So, today’s post is about nothing. I’m involved in a bunch of random things right now. I’m reading two novels. I’ve got Jim Butcher’s latest Harry Dresden book “Twelve Months” and I’m also reading a very old book called “Buddenbrooks” by the German author Thomas Mann. And you couldn’t hope to find two more completely different stories if you tried. But I have an interest in reading both. But the Dresden book flies by while Mann’s description of the 19th century events in the lives of the merchant family Buddenbrook is a task that I peck away at a few pages at a sitting. The translator saw fit to preserve the large chunks of French that Mann incorporated in the speech of some of his characters. And the religiosity and the local customs of Northern Germany are curiosities for a modern American reader.
I’m also involved in a microscopic inspection of the flora in the fields. I mentioned in an earlier post that I couldn’t find any preying mantis egg sacs in the yard this year and assumed that the mantids that I introduced into the yard in the last couple of years weren’t capable of surviving New England winters. Well, either that isn’t correct or the native populations are making their appearance this year. In two different areas of the yard on two different species of flowering plants (cone flowers and day lilies) I found the specimens photographed below.
Now, these critters are infinitesimally small. And considering my old eyes, I’m shocked I found then at all. And as things stand now, I haven’t been able to locate them again on the plants where I originally spotted them. But this doesn’t discourage me. After following some of the mantids around the fields last year I know that they get around and move quite a lot to find the diet of tiny bugs they need to fuel their substantial growth potential.
And I don’t mind saying that finding these little monsters cheered me up considerably. I really do enjoy hunting them around the fields and watching them go about their work of stalking, killing and eating tiny flies and other arthropods. Their skill is considerable and their appetites remarkable for something so small.
And the other thing keeping me busy is preparation for an upcoming birthday party for one of the grandchildren. I found out that the propane cylinder I was trying to get refilled was too old. Apparently after five years it’s considered unsafe and has to be recertified for use. So, the Tractor Supply folks sold me a new twenty-pound cylinder for eighty bucks and now I have both. I wonder how much they’ll charge me to “recertify” the old one? I’m guessing something like eighty bucks. After all, we’ve got to do whatever we can to discourage the use of evil hydrocarbons! But it’s fine. The burgers and dogs will still taste just as good cooked by the new propane.
Well, that’s enough for now. I’m watching my Amazon account today. I sold 613 pages of “The Sniper” on Kindle Unlimited today. That’s almost three books worth and that is pretty good for my sales output so I want to see if it increases before I go to bed.
