Thankful Sunday--August 29, 2015

I am thankful for peaches.

When we moved into our present house, 17 years ago, we were happy to find a peach tree. The thought of fresh peaches in the backyard was exciting for everyone. But, alas, it was not to be. We just couldn't keep ahead of the pests. When we were lucky enough for the tree to set more than a couple of peaches, they rotted long before they were ripe. There was one bug in particular that would burrow in as soon as the fruit was setting. And if any got close to ripening, a squirrel would take a bite out of each one before it could be picked. So after several years of trying, we gave up and just appreciated the beautiful blossoms in the spring. But this year Mother Nature decided that just like the locusts every 17 years or so, ripe peaches would appear. While we are still competing with the bugs, squirrels, and deer, we have harvested and eaten several ripe peaches with more to come. And for that, I am thankful.

A Second Look--August 26, 2015

I am going to continue last week's talk about caterpillars with the mention of a wonderful book, The Secret Life of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar by Laurence Pringle, I found recently at the library. It is centered on the life of Bella, a woolly bear.

The The Secret Life of the Woolly Bear Caterpillar strikes a good balance between simple text and beautiful pictures while telling Bella's story and can be enjoyed by all ages. With the very young, the stunning pictures provide ample opportunity to talk about woolly bears, plants, and other animals. With older kids, you can either read the text to them or they can read it themselves. And while a lot can be learned from the actual story, there is a two page summary with vocabulary in the back that is useful for older kids and adults.

From a woolly bear post from two years ago. I guess I've been
interested in woolly bears for a long time.

One of my pet peeves about some children's books about nature is that while the generalities are correct, the details may not be--like putting the wrong kind of leaves on a flower. This book avoided that by being reviewed by entomologists from the Smithsonian, Carnegie Melon Museum of Natural History, and the University of Florida.

So, can you tell I liked this book? If you're looking for a fall nature study or just want to know a little more about the fuzzy caterpillars that are supposed to predict the severity of the winter, this is a good place to start.

Now onto the business at hand.

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Day lily

Spirea

I have seen a lot of goldfinches around recently both on the feeder and on their natural feeders--coneflower seed heads.Can you find the one in this picture?

This is the same picture as above but zoomed in around the bird. Now do you see her?

Flower longhorn beetle, This was a fairly large bug measuring around 1 1/4"

Coneflowers

The last couple of days we've had low humidity and blue skies. Wonderful.

Thankful Sunday--August 23, 2015

I am thankful for the trees in my yard.

The other day Wally was visiting and we were taking a Second Look around the yard as he likes to do. When we saw one of the walnut trees, he commented how much fun that he and Theo and their friends used to have with it. The game was to throw a stick up into the tree and the person who knocked down the most nuts won. That made me smile because of the pure simplicity of it. Then we saw the old tree house and remembered all that used to happened up there from battles various kinds to picnics to doing homework. On the way back to the house, we passed by where Theo's tree used to be.* When Theo was a kid, this was his hiding tree because the leaves were so thick that he couldn't be seen from the ground.  If we couldn't find him, he was usually up in this tree. Then there were the maple trees and the oak trees and the piles of leaves they made to jump in. Of course, Wally also remembered the stick pick up before mowing, the leaf raking even when they didn't want a pile, and the hauling of the pruned branches. Those things were not quite as fun as knocking down walnuts, but were an important memory also. This was one of the ways he and Theo learned about the value of hard work.

I feel fortunate to live in a place that had trees for Wally and Theo to experience while they were growing up. And for that I am thankful.

________________________________________________________________________________

*A few years ago, a sapsucker killed Theo's tree and we had to have it taken down. 

Here's a poem Theo wrote about his tree when he was nine.

My Climbing Tree

Up in my tree,

I'm as happy as can be,

Without a care or a worry.

With leaves everywhere,

Twigs and branches in the air,

Up here, there is no hurry.

With wind on my face,

And astounding grace,

Up my tree I scurry.

A Second Look--August 19, 2015

August has been living up to its reputation with very hot and humid days. A few things are thriving, but many plants are stressed under the heat and just biding their time until some cooler weather comes. That's my strategy at the moment also.

This week has been my time to learn about caterpillars--bagworms and oakworms to be specific. Last week I showed you a bag worm that I found on one of our juniper trees and said that I needed to investigate. Well, I did and found while there were several bags on the tree, there had not been a lot of damage. I thought I would just pick off what I could reach and the tree would probably be in okay shape.  I decided to put the bags I removed with the yard waste that would be picked up the next day. They would soon be ground up with the rest of the branches and be gone. That way I didn't have to worry about any kind of pesticides.

One of the attached bag worms.

That plan was based on some assumptions that weren't quite right. Although I had never seen a bag worm, I assumed that it must be some kind of caterpillar. And the bags were its chrysalis. That was right. Sort of. You see, the bag worm just doesn't go into the bag as a caterpillar to turn into a moth, it lives in the bag only to come out to mate and die. The eggs hatch in a bag, grow up in a bag dragging it along as they eat their way into bigger and bigger caterpillars. They use it for protection from both from the elements and predators. They can open and close the top and use silk to attach it to things when they want to rest or hide. Quite ingenious, actually. And I learned all of this the hard way.

The next morning after my picking, Ward went outside to take the recycling to the curb and called me to come see something. Bag worms were all over the bins and cans and some of the near by plants. Some were sealed inside their bag and some were crawling along half in and half out of the bag dragging it along. Very interesting to watch, but now I had to pick up all of the escaped bags and squish them with my shoe. Or who knows what kind of infestation I might have spread. Next time, I will handle things a bit differently.

The story of the oakworm is not nearly so exciting. I saw an interesting, brightly colored caterpillar crawling across my patio yesterday. A little investigation revealed that it was an oakworm that uses oak leaves as its food source. However, they usually don't do permanant damage to the trees, so I let it go along its way. While we have a lot of oak trees around, there were none close by. That little guy had a lot of crawling to do for its next meal.

Here a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Day lily

Geranium, Rozanne

Hydrangea. I have two hydrangea bushes and one one of them hasn't bloomed for the last two years. However, this one has continued its pattern of a few blooms every year. 

Blanket flower. Can you find the stinkbug on it?

Marigold

Marigold

Begonia

Oakworm caterpillar

Bagworm and bag crawling on the trash can. I find it interesting the way it has not only used juniper needles for its bag, but has also used juniper berries.

Preoccupation-Lucy

As you know, our cat Lucy is sick. Working with the vet and using many of your great suggestions, we are trying to treat her maladies. This endeavor is occupying much of our time, energy, and emotion. At times, I am encouraged and think we can get her to a stable place and enjoy her for a while longer. At other times, I think that I should deal with reality and enjoy her for the little time she has left. So far, she is sending us no clear messages. Last night looked grim, but this morning looks better. And so it goes. In the meantime, I am reposting a "Day in the Life of Lucy" from a couple of years ago to remind you what Lucy looks like. So you can have a face with a name or some fur with a name, so to speak. :)

A Day in the Life of Lucy

A Day in the Life of Lucy

  

Lucy started her day with a little breakfast.

Then she decided to join Wally who was still in bed.

After her nap with Wally, she joined the family in 
a game of Scrabble.

She soon became bored with Scrabble and decided 
to play cards instead.

All the game playing tired her out, so she took another 
nap with the rest of the cats.

After her rest, she tried her paws at some arts and crafts.

The tedium of the arts and crafts made her nervous, so she chewed on a box to calm herself before her next nap.

When she woke up, she was hungry and demanded to be fed.

After eating, she decided that she would watch some TV with me and Annie, but soon fell asleep.

With her last burst of energy for the day, she caught a "mouse."

And she fell asleep for the night beside Ward.

The end.

Thankful Sunday--August 16, 2015

I am thankful for family music.

At most family gatherings, Ward's siblings play music for all to enjoy. The instruments vary, but yesterday we listened to a mandolin, guitar, and bass. And for that I am thankful. 

Theo's Graduating!

Today we will be celebrating Theo's graduation from horology school with his classmates. Tomorrow we will be celebrating with family. We are all very happy. Below is a repost from a year ago that talks a bit about the journey brought him to his graduation today.

Our Thinker's Courage

Theo was an interesting child. He was always thinking and seemed to be several steps ahead of most people especially his parents. He loved to read. But most of all, he loved to think. To analyze. To take ideas to their logical conclusion. To learn. To think.

But so you don't get the wrong idea, he was also a very active child. Hyperkinetic was the word one doctor used for him. He loved to experiment. That might mean cracking a dozen eggs on the floor at age two to see how they would blend with a pot of chili or filling his room with an entire spider web of yarn. That might also mean taking his toys apart to see how they worked but never putting them back together. Why bother, he told me many years later. He had already seen what was inside and didn't need to know anymore. And he never slept. Most people agreed. He was amazing and also a handful. Most people would have rather heard stories about him than try to keep up with him.

As I said, Theo was an interesting child. Everyone, parents, grandparents,and teachers had great plans for him. He would go to college, get at least a doctorate degree and come up with some great invention or business. The sky was the limit.

So he started college. He changed majors a few times and settled on Financial Economics. That was a topic far from my interests, but he and Ward would have great debates on the merits of different economic policies on the financial health of the world. Some classes interested him and some didn't. So college went along and had it's ups and downs. However, everyone still agreed that he was a great thinker. That was why we were shocked when he came to us in his final year of college and said that he was dropping out to become a clock and watch maker.

We had the typical parental reaction. A what? What are you thinking? Just finish the degree and then you can do something else. I was thinking about the plans everyone secretly had for him. Our thinker wants to work with his hands? Maybe Wally who was always tinkering and building things, but not Theo who rarely built things. But our thinker had thought it through. This was not a whim. For a while, he hadn't liked college or his major and when he started to interview for jobs, he knew that was it. He would not be happy in his field.

So our thinker thought about what kind of job he wanted. What kind of working conditions he desired. How much money he wanted to make and what kind of lifestyle he wanted to live. Then he researched to find a job that would satisfy those needs that there would always be a demand for. And he came up with clock and watch repair. He told us about his plans the day before he had an interview at the horology school. He started a week later and has never looked back. This all happened a year ago and he has totally embraced his new profession and is happier than he's ever been.

So I could say a lot of things here about following your passion or marching to the beat of your own drummer. But mostly I want to say that I admire my son for the courage he had to change the course of his life despite the unknowns. I also admire him for listening to what he really wanted and needed and not to what others wanted for him. Those are things I don't do easily. I hope that I can remember Theo's example then and again and make my life fit better who I really am.

A Second Look--August 12, 2015

Here's what I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Day lily

Cardinal on leaking birdbath. I have patched the birdbath a couple of times and I'm not sure what I'll do next. But I'd like for there to be water for the birds.

Coneflower

Japanese maple

Balloon flowers

Bag worm on juniper tree. I just found these today. Hopefully there aren't so many that I will be able to hand pick them off the tree for control. We'll see when I have a little more time to investigate.

Nettle

This and That

We've also been picking blueberries at Uncle Billy's patch. Can you find Aunt Martha in the pictures?

The days have been full recently without much time to think about posting. When I have tried, Blogger and formatting issues have been driving me crazy. And recently, I haven't been able to open the comment box to comment on my own blog. Is anyone else having this problem? It seems to be working now, so hopefully it will stay that way. However, I must remember that Blogger is free and mostly works well for how I use it. I am happy they make this service available.

Lucy continues to decline, so we are trying some additional medicines. She seems to have perked up a bit since we started the last one, so hopefully we will get to some kind of stability with her soon. In the meantime, we continue to play food games with her and the other cats. They all want what is in the other's bowl (even when it's all the same) or want nothing in any bowl. Let's just say that cats are very smart and determined, so it takes a lot of time and effort to win against them. I have a victory then and again, so I think I am wearing them down.

The last few days, the weather has been cooler, so we've been working outside. It seems like you turn your head for just a little bit and the weeds go crazy. Ward and I have made some significant progress in taming things, but it's kind of like painting your house. As soon as you paint one area, you realize how bad the other areas look. But one step at a time, or little by little, or some such other saying is what we need to remember.

Time to get ready for work especially if I want to get a couple of errands done along the way.

Hope everyone has at least one thing today that makes them smile. :)

Until next time...

Thankful Sunday--August 9, 2015

I am thankful for the feeling of hunger.

Our bodies are wondrous things. They tell us when we need food and when we don't. And if we listen very carefully, they even tell us what kind of food we need. For that I am thankful. (Now if I would just learn to listen when there are cookies around. :))

A Second Look--August 5, 2015

Here are a few things I saw this week 

during a Second Look.

Day Lily. The day lily have been suffering under the heat we've been having and have just about stopped blooming. But I did find a bloom to share. What would a summer Second Look post be if I didn't start it with a picture of a day lily?

Hosta. The deer have really been chomping away at all of the hosta this year in every part of the yard. However, here and there, a few of them have been able to bloom.

Katydid nymph on marigold

Surprise Lily. We only have two stocks of surprise lilies this year. Maybe the others will surprise us and come up later.

The seed heads of the blanket flower are almost as pretty as the actual blooms. But it's time to do some dead heading if I want any more blooms.

Swallowtail butterfly on marigold

I saw this fawn early one morning exploring on its own. However, when it saw me, it took off in the direction of the rest of the herd. I like watching the older fawns because they act like any kid who is starting to feel their oats and are not always in the mood to listen to their mothers.

Here's another one of those things that I was very excited about. The hummingbird was sticking out its tongue. If you look closely at its beak, you will see a break where the beak ends and the tongue begins. Its tongue is probably twice as long as what you see.