Thread-waisted Wasp

More specifically,  a Gold-marked Thread-waisted Wasp gathering nectar in my patch of mountain mint.  All in, she is about an inch long and as an adult she only feeds on nectar.  That said, she actively hunts specific moth caterpillars to feed her young.  Once she has secured a caterpillar, she takes it to a burrow that she has already excavated and then deposits one or more eggs on/in the caterpillar, sealing up the nest cavity when she's done.  The young will overwinter as larva, emerging next summer to start the next generation.  Like all solitary wasps, she is not programmed to protect or defend the nest and is therefore extremely unlikely to sting.  I recently read that this is the only species in this genus found north of Mexico.  

I am happy to report that we were able to get our AC back up and running yesterday - we just shut it off and then started it back up again a few minutes later.  And our bedroom was a comfortable 69 F last night.  Unfortunately, the extremely heavy rain last night created quite a bit of a leak in our bathroom.  We have a large container to catch the drips and Hubs has taken out a big chunk of soaked sheetrock.  Still waiting for the roofer to return our call.  When they were here, they patched the two leaks they found and while the patches weren't mean to be permanent, we certainly expected more than a week!  Only one of the patched areas is leaking so I guess that's one in the win column.  I expect we will hear from them tomorrow.

Another item in the win column for today is that we see no further signs of any mice upstairs.  I have a humane trap set up just in case.  Life in the country in a house that isn't as young as it once was.  Kind of like me.  

It's another very humid day and even though the temp is "only" 80F, it is cloyingly hot outside.  And for some reason, the air quality is also bad today so I am not spending much time outside.

We had a nice FT chat with my parents today.  Dad recently fractured a toe so is wearing a rather awkward boot.  And Mom is counting down the days until she has surgery to fix a trigger-thumb that hasn't responded to the less invasive measures.  

Meanwhile, in my ongoing efforts to manage my own anxiety I came across a really quick and easy way to "unstick" myself.  It can be done anywhere and in as little as a minute.  First you look around and identify three things you can see.  Then you identify 3 things you can hear.  Then you move 3 different parts of your body.  I guess the idea is to stop the worry/anxiety cycle that some of us get into.  I've tried it several times in the last few days and find it really helps in the moment.  I think you can read more if you google "333 anxiety" or something like that.  

I think I am going to forage around in my dark chocolate stash now - feeling the need for something decadent.  

xo
Debbi