Category: Amazing Creations

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Humor, Nature

Doggie in the Window

When I was a child in the 1950’s this was a popular song. Perhaps one of the first choruses I learned to sing?

Lately we have called our new Beagle “Lucky-To-Be-Alive!” Bob was working in the yard one day while I was out. He decided to let Lucky be on the deck and watch him so she would know where he was (which is on the second story of our house). As he was working down below he would call to her and she would put her head between the bars of the deck. This happened several times. Then he called to her and – no dog.

As he came in the house to see what was going, she met him at the door. She had caught the screen, ripped it with her claw and come in to try to get to him. Oops. He was able to fix the small tear in the screen. Eventually, all was forgiven.

They say the first few days a dog is withdrawn and getting used to their home pack. Then the next few weeks they are learning the routine of the household. Then you finally get to know the dog’s personality. This beagle has quite the personality! She knows what she wants and does not hesitate to tell us.

Yesterday (August 20) I finally found monarch caterpillars in the milkweed! SO EXCITED. One was about a quarter inch long, one about half inch and one fat and older. He was curled on the leaf so I could not tell his actual length. I came in to get Bob and he grabbed his camera to join me in the garden.

We had opened many windows and the door on the lower level to let some of the cooler, less humid air in over night. I actually forgot about the open sliding door in the basement.

As we tried to capture photos in the bright sun, a neighbor came over to find out what we were doing. As we were telling her about the milkweed, monarchs, caterpillars, etc., we could hear Lucky barking and barking. Next thing we knew, Lucky was running around our feet and then across the street to explore. Yep! She had ripped the downstairs screen and let herself out. She was in SO much trouble!!

She ran around the neighbor’s yard. Resisted the urge to come and be loved on. We were grateful she did not take off into the woods. That side of the street would be very difficult to navigate if we had to attempt to capture her. Finally she was so curious about Lisa that she came to her . Lisa held her collar. I said she was okay to pick up . Eventually I took her in my arms. Then Bob took her as he was getting ready to leave. We put her in the kennel. Inspected the screen damage and in some ways blamed ourselves. We could have tied her out, or put her in teh kennel, our taken her with us on a leash. But the sight of those caterpillars was so exciting!

I mean she really tore the thing this time. Our neighbor was the second person to tell us they now make a stronger screening material that is supposed to deter dogs. I don’t know if this one wouldn’t rip that, too. AND I had just gotten her nails cut on Wednesday!

How much is that doggie? Veterinary fees. snacks, kibble, screen doors!, leashes, tags, flea drops, heart worm medication and she is SO worth it. But at times she makes us growl.

For all her eagerness to be part of the pack she is still timid at many times. Cowers if I hold the leash over her when we are getting ready to go out – as if I might hit her? Is reluctant to come to Bob when he offers her a treat. It makes no sense to us, but perfect sense to her.

We may never win her full trust and affection, but she has us as her furever family!

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Nature

It was not the wife who said,

“Touch me not!” Remember this photo from July 2nd of Jewel weed?

Well with Bob’s help we were able to sort of capture the action of the seed pod. At first I did not touch it hard enough. When I turned it in my hand, you miss the action of my touching it, but get to see the seeds released in my hand. The pod curls up into a spring. The second pod is not ripe yet.

And one from Oregon https://youtu.be/Fb6-Zz1LQL8

Guess who hatched and got large enough to be seen? Hint, on first photo – look at top of plant!

Had to wonder on second photo above if weight of caterpillar dropped it down to the next leaf?
Making that hole larger!!
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Nature, Spiritual growth

Miss Muffett

From my post July 25th remember about how the fear had no power unless she gave it to him by swatting at it in fear? Been trying ever since then to get a good spider web photo. This time of year the spiders seem to spin the largest webs. How’s this? See the body about center of the center tree?

How much power are you giving to your fears? Are you able to sit still in their presence and know that fear is a choice? There is a debate now how many times the Bible says ‘Fear not.” For me, whether it is 100 times or 365, reworded as be not afraid, we are instructed how to cope. We are also told not to entertain thoughts that draw us away from the Living God. (2 Corinthians 10:5) We are told to LET NOT our hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid. (John 14:1) The choice is ours. Whether reading Genesis 15:1 or Revelation 2:10 fear is not our best choice.

“Molly Lin, the spider is fear. It has very little power on its own. But you give it your energy by flailing and struggling and assuming it is more powerful than it is. Think through this same scene and SEE that had you chosen to sit still and watch that spider, it would have dangled from strings and been as impotent to harm you as the one holding its frames. He has no power over you unless you give it to him. Fear is a choice!”

Taken from Miss Muffett © 1982 Molly Lin Dutina

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Covid 19, Faith, Nature

Look What I Found!

Out walking Lucky on August 11, 2020, last week. With the cooler temperatures for a few nights at our house this week, the leaf was a welcome reminder that even summer swelter does not last forever.

During Covid it seems as if the days last forever, and then suddenly we are repeating the task of yesterday. It is all so ‘daily.’ We often ask “How did we get towards mid-August already?” Seems like a time warp that circles and twists in upon itself. How many months have we been doing this?

Yikes.

“Praise be to the name of God for ever and ever; wisdom and power are his.  He changes times and seasons; he deposes kings and raises up others. He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to the discerning.  He reveals deep and hidden things; he knows what lies in darkness, and light dwells with him.”

Daniel 2:20-22 (NIV2011)

Posted on in Aging, Amazing Creations, Nature

Raccoons

Did I tell you about the raccoons? Oh my! We accidentally left the garage door open one night. Usually BOTH of us check to be certain it is closed before bedtime, but that night neither one of us checked.

Bob always gets up first in the morning. He found the mess! Shelves cleared off. Bird sunflower seed storage bucket all over the place. Cardboard box of suet ripped open. Storage bucket of dog food knocked over and spilled. Dog was going wild over the raccoon odor. It was hot and took Bob a long time to clean up. So frustrating.

That night we were careful to check the door was indeed closed. Bob got up in the morning. Same sort of deal. He was now livid! How in the world did the ‘coon get in? Where was it now? Dog was going wild in the closed garage and centering on his car. Bob backed his car out of the garage. Raised the hood and there was a raccoon looking back at him. Zoom! it disappeared into the bowels of the engine. WHAT?!?! Blower did not make it stir.

NOT CUTE!!

How do you get a raccoon out of a car engine? He drove it around the cul-de-sac. Looked inside. Yep! Raccoon eyes! Now. what …?

We were baffled!

We looked on-line to the wisdom of the world. It said put an open can of cat food near the car, open the hood and wait.

Called our local mechanic. He said put an open can of cat food nearby. Open the hood and wait. geesh. Did he go online, too?

Had no cat food, but had those single portion tuna cans. So we put the car in the front yard on the dead dry grass, opened a can and waited. Nothing. Then I began wondering did we have to actually see the raccoon exit? If it did, then what was to keep it from going back in the engine? Had to move the can where Bob could see it while he ate lunch.

Later he had to be some place. He moved his car to the driveway and moved the tuna near it. He took my car. The dog wanted out. I watched thinking she could not reach the can. As she lapped up tuna juice I raced outside to move the can further from her reach. She was still fascinated with the front wheel well of the car. We left it that way all night. I was hoping the entire raccoon hood would not move in thinkin’ “them was some good vittals!”

Next morning, no mess in the garage. And Bob raised the hood of his car to NO eyes looking back.

Trust me, we have been VERY careful every night since then to BOTH check that door. The dog occasionally walks past the car and checks his wheel well, but there is nothing interesting there now.

Gotta love that beagle nose on legs!

NOT cute, at all, ever!


Posted on in Amazing Creations, Nature

Dan Pointed This Out!! Thanks, Dan!!

For many years I volunteered at the Butterfly Show at Cincinnati’s Krohn Conservatory. My friends, Betty and Dan, know this about me. Dan recently forward this article to me. Thought I’d share it with all of you!

By Chris Ciaccia | Fox News Astronomers have spotted a “butterfly” in deep space.

The bubble of gas, known as NGC 2899, was spotted between 3,000 and 6,500 light-years away, in the Southern constellation of Vela (The Sails). It has two central stars, which astronomers believe may give it its “nearly symmetric appearance,” researchers wrote in a note on the European Southern Observatory’s website.

“It appears to float and flutter across the sky,” the ESO researchers wrote.

NGC 2899 had never been captured in an image before in such detail, as the “faint outer edges of the planetary nebula glowing over the background stars” can be seen, the ESO added.

This highly detailed image of the fantastic NGC 2899 planetary nebula was captured using the FORS instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. This object has never before been imaged in such striking detail, with even the faint outer edges of the planetary nebula glowing over the background stars. (Credit: ESO)

This highly detailed image of the fantastic NGC 2899 planetary nebula was captured using the FORS instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope in northern Chile. This object has never before been imaged in such striking detail, with even the faint outer edges of the planetary nebula glowing over the background stars. (Credit: ESO)
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Nature, Spiritual growth

Compare and Contrast

I took this photo on June 27, 2020.

Local cornfield.

And these photos on July 31, 2020. Same corn field!

Tried to get same tree perspective for your comparison!
What a grass!

Other things have been growing, too. I have never tried to grow a Hibiscus, but some around here do. One person had a ditch full of pink, white and red ones! This is one Lucky and I found while walking the street.

And another

I think the red is my favorite!

Remember this photo of the milkweed from May 14th?

Look at it today! The tall ones in the back are about 5’8″!

Big guys in the back!

Has your spirit grown and prospered so far this year? Are you feeding upon the Word of God?

“All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,  but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

1 Peter 1:24-25 (NIV2011)
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Faith, Nature

Strange Summer

Besides the obvious corona virus restrictions and civil unrest, the Cicadas have been singing even though the large scale emergence is not expected here until next year. We have had sweltering heat and humidity. Frequent air quality alerts with ozone levels on the rise. Even the shrubs and trees look wilted. Then we had almost 3 inches of rain in 24 hours.

One particular evening a strange rain storm swept through where entire sky looked yellow. No storm sirens blaring or weather alerts, just so strange. Our cameras could not capture the tones we saw with our eyes. I was able to adjust the color somewhat.

Teeming rain and some wind

The only other time I have seen a sky similar to this was in Lexington, Kentucky years ago when a tornado was close by.

Weird and fascinating. I prefer those blue skies with white puffy clouds and low humidity!!

See, the Lord has one who is powerful and strong. Like a hailstorm and a destructive wind, like a driving rain and a flooding downpour, he will throw it forcefully to the ground.

Isaiah 28:2 NIV 2011

For I know that the LORD is great; our Lord is above all gods.  Whatever the LORD pleases he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps.  He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth; he makes lightnings for the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.  

Psalm 135:5-7 NRSV
Posted on in Amazing Creations, Humor

Lucky Dog Update

Oh yes, she is settling in just fine and almost has us trained! Benjamin asked to be kept updated on Lucky so here is the news! Grandgirl told me about a Starbucks dog treat, so of course we had to try it out!

Something like Pupperacino. Whipped cream in a tiny cup. We went to the drive through and parked in the lot.

She is wearing her harness to ride in the car with ease now. It has a handle on the back that helps if we need to lift her into the car for some reason. Bob wants to get a handle installed permanently on her back. Silly man!

The League For Animal Welfare is always looking for unique names for the animals. There ought to be a dog named “Move!” When we had our other beagle one child I kept called her “Moo!” because I so often said “Move!” She walks in front of us and we tell her to MOVE! Trying some new techniques to get her out of the way.

She fared pretty good with the fireworks. Thunder and lightning, not so much. There was thunder in the distance the other night. She was up in a nanosecond, looking out the window as if to exclaim, “Not AGAIN!”

Oh no! Not again!!

When it rains she wants to be touched. If it really storms she wants to be held while she trembles.

Not certain when we might be able to let her off the leash even around our yard. Maybe in due time. She adores Bob. If he leaves the house, even to empty the garbage she waits at the door. I have gotten to where if he leaves in the car, I first open the garage so she can look out the screen door to watch him get in his car and then drive away. She cries less that way, though she most often waits for him by the door. Wonder if we need another dog so I can have one, too? If we both go out she sometimes howls from her kennel. When we get home she most often has not consumed her treat! And she has a lot to say when we return. Yowling and crying with delight. Wags that tail and wiggles those hips like a professional dancer. She rarely barks though, inside or out.

As I write this blog she is asleep under my desk. I occasionally nap with her in the guest room in the afternoon. She understands not to sleep in our bed at night. I layer my bedroom recliner with her blankets and she gets her FAVORITE, a bone filled with a slice of cheap lunch meat, a Milk bone and a smear of peanut butter. Then she settles in the chair for the night or occasionally on the floor.

Still insists on being walked before she will “do her business.” Hoping she will start going in our yard before winter. If not, we will be walking more in the winter!

Already five weeks in her furever home! Still some timidity that we may never understand, but she is getting more accustomed to us our routine and her place in the family.

Posted on in Amazing Creations, Humor, Nature

Euchaetes egle

Yeah that is what I thought too when I read the name! We have been awaiting the emergence of monarch caterpillars. Recently while inspecting the milkweed plants I saw piles of tiny black poop on some leaves. A telltale sign of caterpillar activity. Imagine my shock when I found these instead!

Looking online for more information I found …

The furry milkweed tussock moth caterpillar looks like a tiny teddy bear covered in tufts of black, orange, and white. In their first three instars, milkweed tussock moth caterpillars feed gregariously, so you may find entire leaves of milkweed covered in caterpillars. Milkweed tussock moth caterpillars can defoliate a stand of milkweed in a matter of days.

The adult moth occasionally is observed on milkweed or dogbane, although you might not be impressed enough to notice it. The milkweed tussock moth has mouse gray wings and a yellow abdomen with black spots.

Mouse gray and yellow my foot! These ugly monsters are literally defoliating many plants and I am angry! Then Bob reminded me we have seen these before. Oh. I guess there is enough milkweed to provide for all of them. But WHERE are the monarch caterpillars?

Evidently, not here. Milkweed Tussock Moth Caterpillar U G L Y

Meanwhile, the corn is fine and growing quickly!