Cicadas & Armadillos

Photograph by Medford Taylor

The 13-year cicadas have descended on us - or rather, ascended, since I think they emerged from the ground. There are millions of them, hanging on the trees in our neighborhood and in the rest of Middle Tennessee. After working out in the yard for a while the other day subjected to the relentless, shrill droning, I finally took shelter in the house - it took over 2 hours for the ringing in my ears to stop. Felt as though I'd spent a few hours at a rock concert. Driving can be hazardous, too. Those critters are big, and hitting one is akin to having a wad of cottage cheese lobbed on the windshield. I've noticed young men shaking small trees in the downtown area, scooping up the fallen cicadas and pelting their love interests with them. They definitely know how to woo a girl down here.

Tennessee is the Bug Capital of the U.S., I'm pretty sure. All the bugs of the North live here, as well as the bugs of the South, and Terminix got its start in the state. So besides cicadas, we have termites, roaches, nasty spiders and tons of things that just plain like to bite. My ankles are pretty chewed up, and I've given up trying to be discreet when I weed. I keep my rear end up in the air, because squatting or sitting assuredly results in a bitten up heinie. Not comfortable.

Bruce and I went down to Shiloh, the Civil War site today - what a sobering place. 100,000 men fought, 23,000 died. Awful, awful losses, for both sides. We did enjoy the exhibition of firearms spanning from the Revolutionary War to our current war on terror. Doing away with the need for a ramrod certainly sped up the shooting process.

I am gaining a broader perspective of what the Civil War meant down here.  There isn't a county in Tennessee that didn't have a battle fought on its soil. Iowa was pretty insulated, comparatively speaking, although there are 143 Iowans buried in the cemetery at Shiloh. But to have battles fought, homes commandeered, animals and gardens pillaged - the cost was very high here.

Armadillos rank right up there with possums as far as ugly goes. I counted 5 armadillos lying on their backs, praising the Lord from the sides of the road on the way home from Shiloh today. I'm getting used to the sight of them. There is something prehistoric-looking about that scaled armor.  Like God just swept up all the leftovers from creation and super-glued them together and said, "Gee, that could be something...how 'bout an armadillo?"

Not my goal in life...

Meet the bathtub. 

I've never used it, and can't imagine the circumstances that would warrant my interest in doing so. So for now, I simply keep it dusted and free from the occasional insect that has the misfortune of getting caught in its slippery-sided recesses. It's just not my goal in life to keep it dusted - I think it would be a grand place to put the washer and dryer and use the laundry room for something else. But, in light of the nebulous phrase "resale value" I will continue to do the upkeep.(I'm a woman who keeps a bucket by the shower to catch the cold water that runs until the hot water arrives from the water heater on the other side of the garage - I use the water for the plants & shrubs. Why would I use 50 gallons of water in the tub???)

I am finishing up my project management work and have been dragging my tail about it, having a funeral of sorts. Last week was gray and dreary, and I worked on my final 2 projects. You didn't want to hear from me last week, trust me. I wasn't in a happy place. However, on Friday, I got a swift kick in the seat of the pants in a variety of ways.
1.  Heard a rebuke: "You sound like you're just sitting in the sandbox waiting for someone to come by and rescue you." (Ouch!)
2. Talked to a neighbor who told me (over my thoughts about taking a watercolor class) "You need to take that wishbone and turn it into backbone." (Double-ouch!)
3. Read Psalms 37 and heard, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness."
OK, I think I'm getting the message. Time to stop sucking my thumb and get myself out of the sandbox.

Sorry, Iowa

I saw that it's 93 degrees in Muscatine today. Bummer. That's hot for May, and especially since you were probably wearing mittens last week. Hope your lettuce doesnt' bolt on you. We are only at 88 degrees here, and I have finally succumbed to turning on the air conditioning just to keep the humidity out of the house. The tomato on the patio is basking in the sun, soaking up those therms.

My accomplishment for the week has been nailing down a dentist and ophthalmologist and making appointments. Eventually I'll have to find an oncologist and family practice doctor, but I'm half-blind from trolling the insurance provider website and finding online reviews on the physicians. It was much easier finding a person to cut my hair.

Starting a summer book read with a group of women - Sinclair Ferguson's In Christ Alone - Living the Gospel-centered Life.  Looking forward to it, and I'm confident it will beat the last book I read for book club. I've been in the group long enough that I could be honest and say I didn't like it, thought it suffered from anachronisms, trite platitudes, unrealistic events & thought processes, and caricatures instead of well-developed characters. Can you tell I'm not a fan of lazy fiction? I do, however, love a wicked sense of humor and I have several other books on the lamp table begging to be read. Ah, must finish the project list first!

Little by Little

So I wimped out and stuck fake flowers in the planters outside our front door. Actually there are still some pansies there, but they are starting to think it's getting hot out. When they croak completely I'll put more greenery in. I just want the place to look cheerful, but it's a tough spot - a bit dark.

And we (I use that term loosely) tore out the overgrown and poorly shaped privet hedge on the north side of the house, planted some low shrubs and put in stepping stones, thus eliminating the "tunnel of scratch" and mud.  You can see what it used to look like in the bottom photo. The neighbors also have a tangle of overgrown shrubs, so it was not attractive at all. (That's putting it mildly.) Little by little we are gaining on the yard work - and I'm not complaining since Bruce and I have always enjoyed planning and executing landscaping.

My big challenge this week is living intentionally and fruitfully when I don't have a lot going on. My attempts at landing employment have been futile, but I understand that this is not time to be wasted, nor is it necessarily a "bad" time just because it isn't what I wanted. So I'm trying to learn all I can during this period of "waiting." (Man, I hate waiting for anything. Ack!) 

Soggy

Rain, rain go away, come again some other day.

Lush Azalea Shrubs and the Rain Gauge

I forgot to empty the rain gauge last night, so I was lucky it didn't overflow. It had 4" in it (when it was standing up straight) after the rain quit this morning. But we're grateful that the water is running where it's supposed to run and we cleaned out the eaves gutters last week during a dry day. And the grass seed that didn't wash away is producing a fine stand, so that's another good thing. It's downright cold now - in the 40s - but I'm sure we'll be singing a different song in July and August. Tennessee is like Iowa - always an opportunity to complain about the weather!