Abandoned Bison Barn

During the recent explorations at Fenner Nature Center my friend and I came upon a fenced-in field with an old abandoned barn/shed and a big apparatus for holding hay bales for feed. My friend Dave, who has lived in the Lansing area all his life said that Fenner used to keep bison there. During the last recession in the 1980s they had to give them up because of lack of funding. The old barn made for some interesting photos and gave us a chance to get out of the biting wind for a few minutes.

These are some interesting wasps' nests that resemble a pan flute. These are made by female Organ Pipe Mud Dauber wasps, which are shiny, all-black wasps. They stuff the tubes with paralyzed spiders then lay their eggs in the tube. The developing larvae will eat the spiders.



This wasps' nest, found under a neighboring rafter, was likely made by the Common Mud Dauber wasp, which similarly stuffs paralyzed spiders in the chambers for their larvae.



This is where the bison were fed hay.


That's the last of my Fenner photos from Monday. I'm hoping that the next time I post it will be about the Christmas stole for my husband, as I really need to get busy on it. But then, I do have a little party I'm attending Thursday night with friends, and that may warrant a post. After all, it's the release party for my friend Kristin's first book, Saucy Broad: A Culinary Manifesto of Hope! As someone who has eaten her cooking a lot I can attest to her skill as a cook and as a deviser of great recipes. I highly recommend the book. You can order here.