Beetles & Berries

So I was sitting here at the computer this afternoon, looking for inspiration-of-the-gardening-kind and eating a bowl of partially thawed blackberries, when I realized one of the "berries" was very hard. I thought, "hmm, must be a stem..spit it out into my hand... and shreiked! This lovely black beetle, missing a few legs, had been hiding in the berry package and then in my bowl. Now... when I bought these, I saw the American flag on the package and thought, "good." But after finding the beetle I looked more closely at the bag..."Product of...(gasp!) CHINA"?!?! Unless you like finding surprises in your food (that are not fun surprises like in the old Cracker Jax) you might want to read the labels more closely. Then again, a beetle could have crawled into just about any packaging..or, I should say, been scooped up during harvest or processing and "missed" from any packing plant. Things happen. Its "only a bug." But the fact that the package announces "Product of China"? Yeah, that makes me a bit queasy. (No it doesn't, but I'm not overly thrilled either.) Yet another good reason to GROW YOUR OWN. LOL

 

 

 

wet and not-so-wild..or maybe wild

 

 

 

 

There is current fascination with the rain due to the fact it has been an uncommon occurance in these parts for the past three years. As long as it does not discover a point of entry into my humble abode, it is welcome. (rather selfish thought on my part isn't it! Tunnel vision. egocentric. etc.)

moss

 

 

 

 

My one reader asks "Where's the moss?" Well, here's the moss my boy. Moss on the ground. Moss on some driftwood. Moss on an olive tree. Moss on a Sycamore. Granted, it isn't SEATTLE moss but then, this isn't Seattle! LOL

rain

 

 

Today has been an orange day. As in Doppler orange. The self-cleaning gutters (read; rusted out) are making "nice" for the papyrus below. The grassy area to the south has become a small lake and Twin Rivers flow from it down the driveway. It has been a long time since that has happened. Boring as it is to be stuck inside all day, I am thankful for the rain. Really, I am. I am also very glad that I made a library stop last week! Almost done with Barbara Kingsolver's "High Tide in Tucson" so will have to decide what's next; "Small Wonder", also by Barbara Kingsolver? or "Crazy ladies" by Michael Lee West? Perhaps "The Collected Stories of Eudora Welty". Now if only I could stop eating everything not bolted down...

Zebra grass plume

 

 

If only Bermuda grass were this pretty.