Today I had the pleasure of digging out my side yard, and setting up a small patio type thing. It was long, grueling work, but definitely worth it. Not because it looks amazing now, no. It was worth it because of all the life I got to see crawling among the weeds and ivy.
There were beetles and stink bugs and wood bugs, plus about a million different species of spiders. (ok, more like six- but still!) There was so many creatures, it made my head spin.
It was even funner to see my mom study me every time I approached, looking for a spider or other bug on my arm. She's terrified of them. Which makes each discovery so much better.
I found one crawling up the wall, a small brown spider that didn't have opaque legs or the tell-tale violin marking on it's back. I always check for those before picking it up with my bare hands, so I don't end up spider-meat.Anyway I found it and immediately named it Kevin. I picked it up and walked slowly over to my mom sitting on her little bench, taking a breather. She glanced up at me and said, "What?" I stopped and smiled. "Do you want to meet Kevin?" I replied, watching her every movement. She got a strange look in her eye. "There's no one here. Who exactly am I meeting?" I revealed the spider on my arm and she jumped up, scared out of her mind. After a few minutes she walked back to the patio, gloves on her hands and a bucket in her arms. She wouldn't come any closer until I told her that no, I did not still have Kevin on me, and no, I had not picked up another bug.
I laughed the whole time I was shoveling up rocks, keeping an eye out for more specimens. I also found a centipede, (Carl) and a wood bug (Woody) trying to scamper away. My entire family started saying, "Just squish it, Julie." whenever I would stop and stare attentively at movement on the wall or the ground. Of course I never did.
I also had to weed whack the rocks in my front yard. I was wearing a white dress I hadn't bothered to change out of, and I ended up with a very awkward Marilyn Monroe moment. Luckily there was no-one around to notice, but I immediately ducked into my window to change into more yard work friendly clothes.
And my strawberries are growing so well! My attempt at a garden has come out with more than just weeds and dead tomatoes, as I expected it would.
My outdoor escapades have gone remarkably well. Now I have to stop myself from walking out the front door in my bare feet and large T-shirt, or climbing out of the window to check once more on my strawberries. Once you get a taste of nature, you never go back. At least I never will.
And I will end this tidbit of life with a warning: the number one most hated creature at this moment, the one you should all look out for, the one my sister has been whining up a storm about, da-ta-da! Aphids. Once you're infested, you're screwed. So protect your plants from this terrible menace!
:D
There were beetles and stink bugs and wood bugs, plus about a million different species of spiders. (ok, more like six- but still!) There was so many creatures, it made my head spin.
It was even funner to see my mom study me every time I approached, looking for a spider or other bug on my arm. She's terrified of them. Which makes each discovery so much better.
I found one crawling up the wall, a small brown spider that didn't have opaque legs or the tell-tale violin marking on it's back. I always check for those before picking it up with my bare hands, so I don't end up spider-meat.Anyway I found it and immediately named it Kevin. I picked it up and walked slowly over to my mom sitting on her little bench, taking a breather. She glanced up at me and said, "What?" I stopped and smiled. "Do you want to meet Kevin?" I replied, watching her every movement. She got a strange look in her eye. "There's no one here. Who exactly am I meeting?" I revealed the spider on my arm and she jumped up, scared out of her mind. After a few minutes she walked back to the patio, gloves on her hands and a bucket in her arms. She wouldn't come any closer until I told her that no, I did not still have Kevin on me, and no, I had not picked up another bug.
I laughed the whole time I was shoveling up rocks, keeping an eye out for more specimens. I also found a centipede, (Carl) and a wood bug (Woody) trying to scamper away. My entire family started saying, "Just squish it, Julie." whenever I would stop and stare attentively at movement on the wall or the ground. Of course I never did.
I also had to weed whack the rocks in my front yard. I was wearing a white dress I hadn't bothered to change out of, and I ended up with a very awkward Marilyn Monroe moment. Luckily there was no-one around to notice, but I immediately ducked into my window to change into more yard work friendly clothes.
And my strawberries are growing so well! My attempt at a garden has come out with more than just weeds and dead tomatoes, as I expected it would.
My outdoor escapades have gone remarkably well. Now I have to stop myself from walking out the front door in my bare feet and large T-shirt, or climbing out of the window to check once more on my strawberries. Once you get a taste of nature, you never go back. At least I never will.
And I will end this tidbit of life with a warning: the number one most hated creature at this moment, the one you should all look out for, the one my sister has been whining up a storm about, da-ta-da! Aphids. Once you're infested, you're screwed. So protect your plants from this terrible menace!
:D
I've alwasy wanted a trained jumping spider. I'd name him Reggi and he'd eat all the obnoxious insects in my room. He'd also sleep in his web directly above my bed. Anyway, I wish I had that many little animals crawling around my yard. We just have potato bugs and wasps. If aphids are bad now, just imagine if they were the size of small dogs.
ReplyDeleteWell my mom always said jumping spiders in your window means good luck. And I'd rather not, thank you. They're bad enough as they are, hehe.
ReplyDelete