No Time Clock

 

“I’m not doing it!”

“Not doing what?” you ask.

“I’m not punching no time clock!”

That’s what Alvin told me. And I believe him. Sometimes I see him at ten in the morning and sometimes I see him at two in the afternoon. But mostly I don’t see him at all. He comes, stuffs his cheek pouches full of almonds, walnuts, and cashews, then he’s gone.

“Expensive pet,” you say.

Not really. The nuts were getting old and I would’ve tossed them out anyway. Once they’re gone we’ll have to re-evaluate the situation. But we may not have to worry about that for long anyway.

“What makes you say that?” you wanna know.

In a word...

Tiger.

I’ve seen him in the yard several days this week doing what a cat does best. Waiting patiently for its prey. Usually, Tiger lies under the peony bush, but here he’s lying under the bird feeders. He’s definitely focused on Alvin’s feeding station, so I don’t wonder that he’s seen him there.

Alvin better be smart and vigilant or he won’t live long.

Speaking of Alvin’s feeding station...

Since I seldom see him, I usually just check to see if the dish is empty. This time there’s a Harvestmen on it.

Harvestmen are also called daddy longlegs or shepherd spiders, as the Europeans called them because of their long, staff-like legs.

These guys are not spiders, they’re Opiliones. They don’t spin silk or build webs, and they don’t have venom or fangs. Instead, they live gentle little lives as nature’s cleanup crew, nibbling on soft decaying plant matter, tiny insects, and fungi while exploring the world on legs that can stretch ten times longer than their bodies.

“Is he eating the nut?” you wonder.

I wondered the same thing but he’s not. He’s using the dish as a perch, getting out of the sun, exploring (they’re curious wanderers), or just plain resting. They often sit still for long stretches of time.

Something that doesn’t sit still very long are hummingbird moths. I took Raini out one day to see what we could see. The bergamot patch was my first stop.

Goldenrod is blooming and abundant! That means there’s lots of it! And that’s a good thing because it’s one of the most important late-season nectar sources for bees, butterflies, and migrating monarchs.

In folk medicine it was used to soothe sore throats, support kidney and urinary health, ease inflammation, and make teas and tinctures.

Goldenrod and ragweed are often confused because they bloom at the same time. Ragweed is what people are allergic to, not goldenrod. The pollen in goldenrod is heavy and sticky and carried by insects, not the wind. So it doesn’t blow into your nose the way ragweed does.

 Our next stop was the pond where I captured a picture of a Blue Dasher dragonfly. These guys patrol the pond and the surrounding fields and happily eat mosquitoes, gnats, and flies all day long!

Look at these eyes!

“Traitor!” they seem to be saying.

We’re on our way to the vet and I think she knows it. Although, I’m not sure why she’s so unhappy. She’s only going for her weekly laser treatment.

“How’s she doing?” you ask.

I don’t see any improvement over the last two weeks. She has a roach back now and I suspect it’s from dragging herself when she was paralyzed. I’m hoping it’ll go away but I’ll have to remember to ask the vet about it when we see her later this month.

Bondi also swings her right leg around rather than bend her knee in a normal walking way. I don’t know what’s going on with that.

Lately Bondi has been going out the pet door but she won’t come back in it. She’ll sit outside the door and bark at me. If I open the door and she comes in, all is good. That’s what she wanted. If I open the door and she stands there begging me with her eyes, and the sun is shining, I know she wants to sit in the sun. Why she won’t lay out there by herself, I don’t know.

We were soaking up sunbeams one day when something falls into the grass near Bondi. She gets up and smells it but has no interest in it. I could see from my seat that it was a caterpillar.

I decided you wanted to see it so I got a purple measuring cup I use for crafts that was sitting on the patio table and scooped him into it.

Now, I didn’t automatically touch him because I wasn’t sure what he was and some caterpillars have hairs that can cause redness, itching, mild swelling, and a rash similar to fiberglass irritation. Not dangerous, just uncomfortable. And I sure didn’t need that!

I was right to be cautions. This is a Tussock Moth caterpillar and they do have the irritating hairs. These moths are not picky eaters. Tussock moth caterpillars feed on apple, birch, oak, willow, cherry, and many garden shrubs. They can defoliate small trees if there are a lot of them, but usually they’re just part of the natural cycle.

Their adult form is surprisingly plain compared to the caterpillar. Female tussock moths are wingless, staying near their cocoon to lay eggs, while males are small, grayish‑brown moths that fly around looking for mates.

Birds, parasitic wasps, and other predators rely on them as a food source. And despite their flashy looks, they’re native and have been here long before us.

More than you wanted to know?

I do try to accommodate the girls when I can. Often I’ll play a little ball with Raini while Bondi is sunbathing. But if it’s hot we don’t play long. We’ll go sit on the patio with Bondi.

On another sunny afternoon, Raini, lying in the shade nearby, emits a growl low in her throat, then a bark. I look to see what’s bothering her and she’s looking out beyond the fence. Standing there watching us was this beautiful guy.

I was really surprised the girls didn’t run barking for the fence, which allowed me to get a few photos before we heard a car approaching and the buck turned tail and ran.

Two butterflies came to the patio and one flitted past Raini. She snapped at him but missed.

“Don’cha hurt that butterfly!” I admonished her.

I got a few shots of the Red-Spotted Purple butterflies. One landed in the grass and this one settled on one of my “natural” bird perches.

I could show you a “better” shot of him, but I rather like this one.

At least four days in a row we’ve heard a hawk circling the fields near our house, calling. And calling. And calling!

“Why would he do that?” I bet you’re as curious about it as I was.

There are several reasons. Calling to a mate, warning a stray hawk, but most likely it was because they have teenagers nearby.

When the young hawks fledge they’re called branchers. They’ve left the nest but are still awkward in flight, going from branch to branch, and begging for food. The parents call to encourage them and also to keep track of where they are.

Despite my best efforts, I didn’t get a decent shot of him.

I did get a shot of the DNR truck and trailer passing us when we were out on the golf cart. He’s hauling live traps. I assume he’s going back to the building on the state game lands not far from our house.

How about some road pictures?

They’re working on the road between us and Dushore.

I spot some pretty red bee balm as we went through the construction site but I didn’t get my camera up in time.

“On the way back I want to get a picture,” I told Mike.

Mike slowed and I took the shot.

We were first in line and followed the pilot truck until he peeled off.

There were big trucks hauling loads in both directions and I saw more than one that didn’t have their load covered. “Why don’t they cover their loads?” I asked Mike. “Is it hard to do?”

“It’s a lot easier now that they have automatic rollers than it used to be when you had to do it manually.”

Let’s move to the kitchen, shall we?

In the kitchen this week I made homemade rolls. The recipe makes sixteen and I don’t need sixteen. I shared them with the Kipps and froze the rest. So far I’ve had a meatball sandwich and chicken salad sandwich with cucumbers. Both were yummy!

We stopped at a roadside stand and bought cucumbers, zucchini and yellow squash for twenty-five cents apiece.

I’m not much of a pasta eater. Never have been. But Mike enjoys a dish of spaghetti from time to time and I would have one with him, at least the first night. I would freeze the rest and maybe eat something else when he wanted spaghetti again.

Then Mike switched to whole wheat pasta for his health. Regular pasta is tolerable but that wheat stuff is awful! I cannot eat that! Nope. Can’t do it. I detest it!

I know! I know! Them’s some strong words! Let me assure you there are some strong feelings behind them strong words.

And that, my loves, is why I bought zucchini and yellow squash.

I washed and shredded it.

I put it in a strainer and let as much liquid drain as would.

Transferred it to my flour sack cloths, then onto a baking sheet in a thin-ish layer.

I baked it for twelve minutes, let it cool for a few minutes, then put it into portion cups and into the freezer.

This is what I’ll eat under spaghetti sauce and meatballs. Maybe I’ll even pull out one of the rolls and make a cheesy garlic bread to go with it the next time we have spaghetti.

That ate up an afternoon. Maybe not all afternoon but enough that I didn’t want to take on another project before popcorn and recliner time.

Oh! Popcorn! That reminds me! One of the websites I subscribe to (for free) is Word Trivia. They give you a word and four possible answers. A lot of times I only play if I already know the word or think I know it. Sometimes the word intrigues me and I guess at the answer. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m not.

Spoonerism came up one day. I didn’t know what it meant so I played.

Do you know what it means?

The choices are stealing, singing, mixing up letters or words, cooking.

I don’t remember now what I guessed.

Spoonerism is a linguistic phenomenon where the initial sounds or letters of two or more words are swapped to create humorous or nonsensical phrases.

That happens to me a lot! Well, not so much now as it used to. But one word you do not want to mix the letters up in is popcorn. You get copporn.

Hmmm. Nope. Don’t wanna mix them up ever again.

I still remember one from my growing up days that Pop used to say. I won’t tell you the whole thing but it starts with, “Siss on you pister...” It ends with the last two words switching first letters. One is much, the other is the f-bomb. So even though I wouldn’t technically say it, I don’t want to offend anyone.

 

“What did you paint this week?” you wanna know.

What did I paint?

Well, I can tell you what I didn’t paint.

I didn’t paint any practice pieces.

I am working on a commission and I’m about 85% done with it.

I knew fairly early on that I wasn’t happy with it but I persevered. Stuck to it, don’cha know.

          I got to this point, a point where I’m down to the nitpicky details, and I’m wondering if I should even go on.

          I shared it with some of my peeps but I didn’t tell them what I thought was wrong with it, only that I was thinking about scrapping it.

          “Why would you scrap it? Perspective? Your shadows and highlights are well done - not muddy or overworked. And doing a portrait with glasses isn't easy, but I think it looks fine,” my friend Jody said.

          She loves me.

          No one picked up on what I thought was wrong with it but two people say I got his chin wrong. One of those two was the client who also said his lips are too pursed.

          I don’t even know what she means by that.

          My handsome brother-in-law said to get rid of the guy because the Porsche is perfect!

          I don’t know about perfect. It’s my first car and he could tell it was a Porsche without me telling him, so that’s a win.

          “What is wrong with it?” you ask.

          The same thing that I hated in all the portraits I’ve done thus far.

          The shadows.

          I am not happy with the shadows on the faces. To me they look dirty, like actual dirt as opposed to shadows. Obviously I’m the only one who thinks that. I used the blue for shadows that every portrait painter I’ve watched said to use. Ultramarine blue. I simply don’t like it. Copilot suggested I use indanthrone blue instead. It’s sometimes spelled indanthrene, and could be called royal blue.

          I ordered it. If it doesn’t suit my eye, I don’t know what I’m gonna do!

 

          Let’s call this one done!

          Done!