Roo's Treehouse

So Long, Summer! {+ Bonus Azalea Story} :)

 Heidy Ho Twinklystars! I am buzzing through bloglandia and enjoying everyone's excitement about fall, and halloween, and a certain gypsy witch's party (who fell off her broom and is healing herself from command central twinkleville!)   {Get well soon, beloved hopalong Veevala!}

 So I thought I better catch the last wispy tendrils and kiss summer goodbye, with a send off bloggy salute.......

 

Goodbye sweet wisteria, the only other thing that gets me going more than red & yellow leaves!

Goodbye, pretty pop-up flowers!

 

Goodbye, beautiful fluffy green leafies, making shade for me and homes for birds and squirrels!

 and then there's azaleas. Should I tell you of azaleas? (OK, I will .....)

I grew up in Miami, a fabulous architectural jungle with the occassional palm tree or wild patch of tropical yard (which I sometimes miss) but the flora and fauna there were definitely different than here in North Florida, or Central Florida, which is southern country charm kinda plant life~

So, anyway, when I was a kid, we bought property in Central Florida, and would often take trips up to get the lay of the land, and make plans for the eventual move to a slower paced life. Ocala is horse country, with tons of rolling green hills and pastures, and cows, too, and split rail fences that stretch for miles....

 

....and, azaleas. Back then, I didn't know the names of any flowers, especially not the pretty flowery bushes along the fences...and anyway, they did not hold my attention as much as the magnificent sight of a ton of black-and-white cows, grazing serenely in the verdant green pasture. "Look at all of the azaleas!" Mommy Goddess exclaimed.

"I am!" said Lil Roo, who had never seen so many cows in her whole life. Obviously,  the azalea breed of cow was the best breed ever.  Need I tell you how this ends, dearest Twinklestar, years later when, grownup Roo tries impressing peeps with her bovine expertise? {goofy girl sigh}

 So, there you have it. :-) I wasn't very country, once. But I've always loved summertime. Summertime, thank you for the picnics, and the lazy summer days, watching the bees buzz by.....I bid you adieu, and azaleas, too, until next year!

 

XOXOXO 2 U~ Roo

 

 

Thoughts on: Insects

 

Hey~hey Twinklestars! How are you? I've been enjoying summer (though I *swear* I see fall whispering in the treetops in yellows reds and shriveling greens!). I'm even enjoying the heat and the critters, except the other day I got bit (several times) by the most GORGEOUS iridescent green fly, yowch!

Because we live in the country, there have been the typical insect rescues of the indoor kind, involving a piece of cardboard and a cup, to capture the wasp/moth/grasshopper/spider/lizard and take him or her back out to the natural wonderland-though I believe they just come in for some relief from the heat!

Do you think I'd be weird if I bought some of these to display as art, year round?  They really are gorgeous!

(The above image is from Wingin' It Art )

Anyhoo,I present to you, from my sun fried brain, Roo's thoughts on insects:

I don't mind spiders or snakes- my ex husband was a herpetologist, who gave me boas as courtship gifts-boas not of the feather variety, but the constrictor variety-and at one point we had several poisonous snakes in cages in our dining room, and one big (200 lb) python named "Buster", who, when he was allowed to roam freely about the house, would try to hide under the love seat and it would bobble (he was a 'fraidy cat kinda snake, who also thought he was a lapdog, hence the name).

Mosquitoes-nature's little Twilight saga. Try naming some of them Edward, see if that takes the bite out of the bite .....

I ♥ bees. They are cooler than cool.

Roaches, however, will make me hurt someone (mainly myself, or anyone who is in my way when I am trying to get out of their way).

Horseflies annoy me-one of the reasons I walk at night in summertime. :p

Ants are fascinating, unless they are trying to break into my home.

Frogs and crickets and grasshoppers and katydids are cute, and also tend to get named (Hortense, Anastasia, you know, like that). Who doesn't love a ladybug?

Or a dragonfly?

 

Beetles are wild, and those weird things that leave their shell behind? What are they again? Funky.

I don't see many snails, but when i do i always stop and say hello and talk about the weather.

Have you loved a bug today? :)

xoxoxo

PS: All fabulous shots taken by the talented folks on  public domain pictures. Except the mounted butterfly pic, which can be found on the Wingin' It site. I am also madly (& maybe morbidly, or maybe just halloweenishly) in love with stuff i found at The Bone Room .