And since we are doing spiders…
Today’s Big Bug is a BIG spider! If it looks impressive to you in these photos, it was even better close up! Creepy-crawly!
But stay tuned here in the next few days because the artist did ants too. Giant, sprawling-across-the-grass, ants. Ants are my biggest bug problem. Spiders are pretty scary too, check out this dedication post to a brave but crazy spider that was living in our house, but ants are the ones that get me rolling.
Not to go off subject, but we live on a slab foundation, and as anyone who may live on one knows, ants love to live in the cracks underneath the house. Except in winter or rainy times when they like to migrate indoors, say onto your living room floor or bedroom or closet or tables or kitchen or anywhere they can crawl their teeny-tiny bodies around too. These are a particular kind of ant, slab ants. They’re small, really small, but they can get everywhere fast and before-you-know-it. You can just be sitting on a chair when you suddenly notice a small movement on the floor or near a wall, and you go to take a close look…OMG! Seriously, there could be like a hundred, in a trail with that one crumb of food the vacuum didn’t get. It sucks, and it sucks worse when you have small children who like to crawl around on the floor but now you don’t even want them to walk on it because an ant might crawl on them. Yuk yuk yuk! Thankfully there are awesome exterminators who will come and eliminate the problem for you! We found a great one and the ants only make a minor appearance, maybe, once every few years now. It’s lovely. Plus it makes you vacuum a whole lot more, and who doesn’t like to be forced to keep their house clean so vermin doesn’t set up camp?? Not me!
Anyway…here’s the spider:
Buggy Bug Bugs
Of the day! I’m fading fast here….my brain is being vodclouded as I type. 1000 words and all that…(fyi, that lady and her booty is not me or my sister. She was just another mom getting in the way of my picture, in case you were wondering)
Flower Update. In front of the house.
It’s finally starting to look the way I like it. Kind of wild and a little weedy. I’m sure that’s some kind of glimpse into my soul or my inner psyche.
With the rain/sunshine/heat/ combo’s we have going here all week, the sprouts are blooming. Here’s from tonight, before the rain came again.
Big Bugs! New Feature!
Since I am posting a lot of other “big” things, I thought you’d like to see the Big Bugs! at the Morton Arboretum! We went last year with the kids and it was great fun. The place is huge! And the bugs were awesome! They’re gone now, they were only there for a limited time. The artist that created them made them giant and completely out of wood; finished sticks. We like stuff like this. Practically free and inspires creativity! And it’s just flat out cool. I’m going to dole them out one at a time to keep up with the rest of my daily stuff!
Brother-in-Law. J and the Lily’s. JP and the Petals. Orange Slyder.
What do all these names have in common??
They would all make rockin’ band names. One.
They all describe my brother-in-law and his landscaping. Two.
These are pictures from their house, taken a week ago. Money was spent and care was taken, so he is happy to have them out in the world. I’m sorry, but beyond the lily’s, I don’t know what any of these are called. But they sure are pretty.
Enjoy!
The Neighbor’s Flowers. I imagine they belong to me…
I took the pictures. You can enjoy them. They smell really good too. I can smell them in my yard when the wind is right.
Flower Bed Update! New pictures of green, weedy things!
This is going to encompass a lot of time passage. Since I have been so busy with school I haven’t been able to post these pics that I know you are dying to see.
I know you probably ask yourself every day, “I wonder how those flowers of hers ever turned out? Did they grow? Are they blooming yet? Why haven’t I even heard a peep about them since last month?”
Well, the answer to all your questions lies below.
They have continued to grow in their very natural way and I did take the pictures, but I felt passing my class had to take priority. Flowers are nice for the funeral, but I don’t want to be the one who made it necessary.
Pictures below!
Filled in quite nicely. Still really green though. This is maybe 2 weeks ago.
The other angle. You can just see the first of the white flowers coming in.
See? Exciting huh??
And this is just last week. During the “window” time. Not as impressive as some, but it’s the best I could do with a limited amount of time and money and a shake can of seeds.
Look at all that petal!
Hey! What's that in the middle?
This is some of that "variety" advertised on the can of seeds. It's the first one!
That’s it for now. I guess it’s kind of a sad display. My flowers seem to be taking their own sweet time blooming, but at least now people can see that they are actually there on purpose. That I actually planted something, and didn’t just let the weeds grow over like cheap landscaping.
Check here for the humble beginnings.
And check back later. I’m going to post some real flowers from my neighbor and my brother-in-law.
Flowers make people feel good. Serious.
Terrarium Aquarium
Ecosystem in 2 Liters. Ours for the summer. Ours forever. We have the world, literally, in our hands.
All the posts I promised…and more! PLUS, a Caterpillar Update! Read on…
The caterpillars are already chrysalising or cocooning. They crawled to the top of their nursery and hung from the rafters.
Seriously. They are in a milk jug. My daughter and neighbor put an elaborate stick system thru the container with netting and mesh and 5-star caterpillar accommodations. They bypassed that, crawled right to the inside curve of the jug and hung. I’m not sure how they are attached or how they are staying on.
It’s just like the internet said they would do. Hang and curl and then secrete some kind of slime stuff that hardens and keeps them safe. So, I give it another day for the cocoon process and then the internet said 10-15 on the metamorphosis. I’m shocked actually. I thought for sure we’d kill them. But they ain’t butterflies yet…
That’s all ready to go too. As soon as they crystalize, we will transfer the whole jug–top off–to a giant container covered in mesh. Butterflies need space and air to come out, sticky and wet, then dry off and fly away. The internet said we could keep them a few hours and let them go.
Amazing. If I can get pictures without disturbing the clan, I will. Nothing for now though. Keep checking back!
Next Up: The “flowers” I planted. Seeds in a can that I sprinkled in the dirt and watered. This is them right after:
Wet Dirt With Seeds
And then, a few days (?) later, maybe a week (?) we had sprouts! I watered and prevented animal attacks and this is what we got:
Wet Dirt With SPROUTS!
This is exciting stuff huh? Do you feel like you are getting the most entertainment value for your buck? Well, hold on to your dollars…here is the pictures from TODAY! The sprouts are….BIGGER! It’s so cool to grow stuff, and create life…we’re like a mini nature center over here. Ok, look at these, I’m trying to get shots from the same angle, so you can really FEEL like you’re part of the experience:
Bigger Sprouts! It's getting FUN now!
I think that’s all the nature stuff I had to catch up on. Stay tuned for more plant pics, soon to be flower pics.
Oh wait, the kids just caught a giant toad. I had the camera. YOU get all the benefits! Feast your hungry eyes on these:
Action Toad!
Isn't this cute!
Frogs and kids...
That’s it, really, for now. The kids are in the house and the TV is on. Commence with the couch sitting until dinner and bedtime. No one needs pictures of that! More fun stuff later…see ya.
just shy of pretty 