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I don’t know why I get such a kick out of seeing these little fellows in the garden….
.
.
But I always do.
.
.
Hummingbird moths!
.
.
They don’t look anything like a hummingbird, or a moth for that matter.
.
.
But they’re cute as the proverbial bug in a rug.
Without the rug, of course.
Let’s start with a beautiful picture I snapped the other night when we took a ride up the coast.
Maine summer on the ocean.
You can’t beat it.
Our neighbor invited us over to see their tree house up close and personal.
Yes, the tree adjacent tree house I complained about in my blog a while back.
So… which one of you weasels ratted me out?
Adverbs.
Or rather, the death of them… is driving me to drink.
Real delicious?
Make the next one a double.
Grocery store bouquets.
Because sometimes a girl just has to buy herself flowers.
Socks… for my table?
Wonder if the dryer will eat those as well.
And finally, because you know I couldn’t resist….
You’re welcome.
Not worthy of a blog of their own, but random interesting stuff all the same.
(And by interesting, you know I mean not at all interesting… just random information you didn’t want nor need but I feel compelled to share anyway)
I read a lot…. and before now have never thought of myself as any of these.
But from now on?
I’m an ink drinker all the way.
Yes, I bought myself a frying pan that’s reinforced by diamonds.
Because my fried chicken deserves the very best.
My rose is blooming like a lolly pop.
Is this earth shattering news you can use?
No.
But nothing I say ever is.
This claims to be the perfect Cosmopolitan recipe.
I shall research it extensively and report back.
Sadly, we had to shop for 2 headstones for recently passed members of my husband’s family.
After we picked the size of the stone, and the color of the granite….this was what we were given. Sheets of paper with literally thousands of designs that were printed so small, even reading glasses and a magnifying glass barely helped us make them out.
I believe the husband chose a lighthouse for one…. but it could as easily have been a beer keg.
Time will tell.
Danger Will Robinson!
If you’ve never experienced a browntail moth rash you haven’t lived a full life. Imagine mixing poison ivy with fire ants and chicken pox…. and you might come close.
These little bastards have moved into Maine and are stripping our trees bare. And if you happen to brush up against one of them? Hang on, because you’ll attempt to rip the skin off your bones within 12 hours. Nothing stops the itch except a spray that comes in a one ounce bottle sold by one hospital in the state for $65 per. Insurance won’t cover it and you need a doctor’s prescription to purchase it.
I get the rash at least 3 times a year.
Good times.
And finally, if you’ve been wondering what people are doing to keep busy during the pandemic… or how they’re spending their stimulus money?
Wonder no longer.
Okay, I admit it.
The little rat bastards fellows are cute.
Sitting on the railing….
With vibrant day lilies blooming in the background…..
Voguing for the camera like some fur covered super model.
Though I highly doubt Naomi Campbell ever pooped on her runway.
Cute, yes…
But you’re still a giant pain in my ass!
As any gardener can tell you, things happen.
Flowers don’t bloom, leaves turn brown and sometimes…. things pop up without you having any idea how they got there.
Case in point?
The pots on our back deck.
I swear …..
I didn’t plant that.
But it’s thriving all the same.
It’s a large thing.
And I have no idea how the thing got here.
I didn’t plant the thing, but maybe a woodchuck did.
The thing has started to lean…
And bloom.
Does anyone know what this thing is?
When the local nursery has a half price and buy one get one free sale in July?
You fill the back of your car.
Find room for some in an already full bed.
And replant the pots that your resident woodchucks munched to stalks.
Hopefully with flowers they don’t like.
And when the nursery extends the sale to the end of the month?
You go back again.
And cram even more flowers in a bed that’s already full just because you can.
While a red squirrel watches.
When you’re done?
You sit back on the barn porch and enjoy an adult beverage before dinner.
And watch the old doe walk up to have a snack.
Life is good.
We live in a rural area of Maine…. and wouldn’t have it any other way.
Peace and quiet.
Visiting wildlife.
And beautiful scenery.
Some days more than others…
Living across the road from an organic vegetable farm has it’s benefits.
And fresh veggies aren’t the half of it.
Right now, the poppies are in bloom.
Glorious, riotous bloom.
And I’m enjoying every minute of it.
I mean really….
How can you not?
We’ve been busy with other things outside, but I’m still managing to keep Amazon afloat during the pandemic.
And if you’re dying to read the new Hunger Games book? Don’t bother, it was rather disappointing. And while I’d given up on Stephen King… this new collection of short stories has my late BIL in it again, thinly disguised but still recognizable to those who knew him. He and Stephen went to school together.
And no, I won’t tell you which character. I’m evil that way.
The fabulous rose I planted last year has finally decided to bloom.
And it was worth waiting for.
On another note, isn’t it great when your friends get you?
My girlfriend gave me this the other day and damn, it’s perfect!
As is this beauty.
Have you ever tried to photograph butterflies?
It’s not easy. This was the one lucky shot out of 20.
Our raccoon decided to take a bath, dig through my garden bed and then attempted to climb up the garage the other night.
Why? I have no idea.
But even I can’t argue with that.
The woodchucks.
Adorable, but hungry.
And there’s no rhyme or reason to what they’ll eat.
This echinacea?
Stripped to a stalk the same day I planted it.
They devoured it before I could even get a picture, and if you know me? You know that’s fast.
This candy cane Dianthus? Nope. They left it alone.
The exact same plant on the other side of the garden bed?
A mere shadow of itself.
WTF?
So when it came time to replant the bed I had removed the woodchuck chewed mallow from, I went to the experts and got a list.
A list of woodchuck proof flowers they were guaranteed not to eat.
Blanket flower? Check!
Planted two, they haven’t touched them.
(Please note dianthus is on the list and we all know how that turned out.)
Foxglove? Check!
They literally took one bite and ran.
Good thing since it’s the source of digitalis.
Last on the list? Yarrow.
If you’ve ever had deer nibble your gardens to a nub, you know they hate yarrow.
Every critter hates yarrow…. so I planted yarrow.
So…..
Yeah.
The little buggers are screwing with me.
There’s no other explanation.
And look at that belly…
They’re getting fat doing it!
