Harpazo

 

          “Harpazo, Peg?”

          Yep. In my Bible studies, I’ve learned that rapture is not in the Bible. What is in the Bible is the Greek word harpazo which means to “catch up.” And that’s what I’ll be doing today. Catching up.

          Let’s start with road pictures because I know how much you like those.

          Turkeys crossing the road in front of us.

          That’s all the road pictures.

          Flower pictures next.

          This is White Snakeroot. The flowers look similar to Boneset but if you look at the leaves you’ll be able to tell them apart.

Snakeroot is a member of the sunflower family, tall growing, and one of the longest-lasting flowers in the fall.

In folk medicine, Snakeroot was used in teas and poultices made from the roots. The name came from the belief that a root poultice was a cure for snakebites. Additionally, it was rumored that smoke from burning fresh snakeroot leaves was able to revive the unconscious. But, and it’s a BIG BUT, it’s toxic. When cows eat it, the meat and milk become contaminated and pass on to humans. They called it “milk sickness” and in the 19^th century, thousands died. They think milk sickness caused the death of Nancy Hanks Lincoln, Abe Lincoln’s mother.

These are a small aster called Calico Asters.

The mop heads of the Virgin’s Bower after the flowers are gone.

Whatever was on here they’re all gone. Nothing but stems sticking up.

           When the yellow dandelion-like flowers are gone from the Coltsfoot, the leaves come on. They look like this.

          This pretty purple aster is the English Aster.

          And now critter pictures.

          This is not the pretty black and yellow Garden Spider, but he’s still a Garden Spider. A European Garden Spider.

          A Hover Fly. Most people call them Sweat Bees.

           This handsome little guy was found in the outside cat food dish. It had water in it at the time and was cold enough that he could barely move. He’ll be an Eastern Newt when he’s all grown up, but at this stage he’s called a red eft. These guys can live as many as ten to twelve years but are heavily preyed upon during their early larva stage when they live in the water.

          It’s interesting that they are not only able to regenerate their limbs lost to injury, but they’re also capable of regenerating their spinal cord, heart, and other organs. This ability is thought to be related to high levels of stem cells, which allow them to repair and regenerate damaged tissues.

          This guy, with his feather-like antennae, is a Hemlock Looper Moth.

          We were at a church picnic and he was flying around. I held out my hand for him to land on but didn’t seriously think he would.

          He did.

          “Cool!” Heidi, the pastor’s daughter said.

          “I think he’s a geometer,” I told her.

          I checked later. He is. Geometers belong to the Geometridae family.

         Y’all know I have a penchant for making things. Whether it’s a new recipe or a craft doesn’t matter. And I don’t have pictures for everything I’m gonna tell you about so you’ll have to make your own in your head.

          A recipe came across my Facebook page for a quick, easy, and delish dessert — according to the hype. I had to try it. It’s a tub of Cool Whip mixed with a packet of vanilla pudding. I read through the comments and several people mentioned that it was grainy so they mixed it with a little milk first before mixing it with the Cool Whip. I didn’t want grainy pudding so I mixed it with milk first. It made a bowl of fluff. It was okay but I’ll probably never make it again. I’m not sure why you would even make it this way. You’d get more volume if you mixed the pudding according to the package directions first and folded in the Cool Whip and it might even taste better.

          Other comments said they did the same thing with a box of Jell-O so I had to try it that way. I used strawberry and it had more flavor than the vanilla pudding but it was also grainy. Again, I’m not sure why you would make this.

          Something else I came across when I was exploring rabbit holes on YouTube was a recipe for homemade superglue. It was made from melting Styrofoam into acetone. Who doesn’t have blocks of Styrofoam lying around‽ I didn’t have acetone so I used paint thinner. It didn’t work. Sure. It melted the Styrofoam but didn’t make glue. The next trip out I bought some acetone and tried again.

          “What did you want the glue for?” you wanna know.

          I have a pair of shoes that the soles are coming off. I tried hot glue but the first time I wore them, it separated again. I thought the Styrofoam glue would work better.

          It didn’t. I tore the thin black soles off and wear them anyway.

          I’ve also seen where people take strings, dip it in white glue, and drape it across a balloon. When it dries they pop the balloon, cut the top, and have a dish.

          I wanted to make my Meeps a foraging ball and hang dried grass in it for them.

          What I was left with was stiff string that didn’t hold its shape.

          Another fail.

          “Will you try this one again?” you ask.

          Who knows.

          Speaking of my Meeps...

          The eggs did not hatch so I’m not having babies after all.

          I was also going to tell you about one of my favorite games. I know I’ve told you about 3003 Crystal Mazes before. Especially the puzzle that had me stumped for months — maybe a year! I might not play it for long stretches of time so it could’ve been a year. But I’m tenacious. I refused to go to the next puzzle until I solved it and when I did, I felt both prideful and stupid. The answer, in hindsight, was obvious.

          Here’s another one that had me stumped. But this time it only took me about three weeks to find the key to unlock the puzzle.

          I can’t help but feel like puzzles like this, puzzles that make you think and reason, are good ways to stave off the dreaded old-timers disease.

          Now, if I can get Mike to play Quiddler with me, I’d be a pretty happy camper!

          Now you’re all caught up!

          Let’s call this one done!