I've run out of material

I am pleased that these petunias I started from seed are thriving. Once I set them out and let nature take over, they have been doing well.

 Now that I've finished my travelogue, I don't have much to say. But when has that stopped me from posting? Well, actually, many times. In my mind, I need to have a purpose for a post — ideally with a clear beginning, middle, and end. Guess what? Every day life usually doesn't play out that way. And since my byline is "Observations of Everyday Life", I'm not going to worry about it. (But you know, there will be a little voice in the back of my mind saying, "This is a boring post and no one cares.") And those of you who have been around for a while know where this is leading me once again. SPEED BLOGGING. The timer is set. Hold on. Here I go.

My friend sent me some bare-root roses that we planted a couple of months ago. We were surprised to see a bloom so soon. We got to enjoy it a couple of days before a deer ate the whole flower.

The summer weather has been hot and humid, making a lot of bugs happy. They have ruined the beans and the zucchini, and the yellow squash is not far behind. But with all of that being said, I saw the coolest thing the other day. I saw a stink bug laying eggs. I had seen little, tiny orange eggs under the leaves the day before, but I didn't know what they were. The next day, I saw a stink bug's bottom moving slowly up and down, depositing the eggs. I don't like stink bugs or the damage they cause, but I found seeing nature at work fascinating. It reminded me of the time that Sarah held a cricket in her hand, and I watched its jaws move as it munched on a leaf she was holding. 

You can see the orange eggs that the stink bug was laying. Eggs were usually in clusters of about 2 dozen and the size of a pencil lead.

Although I found the egg-laying interesting, I have been annoyed by the bugs that are biting me. Three nights in a row, I have come in from working in the yard with bug bites. One day it was ants, and the next two days were mosquitoes, I think. I didn't see any around. I had on long sleeves, pants, socks, and a hat. And I got bites in several of those covered places. 

A bug I do like: the bumblebee on allium.
It wouldn't stop moving enough for me to get a clear picture of it.

Along the back of the yard, where Ward's shop is, there are mosquitoes sometimes. He has put out mosquito dunks for them. We're still waiting to see how they work. My niece said they tried everything in the world to get a handle on the mosquitoes in their yard, and the mosquito bombs were the only thing that worked. BTW, I was working far away from Ward's shop when I was bitten.

So, time's up. I guess I could have started out with an insect-focused post in mind, since that's where my speed blogging took me. And I didn't even have time to discuss the hummingbird moth that has been visiting recently.

Until next time...