 |
| Grasshopper or katydid? She has short antennae and doesn't look like a walking leaf so I'm assuming she's a grasshopper. |
This little character has been hanging around my cutting garden for weeks now. When I first spotted her she was balanced atop a lush Dahlia 'Hollyhill Karen Lee', which she quietly nibbled until it looked as though it had received a crew cut. When the dahlia's stem broke, I tossed the flower in the compost bin, only belatedly wondering if she'd managed an escape. I found her yesterday perched on this sad-looking Dahlia 'Terracotta'. She looked a lot like how I feel, surrounded by dirt and a general mess.
It's taking a long time to finish our roof. The crew worked on it steadily all last week, even returning for a couple of hours on Saturday morning to button down the garage roof in advance of rain. We got all of 5/100ths of an inch, enough to transform the dust that's covered everything into a dirty film. The roofers were back on the job Monday morning. Whether they'll finish today is anybody's guess.
 |
| This is how things looked at mid-day on Tuesday. I've learned the hard way that roofing isn't just hard on the exterior landscape - it also generates a lot of dirt inside the house. |
Interestingly, while searching for indications as to the identity of my small green visitor, I came across a discussion of the green grasshopper's role as a spirit animal. According to this summary: "When a grasshopper spirit animal comes leaping into your life, it signifies your need to make a tremendous leap of faith." Although I can't say I'm one to look to psychic signs for guidance, I've decided to view her presence as a positive.
 |
| View of the harbor from the back garden: the marine layer is back! |
There's light on the horizon. Our remodeling project will get finished, eventually. My garden will be restored to health, in time. Cooler temperatures and rain will return, if not immediately then soon. Congress and the voting public will constructively address the circumstances confronting our nation. I'm going to make sure my green friend finds another dahlia to perch on before her current roost is tossed.
For more Wednesday Vignettes, visit Anna at Flutter & Hum.
All material © 2012-2019 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party
Oh! I didn't see that last one (Congress and the voting public will constructively address the circumstances confronting our nation) coming. Sneaky. And I hope you're right.
ReplyDeleteThe madness has to end at some point, doesn't it? Even if some politicians have persisted in putting their self-interest ahead of ethics and common sense in the face of ever-worsening affronts to the principles they claim to hold dear. Civil war? A coup? That's the kind of talk that comes out of authoritarian warlords in third world countries. Beyond "sad" - appalling.
DeleteHooray for the marine layer!! And I just LOVE the view with all that fiery red in the foreground. It always excites me (in a good way) to find a grasshopper. Maybe your leap of faith is not exactly a leap, but more a nudge from the Universe to hang in there. You're so close, Kris - just a little more time, and you will have the perfect space for all the holiday parties. And, as a nation, I can feel it. I think change is coming - fingers crossed that the strength of our justice system, resolve and methods of Congress, and a growing support throughout the nation will shape our near future with grit and fairness, and that the moral compass will not be further tampered with. Despite what I think are the looming discoveries of the yet hidden iceberg of this corruption saga, I feel more hopeful than I have in a long time.
ReplyDeleteIt's hard to get hopeful about a shift on the political front when we see the same appalling behavior week after week. Following the 2016 election a friend with different political leanings than mine told me that "things were going to get better" referring to the elected party's behavior. My own husband said that our system's checks and balances would keep our democracy afloat. I hope we've turned a corner. The fact that 45 fails to recognize, much less acknowledge, that his "perfect" call was anything but is an indictment in itself.
DeleteI love the idea of the grasshopper as your spirit animal. You definitely took a very big leap of faith when you embarked on this construction project. I wonder what my spirit animal is. I hope it's not the dead possum I found beside my shed, decomposing and stinking up my back garden a few weeks ago.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure its not a dead possum, Alison! I bet both of us would identify more closely with the description of a cat than either a grasshopper or a possum. I can't say I buy into the whole notion of spirit guides or symbols of any kind; however, finding that notation in a random search prompted a shake-up of my mind-set. Even if temporary, that's valuable.
DeleteI believe that's a Gray bird grasshopper (Schistocerca nitens) in nymph condition. I'm not too fond of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the ID, Eric.
DeleteThe end must be in sight... this is the most upbeat you've been in a while. :)
ReplyDeleteI think of myself as fairly pragmatic, Eliza. I can be cynical and even pessimistic at times but I have enough of an optimistic "virtually any problem can be solved" mentality to drag myself out of despair when I descend into such moods.
DeleteI sympathize with your roof woes. We had ours done last Fall. I ran around like a frantic demented squirrel plucking everything out of the garden as it fell. Pretty sure the roofer's were done with me by the end. Hang in there. The end is near.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazed me what falls from the roof, both on the landscape and inside the house, Elaine. The roofing crew has a guy tasked with both set-up and clean-up and he's been a sweetheart digging into the beds retrieving debris but I have no illusions - I know I'll be picking stuff out of my beds for months to come.
DeleteI hope the tide has turned on both your remodel and the grave state of our nation.
ReplyDeleteI imagine we're going to be "treated" to an endless series of vitriolic dialogue before the political mess is sorted out, Kathy, but I do hope the tide has turned.
DeleteIf you can look at a grasshopper and like it that is a positive. :) I hope your roof is finished soon.
ReplyDeleteHa! (I think my brother feels the same way about grasshoppers as you do.) It looks like the roof should be done today - they got close yesterday but had only a small crew on the job.
DeletePositive thoughts do go a long way! But boy, that roof is taking a looooong time - around here, asphalt shingle roofing is the standard & that doesn't take a crew longer than 3 or 4 days from start to finish. You are that much closer to the finish line, though - it will be very worth it once everything is done.
ReplyDeleteThey finished the roof this afternoon, Margaret! It took them longer partly because they had to deal with a few entirely new sections of roof - the old kitchen roof was demoed in its entirety when we pushed the kitchen wall out 5 feet and another section of roof was removed when the chimney section above the indoor BBQ was removed. And then they took a different approach because rain was forecast for last week so, instead of handling the entire roof step by step, they approached it in sections, completing one area before moving on to the next. Still, I was surprised at how long it took too! I think they must have had another project going at the same time as the last couple of days we had 3 roofers instead of 9.
DeleteWhat a gorgeous view of the harbor! Remodeling projects seem to always take longer, and cost more, than anticipated. I still have nightmares about our once upon a time kitchen remodel. But you are right: This too shall pass, as will the drought and high temps. Happy fall, when it finally arrives!
ReplyDeleteI hope I won't have nightmares after it's done, Deb - it's bad enough I'm having day-mares now!
DeleteGood idea to consider it a positive sign. Wouldn't it be nice if we could simply wave magic wands and projects would be done? I'm sure it will be amazing when it's done. Your view is unequaled, no matter what's happening with the house, but I know that doesn't remove the frustration of being displaced.
ReplyDeleteIt's especially nice when the air is clear enough to see the harbor and beyond, Beth. We got a tiny bit of rain last Saturday and it helped scrub the horizon clean, if only temporarily.
Delete