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September/October General Banter


Psalm 148:8

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Found one of these horrific creatures on my trash can. I can't determine if this is a male or female Black Widow but I surely hope I wasn't tangling with the female (I wanna assume female since I saw the egg sacs). Nearly scared the daylights out of me. It had made its web in the inside of the handles of the trash can where you wouldn't think a spider would hide out. I came pretty close to having my left hand bit by it but managed to take it away right quick. Tore down its web, smashed the sacs, and killed the spider.

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umm, that is frightening. I have a fear of spiders, if I came across that one I would be very shaken up. Glad you avoided getting poisined, that would have made for a very painful trip to the hospital.

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The drought must be taking its toll.....father in law had a tree fall in his back yard today.....no wind no nothing.....sis in law took the dog out to potty and she said it just fell.

I noticed the same thing last Summer and the Summer before. Just standing outside here at my place or at a friends nearby where he is surrounded by loblollies, we both noticed several just drop over in the afternoon, no wind or anything. This Summer, I'm noticing something I didn't last Summer, and thats pines that are brown completely (dead) in the midst of other healthy trees. I guess either they succombed to a disease or infestation, or maybe the lightning storms we had in April and May especially (they were vivid this Spring) struck a few here and there. There's definitely a lot of dead pines, and I'm noticing a few big oak trees that turned brown in July too, but I think those were from being trimmed too much in the Spring, and then the heat zapped them in the Summer..either way, the trees here are stressed to the max. I'm sure the long term drought is/has taken its toll, and then to top it off we kept getting unusually hot summers. Historic drought and Heatwaves=deadly combo.

Found one of these horrific creatures on my trash can. I can't determine if this is a male or female Black Widow but I surely hope I wasn't tangling with the female (I wanna assume female since I saw the egg sacs). Nearly scared the daylights out of me. It had made its web in the inside of the handles of the trash can where you wouldn't think a spider would hide out. I came pretty close to having my left hand bit by it but managed to take it away right quick. Tore down its web, smashed the sacs, and killed the spider.

I did the exact same thing a couple weeks ago hauling off my trash. I reached for the can, and felt a web under the empty slots on the underside of the handle....they love hanging out there, but I never found out if its a black widow spider. Either way, I always check before reaching for it now. I come across spiders (black widows) a lot working outside. I got bit by the trap door this Summer in the front yard, but luckily that wasn't a widow.

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I noticed the same thing last Summer and the Summer before. Just standing outside here at my place or at a friends nearby where he is surrounded by loblollies, we both noticed several just drop over in the afternoon, no wind or anything. This Summer, I'm noticing something I didn't last Summer, and thats pines that are brown completely (dead) in the midst of other healthy trees. I guess either they succombed to a disease or infestation, or maybe the lightning storms we had in April and May especially (they were vivid this Spring) struck a few here and there. There's definitely a lot of dead pines, and I'm noticing a few big oak trees that turned brown in July too, but I think those were from being trimmed too much in the Spring, and then the heat zapped them in the Summer..either way, the trees here are stressed to the max. I'm sure the long term drought is/has taken its toll, and then to top it off we kept getting unusually hot summers. Historic drought and Heatwaves=deadly combo.

I did the exact same thing a couple weeks ago hauling off my trash. I reached for the can, and felt a web under the empty slots on the underside of the handle....they love hanging out there, but I never found out if its a black widow spider. Either way, I always check before reaching for it now. I come across spiders (black widows) a lot working outside. I got bit by the trap door this Summer in the front yard, but luckily that wasn't a widow.

I am seeing the same thing around here. In mby alone we had one pine tree fall at the beginning of summer and now another is dropping large branches and is clearly dead in the midst of healthy pines. not sure if it is disease or the heat and drought Either way they are not dieing because of wind/lightning. At the office you can also see a few dead pines littered in with healthy ones.

Also can you describe a black widows web? Is it the traditional spider web or is it different (more dense and fluffy).

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I noticed the same thing last Summer and the Summer before. Just standing outside here at my place or at a friends nearby where he is surrounded by loblollies, we both noticed several just drop over in the afternoon, no wind or anything. This Summer, I'm noticing something I didn't last Summer, and thats pines that are brown completely (dead) in the midst of other healthy trees. I guess either they succombed to a disease or infestation, or maybe the lightning storms we had in April and May especially (they were vivid this Spring) struck a few here and there. There's definitely a lot of dead pines, and I'm noticing a few big oak trees that turned brown in July too, but I think those were from being trimmed too much in the Spring, and then the heat zapped them in the Summer..either way, the trees here are stressed to the max. I'm sure the long term drought is/has taken its toll, and then to top it off we kept getting unusually hot summers. Historic drought and Heatwaves=deadly combo.

Dang, I hate to tell you but that is the southern pine beetle. Look around the base of the trees and see if there is a salting of resin bits. It will look like a salt shaker has been at work around the base. I've lost way over a hundred, and I'm having to cut pines every few weeks some times. They started to die on the land behind me, and jumped into my land pretty quickly. I've lost all the huge trees and only some of the younger ones seem to be able to fight the beetles off. I just cut down two in the last few weeks, not fun cleaning up the brush when it is 95. I expect to eventually lose all my pines, although the guy behind me clear cut two years ago, and I've noticed the spread is way done now. I'm still losing them but not near as quickly. They wil decimate a pine forest. Down here I've seen whole holdings dead. Thousands of trees...and it happened so quickly they are still standing. The back of my property looks like Mt. St. Helen's went off back there. And with some dead sentenals still standing I can't go back there..afraid of a sudden tree fall.

They say they go into remission for a year or two, so you'll think it is over.... before they come back in force. Reading on what to do, they say to cut the dead tree and the ones next to it, and you can save the pod they are in, but if I have 30 trees together, and have to cut down 15 to stop the blight, the math doesn't add up to well. Plus cutting down trees is dangerous. I've had to cut down maybe 50/60 trees in the last 10 years, and I have stories that still curl the hair on my head, lol. Like the swinging pendulum of death, or the one that bounced me a foot in the air when I fell running from it :) I am no lumber jack, and in my 60's I shouldn't be cutting trees at all...but someone has to do it. I figure I've saved at least 40 grand cutting them myself, lol. Hope that won't be going on my tombstone :) Can't have it timbered out as there is no access, and to have one cut at a time, is way to expensive. T

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Dang, I hate to tell you but that is the southern pine beetle. Look around the base of the trees and see if there is a salting of resin bits. It will look like a salt shaker has been at work around the base. I've lost way over a hundred, and I'm having to cut pines every few weeks some times. They started to die on the land behind me, and jumped into my land pretty quickly. I've lost all the huge trees and only some of the younger ones seem to be able to fight the beetles off. I just cut down two in the last few weeks, not fun cleaning up the brush when it is 95. I expect to eventually lose all my pines, although the guy behind me clear cut two years ago, and I've noticed the spread is way done now. I'm still losing them but not near as quickly. They wil decimate a pine forest. Down here I've seen whole holdings dead. Thousands of trees...and it happened so quickly they are still standing. The back of my property looks like Mt. St. Helen's went off back there. And with some dead sentenals still standing I can't go back there..afraid of a sudden tree fall.

They say they go into remission for a year or two, so you'll think it is over.... before they come back in force. Reading on what to do, they say to cut the dead tree and the ones next to it, and you can save the pod they are in, but if I have 30 trees together, and have to cut down 15 to stop the blight, the math doesn't add up to well. Plus cutting down trees is dangerous. I've had to cut down maybe 50/60 trees in the last 10 years, and I have stories that still curl the hair on my head, lol. Like the swinging pendulum of death, or the one that bounced me a foot in the air when I fell running from it :) I am no lumber jack, and in my 60's I shouldn't be cutting trees at all...but someone has to do it. I figure I've saved at least 40 grand cutting them myself, lol. Hope that won't be going on my tombstone :) Can't have it timbered out as there is no access, and to have one cut at a time, is way to expensive. T

Interesting story but I think the photo is a black widow with a leg or two broken off.

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Dang, I hate to tell you but that is the southern pine beetle. Look around the base of the trees and see if there is a salting of resin bits. It will look like a salt shaker has been at work around the base. I've lost way over a hundred, and I'm having to cut pines every few weeks some times. They started to die on the land behind me, and jumped into my land pretty quickly. I've lost all the huge trees and only some of the younger ones seem to be able to fight the beetles off. I just cut down two in the last few weeks, not fun cleaning up the brush when it is 95. I expect to eventually lose all my pines, although the guy behind me clear cut two years ago, and I've noticed the spread is way done now. I'm still losing them but not near as quickly. They wil decimate a pine forest. Down here I've seen whole holdings dead. Thousands of trees...and it happened so quickly they are still standing. The back of my property looks like Mt. St. Helen's went off back there. And with some dead sentenals still standing I can't go back there..afraid of a sudden tree fall.

They say they go into remission for a year or two, so you'll think it is over.... before they come back in force. Reading on what to do, they say to cut the dead tree and the ones next to it, and you can save the pod they are in, but if I have 30 trees together, and have to cut down 15 to stop the blight, the math doesn't add up to well. Plus cutting down trees is dangerous. I've had to cut down maybe 50/60 trees in the last 10 years, and I have stories that still curl the hair on my head, lol. Like the swinging pendulum of death, or the one that bounced me a foot in the air when I fell running from it :) I am no lumber jack, and in my 60's I shouldn't be cutting trees at all...but someone has to do it. I figure I've saved at least 40 grand cutting them myself, lol. Hope that won't be going on my tombstone :) Can't have it timbered out as there is no access, and to have one cut at a time, is way to expensive. T

well thats a vivid story Tony. I"ll have to check and see around the pines to see if I notice the salt shaking. Its bad though, and I'm no lumber jack, so what can you do to keep the beetles off? Hard to fight nature.

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umm, that is frightening. I have a fear of spiders, if I came across that one I would be very shaken up. Glad you avoided getting poisoned, that would have made for a very painful trip to the hospital.

Thanks. I'm definitely glad as well seeing as though that was apparently a female and managed to not get bit.

I did the exact same thing a couple weeks ago hauling off my trash. I reached for the can, and felt a web under the empty slots on the underside of the handle....they love hanging out there, but I never found out if its a black widow spider. Either way, I always check before reaching for it now. I come across spiders (black widows) a lot working outside. I got bit by the trap door this Summer in the front yard, but luckily that wasn't a widow.

Looks like I will have to make that be a part of my check list when messing with the trash can. That's the last time I'll ever blindly grab the can without looking first. What sort of hinted me of a spider like that living in there was how strong the web was. Even with a large stick, it was very hard to tear it down. Anyway, ever since I took that one out, I never came across another one (and I hope to never see such ever again).

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Thanks. I'm definitely glad as well seeing as though that was apparently a female and managed to not get bit.

Looks like I will have to make that be a part of my check list when messing with the trash can. That's the last time I'll ever blindly grab the can without looking first. What sort of hinted me of a spider like that living in there was how strong the web was. Even with a large stick, it was very hard to tear it down. Anyway, ever since I took that one out, I never came across another one (and I hope to never see such ever again).

I kill several black widows every year around this time. The first cool weather seems to send them into my garage.

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well thats a vivid story Tony. I"ll have to check and see around the pines to see if I notice the salt shaking. Its bad though, and I'm no lumber jack, so what can you do to keep the beetles off? Hard to fight nature.

Well, the arborist sites, and university sites say not much can be done by the small holding person like you and me. I tried to cut them down as they died to cut the cycle, but I couldn't keep up with them. They say cut the dead tree, and all the trees adjacent to it. Some say burn off the dead downed trees, some say just let it lay. Some say you can spray them, but it costs a bundle and probably won't work unless you spray over and over. Me...I just gave up and cut them when they threaten something, otherwise I let nature fell them in due time, and I'll plant some hard woods when the dead ones are finally all down.

I hate to say it, but a big ice storm would probably help in that regard :)

You might ask Jon to check at school and see if there is any new treatment, or info on the pine beetle. T

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Oh man I love this time of year!! Nothing but good weather times ahead for the next 6 months or so!! Late night tracking of the Euro, nice cold blasts from Canada, windy conditions, god I love early fall and beyond to early spring!!

Oh and official Winter starts in 85 days and Meteorological Winter starts in around 60 days!!

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An update on a story I broke on here back in August...

Current Tampa Bay TV Met and member of this forum Chris Suchan (aka Jetstreak) is leaving CBS affailiate WTSP at the end of this week. Chris posted on his facebook that he'll make a big announcement on his future later this week.

A lot of us SE members will remember Suchan's time at WBTV in Charlotte...from what was said back in the summer his new gig will be a Chief Met job...

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A lot of us SE members will remember Suchan's time at WBTV in Charlotte...from what was said back in the summer his new gig will be a Chief Met job...

He is a great TV met, one of the best I've seen in this area. I'd like to see him find a top spot in Greenville or Spartanburg market, where one is desperately needed.

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He is a great TV met, one of the best I've seen in this area. I'd like to see him find a top spot in Greenville or Spartanburg market, where one is desperately needed.

I agree 100 percent...Chris could come in at one of the Asheville-GSP stations and would quickly make himself one of the best and most reliable TV Meteorologists in the market. His knowledge of winter weather in the Western Carolinas is top knotch...spending the time he did in Charlotte, proved that.

Here locally, I'm not a huge fan of either Chief Mets on WSPA and WHNS...Cessarich is the veteran of this market and has been reliable especially in breaking/severe weather coverage. I think Boyer iis decent over at WLOS but that station has never viewed weather coverage as being a very high priority...only exception may be when major winter storms hit Asheville...which for Boyer the first three months he came back to 13, featured two of the bigger winter storms we have seen around here in the past 20 years.

Ever since I heard the news that Chris was leaving to take a Chief Met job, I have been frequently checking out the various station websites across the region to see if a Meteorology job was open...I do know that WBTV currently has a weekend/mornings job posted, I assume that Scott Sumner has just been there as a fill-in since Jim Lytle left the station several months ago.

Regardless as to where Chris goes, the people in that television market should come to respect his craft...

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I agree 100 percent...Chris could come in at one of the Asheville-GSP stations and would quickly make himself one of the best and most reliable TV Meteorologists in the market. His knowledge of winter weather in the Western Carolinas is top knotch...spending the time he did in Charlotte, proved that.

Here locally, I'm not a huge fan of either Chief Mets on WSPA and WHNS...Cessarich is the veteran of this market and has been reliable especially in breaking/severe weather coverage. I think Boyer iis decent over at WLOS but that station has never viewed weather coverage as being a very high priority...only exception may be when major winter storms hit Asheville...which for Boyer the first three months he came back to 13, featured two of the bigger winter storms we have seen around here in the past 20 years.

Ever since I heard the news that Chris was leaving to take a Chief Met job, I have been frequently checking out the various station websites across the region to see if a Meteorology job was open...I do know that WBTV currently has a weekend/mornings job posted, I assume that Scott Sumner has just been there as a fill-in since Jim Lytle left the station several months ago.

Regardless as to where Chris goes, the people in that television market should come to respect his craft...

I wish he would go to WSOC here in Charlotte as Steve U. just doesn't do much for me. They need someone good to take over and the weather for them is pretty stale even down to the on air graphics. Someone like Chris who can reach out socially would be a big help.

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Been out of the loop for over a week, got moved (about 5 miles north of old house) and had neck surgery (bone fusion) on tuesday. I'm trying to get some winter rye to grow and like the looks of next week's chances! Really enjoying these awesome temps lately too and can't believe some of ya'll saw snow already!

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So what do you guys think of this subscription thing? Honestly I'm probably not going to use it, unless it gets really bad here in the winter :lol:

Yeah I probably won't use it either. I rarely venture away from the SE thread and I enjoy what everyone has to say here.Very true about the winter never know who will pop up on here and last year we did have a couple fruit loops come up.

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