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.