Monday afternoon, I noticed a herd of bugs on the maple tree. The trees have been stressed with the infestation of LDD caterpillars and moths.
After dinner, I thought I'd go out and get more photos of the bugs. This one took a bit of research. It seems to be bark lice or Tree Cattle (Cerastipsocus venosus). The name comes from the way they all split up if you go near or touch them.
The ones with the black and white are the nymphs. That confused me, as they look like another species! The larger ones are the adults, and they feed on lichen, and debris around the tree.
They moved like a little herd when I approached for more photos, hence the name 'tree cattle.' The setting sun highlighted them.
We had an interesting discussion at dinner Monday night: "Can vegans eat honey?" It was fun.
Tuesday, July 27th
Grampa did his walk early on Tuesday, rain was on the way.
Jos was reading and watching gymnastics with me. She multitasks, when the crowd noise captures her attention she looks up. She likes the ads, too. They don't have cable!
Our afternoon walk was cancelled, due to the rain. Nutmeg made some excitement by coming indoors and throwing up three times. Apparently, there were mice friends ingested outdoors.
Isabelle and I painted the wall where the oil tank used to be. We moved into this house in 2010, and replaced the oil furnace. They are bad news, with horror stories about them leaking and insurance not paying up. The previous homeowners had finished the basement, and painted around the fuel tank. I've wanted to do this for ages.
Hilarity ensued. Jos took a photo, as did Grampa. Their dear parents include them in all sorts of home projects. They are good with tools.
Grampa and Josephine went to the store, while Isabelle and I worked. They brought back drumsticks for a treat.
After we were done, we decided to wait an hour and do a second coat. That done, we felt accomplished!
Cinnamon was on the bed waiting for Josephine.
Isabelle, Josephine and Cinnamon were on Josephine's bed. Iz was petting Cinn, while Jos petted her red headed sister. Then they switched. It was a lovely peaceful moment! It was afternoon, and the movie was Men in Black International.
The rain put a damper on events at the Olympics, we watched tapes of the women's triathlon, in the rain. Grampa and I watched the Canadian women's softball team win, also in the rain. It was exciting!
Dinner was tourtière, it was nice having the oven on, on a cool and rainy day. We all fell into bed by 9, lights out for all of us shortly thereafter!
9 comments:
How nice to have willing and experienced helpers. I have been trying to hire a painter -- so far without luck.
...it's a buggy world out there.
I always smile when I see a rabbit, but then I am not a gardener.
Cute bunny - the bugs not so much. ;-)
Family helpers are invaluable , we have the Olympics on our TVNZ and are enjoying all the events. Missed seeing the mountain biking, or shooting, tennis finals will be exciting, as our doubles men should get at least a Bronze. Holidays are a wonderful time, not running to a timetable, not making school lunches or waiting for the bus. When I was at High school, I had to bike on a metal road about 1.5 miles, then a bus about 25 minutes, so many of the pupils were from out of town in the country areas.Nowadays, they all seem to have their own cars!!!
ouch, those bugs looks nasty :(
Seems you had a fun ime painting that wall. :)
Jenn - so glad you continue to het joyful time with your grands! What odd critters on that tree ... all the years we have spent on this earth and we can still discover new things!
Looking so adorable
It's interesting that you had the discussion about honey. I have a vegan friend and she is quite firm that honey is not permissible. I have no idea how she stays on her strict diet, and travel must be very difficult, but she is dedicated to it, verging on Messianic almost.
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