I don’t know how I even spotted these

Since Christmas day, our house has been a mini-infirmity. All sick and not much fun to speak of. We did get one good laugh out of it. I took care of my husband with the flu for about five days before it got to me. At that point I couldn’t help him at all and he could barely help me. Yes, I found that funny and got a good laugh out of it (after I was in bed for 5 straight days!)

As we emerged from the haze, I was able to start to open up the house to air out the germy-germs and let the cedar (actually juniper) pollen in I am starting to see things a bit more clearly now.

We have wonderful neighbors that would call and get the grocery list and drop supplies off on the front porch. I do have a memory of that, but I have more evidence piled on the counter of fast mindless meals (plain pasta, rice) and piles of dishes that needed to be addressed. Also piles of laundry.

I went outside to hang out the blankets and quilts. As I was hanging them out I looked across the field and it looked foggy. It couldn’t be fog, the sun was shining and it was noon. It was a haze of pollen that made me stop in my tracks and wonder if I should even be hanging out the blankets at all. I decided it was better to exchange the flu-infested germs for pollen.

When I made up the bed later that evening I noticed something on the blanket. As I took a closer look this is what I found…Something was busy out there that day… busy laying eggs. I went to get a rag to wipe the eggs off, wondering what type of eggs they were, and should I spend some time trying to figure out if they were from a “good” bug or a “bad” bug. I decided I was too exhausted and ready for bed that I just wiped them away. They were more resilient than I thought they would be. They had a hard shell and took a bit of effort to un-stick them from the fibers of the blanket. Amazing!

Nature is amazing.

I have no idea how I even noticed these eggs, they were so small. I still wonder what they were from. All the others were draped open over two lines. This was the only blanket that was hung on one line, which gave a nice dark, private spot for this critter.

Sincerely, Emily

 

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Sunday Photos…My Solar Dryer

“We should all do what, in the long run, gives us joy,
even if it is only picking grapes or sorting the laundry.”

–E.B. White

***

This past week we had a few days in the 50’s here at Chiot’s Run and I was so happy that I could hang out a few loads of laundry. There’s nothing quite as wonderful as a towel, sheets or a shirt that has been dried by the sun and the wind. What’s not to love about line drying your laundry? It saves on your electric bill, makes your clothes last longer, and you get to go outside to hang them up. I love the way the laundry looks hanging out in the garden, especially in spring when everything is still dormant. I doesn’t even bother me to hang my “unmentionables” out for the world to see (well, I suppose just the deer and the rabbits and my one neighbor see them), it is a good excuse to buy pretty underwear! Here are a few photos of the airing of my clean laundry.

Are you a line dryer? Does your climate permit doing it all year long? Do you ever dry laundry in the house during the winter?

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