Critters and Other Stuff

Nothing much happening here in upper East Tennessee except beautiful fall weather and lots, and lots of LADY BUGS - yes, I said lady bugs and they are driving me CRAZY! In the early spring and in the fall we are overcome by lady bugs. Because we are adjacent to the Cherokee National Forest and because the hemlocks are endangered by a bug called the woolly adelgid (I think I spelled that right) and because the lady bug is the ONLY thing that eats the woolly adelgid, the National Forest Service releases millions and millions, did I say millions, I meant trillions of them from the air into our atmosphere. It would be no problem if they did the job they were released to do, but at this time of the year they seek warmth - that means the sun - the sun on my front porch each afternoon. If we did not have to open our doors now and again, I could see them from afar, but because we do ever so often have to go out, they fly in the door, thereby requiring me to suck them up in my vacuum. One other small bit of info - they STINK when they are challenged by man or vacuum and I have discovered, in a really big challenge, they bite! Now this little problem just began on last Friday and we probably are in for a couple of weeks of these pesky visitors. The only relief I can foresee is frost or rain. They do not like rain and the frost will kill them, but not before they have laid their eggs for next spring. It is a never ending battle. I think the Lord sent these pests so we will welcome winter instead of dread it. Oh yes, I failed to mention that I am not the only one that these little critters have chosen to visit. They are EVERYWHERE. There was even a segment on the news how this region is plagued by them - sort of like the locusts in the Bible. The only difference we don't have any people to let go!

Next problem - field mice. Thankfully, I have a courageous husband who does not mind emptying traps when they catch the mice that seek warmth in our garage. We not only live on mountain, we are surrounded by woods - thus field mice. Since I have no resident cat, they prefer my house to my neighbors who has 4 resident cats. My two dogs, yorkies (whose heritage is to seek out and kill rodents), are of no help. They have risen above working in this life, and would not know what to do with a mouse if they caught it.

Next problem - raccoons - big, fat raccoons that gorge on my sunflower seeds and suet. I love to feed the birds. We have a multitude of different birds that live in our woods - doves, cardinals, nuthatches, titmice, blue jays,wrens, finches and more. The raccoons and opossums raid the feeders at night. I put out new suet yesterday because it attracts woodpeckers and I love to watch them. This morning - suet all gone. No bird ate all that suet from late yesterday afternoon till this morning. Besides, my suet feeders were open and that is a sure sign that the culprit was bigger than a bird. No wonder the raccoons that I see when I take my dogs out before bed are fat - I'm feeding them lard!

After five years of living here on the mountain I guess I should be accustomed to sharing space with wildlife and bugs. The joys far outweigh the nuances. We are beginning to see, with the shedding of the leaves, the view of the mountains toward North Carolina and evening sunsets. Yesterday afternoon's sky was breathtaking with the pinks and reds. A good way to close out the day remembering that there is with the bad (bugs) also good. God is good! Thank you Lord Jesus for the privilege of living in this world you made.

I almost forgot - no more blogging for a few days. Hubby and I are off on a little adventure. His son, who is in the Navy has been in Japan for three years and is being stationed in Hawaii. We have his truck and are taking it to Charleston SC to be shipped by the Navy so he will have a vehicle when he arrives in Hawaii in December. He will leave for the middle east in January and will be there for six months. Please pray for our safety in travel goin to SC and Kenneth's safety in this transition and in his deployment. All this moving is a big deal - lots of paper work and planning. Believe me, he really needs your prayers at this time in his life.