Flora and fauna

Two years ago we had a mourning dove we named Heather decide that the gutter outside the boys. bedroom would be a perfect nesting spot. She and her mate, Hrothgar or Herbert or something, raised one chick. We didn't see or hear anybody return last year, but this year Heather is back or maybe the chick wanted to raise a family in the same spot:

We hope they survive whatever weather is thrown our way. It IS a more sheltered corner of the house and it's to the side of the drainspout, so in theory all should be well!

These goofball dogs keep pulling stuffing out of their bed despite me spraying it all with that bitter tasting deterrent. Then she sticks her head right up against it. She was sound asleep and kicking with her tongue out.

The first of the Virginia Springbeauty flowers, above, and one of the more unfortunate crayfish mentioned in the next post. Found this... skeleton? Exoskeleton? Whoever it was got smashed in the driveway and just looked like a clump of dead leaves in the predawn dark at the bus stop until I leaned closer and realized, "well, someone had an unhappy end when someone else turned around in our driveway or we left home..."

There are two types of creatures, I think- those who are solar powered like Bos and myself, and my Welsh husband. We "sun" very differently...

 

Cottonwood season

I didn't know anything about cottonwood trees growing up. There must not have been any in our neighborhood because I had no idea they were a thing until we moved here. And I still have no idea where the ones are who are shedding all their fluff like so much windblown cotton candy, but I do wish they'd keep it to themselves. It looks like it's snowing, they get sucked into my nose or mouth when I'm running, Damon had one float into his eye which just about drove him to distraction, and you can't sweep them up because they just start swirling around again! Liam parted a pair of curtains to confirm that they were blowing, took one look and declared, "yep, that's it. I'm not going outside until October."

They do look pretty snagged in the Japanese Meadowsweet which grows out front. If I was a flower, I think that's what I'd want to be. They look so tickly and I bet the bees just love them. Look at all those little spikes with balls on the end! I'm thinking Best in Show for Bee Massage.

 

Boys, bugs, mums, and other assorted musings

No matter how big he gets, this kid is irresistible when he's sleeping. The camera loves him and somehow he is even more kissable when he's snuggled into a big chair. 

I often wonder how he's going to fit at, say, 17...

We had some insect adventures at the bus stop this morning. There was a two hour delay due to fog. Some of you are rolling your eyes, but I swear we've already covered this ground; we live out in the boonies and bus drivers probably can't see the kids, not to mention any deer, in fog you could saw through with a butter knife. It lays especially thick on the fields, some of which are being harvested. At any rate, it's rather pleasant to eeeeeease into a Monday...

So the sun was fully up and shining away by the time the Damonater struts down the driveway at 10 AM. Birds are twittering away, the squirrels are in full... uh, squirrel, and the bugs are zooming every which way. We had an overly friendly bee checking us out thoroughly. I've always tried to teach the kids to not swat at them, but to stay calm and remind the bee that they're not a flower. It must be confusing to find bright, colorful things that smell like... kids. Oh, never mind. You're not a flower. Got it. Moving on.

This bee was not easily convinced. We had been swatting a pesky mosquito which we both missed when I heard a buzzy drone in my left ear. Damon exclaimed, "bee!" so I ducked a bit and she headed around to my right ear. I felt like I was living that scene from "Robin Hood: Men in Tights" where they talk about, "I'm on the east side, I'm on the west side" that you can see here in case you need a fun distraction. I had nothing to do with either the original movie nor the video clip. Anyway, this bee was not to be deterred from her examination of us. Once she'd repeatedly zoomed around both my east and west sides, she headed for Damon.

He hunched his head down into his shoulders, clasped his hands tight and screwed his eyes shut. Right now I'm curious- is that the universal sign for "potentially stinging winged insect of undetermined malicious intent"? I think it must be. She gave him a complete thrice-over before landing on his forehead right where his bangs meet skin. She only stayed a few milliseconds but it was long enough for me to spin it saying, "awwww, she gave you a bee-kiss!" Off she zoomed, probably to go play amongst our crazy, leggy mums. 

The bee crisis averted, we then did succeed in pulverizing the mosquito that finally landed on Damon's shin. As the bus approached, an Asian beetle/ladybug imposter crashed our party and landed on Damon's backpack. I told him he had a hitchhiker who looked pretty confused about being on a backpack, and off she went with him onto the bus.

I can only imagine the adventures she will have today.

I keep forgetting to get the fall bin out of the attic so the kids can finish decorating, but we did get a good start:

For those of you who live where the weather is a bit more predictable in October than Ohio's weather is, I thought I'd enlighten you on why it is important to wear layers:

I snapped a picture of that after doing a double take when I looked at the weekend weather last week. Yes, those are snowflakes, sun, and rain all on Saturday, with a high of 83. Once again, Mother Nature said, "hold my beer." And while we didn't see the snowflakes, thank goodness, it did reach the lower 80's. In October.

I blame karate. Yesterday was the start of the fall dress code, which means full gis must be worn instead of just the pants, belts, and whatever karate-related T shirts you own. Naturally the first half of this week is going to be in the 80's. In October. 

Following the layering rule, this is what I strolled to the bus stop in today:

Yes, that would be a sundress under a corduroy jacket. Good thing we didn't pack them all up already, right, Mommee? I wanted something long and loose over my ACE bandages which are compressing my top half enough that I still look pregnant on my bottom half. The nail polish is Avon's Mudslide, just perfect for fall, and the boots were on clearance at Charlotte Russe several years ago. They make me feel really tall. I'm back in my bunny slippers now, but it was nice to clump down the driveway in the boots. Just gotta remember to watch out for those slippery acorns.

Enjoy... what is this, officially? Indian summer? Anyone?