Whoa!!!

As is my habit now, I wandered around the side garden looking for Miss Thing today - and finally spotted her perched on some milkweed right next to a bushy hyssop plant.  The hyssop attracts many bees so what happened next should not have surprised me quite as much as it did.  I watched her as she perched absolutely motionless while a small bumble bee worked its way around the flower.  I thought she was too far away for a grab.  I was wrong.  In a move that was quicker than I could really see, she reached out those big long praying arms with their grabby spikes, snatched the bee and started eating.  Holy crap!  I considered blipping something less graphic, but then decided to be true to myself.  This is fascinating and some of you will appreciate it (others will quickly swipe past it,)   To be fair, the worker bumble bees are all at the end of their life cycles now.  Of course, the mantis is also approaching the end of her life too.  

It looks like two of the hummingbirds who were here yesterday may have left but there is at least one still hanging in, busy on the flowers and feeders.  He will be gone soon, too.  Meanwhile, one of the broods of American Goldfinches are learning how to feed themselves now.  I watched the father sitting patiently on the feeder until one of the youngsters flew down.  He then patiently ignored the youngster while it fluttered and begged, until it eventually began picking at some seeds.  

Thank goodness, the fatigue I've been experiencing for the last few days is gone!  Still have hand and foot pain, but can manage it pretty well.  I have some experience with fatigue as it plagued me for months after I had brain surgery and again when I was having radiation a couple of years ago.  I liken it to dragging around a huge anchor - it's a physical tiredness that is just really unpleasant.  So very glad not to be dragging the anchor around today!  In fact, I just made plans to meet up with a friend for a nature hike on Friday morning.  

Our biggest news of the day...hubs went to central New Jersey to look at a race car and has made a hand-shake agreement to buy it.  The guy who is selling it has restored it to race-ready condition, complete with roll cage, safety seats, 5-point harness, etcetera.  It's a 1990 Mazda Miata that is set up to compete in Spec Miata races which is what my Hubs enjoys the most.  I'm so glad he decided to go ahead and do this - he's been talking about it for several years but didn't want to spend the money. I kept telling him that he needed to do the things he loves NOW because none of us knows what tomorrow will bring.  It's why I'm headed to South Africa with three of my blip besties in six months, and why I went to Costa Rica with two of them earlier this year.  We're not getting any younger and while I hope we can both pursue our passions well into our 80's or 90's...who knows.

I am going with plain, decadent dark today.

xo
Debbi