Time Leaves Its Fingerprints In Rust

My old Kenmore Elite washing machine has seen better days, wouldn't you agree?!

The old gal is literally rotting away on me, geesh.

However, she still has some life left in her and continues to launder like a champ!

Franklin water is VERY harsh and has done a number of my sink faucets and tub fixtures, so no surprise it's beating up the washer too.  Of course, they don't make appliances, or anything really, these days that last.

I have my fingers AND toes crossed that she continues with my garment care...

Milkweed Pods A Plenty

I had oodles of milkweed this summer, with many of them growing in the flower beds within the pool area.  These plants did very well, got very big and have big seed pods, as they're big fans of direct sun.

I took the below pics a couple weeks ago.  These same seed pods have now begun to dry and crack open and will soon be blowing their seeds all over!

It would also appear that once milkweed gets established in an area they spread and sprout new plants via their roots too, not just the seeds they'll soon be sowing.

Frustratingly and sadly, I did NOT spot a single Monarch caterpillar on any of my milkweed plants.  Nor did I see any on the milkweeds plants I've passed on my walks or when out delivering mail, alas.

And I only saw a handful of adult Monarch butterflies visiting the flowers in my yard this summer.

But then again, as I've been saying, it's been a weird summer in general for plants and animals, from my perspective anyway.

Something To Snack On...

To the impatient POS who was riding my bumper and leaning on his horn this afternoon, while I was performing my federal job of delivering the mail for the USPS - 

Perhaps, the above is a tad bit too abrasive. Let me try again using a bit of Shakespearean flair -

"Good sir, I bid thee kindly — eateth a satchel of phalluses and choke upon thy hubris."

I would also like to extend this heartfelt sentiment to ALL the other impatient, angry, rude, POS drivers that act and behave the same way!

Have a nice day!

On Fire!

Last nights sunset off my back deck was stunning!

And I got to share it with my daughter.

#Blessed

Late Bloomers But Oh So Welcome!

My Montauk (Nippon) Daisy's have had a tough go of it this year.  The plants are not as full as in years past, they've grown "leggy" and not nearly as many buds. Oh, and let's not forget that for some reason, the wild rabbits did a number on them this year too AND are still at it, GRRR.

All that being said, the buds that are there are starting to burst with BIG beautiful flowers -

The honey bees, bumble bees and many other insects are making the transition from the sedum to these beauties -

What a beautiful fall flower to have adorning my yard!

#Blessed

Pool Season Is Officially Over!

So, this happened today!

Long overdue and spur of the moment decision, I found some motivation and spent the afternoon; a long afternoon, closing the pool down for the season and getting the cover installed -

A bitter sweet process, as this very well could be the last time I close and need to fuss with my pool.

I have the process down pat and have become proficient at opening and closing all by myself, right down to removing and installing the 22'x42' pool cover -

With the fall upon us, the leaves are beginning to drop with many finding their way into the pool, which makes for a mess and more work for me.  So, it's always such a relief when the cover in finally in place and I no longer need to worry about leaves and debris, the expense to run it or the time to maintain it.

She's all tucked in for the coming months - sweet dreams.

Just Call Me "Handy Manny"

My handy work still on display years later!

I don't recall exactly when I repaired the below mailbox post but guessing some 10-15 years ago! I believe my dad was still in his Westwood house at the time and this was a friends mailbox who lived around the corner.

In keeping up a yearly tradition of mine, I stopped in with some of my fresh tomatoes for her the other day and to say hi and catch up. The mailbox caught my attention, for some reason, so I snapped the below picture.

I also don't recall how the post was damaged, perhaps from a snowplow tossing snow and ice while plowing the main street. Anyway, the original post was damaged and needed to be repaired.

Instead of replacing the post, I simple sandwiched the original post between two pressure treated 2x4s and bolted them all together -

And taadaa, still standing and still solid after all these years! 

A Little Joey

I came across this young opossum the other day lying in the driveway when delivering a package.  It was still alive but in rough shape and struggling. There were a couple yellow-jacket on it and it was covered with what looked like lice or nits or something.

I still had a couple hours of deliveries ahead of me and I had nothing to put this dude in or any way of helping it at that point. Perhaps, if it looked better, and I thought it would have had a fighting chance, I may have risked taken it and tried to help it.  Instead I moved it out of the driveway to the base of a tree and laid a piece of pine bark over top, in an effort to keep the bees aways.

I scanned the area and didn't see any signs of the mother or others babies, so guessing this little fella fell off it's momma while she was out and about, or perhaps, she knew something was wrong with it and intentionally left it behind.

The circle of life...

Just To Be Clear...

More LLV Adventures

Arrived at the post office the other morning to see my LLV had a rear flat tire!

I'm just thankful it didn't go flat while I was out on my route.

Getting the flat is somewhat a blessing because as it forces management to install new tires, as most of the LLVs are running on older, balding tires, and it puts the carriers in danger!

I had another interesting LLV mishap a couple weeks back, where I got the truck stuck!

I thought I was being creative in an attempt to access a mailbox that was blocked by trash and recycle barrels. It's a very busy section of road, so I was reluctant to unbuckle and get out of the vehicle to move the barrels.  Instead, I waited for the opportunity, then swung the truck out around the barrels and then back in towards the mailbox.  That worked in terms of being able to put the mail in the mailbox, however, the front right tire dropped off the road, which slopped down - stuck I was!

Pulling forward was NOT an option, nor was trying to turn left and drive out. Attempts at reverse failed, no leverage and not enough umph to get it out, UGH what to do?!

Fortunately, and thankfully, one of the neighbors, in a pickup truck AND with a tow cable (what are the odds) was coming home, saw what happened and that I was stuck.  He pulled in behind me, jumped out and grabbed his tow cable.  He secured one end to his truck and I crawled under the LLV to secure the other end and he pulled me out in two seconds with ease!

SO grateful and thankful for him caring enough to stop and help out a stranger.  Suppose there are still some nice, caring people out there - just need to wade through all the other POS to find the good ones.

I thanked him profusely, shook his hand and continued on with my route.

Ah, adventures of a mail carrier. 

I've Got A Nibbler Visiting...

Although, gardening season is coming to an end and just about over, I do still have pepper and tomato plants alive and plugging away.

The tomato plants are all but gone and the plants look pathetic but they still have green and reddish fruit a com'n.  The pepper plants are still looking good and are loaded with peppers.  However, this year was a frustrating one for my peppers - in years past I would leave some of the bigger green peppers alone to let them turn red.  This year, as they were in the midst of turning, most began to rot from the bottom up and sadly those went into the compost instead of my freezer. This was a weird gardening season here in New England overall, so I'll chalk it up to that.

What's happening now, and although I've not seen it or them myself, there is clear evidence that the deer are sneaking in my yard and eating the ends of both my pepper and tomato plants, see below -

You don't need to be Daniel Boone or some Indian tracker to see the signs beyond the missing plant ends!

Here are a couple examples -

At this time of the year I would prefer they stick to eating the perennials that are starting to die off.  This way there will be less Fall clean up work for me to do.

Speaking about deer, here is what I believe is a mother and daughter deer that I spotted while out on my delivery route the other afternoon -

Mother with daughter having just walked into the golden rod to the right -

Although, I'm not seeing them in my yard, I have been seeing them when out driving more often lately.  I suspect they know the colder weather is a coming, so they're bolder on their pursuit to bulk up as they forage in preparation.

Gemista (yeh-MEES-tah)

I made Greek stuffed peppers yesterday afternoon and it was SO delicious!

My own peppers, that I picked a couple hours earlier, super fresh -

I used ground lamb and my fresh tomatoes, like the peppers that I picked a couple hours earlier -

I ate two, BURP, and have leftovers for a couple days.

#Blessed

Blood Donors Are Plasma-tically Amazing!

Why yes I am!

Another Red Cross blood donation in the books -

The Power Red machine I was hooked up to - 

Good news too, they NO longer need to prick your finger to capture a small amount of blood to check your hemoglobin level to ensure you have enough iron to safely donate, nope!  They now have a senor that fits around your thumb, that connects to a battery operated machine and that reads your hemoglobin level.

Honestly, that was really the worst part of the donation process, that darn finger prick.

Automation is a good thing.

BEElieve It, They're Here!

As I pointed out in an earlier post, I saw the fewest honeybees in my yard this past spring and summer since being in my house.

However, I am happy to report that I now have oodles and oodles of honeybees visiting!

Seems their favorite flower is sedum and now that it's in full bloom they're coming in droves, SO happy!

Click this YouTube link to see a short video I took - Franklin Honeybees on Sedum

Well This "Stinks"

Green vs Brown -

Can you find the critter in the first picture below?!

** GREEN **

A green stink bug -

And how about this next picture, can you find the critter?!

** BROWN **

A brown stink bug -

There's no real difference between the two, except for their colors.

Just like in past years, this time of the year is when these pests appear in BIG numbers!  They're ALL over my house, windows and screens; they're everywhere.

I swat as many as I can but honestly, that makes a mess and a squashed stink bug truly stinks, UGH!

Flying Dragons?!

Do you see it?

It blends in perfectly on the branch of this red pine tree -

But upon closer inspection, TADA, it's no branch -

Rather a cool looking dragonfly.  Taking a breather, perhaps digesting it's food or searching for it's next unsuspecting insect meal -

Massachusetts is home to over 160 species of dragonflies and damselflies, so identifying this dude is tough, especially since the image is a bit blurry, my apologies for that.

If I was to take a guess, I'd say this is a female or a juvenile male Blue Dasher.  

Here's what the Google machine is telling me - 

"Females and Juvenile Males have a more muted coloration, often with yellow stripes along their abdomens, similar to markings on the sides of their thoraxes."

and

"Blue dashers often perch on stems or leaves, and their wings may droop downward when at rest."

Prove me wrong!

A Calico Paint Caterpillar

Hard to miss this colorful brown hooded owlet caterpillar resting on a goldenrod stem -

I spied this dude on my walk the other afternoon. I mean how could I miss it?  It sticks out like a sore thumb.

They prefer to rest during the day and more active at night, when they like to feed. They're recognized as agricultural pests, particularly for lettuce and asparagus, as they can severely defoliate crops but the good news is that they're also an essential food source for birds.

I left this dude alone but had I known it was a bad dude I may have squashed it.  Hoping a bird spied it too and took care of it...

A Tettigoniidae Family Member

Seems I'm on an insect themed posting streak here recently, so I might as well continue...

I spied this female katydid, also known as a bush cricket or long-horned grasshopper, Sunday afternoon while out on my back deck. She was making her way up the downspout and onto the roof.  She was out a out a tad early, being they're nocturnal, but perhaps she was just making her way to wherever katydid gather in the evenings...

They're not a very speedy insect when crawling.  Kinda remind me of how a sloth seems to move in super slow-motion.

Even though the evening temperatures drop to the chilly side, these katydids are still a chorus singing away at night.  These dudes, along with the crickets, will lull you to sleep if you sit and listen to them long enough.

Find The Critter

Can you find the critter in the below picture  -

I pulled the LLV up the long driveway to deliver a package to the front door this past Saturday and this Montauk Daisey was the first plant along their walkway.

I always check out the plantings when delivering up to houses.  Call me nosey but I like to see how and what others plant and how it all flows. This Montauk Daisey caught my attention because of how full and symmetrical it is, as mine are long, leggy and sagging. Mine kinda look pathetic this year but for sure the wild rabbits eating them isn't helping...

Anyway, I spotted this lady almost immediately! She just stood out.

Perhaps, a bit like Ray from the movie Rain Man, where he quickly counted the toothpicks that fell and scattered on the floor, sometimes I possess a similar ability when it comes to spotting critters, like this beauty -

I had another package to deliver to the same house yesterday but this lady had moved on.

** UPDATE **

Here's another "Find The Critter", that I came across yesterday and under the same conditions - walking a package up to a front door.  This one too, I spotted immediately -

This lady was on the hunt! There were bees coming and going on this sedum and her head was moving about trying to select her meal. She noticed me and my camera, turned her head as if to say "buzz" off, I'm working here, so I let her "bee" and off I went -

I wish these ladies were in my yard.