Ready for a Science Lesson?

I wrote something about a certain slime mold on our lawn almost one year ago. It was so riveting that I started thinking it's about time to write another "science" post. (I use the term "science" loosely.)

Maybe this will become an annual blog post: "Science Lesson of the Year" I'll call it.

Except that would suggest these little musings on science are award-winning and spectacular when they are really just my own observations from a layman's perspective.

Perhaps "Annual Strange Observations on Science-related Kinds of Things Around My House" would be a more suitable title.

While watering my garden and attempting to water certain other flower beds in our yard this morning, I ran into one of these:



That, my friends, is a 2-inch long wasp that flies at lightening fast speeds in zig-zag motions as if it's drunk. It's called a Cicada-Killer. Please agree with me that it looks menacing. It does, doesn't it? I mean, it even has the word "Killer" in it's name!

These giant wasps nest underground, and I guess the females (which, by the way, are the only ones that sting) come out in full force in early summer to lay their eggs...underground. The females also hunt cicadas to put in the nests for the larvae to eat when they hatch the following spring.

I guess larvae like roasted cicada because it is already 100 degrees (100 degrees! That's 38 degrees celsius!) here so I can only imagine the ground temperatures will be at least that hot for the next four months.

So, I read all about these killer wasps and was pleased to find that "Cicada Killers rarely sting humans. Only the females have the ability to sting, and they only sting in defense if handled."

Whew.

But, really, I prefer not to test that theory.

And speaking of 100 degree!!!! temperatures and even higher heat indexes, we are shortly going to be on our way to Portland, Oregon where the temperatures will only reach the upper 70s for the entire week we'll be there!

So, stay tuned for our adventures in Oregon.

While we're gone I think you should go see the movie "Up". It is one of the best movies I've seen in a while. (OK, now that I think of it that's not saying much since I've seen approximately three movies in the past five year at the theater.) It is a heart-warming, funny, entertaining film with a good message.

The Heat, it is oppressive.

I am being forced to prepare for a vacation an entire WEEK before the trip will actually take place! What with work and a rather last-minute weekend trip to Arkansas for a wedding, I am actually thinking about packing, doing laundry and getting the house cleaned an entire seven days before departure.

This is just WRONG. In fact, when it comes down to it, I'm pretty sure all the shock of preparing entirely too early for a trip will cause me to become paralyzed until I end up just staying awake half the night right before we leave for Oregon doing all those things I have on my list for today and tomorrow.

Speaking of my to-do list, John and I did get one thing done last Sunday (of all things! that's about a week and a half too early!). Central Market has a delightful assortment of wheat and soy-free snack bars and bulk trail mixes - perfect for days of hiking or driving around.

Oh, I am looking forward to being in a place where the heat index is not 110 degrees!

It is most unfortunate that soup and crock-pot recipes are the easiest, cheapest things to cook up at home. Because who wants to have soup for dinner when all you want to do is sit in a tub of ice cubes while munching on a half-gallon of chocolate, coconut, pecan ice cream?

No one. That's who.

I confess I have forced the issue several times already this summer, but the money I'm saving in a pot of soup is, in all likelihood, being replaced (or exceeded) by the extra money spent turning the air conditioner down to 70 in order to enjoy the soup. There are only so many salads you can eat, you know?

Maybe we'll just start having ice cream for dinner. Or, in my case, some Coconut Bliss frozen dessert.

P.S. With the heat and humidity come the mosquitoes. In some strange defiance of logic, I have a mosquito bite on the bottom of my foot! There is no getting around it: if you have to walk, it's going to itch. And it is nigh impossible to scratch the bottom of your foot. Come to think of it, it is not really that improbable to have a mosquito bite the sole of my foot seeing as I run around barefoot outside much more than my mother would approve of. It is just too hot to put anything on my feet. (Or I'm too lazy to go find my shoes when the need to go outdoors arises. Whatever.)

Ramblings on Empty Promises and Frozen Dessert

Oh, it has been a good long while since my last post. Every other day I promise myself I will think of something insightful or witty to write about. Or I think of something entertaining and then promise myself I will find the time to sit down and type it out soon...very soon.

As you can tell, my promises to myself are empty.

In fact, the last two weeks, after returning from our fabulous trip to San Antonio, I have pretty much felt like I'm just keeping my head above water.

I've decided that just cleaning the house before a trip is not enough to make the homecoming an easy transition. (And OF COURSE I clean the entire house and get all the dishes washed before we leave town because, my word!, my head just might explode if I returned home to a dirty house with no clean dishes!)

(Sadly, I don't know for sure that my head would explode because I've never been brave enough to leave a messy house behind me while I vacation. And just for a little more insight: I like to get the dishes put in the dishwasher and the kitchen cleaned up after dinner BEFORE eating my dessert. Dessert is the best part. Why ruin it with some cleaning hanging over my head?)

I might have a neurosis.

What was I saying?

Oh yes. The cleaning before a trip. Well, even so, I tend to get home after a trip with about thirteen loads of laundry to do. So, then there's also ironing and dry-cleaning that needs to be done. And there's usually no food in the house, so a trip to the grocery store (let's be realistic - stores, plural) is in order. Going through all the mail and attending to whatever bills or whatnot that have accumulated is quite a lengthy process. Phone calls need to be returned, and it will take at LEAST a day to go through all the emails at work. Not to mention the actual work that needs to be caught up on.

So, all this to say, THAT is what I was doing last week.

Then this week my parents, sister and nephew (who is the cutest little boy in the world) came for a couple days on their way through town. So, I was busy playing and talking and cooking this week. Thus, no blog.

And after all this rambling, you are now probably grateful.

But wait! There's something else. I have news I must share. You can get free chocolate on Fridays through September. And I can't think of much right now that would be better than free chocolate.

OK. Maybe a free trip to Australia or Disney World. Or a free swimming pool with free maintenance in my backyard (oh yes, it is now becoming much like an oven when you step out the door here). But free chocolate is right up there.

AND I found some wheat-free, soy-free, sugar-free organic frozen dessert (think ice cream) in the store the other day that is the best non-ice cream I've ever tasted! In fact, I'd venture to say it's BETTER than ice cream while being better for you. Luna and Larry's Coconut Bliss. They use agave syrup as sweetener instead of sugar (don't ask me exactly what agave is...it's a plant). And coconut milk instead of dairy cream/milk. The chocolate hazelnut fudge is delicious. I dream about this stuff. If you can get it in your area, try it!

The downside is that it comes in pints and they're $5 a piece. So, it's a bad idea to pull it out of the freezer when I'm stressed out because I end up eating way more than I can afford. But this all just reminds me how tasty fresh, natural, organic food is. Why are there preservatives, hormones, and chemicals in all our food in this country?

That's mostly a rhetorical question. Perhaps I will rant about this another day. Right now I might need to go have a little Coconut Bliss. And start cooking. (This is the weekend-o'-cooking around here. The get-togethers, parties, and pot-luck lunches are coming out the wazoo.)