Crawling Out of my Skin

The Hubby and I have been trying to get out more and enjoy the benefits of walking.  Namely exercising, getting to where we need to be for cheaper than gas, and seeing the sights of our small town.  Lately, though, the sights seem to be just outside our front door.

We have endured a hot summer with bouts of severe weather (that I have ranted about before), which is perfect for certain bugs.  In fact, it seems to have been perfect for just about all of them.  We can’t open a window and put a fan in it without moths, crickets, and flies finding their way in.  It can be cute when the Hubby tries to corral the crickets outside without hurting them.  Most of the time, the bugs are just annoying though.  But some of the bugs are fascinating.

Locusts for example.  Locusts?  “Ewww,” you might say.  Locusts look to me like rather large June Beetles and are fascinating.  They make an awesome sound and shed their skin which is left behind looking like a buggy remnant.  Awesome!  We just so happen to have had a locust visitor on our porch the other day because he/she left his/her mark.

Mister/Misses Locust. Side view.

I actually saw the original bug as it crawled out of its skin the other night, but didn’t have my phone out to take a picture.  Like it would have mattered then anyways.  My phone takes pretty crappy pictures.  One for the Christmas list: an actual digital camera.  Anyway, back to the cool bug.  Err.. what it left behind.

Locust, head on.

I remember growing up as a girl and having two monstrous trees in our front yard.  Every single summer, they would be covered in these skeletal remains of the growing pangs of Locusts.  It was always fascinating to watch them “hatch” out of their skin and to play with the fragile skins left behind.  I guess this is all rather gross, but sometimes we are pretty gross as kids.. and we think it’s cool then. I guess I still think it’s cool now.

The Weather Outside is.. delightful.

Here in little MidWest towne, it is cold and dreary.  Lovely.  It has been oppressively hot and humid for so long that the drab day is a welcome guest.  It is great to be able to open the windows and feel a cool breeze through the house.  I may even have to change into actual pants today because I’m getting goosebumps from the breeze!  Awesome 🙂

This kind of weather doesn’t get me down (in most cases), but the sudden, drastic change in barometric pressure does affect my health.  Therefor, I am feeling groggy and lazy today.  So you would think I would just stay under the covers with a good book, my doodle pad, and my mp3 player, right?  Of course not!  It’s time to get housework done.

I did a little housework and then realized that I wanted to get outside a bit.  What a perfect day to weed the garden!  And what a delightful little garden it is turning out to be this year.

Porch-side garden

It’s not much.  It measures probably two by six feet.  But it’s mine and it’s gorgeous.  Half of it is doing marvelously.  Miss Marigold is turning into a small bush about as big as my head.  She’s getting  a little big for her britches because she’s pushing the boundaries of the garden fence.  But she’s beautiful.  Miss Celadona is getting quite a head on her shoulders.. maybe too large of one.  Her stems can’t seem to hold her head up anymore.  But she is gorgeous.  I was worried about Mr.Snapdragon, but he’s doing great now.  He is just the runt of the litter.

As I said, half of it is doing great.  The other three feet.. eh.. not so good.  I think it is because that’s where the bird feeder is, on the shepard’s crook.  The bird shit is probably not so great for the flowers in such large quantities.  Maybe a little would make good fertilizer, but apparently a lot makes good dead-a-lizer.

 

I geek Storms

I love storms.  Rain, wind, hail, black skies… tornadoes, tropical storms, hurricanes.  I love it all.

I grew up in an area termed “Tornado Alley”.  We would have at least one tornado every summer.  I remember seeing them from a very early age as if it were nothing.  It probably didn’t help that my father was an avid stormchaser and would take my brother and I on such chases.  Don’t worry, it was safe.. I was buckled into my carseat.  Seriously though, he wouldn’t take us along on storms that got bad, he would take us home first.

At any rate, I am used to seeing inclement weather.  Living in Tornado Alley as well as living in Florida for a short time has allowed me to experience such meteorological occurrences as tornadoes, large hail, damaging “straight” winds, severe electrical storms, tropical storms, and even hurricanes.

Oh my, hurricanes.  I lived in Florida for two years before wising up and realizing that the hurricane season, flood season, fire season, etc… just didn’t make up for the view.  My family and I were in Florida for the whole Hurricane Charley, Irene, Jean fiasco.  I think we had 4 hurricanes in 6 to 8 weeks.  At one point, we stopped unpacking the car because we would just have to turn around and pack it back up again.  I complain about cold showers now but it was the only way to cool off in the blistering heat when the storm left all power out.

The funny things about hurricanes is that they spawn tornadoes.  Why is this funny?  Florida is swamp land and sand.  There is nothing to build a basement in.  Where do you go when the tornado sirens sound?  On your front porch, getting to know your neighbors better as you all watch the darkening skies.

The best part about the hurricane experience was being packed into a storm shelter with hundreds of strangers, returning on a prayer that your home was alright, and dealing with the leftover weather.  One time, we were sent home prematurely in the eye of the hurricane.  The tail end of the storm is the worst part of it.  I remember how the house shook and rocked back and forth all night long.  My poor mother nearly had a heart attack for worrying but I made a better choice.  I went to sleep.  I survived so it must have worked out ok.  Another hurricane and we found out that we had contracted scabies from one of the lovely families sharing the shelter with us.  Ugh *shudder*.  I can’t stand those things.

The best part of storms?  The sky.  It becomes a canvas.  It turns from mellow blue, to violent black, and then to warning sign lime green.  The colors!  I could stand to make a living chasing storms.. I just don’t think I’d like being packed like sardines for the rest of my life.

 

For more info about the various types of Tornado Alleys, check out Weather Commentary.

Reprieve without Rain

Alas, the oppressive heat has broken like a nasty fever.  The air isn’t quite as thick with moisture and it feels so decently “warm” (as opposed to stifling hot) that I washed the car today.. by hand.. outside.  Awesome.

Not so awesome: No rain.  The storms happened just a hair south of us – shocker.  I can’t look this gift horse in the mouth though: I’ll take a break in the heat and keep hoping for a break in the drought too.

No storms means no more updated pics, right?  Wrong!  I know you must be soo excited.  While driving out to the in-laws, my hubby and I noticed this semi that got overturned by the storms.

Semi turned over by winds

The parking lot is owned by a furniture store which keeps these semi trailers in their lot and uses them to store extra stuff.  Apparently, this one was empty or didn’t have a whole lot in it.

Light post knocked over by semi trailer

As if a semi trailer being knocked over wasn’t delightful enough ,it took one of the light posts with it.

I’m glad that no one was in the semi or around it when it fell over.  I’m also glad I found more cool pictures of the damage from the storm!  Storms are just awesome.

It’s Hotter than Heck!

The heat wave in my small part of the world continues.  It is supposed to break tonight with the promise of severe thunderstorms (Please YES!), but I am not holding my breath.

The small town I live in is like a meteorological bubble.  Usually, whenever rain is forecasted it glides around this small town.  It is even visible on the radar map and can be cruelly amusing to watch the green blobs break to go around the town and then come back together on the radar screen.

The good part of this is that we hardly ever get severe weather.  I’ve posted about some of the damage this town has received in the past few weeks from severe thunderstorms, but it is unusual for this town.  Not this entire areal, mind you,just this town.   At any rate, there are some .. er.. things that seem to be enjoying the heat.  Let’s take a look:

Kitty on the cement porch

My cat did NOT like the heat when it first showed up.. back in May.  She would go outside for about five minutes, start panting like a dog, and then demand to be let back in just long enough to cool down.. before wanting back out.  Now, she’s gotten used to the heat (tell me the secret!) and enjoys sitting on the porch for hours.  Yup, hours.  She’ll come back in for a few minutes to cool off in front of the fan and get some water.. and then it’s back out onto the porch. Or in the yard to watch some birds walk around.  I guess it’s too hot to kill things.

Small Garden

My garden seems to be doing pretty well this year.  I am surprised because I am not the best with plants.  I try hard to water them in the evening so as not to shock them and I make sure to give them lots of water.  About every night, they are thirsty for more.  It seems that Marigolds and Celadonas? love heat and sun.  I know that Miss Marigold is very hardy, but I was uncertain about the other.  The Snapdragon does not seem to be proliferating as well as I would like, but he’s not lagging too far behind the others.

Petunias and Marigolds

Petunias did NOT like the heat.  We almost lost  her when we thought it would be alright to stick Miss Petunia out on the Shepard’s hook in the middle of the yard in full sun and water her every-other day.  Oh no, Miss Petunia has a very specific regiment.  First of all, she must be kept in shade in such oppressive heat.  Direct sunlight under these conditions can be deadly.  Also, it is important to water Miss Petunia at least every night.  Despite this, she doesn’t like to stick to a diet and will demand more watering sessions.  We have since been able to save her.. but we’ll see how long she fares so well in this heat.

And yes, I have personified my garden.  I find it helps me to want to take care of them.  It don’t really think of them as “people” (come on now).  It just reminds me of the Alic in Wonderland animated movie where she’s walking around with the flowers.. Thank God I don’t have Pansies!

Trees et al: Update

The heat wave in the MidWest continues.  Today, the actual temperature reached 100 with a heat index of 104 in my area.  I know I shouldn’t complain because we are not experiencing flooding, wild fires, etc.  A little drought should be alright as long as we get some rain soon.. and, fortunately for us, the Weather Man says that rain is on the way.

SO, before the new storms arrive I thought I’d tie up the loose ends from the old storms.  Here’s the updated information from the latest severe weather to hit this area.

It’s always the trees.  Even when it’s roof damage, it’s usually wind or trees.  One of the many local parks experienced this with our latest storm last weekend.  This park is filled with very old, large trees that happen to also be very tall.  This is awesome because it makes this the ideal park to play at and celebrate family reunions, birthdays, and other special occasions.  Even in this record heat, the large trees at the park keep it much cooler and the kiddos sure enjoy playing there!

Unfortunately, the main out-building that is used for picnicking, grilling, and that houses the restrooms was destroyed when one of these trees fell on the roof.  Of course I have pictures!

Scene of the crime

They have the entire out-building and fallen tree sectioned off with scene-of-the-crime tape.  It is kind of fitting.

The mighty tree has fallen

I can’t imagine the sound this tree must have made when it fell.  Oh yes, if no one was around to hear it I am sure it still made a horrendous sound.

What is left of the standing tree

This is a poor angle, I apologize.  This is, however, what is left of the standing tree.  As you can see (maybe) the part that fell on the roof was a larger section of the tree. Some of the trees in this area choose to shoot off about midway up the trunk and so it looks like they are split in two.  The wind or lightning simply took down one of these splits – taking down about half the tree.

It took the Fiddler with it

The entire building has been decimated.  I think the city is leaving things the way they are until the heat wave ends.

It is a multi-person hug tree

This isn’t super large for a tree by any means.  But in this part of the Midwest, we have stifling hot summers and freezing cold winters, so the tress don’t have a great deal of growth time.  This is a larger tree for this park, but is not one of the larger ones in the park.  There are well over 20 trees in this park, about an acre of land.  Again, not really unusual throughout the US, but this is farmland.  It is unusual to see an area like this here.  The lady in the picture was a passerby in the park so I blurred her face so as not to offend her.

Well, that is all for the trees in this area for now.  If the storms DO hit tonight and are severe enough, I’m sure there will be more fallen tree pictures.  Until then, adios!

Trees et al

The weather here in the MidWest continues to be oppressively hot and humid.  We endured some very nasty storms over the weekend, and they left their permanent mark on the landscape (and some roofs) of our small town.

View to a downed tree

This tree used to be rather large.  It took the city crews a couple of days to cut it down into manageable logs so that it was no longer in the road.

Pile of logs

Here’s the pile of the “manageable logs”.  They are taller than I am!  I think the residents will have plenty of fire wood this winter.

The leftover trunk of the tree

Here is what is left of what was once a beautiful tree.  I am not sure if it was the lightning or the 90 plus mile per hour winds that knocked it down, but it did a great job.

Along with the storms, the ever-lasting drought has caused damage to the neighborhood trees as well.

A tree shedding its bark

These trees by the local library are actually shedding several layers of bark.

At first, I thought maybe this particular species of tree simply shed its bark but I do not ever remember seeing it.. at least not to this extent.  There are also several other trees in the local parks and along the nature trails that seem to be doing the same thing.  They are not just shedding the top layer of bark as some “shaggy” types will do.  They are shedding several layers.  You will find the curled up pieces of bark along sidewalks and nature trails, totally dried out and crispy from the heat.

On a side note, despite the heat some gardens are doing wonderfully well this Summer.  I had to snap a shot of these lovely black-eyed susans.

Black-Eyed Susans

I found these beauties in a neighbors garden but, surprisingly, my garden is doing pretty good too.  I guess the secret is a lot of sunshine, a lot of heat, and a lot of water.

Lightning and wind and rain, OH MY

The past three days in the MidWest have been full of black skies, strong winds, lightning, and lots of rain.  A couple days ago, my mother and I were out shopping when one such storm rolled in, quite literally out of the blue.  It led to power outages, downed trees, and damaged property.  I have not heard that anyone was injured, thankfully.

Yesterday, the black skies rolled past us.  We were fortunate and did not receive any further damage.  Today, however, the black skies made another visit.  The pictures I have do not do any form of justice (probably because I had to use my very poor phone camera).

We have also been lucky because we have not had a tornado, yet.  People have witnessed funnel clouds, but no tornadoes.  Also, there has been a LOT of lightning.  Bright, loud, sudden lightning.  Is there any other kind?  Well.. no.

Ah, the skies return and it’s time to unplug again.  Stay safe everyone.

Hiking, Drought, and the Supernatural

I went hiking two times today, in the same place no doubt.

My husband and I went to the Hudson Park and hiked the trails along the Salamonie River.  We were happy in seeing some dragonflies and did not realize we had hiked far enough to see a bridge a few miles away.  Sweet!

DragonflyBlue Bridge

We also ran into a group of teenagers who were role-playing battles with foam swords and cardboard shields.  We were able to tell them about JourneyQuest and got an invite to join them again next week.  Awesome!

On the down side, the drought is in full swing here.  At one point, my husband was actually standing IN the dry river bed.  Kind of dis-heartening for the local farming community.

Where the river once was

Fortunately for my spirits (no pun intended), my best friend showed up and wanted to do a little hiking too.  She and I followed the same trails so I could show her how dry the river was.  Little did we know that we were in for a surprise of another kind.

We began by walking around the Hudson Park grounds, taking pictures of the lake and wildlife. We were talking, enjoying eachother’s company and snapping photos now and again.  We came upon the spot of the dry river and I was excited to show her just how low the river could go.

We decided to snap a picture with both of us.  Hmm.. the camera that has been working all this time is not working right.  Wait a second!  It only takes strangely distorted pictures when we are in this exact spot.  Is the light in the way?  No, we turn around and get the same problem.  Is the thumb in the way?  No, we take a few other pictures while making sure all appendages are where they should be.

Not so OK photo..

Photo in a diff spot.

We decide to go to another location and snap photos.  No problem.  We get lovely pictures.  Suddenly, my friend’s phone rings.  Her phone has gone to her tarot card application and brought up the Five of Swords.  This card just happens to have people running around with swords in front of a river.  Wow!  We are feeling the goose bumps now.

This is the exact picture that showed up on the Tarot app.

Next week, we are going back with a different camera and an audio recording device.  Even with the dry river, we may catch something yet!

Reprieve

Currently, my area is undergoing a drought.  It is somewhat depressing to walk around this small town and see the lawns turning to brown and the trees beginning to wither.  My reprieve from all of this is my own modest garden.  The blooms are brilliant and full.  I try to only water them every-other day and at night to save water.  I am delighted to see that black thumb may have some green to it, afterall 🙂