Millions of Peaches, Peaches For....Not Me!

Yesterday I looked out my front window and saw the branches of my peach tree overloaded with beautiful fruit!  Almost time to harvest! 

Tonight, I went outside to check on them, and hopefully pick the first few peaches. 

Um, except there WERE NO PEACHES on my tree!  Gone! All of them. Totally gone!  Not one dang peach left on our tree.  Just yesterday there were over 100 out there. 
Where are my peaches?!!

Summer Solstice

Well, there are no sandy beaches or cousins in Arkansas, but we do have an abundance of natural springs and good friends, here.  We took a picnic lunch to Blowing Springs Park and met up with the Gulbransens and Zebleys on Wednesday.

This place is incredible and conveniently located 5 miles from our house and within walking distance from the girls' elementary school.  There are campsites and picnic areas, dozens of trails, caves, a pavillion and park area, but the main attraction is the natural spring that flows from the cave.  It is clear and shallow and full of creepy treasures for the kids to discover.

 
 In no time at all, the kids had a nice collection of crawdads and salamanders.  No, we weren't Arkie enough to take the crawdads home and eat them via crawfish boil, but I've heard they're actually pretty good.  Eh...pass. For now.  Give me a few more years in the south.

 Quincy caught in a pick.

Reese with one of her best friends, Madi.

We'll probably end up calling this picture, "How Corbin got Giardia".  Hey, Ozarka bottled water comes from around here, doesn't it?   So that's basically the same thing, right?  Right?  At least the water he was drinking was clear...

 Or maybe I'm the one with giardia. ;) I got nauseated and threw up all over the bushes right before lunch.  Corbin and Cole followed me up the trail and just stood there, staring at me.  Seriously, they couldn't look away. Cole was like, "You're puking?  That's your throw up? You feel sick?"  Luckily, there is an awesome cold breeze that flows from the cave and we sat in the shade and managed to stay nice and cool and I felt better pretty quickly, but still...third trimester and still tossing cookies in public?  Classy.  This pregnancy has definitely been my most difficult and reminds me a lot of when I was pregnant with Reese.  But hey, she turned out pretty perfect so at least I know I'm cookin' up a good one.

 Corbin and Cole: always together and always up to something.

 Mission accomplished. They caught a rock.

We continued our Summer Solstice celebration on the way home when we all stopped for half price milk shakes at Sonic.

I made a yummy pesto veggie pizza for dinner with a bunch of the goodies from our garden.
I'll post the recipe soon.  Happy Summer!

More Butterflies and a Gross Biology Cycle.

Have you ever seen anything so disgusting??? These "big green monster" caterpillars or "green horns" can get 4 inches long. Sick. I did a little research and they are the larvae for the Luna Moth...which we also found outside. I sure hope these guys don't eat my tomatoes alive next year.

The caterpillar was eaten by my chickens for breakfast. Huh...the chickens then produced eggs that I ate for breakfast. Our waste water/byproducts will go to the water treatment plant, be treated and turned into compost, which we will purchase next spring to beef up the garden beds. The compost will be host for more green monster caterpillars. There's an amazing/gross biology cycle for ya.

We have a new swallowtail butterfly in the garden this week. They are so pretty.

Butterfly Summer

This morning, we watched a hummingbird fly around on the patio while we ate breakfast.
It was pretty amazing.

Quincy has a pop up book that she got for her first birthday from Mark and Melinda called "Caterpillar Spring, Butterfly Summer" that she loves. The caterpillar eats all spring, and emerges as a butterfly when summer arrives. We are definitely having a "butterfly summer" here!

I had no idea that oregano, marigolds, and sunflowers attract butterflies, but we have quite the butterfly garden out back because of them.

I spy 3 butterflies in this picture. Q identified the buckeye on the left.

A Black swallowtail. These infest Bella Vista every year. So pretty!

Mousetrap

R.I.P Little Fatty.

Wanted: Dead or Alive...but mostly dead.

A few nights ago, I accidentally left the door that goes out to our garage from the kitchen open all night long. Oopsie. I've squished a couple crickets, but no biggie, right?

Wrong. There is a biggie, alright. A big FAT mouse. He ran across my kitchen floor when I flipped on the light in there at 6 am and he scared the crap out of me. My house is clean. I have like 50 stray cats in our yard. How the CRAP did I get a mouse? Sick!

I'll tell you how. HENRY. We frequently see little critters coming in and out of his garage, and last time I was over there, the floor was a carpet of rodent feces.

Dear Mouse,

Why? Why my house? You had a freaking paradise set up across the street with your pals. The kitchen alone is a smorgasboard. Were you crowded out? Did the fruit fly colonies hog the rotten fruit pile? What about the bathrooms? The toilets are full...that seems like the kind of thing a nasty little critter like yourself would be interested in. Why did you come to my house? Now I feel all icky and want to move. Also, I'm afraid to take off my shoes and it is 103* outside.
Curse you, tiny beast!
I am armed with dcon bricks and enough traps to kill an army (just in case you have any little friends, but I really don't think you do). You are going to die.

-Meg


Dear Henry,

Your house is disgusting. Now that you've attracted mice, do you know what are going to come next? Snakes. I don't do mice, I definitely don't do snakes, and I don't do well with hoarders. Expect a visit from the Health Department very soon. Also, you probably should not be driving while taking hydrocodone. You also probably shouldn't continue taking hydrocodone if you're describing its effects as "just the same as water".

-Meg

I cleaned my garage today (finding a mouse in your home will drive you to absolute insanity.) I'm sorting, scrubbing, and purging everything I own. Nothing is safe from the wrath of my ScotchBrite sponge. I even cleaned my cleaning products. Hopefully Little Fatty came over on from Henry's on his own and doesn't have 20 cousins slummin' it with him in our crawlspace.
I'm so grossed out I can't breathe. I don't think I'll sleep until Fatty is dead.
I'll blog more later. I need to go finish bleaching everything I own.

You know you're in Arkansas

When you go out for a date and end up at a buffet (sick, btw.)



When you check out the movies and nothing looks interesting, so instead, you go to Tractor Supply and buy animal traps to catch the litter of stray kittens under your house.


When you go outside in the morning to check your cat traps, and find this waiting for you.

not a kitten.

"This is it boys, this is war!"

The war with the Japanese Beetles is ON, this year. I ordered a carton of Milky Spore, and plan to treat the garden soil with it. Over the next few years, the grub population in my soil should dwindle down significantly. Grubs are Japanese Beetle larvae. No larvae = no beetles. At least that's what I hope. What is Milky Spore? It's an organic insecticide for natural pest control. Honestly, the buggies in Ar are so awful, that I sort of don't give a rip about being all natural, organic, blah blah blah, but other than the grubs, my soil is awesome and full of good organisms, too, and I don't want to load it with pesticides that will kill those off, so I'm going to try a more organic route.

Milky Spore can be applied spring, summer and fall and doesn't harm earthworms, birds, bees, fish, other animals, or plants. It works by attacking the larvae stage of the Japanese beetle known as grubs. Once treated, the plant roots absorb the spores which these grubs then eat, ingesting a natural occurring bacterium known as Bacillus popilliae. The bacteria are lethal only to Japanese beetle grubs, and cause the grub to die. Its color changes to a milky white during the process, thus the name Milky Spore. These grubs then decay and release billions of bacteria spores back into the soil, restarting the entire process. Another cool thing I learned is that because of the way the spores multiply and cycle back into the soil, one treatment will continue working for 5, 10, even 20 years. Like.

I know. Since when do I care about being organic? I guess since I started putting so much work into having healthy dirt for my plants. If I load it with toxins, all that work is wasted. So we're going to try this approach, first. Either way, the grubs/beetles have GOT to go. The chicks are growing like crazy. Evey morning we wake up, and peek in on them in their little cage, and swear they grew an inch overnight. Every afternoon, when Reese gets home, we take them outside where they can roam freely and eat as many bugs from the yard as they wish. Last night, I found a tick on me. Bugs are gross. There is certainly no shortage of bugs in my backyard. I'm pretty sure we'll have some fat little hens very soon.

Whaaaaaat!!!!???

Everyone,

WATCH

THIS

MOVIE.

Don't watch the trailer.

Don't google it.

Just rent it, and watch it.

Like, right now.

You're welcome.

Good thing I wasn't naked.

Gather 'round, friends, it's time for a sing-along!
wahoo!

This story would be so much more entertaining with Duran Duran's Girls on Film playing in the background.

But we'll settle for Popcorn Popping.
Join me, will you?





"Oh, IIIIIIIII looked out the window and what did I see?




Ross with his camera, taking pictures of...me???"

Could it be?
Let's take a closer look, shall we?
A-ha! Busted!
Look at that, Rossi...you aren't the only one who knows how to zoom in.

Ew, right?

Granted, he was probably taking photos of the birds or the snow...but it should be noted that I took this photo from INSIDE my house. And before I took this picture, he was facing straight forward, staring right at me. I even waved through the window after I took the picture, and he waved back.

How neighborly.

Ross and Naked Marge are now PapaROSSi and Naked Marge.

I feel like I need one of those crazy Sarah Palin fences, now.

"I will not tolerate infestation!"

Don't worry.

We have selected a winner for the Shirt Shun, but we decided we want to announce it with video post, so the shirt destruction can be documented. So you'll have to wait a few more days.

But to the winner, I cannot wait to give you your chunky ring and tshirt.

Meanwhile,
Aaron and I have a little problem.

With crickets.

Ok, actually, Arkansas has a problem with all bugs. They are enormous and look like things that your nightmares are made of.

Our problem is singular.
Just one cricket.

And not because it chirps all night, because it doesn't.
It is made out of plastic.

When we moved here, our home was a crusty, outdated mess, that had been previously owned by an old couple named Dorothy and Guy (it's been 5 years and we still get their mail). The house was really REALLY ugly, decked out in Brady Bunch wallpaper and light fictures, smelled musty, and every time the a/c or heater kicked on, 2 or 3 of these wicked looking crickets (that look like jumping spiders) would come in through the vents. Gross? YES! We took to keeping our shoes by the vents so we could easily smash them. Nasty. Everyone that lives in Ar knows what kind of cricket I am talking about. Ick.


We finally got a bug guy to come out and spray the house, and that combined with a horribly long, cold winter is what we think finally exterminated them. But we are haunted by the crickets. Once, the showerhead was dripping in the master bath, and we spent a good 15 minutes with the lights on at 3am, searching our bedroom with shoes in hands, looking for the cricket jumping around that we thought was the cause of the noise.

Anyway, about a year ago, one of the girls selected a Chuck E Cheese toy that looks IDENTICAL to the dang crickets.

The image below is the most alike that I could find to the one we have.
Trust me, this is not your average spider ring fake-out. There are bugs here that look almost exactly like this.

This sucker is the same size, shape, and color of the crickets that sneak into the houses to torture the residents of Northwest Arkansas.

It doesn't matter that it has been a good year or two since we've had a cricket sighting in our house.

The memory of finding them everywhere still haunts me.

And now this, this TOY is causing me to lose sleep.
I can't get rid of it!

Every time I think I have thrown it away for the LAST time, it reappears...in the sock drawer, in the shower, on my pillow, in the closet, on the floor behind the toilet...anywhere.


And it scares the crap out of me. every. single. time.

I can't even tell you how many times I have "killed" it with a shoe or rolled magazine, then screamed a second time, when it didn't "die", but instead bounced off the pillow and came flying at me.

And Aaron just thinks it is sooooohohoho funny, and laughs and laughs at me until his face turns purple,
or until there's a "cricket" on his pillow.


THEN it's not so funny.

I've had this post typed up for awhile, and I keep meaning to publish it, but I've waited because I wanted to include a picture of said fake cricket.


Unfortunately, I can't find it.
The last time it freaked me out, it was in the drawer in my nightstand. I jumped out of bed when it touched my hand as I reached in the drawer for a pen and journal. Aaron hahaha'd a good 10 minutes that time.


And I can't find it now, which only means one thing.

He has stashed it again.
He has hidden that little bugger somewhere in this house, and I know that Aaron is just waiting to hear me scream when I discover it, so he can die laughing at me for falling for it again!


Well, laugh it up now, Baby,
because once I DO find that cricket, some hardcore payback is coming your way.


And if I happen to catch YOUR jumpy scream on camera...
it is so going up on the blog.


Then, that evil little Chuck E Cheese toy is going to find a new home (again), because even fake bugs are gross, and this little war has gone on long enough.

The Japanese are Attacking!

Japanese Beetles, that is.

Every year, they come, they eat, they leave us with nothing but a stubble of a plant.
They are gross. They are everywhere!

The problem with the bag-a-bug beetle bags, is that I feel like I am just attracting every bug from the entire neighborhood, rather than away from my garden. 2 hrs after hanging the last bag, we had 2 CUPS worth of beetles trapped. Sick, right? And they were still all over the peaches.

I just found this link, and I am going to try it. I'll let you know how it works out.

And in case you are wondering, no, I will not be eating the beetles.

There's a Snake in My Boots!

It's always comforting to find a snakeskin on your lawn.


Especially when said snakeskin is over 4 feet long.
It could eat my babies.
It's on, lil' snakes....er, big snakes.
It is on.

{Too Much}

I'm drowning in note cards, leftover Easter candy, and sawdust.
Oh, and ants.

I'll catch up on the blog when I've caught up on life.
At least the kids are happy, and the laundry is done, and the house is clean.
...aside from the ants, that is.

"From the sheer face of love, like a FLY from the wall. It's no secret at all..."

Dear fruit flies (or at least that is what you will be referred to on the blog, because it is the only name out of the many titles you've been given this weekend that is still PG),

I hope you had a bangin' time at the little frat party you threw in my home this weekend. The large number of attendees is evidence that you did.

Please enjoy Happy Hour at the Willy's, where the following cocktails will be served compliments of the management:
Apple Slices in Apple Cider Vinegar aka "Crap. How did I get myself into this mess?"

Get Out Of The Lawnmower Exhaust Pipe Punch aka "Last thing I can remember was havin' a good time in a cloud of smoke...then I woke up in here with that ugly chick"
Watermelon Swarm on the Rocks aka "The Life Sentence Trap"
Sudsy Death in a Hot Metal Bowl aka "I wish I'd landed on a piece of poop instead"

For the diabetic flies we offer vinegar and dish soap. This cocktail was referred to online as the HUMANE Fruit Fly Trap. Seriously. You only live for 30 days, and you are little flying pieces of grossness that only exist to drive me insane, gross me out, and give me a reason to use bad words.
Who cares about being humane?
Apple slices in peach syrup for the gluttons on the windowsill.

And your favorite: The Eat, Drink, and Be Merry for Tomorrow We Die/Moldy strawberry stems and squishy blueberries in watermelon juice aka death by paper cone.

The bay leaves scattered every 12 inches of counter space are considered NO VACANCY and indicate kitchen space that is reserved for NON-disgusting tenants.
I AM sorry to announce that your pay-by-the-hour hotel room/empty peach box in the garage is no longer available to serve as mating grounds for your promiscuous reproduction. Please take your nasty brothel elsewhere.

"I will not tolerate infestation" 2

The Willy house is currently under a violent surprise attack via fruit fly.
Regular blogging will resume when the problem (disaster) is under control.
FEMA has been contacted and will hopefully be sending relief to the lady of the house soon, as nearly all resources for her sanity have currently been exhausted.

"Another Flouresent Night..."

One of my favorite things about Summertime in Arkansas are the lightening bugs. If you've never had a chance to sit outside on your porch and watch the fireflies appear while the sun sets, you are truly missing out on a neat experience.

I tried to catch them on video, but only about 1/3 of them showed up on film because it was so dark outside by the time I thought to grab my camera. The buzzing noise is a ucombination of crickets and cidadas chirping. By the end of July the locusts come out too, and it is as loud as a buzzing alarm clock outside! That gets annoying, but the lightening bugs are pretty cool to watch. I only wish you could see them all. Enjoy a little taste of our Summer!


PS- if you squish one in your hand, your skin does glow. If you catch one in a jar it will NOT light up! So annoying, and not like the cartoons and books at all. You lie, Disney! Also, fireflies are more like a moth, not a fly...which is probably why they call them lightening bugs here where they actually have them and know what they look like.

Spider Rats

Imagine it is 3:30 in the morning. You lie asleep in bed exhausted after a weekend away from home, and a 17 hour drive from Lordsberg, New Mexico to your home in California. Your mom, sister and two nieces are so exhausted from the drive that they decide to stay the night with you, because it is just so late and they still have another two hours of driving to do. Suddenly, the bed creaks. You open your tired eyes to see your sister STANDING ON THE BED totally freaking out.

HolleeAnn: MEG! What are you doing? Get down, you're going to fall.

Meg: Aaaauggghhhh! Aaaaauugggh!

HolleeAnn: MEG! Look at me!

Meg: AUUUUGGHHHHhhhh!

HolleeAnn: MEGAN. GET DOWN... MEG! You're standing on the freaking bed. What's the matter with you?! Get down.

Meg: What WAS that?! It's over there...by the wall!

HolleeAnn: Meg there is nothing there. JUST LIE DOWN. You're going to break your neck.

Meg: (shudders) I feel like it's on me still....it just came right out of the wall.

HolleeAnn: Just get down before you fall. Do you even realize you are standing?

Meg: They're like Spider-Rats or something...it's over there. by the wall.

HolleeAnn: MEGAN YOU'RE SLEEPING! there is nothing there. I promise. GET DOWN. GO TO SLEEP.

Then I wake up...

Yep. I'm standing on my sisters bed. teetering over her head.
Where am I? How did I get here? Where are my children?...most importantly....where is that freaky rat thing with the spider legs that I dreamed was coming through the air vents?

Meg: ok THIS is what happens when you give me regular Dr. Pepper late at night. I just need some sleep.

Since I regularly share my sleepytime conversations with Aaron, I thought it was only fair that just this once, I would give a little insight to what it's like for him to share a bed with me. Apparently, I also recently yelled at him to "take the missile out of our refrigerator before leaving for work in the morning". You know, just like every wife does. Along with "bye honey, have a good day", "lock the door when you leave", and "don't forget it's trash day".

By the way, HolleeAnn, we really need to take some new pictures together. That one is like 2 and 1/2 years old...