Lightning and Bark Beetle Problem

Above, the pinon tree today. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Today was devoted to yard work, more so than originally planned.

I got the mower out and mowed Barking Spider Acre. With all the rain we've been getting, it needed mowing. A lot of shrubs were getting a little high.

At one point, the mower got stuck in soft soil near the arroyo. Luckily, I already had the Jeep out and I used it to pull the mower out of the soft soil. Having four-wheel-drive definitely comes in handy in these situations.

After I was done, I relaxed on the deck until a thunderstorm came in. That drove me indoors. But as I was standing on the porch, one bolt of lightning was so close (and very loud) it seemed that it struck in my backyard or my neighbor Scott Williams's yard. Other neighbors were startled by it as well, at least according to posts at our community's Facebook page.

Above, Barking Spider Acre after mowing and the thunderstorm. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As I was looking at the lightning, I noticed that my big pinon pine tree was turning yellow. That is a bad sign. It could mean that bark beetles got to it. I looked up some information on bark beetles and it seems that my tree may be in the "stressed" stage as it still has some green. It looked fine a few days ago (the little shits work fast, it appears). I inspected the tree and saw some pitch tubes, definitely a sign of bark beetles. 

It is known that Jamestown and vicinity is having bark beetle infestations. So this did not come as a total surprise. It was just surprising at how fast the tree started turning color.

Not one for waiting, lightning storm or not, I jumped into the car and headed to the nursery in Gallup. There, I picked up some chemicals and a hose sprayer. While I was in town, I also picked up some cat food, since the cats eat like horses.

When I got home, I filled the container with chemical, hooked it up to the hose and sprayed the tree. I was pleasantly surprised that the sprayer reached close to 50 feet high (the height of the tree). I saturated completely the entire tree and sprayed some of the others to prevent infestation. I hope I got to the tree in time to save it. Thank goodness that the thunderstorm was gone when I started doing this.

The chemicals will kill the beetles (I hope) and provide a "barrier" to them.

Although this gave me something to do, I rather preferred not have spent around $60 for the sprayer and chemicals. Oh, well. I have plenty of chemical left in case I need to treat it again.