Saturday, September 3, 2011

Upon Closer Inspection...



It's been one long, hot summer.  I reached my breaking point about day 40 of 100+ degrees.  Not only have all Texans had to spend the whole summer indoors, many creatures have decided to brave it and attempt to live in some a/c too.

We've always seen a few geckos inside, but this year has been over the top.  Those cute little lizards are fast, but not quite quick enough at night to escape getting stepped on.  Bryon and I both have squished one in the dark.  Sorry, Little Lizards!  The girls love chasing them, but our nanny, Gloria, is terrified of them.  She is convinced all lizards are poisonous.   Poor lizards don't stand a chance around here.
Look what I found, Mom!

Can I keep him?


We've also seen a few wasps.  Bryon was out one night for poker, and Haley kept telling me, "bug!"  I would go try to find what she was talking about and kept finding nothing.  Then, while I was trying to get the girls to relax a little before bed, I saw the wasp on the top of the wall.  I had the "brilliant" idea to get the Swiffer and squish the little sucker before he would sting one of us.
Photo credit: Shelby Pfaff
What I hadn't planned on is that the Swiffer was made of foam and wouldn't completely squish the wasp.  So, I had him pinned for a good 10 minutes before I got the nerve up to let him go.  After a big scream from all three girls in the house, we were able to put him out of his misery.
Swiffer, more than just a cleaning tool!



Next on the list of our fun bug finds from Insect Lore.  I ordered a kit that includes 5 caterpillars, food, and a butterfly house, similar to this one from amazon:


What's hiding in the house?

Since the weather was so hot, the company wouldn't ship it until it "cooled off" to below 110 degrees.  When they finally arrived, the girls and I had a blast watching the caterpillars eat, grow, and finally turn into a chrysalis.  Gloria, on the other hand, thinks all caterpillars are poisonous.  She wouldn't go near them!  Needless to say, we can't wait to meet our Painted Lady butterflies.

Haley giving the butterflies-to-be kisses

Today, we finally got a "break" in the heat, with a comfortable high of only 101 degrees.  It was actually cool enough this morning for us to do some yard work.  While pulling weeds, I managed to come across a certain scary momma hiding out.  Can you spot her?


Here's a closer look:
Thank goodness for the zoom function

EEKK!!  She had about 100 babies on her back.  Luckily, she was moving very slowly and was just about as afraid of me as I was of her.  Gloria and Monica think all spiders are poisonous!

Bryon has informed me this is a wolf spider.  The next time you see my sister, ask her about her run-in with a wolf spider on Golden Circle.  She loves them!

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Nature is alive and well at your house. Please, no snakes. They are all poisonous!

Rita said...

Um I think there should have been a bit of a warning about the picture of the SPIDER.

Signed,
Spider Phobic

Molly said...

EEEEEEKKKKK! Chills....nightmares....

Unknown said...

Oh, man! I think I need to hear about the wolf spiders since my parents still live on Golden Circle!!

Regan said...

By the way, that most recent post was from me. :)