Spring thaw has begun. The snow is melting into puddles, puddles everywhere. The yard is still mostly white, with pools of water reflecting the approach of spring.
I’ve had a quiet day. I left the cheerful living room lights on for most of the morning, until the day brightened and the curtains were drawn open. I am working on a new crochet project, a cotton facecloth. The blanket I have been working on for, gosh, almost two years, is now finished and keeping Attila warm at night. The blankets were good projects for me, because of the repetition my hands developed strong body memory for the the stitches, and the technique I use for maintaining tension.
There is lots of evidence that spring is coming. The ladybugs who have burrowed their way into the house are crawling on the windows, when the sun shines. I kill them, as they bite. Two wasps have also managed to enter the house, again, drawn to the sunny windows. I kill them. Their sting is seriously painful, and Attila is allergic. Their presence in the house inspires a plan to properly seal the house with caulking, at the bottom of the siding, around the perimater of the house. It is better to keep them out than to kill them. That project will need to wait for much warmer days!
We saw robins yesterday, flitting through the ornamental apple tree in the front yard. The tiny apples have been on the tree all winter. Now, as the barren season stretches on, and the ground is still covered with snow, the apples are suddenly appealing to the birds. They eat the seeds. Many of the plants on the property attract birds and wildlife, and mostly we enjoy their company. But the rabbits, well, the rabbits are fine as long as they stay out of the garden!
Worldly
Weather
-2°C
Date: 10:00 AM EDT Wednesday 13 March 2019
Condition: Mostly Cloudy
Pressure: 102.6 kPa
Tendency: Rising
Temperature: -1.9°C
Dew point: -3.1°C
Humidity: 91%
Wind: S 16 km/h
Wind Chill: -7
Visibility: 24 km
Quote
“I don’t have goals, I have fantasies. They are exactly like goals, but without the hard work.”
Emily Levine
Ladybugs bite?! -Kate
Kate, Asian Lady Beetle is what they actually are, not Ladybugs as I stated. They appear so reminiscent of Ladybugs that I called them that, but they are quite different, and the Asian Lady Beetles do bite. I was nipped a few days ago by one of them, but the little beast didn’t get a firm grip on my skin, so no harm done. They also smell terrible if they are frightened or when they are killed.
Do the Asian Lady Beetles look just like Ladybugs? I didn’t know about them. I would think that humans also smell terrible if they are killed. I try not to kill spiders, Paul does, but I don’t mind them. I guess I’ve never suffered from a spider bite – Paul has and his whole left eye was swollen up one day from one (he thinks). Spiders are the only pets we have left here at CC. It’s very quiet around here and although spiders don’t really make any hubbub, I like having something of a living being residing in the house besides me and the old man.
Bex, they are slightly different, but they bear a distinct resemblence to our North American Ladybugs. I don’t like bugs in the house, and I don’t bother about most of them out of doors, except aggressive stinging wasps, and army worms, destroyers of forests.
I do think of you and Paul without your beloved companions, perhaps you could dog sit on occasion, all the fun without the responsibility? Not quite the same as living with a dog, and perhaps not easy to arrange. Anyway, I hear you, and I hope the quiet becomes familiar and comfortable for you both.
I’m glad your winter is at last thawing. The Levine quote, I relate! ….Joan
She did a Ted talk, more than one I think, I watched the last one and loved it! She is funny, but oh so connected with reality. Winter is on the run now, thanks for the good wishes, they are working!
Spring has begun to find its way here, also. We lost 90%of our snow and ice the last few days due to sun, warm temps and then rain. We actually have green grass on our lawn!
Those Asian ladybugs do give a nasty nip. I’ve been bitten a few times the last coiple of years. I really thought/hoped you’d be rid of them when you changed your windows. Drat!
Green grass Ter! I am envious, but since you have it, it won’t be long before we do too! 🙂
It is interesting Teri, the only place that I am finding bugs is crawling around on the glass in the living room. They aren’t coming into all the other rooms, none of the other new windows have any bugs at all. So, my conclusion is that they are coming in through the bottom of the siding, then the rim joists, up through the studs, and into the gap at the baseboards behind the drapes, and finally crawling up towards the light and the glass in the windows. I don’t think they are able to get in through the windows the way they used to. My theory is that once I caulk the siding in that corner of the house, there will be no more ladybugs or wasps at the window. Fingers crossed!