This warm weather really bugs me.

Mark Petruska

Oct 1

Remember the cluster of flies in The Amityville Horror? I kinda wish I'd never seen the movie, because this is what our house looks like currently.

They're not flies, but boxelder bugs. And thankfully (I guess?) this behavior is normal. It does not signify the presence of evil spirits or paranormal activity. Per Wikipedia:

During certain times of the year boxelder bugs cluster together in large groups while sunning themselves on warm surfaces near their host tree (e.g. on rocks, shrubs, trees, and man-made structures). This is especially a problem in the fall when they are seeking a warm place to overwinter. Large numbers are often seen congregating on houses seeking an entry point.

To that, I say,

Not that there's much we can really do, other than wait for the onset of colder weather. The fact that it's going to reach well over 80º the next three days does not bode well for ridding ourselves of these things in the near future, but at least they're harmless.

If you're not a fan of bugs, don't come visit, okay? Our house attracts a wide variety of insects. Since moving in, we have dealt with large numbers of stink bugs, earwigs, and weevils. None of them are anything more than a nuisance, and in speaking with our neighbors, we have learned that everyone deals with them. Which is sort of a mixed blessing, I guess. Tara mentioned all the bugs to a coworker one time, wondering if it was "a Wisconsin thing." Her reply? It's more of a "living in the country" thing.

Touché.

You know what else is a "living in the country" thing? Owning a leaf blower. I swore I never would; those things have always struck me as noisy, irritating, and unnecessary. Whenever I'd see somebody using one, I'd think to myself, just pick up a rake, you lazy bastard. Well, I guess I'm the lazy bastard now, 'cuz Tara came home with one last week and I freakin' love it.

The thing is, we have a ton of trees, and a very large honey locust that towers over our back deck. It's constantly dropping leaves. I'd spend 10 minutes sweeping them up, go inside for a glass of water, step back outside, and find the deck once again leaf-strewn. Add in more leaves on the patio and fire pit area, and pine needles and grass clippings in the driveway, and it was just a constant battle keeping everything clear. The leaf blower simplifies the whole process. Plus, I get to pretend I'm one of the Ghostbusters when using it! Win/win.

Between family reunions and apple festivals and overnight stays in Milwaukee, this is the first weekend in a month where we didn't have a lot going on. But that doesn't mean we sat around on our laurels, either. Which is really a shame, because a bit of laurels-sitting sounds wonderful.

We vowed to do very little with our backyard this spring and summer, choosing to observe the various garden beds Dick and Carol had tended to see what came in over the course of the year. Mostly what came in was weeds. Clearing the overgrown beds to prepare a blank slate for spring planting was to be a fall chore, and now that it's fall (though you wouldn't know it from the weather), we got to work doing that yesterday.

I spent hours transforming a bed that looked like the one on the left to a bed that looked like the one on the right.

One down, eight to go! Tell me again why we bought such a big property...?

(I kid, I kid. Totally worth it.)

We don't have to get them all done this fall, but I think we should be able to knock most of 'em out. That single bed took me over two hours because I had to pull grass by hand and then dig up an extensive network of roots with a shovel, all the while keeping an eye out for that ever-present poison ivy. Didn't find any in there, but I did get a few mosquito bites (see: country, bugs), so I didn't emerge completely itch-free. Some of the other beds do have poison ivy, so clearing them will take a little more finesse. I will say, the soil in those beds is fantastic! Nice and loamy. I actually had to run that word by my garden-loving wife to make sure I was using it correctly. She confirms. Loamy it is then!

Suffice it to say, by the end of the day we were both hot, sweaty, and sore. An evening of cards, beers, tequila, and records was just the ticket. At one point Tara happened to glance out the window, and I'm glad she did...

...because that sunset was stunning.

Do you get a lot of bugs where you live? Are leaf blower owners lazy bastards who ought to just pick up a rake? Should I dress up as a Ghostbuster for Halloween?