Door greeters...

Last night I snapped this photo of our chubby little door greeter. Every night he sits patiently next to the front door. He's much more sedate than those door greeters at Wal Mart, but that's probably because he's stuffed with all the bugs that are attracted to the porch light!

Last year we had two door greeters, one on each side. I figure we only have the one this year because only one of the porch lights is working (and yes, he was sitting under the working one). Maybe tomorrow I will change the bulb and see if his buddy will show up!

While I was at the pond this afternoon I almost stepped on my door greeter's cousin! I'm sure glad I saw him, as he was quite a handsome and colorful fellow! Early in the summer I had to be very careful not to step on the hundreds of baby frogs at the pond. It's nice to see how much they've grown!

It's been an absolutely lovely day today. Thanks to last night's storm we had a cool day with a bright blue cloudless sky. I hope you enjoyed your Monday as well!

Ribbitttttt...

What a glorious September day!

Yesterday and today were absolutely perfect - my favorite kind of weather! Yesterday was cool and drizzly, while today was cool and windy. I love it! No one can mistake the Fall feeling in the air and I've had the windows and front door open all day so I could enjoy it.

My daughter and her family were visiting her Dad this weekend and I drove up yesterday morning and took them out for breakfast. I love seeing them and wish with all my heart they lived closer so we could visit more often. Spending time with my three-year-old grandson is always a joy and I'm already looking forward to seeing him again in November for his fourth birthday.

Today I've spent most of my time sitting in my front porch rocker just soaking in the pleasant weather. It is such a relief to have gotten a little rain and cooler temperatures. I'm hoping we won't see any more high 90s, but I'm not holding my breath...just enjoying what I have while I have it.

I hope you have a wonderful week and are able to enjoy every minute of it. See you Thursday!

Charlotte's supper...

Last night while bringing the cats in for the night I noticed that the garden spider on the front porch was busily storing a meal for later. Of course I had to run get my phone and take a photo.

This is just one of the garden spiders living on our place. There are bunches of them at the barn, one on the back porch and one in the chicken pen. I call all of them Charlotte after the spider in E.B. White's book, Charlotte's Web. These are actually the seventh generation of Charlottes and are welcome additions to the farm as they catch lots of pesky insects.

Garden Spiders are also known as Writing Spiders or Corn Spiders, but in the scientific world they are known as Argiope Aurantia. They're harmless to people and are very tidy for spiders. Every night they eat the center of their web (which may have tiny insects stuck on it) and build a neat clean center in the morning.

See that thick zigzag line in the middle of the web? Scientists aren't sure exactly why the female garden spider does that. Some theories are that the zigzag is a camouflage for the spider, or a beacon to attract insects, or perhaps a warning sign for birds so that they don't fly into an otherwise difficult to see web and destroy it. Male garden spiders often have a smaller zigzag web near the female's large one.

Late in the summer Charlotte will lay one to four egg sacs that she suspends on or near her web. She will protect them as long as she can, but as Fall arrives she becomes weaker and eventually dies. It always makes me sad when I go out on the porch or to the chicken pen and discover that one of the Charlottes has died.

On the other hand, I'm always thrilled to see one of their babies setting up shop in the same area early each summer and I enjoy watching them grow and live their lives throughout the summer months. 

Run, run as fast as you can!

Late yesterday afternoon I was on the front porch watering the flowers when I noticed a piece of broken glass on the porch. There is a tub that's been sitting on the back side of the porch for over a year. It contains canning jars. I picked up the piece of glass (it was from a jar) and went to get the tub and bring it into the house. I was planning to wash the jars since I will need them for canning this year (not sure why Don put them on the front porch in the first place).

BIG MISTAKE! When I moved the tub red wasps swarmed out and I was stung once on the right ankle and once on the calf of my right leg before I could get into the house. Oh my! Red Wasp stings HURT like the dickens. I immediately put some Benadryl cream on the bites (the one on my ankle was bleeding) and took two Benadryl capsules. I am mildly allergic to stings and was concerned, but other than having chills, swelling, redness and pain I'm okay. I did a little research online and ended up making a paste of baking soda and water to apply to the stings. That really helped make the swelling go down and I highly recommend it should you get stung.

This morning the pain and swelling have subsided, but the two areas are extremely red. I'm just glad they no longer hurt. Last night I kept having bursts of pain that felt like I was being stung again, which was very annoying.

This afternoon Don went out armed with a can of wasp spray and a long stick. He discovered TWO nests in the tub and quickly took care of them. I stood inside at the window and told him where wasps were so he could spray them. He also took care of two more nests he found up in the eaves of the porch. Hopefully we are now wasp free and the front porch is a safe haven once again.