delta Water Saving Shower Head from Home Depot.  It uses 1.5 gallons per minute and cuts typical water usage by 40%.  The head actually makes it feel like a lot more water is coming out of the head than really is.  It also meets EPA WaterSense criteria (see picture of label to look for below).  It was from the Home Depot and had a Home Depot Ecco Options imprint on the packaging.  At  cost of only about $13, that was fine by me. The same one in satin nickel is on Amazon for $22 so the Home Depot was a good deal.
• Water Saving Faucet Aerators - We have two 75% (.5 gallons per minute) water savers for the bathroom sinks and one 55% (1 gallon per minute) water saver for the kitchen.  They were only about $5 each (including the metal screw on part) at Home Depot.  You can also just purchase the aerator insert without the metal for about $3.  They are made by Neoperl and meet the EPA WaterSense criteria as well (see picture of label to look for below).  Note: they can take a lot of getting used to, especially in the kitchen! My husband hates when he is trying to fill a pot with water. However, I shared with him this simple fix: use the spray nozzle. There is no water saving aerator on the sprayer so we use that to fill up pots faster!

Links:
http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/pubs/fixleak.html
http://www.epa.gov/watersense/
http://www.epa.gov/WaterSense/docs/ws_waterenergy508.pdf

Thanks for visiting!
Sincerely,