I stepped into the back yard to scoop poop this week and realized something. The cicadas are gone!! I'm not sure exactly when I last heard them, but I think it's been awhile. I'm glad their lifespan above ground is short and I'm also glad I won't have to listen to that again for another 13 years!
I'm getting excited about our pears. Wait, let me back up for a minute... My husband has always wanted to have pecan trees and fruit trees. When we first moved to the country, he planted quite a few on a spot he cleared at the north end of our property (pre-pasture/livestock/pond days). Despite meticulous care, they didn't make it. I think the worst was when kids(?) on ATVs destroyed quite a few of them by running over them! He tried again when we were big into the goat business. Well, you can imagine what happened with that. Just think goats, horns, and the need to butt things. A few years ago he decided to give it one more try with three pear trees in our front yard. Two of them have fruit this year!! I'm hoping to at least get a pie or cobbler out of the deal if we can fend off the bugs, birds and whatever else might get in the way.
For this final item you might want to quit reading if you're the type who switches the channel when the lion starts chasing the antelope during the nature show. My husband was working in our new "pool garden" (which deserves an entry of its own) and I was standing on the back steps calling for Alice and Mabel to come in while taking in the heavenly aroma of our gardenias that are blooming. All of a sudden we heard a huge crashing noise and I saw something fall from a tree. Immediately Suzy and MamaDog went tearing into the woods. My husband asked "What was that??" and I told him I thought it looked like a squirrel fell out of the tree. He looked a little skeptical and said that squirrels were very sure-footed creatures. I said maybe the branch broke off when it jumped on it. Before he could counter that, here came Suzy prancing out of the woods with a live squirrel in her mouth looking very pleased with herself. I'll stop my story there. Besides... I decided it was time to come back inside at that point.
- Kelly
- Making my way through the ups and downs of life, holding fast to my favorite Bible verse: "For we walk by faith, not by sight." ~2 Corinthians 5:7. I began blogging in earnest at Yahoo360 on October 24, 2005. (briefly using LiveJournal and blog-city prior to that) In June 2008 I moved to Blogger. I'm now at WordPress where I hope to remain.
7 comments:
We frequently have rat massacres in the backyard at night around here (Mac and Smokey), and, a few times they've nailed a rabbit.
They hunt together. It's funny. Mac waits by the front gate while Smokey lures them. They run for the exit and Mac....well...Mac is quck and deadly. For a small weiner dog he's an efficient little killer!
And then there's Spanky (the herder) who has no idea what's going on but is barking because the others are and who is trying to herd the other 2 back inside! LOL!
I've only heard a few cicadas here. I can never, ever recall NOT hearing cicadas. It scares the hell out of me....
I have been remiss not posting about the cicadas here in Middle TN. I swear, for about two weeks you do NOT want to be outside. Folks who unwittingly planned outside events (e.g. weddings, lawn parties) have been sorry. They are unbelievable. They're dying out now and the corpses stink.
Good for Suzy! I used to like squirrels but after dealing with them in my attic and chewing up wires in David's truck, simply can't stand them. Rats with bushy tails.
My fingers are crossed for your pear tree to bear many pears! I'm so glad you stopped telling the dog and squirrel story when you did. :))
The worst of our cicadas are gone, but I still had a faint chorus last night while taking garbage to curbside.
OOoooohhhh... a pear tree. Never saw one. And I love them. Good luck keeping them free of issues and being able to harvest some. This should inspire hubby to plant pecans?
Loved the Suzy story, even though there was 'nuff said, for me.
I love watching crime fiction, but I´d prefer not to watch the murder of a squirrel because I quite like them :)
I don´t blame the dog, though. Very smart of her, and I´m sure she was chuffed.
Funny how we always yearn for what we don't have. I've only heard cicadas on the tv but would so love it if some were to take up residence in our garden.
As for pear trees, how yummy.
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