Housing Crisis

Note: This was a pre-prepared blog post. For all you know I could be lying trapped beneath a downed pine tree in the neighbor’s yard, having been tossed there by Hurricane Hermine. Carry on.

On Saturday I purchased a special house at the Farmers’ Market in downtown Tallahassee.


Notice anything unusual? No door! But that’s ok, because it’s a house for bats.


And the entryway is in the bottom of the house. Cool, eh?

I figured with our do-nothing GOP controlled congress and our equally lame GOP governor ignoring the Zika crisis I should do my part to cut down on the mosquito population. What better way than by inviting bats to live in the neighborhood?

Of course in order to attract bats the house probably needs to be hung. Preferably outside.

Studly Doright isn’t in the mood to hang my new purchase (we are in the middle of a huge storm right now, so I suppose I’ll forgive him). It could be awhile before we’re ready to invite bats to Doright Manor.

In the meantime, I’ve been researching bat houses and ways to attract the flying mammals at https://batconservation.org/.

Apparently Florida is host to at least 14 different kinds of bats. Hopefully at least one kind will like our house well enough to move in. I’ve been told that none of the commercial attractants are effective, so one has to mount the house on a sufficiently tall pole, in an area of the yard that receives ample sunlight, and wait for occupancy. 

Locating the bat house near a lake is supposed to increase the likelihood of the house being occupied, so we’ve got that going for us, but the literature indicates it could be months, maybe even years before we have bats living in the house. 

Considering their inability to take decisive action, these bats might be Republicans.


Peace, people!

A wee bee looking at me

Aren’t these lovely? See more gorgeous nature photography at naturehasnoboss.com.

Mike and Christy's avatarnature has no boss

Wee_bee

Little_bee_looking_at_me

Out in the coneflowers this summer we have counted perhaps up to 8-10 different varieties of bees buzzing around all at once. This was one I have only seen once or twice and he is just a little guy but looks like a mighty little guy given the amount of pollen he has collected to bring back to the hive.

View original post

The Calm Before the Storm

I’m a bit fascinated by our approaching storm. Hermine is still rated as a tropical storm; although, meteorologists expect to upgrade her to a hurricane when she makes landfall tonight. 

I shot a brief video that I hope you’ll enjoy. And hey, if I get blown away, you’ll have something to remember me by. I do have two or three posts queued up, though, so you won’t know I’m gone for a bit. 

​

​

Peace, people!

Hunker Down

I’ve hunkered down, my friend, awaiting storm’s approach,

Supplies are purchased, including wine, my taste above reproach.

Let’s bask this day in the modern life, celebrate electricity,

For tomorrow we may lose this perk and struggle yet to see.

I’ve books stockpiled, along with food, the soul to feed in time

While waiting out the coming flood with words inclined to rhyme.

Oh, I’ll watch the tempest throughout the night, daring it to harm

And hoping that with dawn’s first light it’s fizzled, no alarm.

Hurricane Prep, Cats, and Faeries

After much procrastination (not to brag, but that’s one of my specialities) I decided to drive into Tallahassee to stock up on supplies. I knew we’d need bottled water, but beyond that I didn’t have a clue. I’m not a terrific grocery shopper under normal conditions, but with a possible hurricane headed our way I needed to focus. 


I only had to shop for Studly Doright and me, so there was no need to go overboard. I figured a loaf of bread, a fresh jar of peanut butter, mixed nuts, Cheez Whiz, tuna fish and chicken salad snacks, crackers, power bars and fruit snacks would tide us through a couple of days without power. Of course I couldn’t leave the store without buying Studly’s favorite Vienna sausages. Shudder!

My problem now is convincing myself not to eat any of our supplies until there’s an actual need. I can leave the little sausages alone, but those Apple Straws look interesting. They were an impulse buy to substitute for my favorite Little Debbie oatmeal cream cakes that had already sold out. Damnit! Everybody wanted that chewy, creamy goodness. Here’s hoping a dearth of Little Debbie oatmeal cream cakes isn’t a matter of life and death.

After putting away the groceries I noticed a note propped up against the cookie jar on the kitchen table. Hmm. Maybe Studly stopped by Doright Manor during his lunch time. But when I looked closely I realized that wasn’t Studly’s handwriting:


The cats seldom leave notes for us, and when they do they mostly pertain to the quality of their treats or the state of their cat litter. Scout once wrote me a thank you note for cleaning the carpet of her upchucked hairballs, but that was an exception. This apparently was another exception. Not far from this bit of writing was the indicated note:


First off, I could see the cats need a lesson in changing the “y” to “i” when creating past tenses and plurals, but I was overcome by their thoughtfulness. 

I delivered the note to the faeries, now it remains to be seen if they trust us enough to accept our invitation. Of course if they do I’ll need to figure out how to feed them. Maybe Studly will share his Vienna sausages. 

Update on the storm: As I typed this post, Tropical Depression 9 was reclassified as Tropical Storm Hermine. I just heard on the Weather Channel that the Tallahassee area could experience the worst storm in decades. Oh joy. Maybe I need to go in search of those Little Debbie cakes.


Peacr, people!

Strange Bedfellows

photographic art by Julie Powell

Strange Bedfellows
Words by Leslie Noyes

I can’t get wet,
You don’t like the dry,
You lumber about,
I love to fly.

I dine on worms,
You feast on grass,
You’re quite large,
I’m just a little lass.

I’ve heard you bellow,
You’ve listened to me sing
I admire your ears,
You envy my wings.

You can’t build a nest,
I can’t capsize a boat,
You fear nothing,
I never learned to float.

We aren’t much alike
In our habits and ways,
Yet we manage to co-exist
For all of our days

Despite our differences
We share this earth
I’m your best friend,
And you’re my perch.

Visit https://juliepowell2014.wordpress.com/ for more wonderful photography.


Tropical Depression 9

We’ve got trouble coming.


According to tracking predictions on my Storm app, Tropical Depression Nine is going to make a pass very near Doright Manor in Florida this week. The disturbance is heading into the Gulf of Mexico now where it’s picking up steam and could potentially be upgraded to a hurricane. 

Studly Doright and I experienced a couple of hurricanes when we lived in Melbourne, Florida, in ’03 and ’04. I’m not in the mood to repeat those experiences. Sitting in a boarded up home  (aka “hunkering down”) for 24 hours straight while ferocious winds blew unidentifiable objects into our home was not optimal for my sanity. This blog should be proof of that. And we did it twice.

Had I never had to hunker down to survive two hurricanes I’d probably be writing a how-to blog for docile homemakers or an advice column for lovesick teenagers.

I asked Studly if the cats and I could evacuate to a safer place this time. He just pulled his hat down on his head and croaked, “We’re gonna need a bigger boat.” 

Maybe those days of hunkering down took a toll on him, too.

Oh, and because the storm is currently called “Tropical Depression Nine,” I thought this video featuring The Searchers was a fitting cap to the post. Enjoy!

http://youtu.be/7rXhXLsNJL8


Peace, people.