While I was out
This summer continues to kick my ass. I’ve been extremely busy again. I’m still busy but at least I’m starting to get back into a routine, or at least a routine that’s a bit more than work, eat, sleep, and repeat. So this will be the catching up post.
It hasn’t helped at all that almost every major road in northwest Alabama is being resurfaced, whether it needs it or not. There have been some days where it has almost doubled my driving time in the morning. This has given me lots and lots of time to study this sign. (Sorry it’s a crappy cell phone photo.)
Am I the only one who thinks of the Wizard of Oz and Miss Gulch / Wicked Witch of the West when they see this grooved road sign? I know it’s supposed to be a motor bike, but I just can’t help thinking of the Wizard of Oz. It actually took me a while to figure out what it meant. Much much later, I discovered that you can see reflective stripes if you look at the sign from the side.
Remember the tadpole pool? Well it’s been an education in the cycle of life. Back before it got miserably hot and it was raining almost every night, I managed to catch a photo of mom or dad frog. He/she was calling to another frog that was just out of photo range in the dark.
Then I started noticing that there were fewer and fewer tadpoles as the days went along. It’s been miserably hot here with 100 degree days for many weeks. The pool sits right out in the sun so I assumed, the hot weather was taking it’s toll. Then one day there were no more tadpoles. A while after that I found this guy.
It’s hard to see but that’s a dragonfly nymph that I found in the pool. They eat a lot! That’s probably a better explanation for where the tadpoles went. Now both nymphs are gone so I don’t know if it emerged (usually it takes months) or something came along and ate it. I have seen some dragonflies around the backyard though. Who knew so much could happen in a $10 dollar wading pool?
The rest of time I was able to spend some time at the W. C. Handy Music Festival at the end of July and I’ve been going to the local farmer’s market most Saturdays. Those are my two favorite parts of summer here.
Morning routine number 1. Open shower door and turn on water to warm up. Get ferrets out of shower and put drain cover back in place.
“Mom, did you know you have a tunnel in your shower?
Why didn’t you make it big enough for a ferret?” – Dexter
As The Yarn Turns 
Ok, my first 50 guesses would not have been grooved road for that sign!
Hmm. Did you breed some mosquitoes in that pool, too?!?
Here’s hoping things settle down for you soon.
Someone had to tell me what the sign meant!
I haven’t seen any mosquito larvae. If they did hatch, I’m sure either the tadpoles or the dragonfly nymph would have eaten them. Course now that everything is gone, I’ll probably have to clean it out.
I hope they settle down. It hasn’t helped that I’ve had to deal with the crazy ex almost every weekend lately.
I hear you on the busy summer. As much as I love the season, I will be grateful for the rest when it’s over.
Do ferrets like to get wet, or do you take them out of the shower before you turn it on? My cats keep poking their head in, but when they hear the water, they back out fast.
Oh – thank goodness the drain is too small!!
Hope the remainder of the Summer goes well for you!
If it were a little bigger, I’m sure I would find halfway down it.
I hope the summer goes well for you too!
I was going to thank goodness the drain is too small for ferrets but Sharly beat me to it! Yep – The Wizard of Oz – NOT grooved road!