What’s all the buzz happening here in my neck of the woods this week? The forecast isn’t sunny. We need the rain, though, so that’s good. And it makes it easy to work inside on our projects.
What else? Well, folks, let me tell you first off that what’s happening here is not national news. Not like the damn virus that keeps on flitting around all over the place. Landing here and there and spreading its wings to drop it off on the next victim. Those who celebrated in close quarters at bars over the Memorial Day weekend or at the protests may be second-guessing their techniques for safe distancing? We’ve had a couple local establishments close temporarily due to employees being positive for COVID19. Isn’t that strange to be closed down for being positive? What happened to us, aren’t we supposed to be positive. If you catch my drift?
Heck, my news isn’t even local newsworthy. But’s it’s news nonetheless. I’m once again perplexed about odd happenings this year in my yard and with all of my plants in the house.
Freedom is the most contagious virus known to man. – Hubert H. Humphrey
Outside, it’s our Catalpa trees. Normally by this time of the year, the green leaves look full and vibrant like this.
And the blossoms bloom to attract buzzing bees like crazy.
But nope. Not this year. Instead, they look like this.
Think of the earth as a living organism that is being attacked by billions of bacteria whose numbers double every forty years. Either the host dies, or the virus dies, or both die. – Gore Vidal
An inefficient virus kills its host. A clever virus stays with it. – James Lovelock
I don’t know what’s wrong with the trees? They’re not thriving, just barely surviving. Same with my house plants. Maybe those aren’t thriving due to the new windows, triple pane, Low-E, or my inconsistent watering?? I asked the installers if they ever heard of people complaining about plants not thriving after new windows are installed? They said, “No, but the Amish do request windows without the film on them?” Hmm…
I wonder if the trees have a weird tree virus? Or maybe there was not enough water in the soil as they began to grow this spring? Or was it because there was one day where it may have frozen off the delicate leaves when they were first sprouting and they didn’t quite come back from it? Or was it from the pesticides that were sprayed on the corn that is almost knee-high by the 4th of July?
Let us not let the world be defined by the destruction wrought by one virus, but illuminated by billions of hearts and minds working in unity. – Pardis Sabeti
It’s easy to want to blame something or somebody else, isn’t it? Perhaps it’s my let the strong survive twisted thoughts that I need to look at?
Maybe this is the best the Catalpa tree can do this year. It’s buzzing its way through all the motions it did last year. Like me. And like the daisies. The first one has finally opened up.
So, that’s the buzz around here. I’m pausing often to take notice of what’s different and what’s the same. And how to make sense of it all as we head into another weekend without connecting in-person with our daughters for a holiday. Millennials seem to be more okay with that than Boomers like me, hmm … maybe I need to learn from them?
I am the mom of two wonderful millennial young women who are bright and hardworking, and I will tell you what I told them. They are the core group that will stop this virus. They are the group that communicates successfully, independent of picking up a phone. They intuitively know how to contact each other without being in large social gatherings. – Deborah Birx
Post inspiration – Linda G. Hill’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday – ‘Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “ZZ.” Find a word with double-z in it and use it in your post. Enjoy!
PS – What’s all the buzz happening in your neck of the woods? Do you think the different generations play an important role in preventing or causing the spread of the virus?
If we could, turning back time to 2019. 2020 is a fail…
I agree, this year has been quite the disappointment!
Maybe your tree has the Catalpa crud. Ya think? 😝
As far as spreading the virus, I don’t think age has anything to do with it. All I know is I’m about ready for this to be over with…
LOL – it may be the crud, that’s for sure. It’s weird that our trees are the only ones in the neighborhood that look like this.
Yes, the virus seems to be all over the board for who it uses for spreading. I’m ready to be done with it all too.
Sweet daisy photo!
That is so weird – about what is going on with your plants and trees. Really odd. Although in a way it just fits the bizarreness of everything else going on in life. I hope the younger generation figures things out – it’s their future…really…hanging in the balance. Some of them take this more seriously than others. So it’s hard to tell. Places are opening up around here, but so much is canceled for summer activities that it doesn’t feel all that much better. The beach, although “open,” has closed most public parking — to limit visitors — and the traffic backup to even try to get there is a nightmare.
Thank you. Yes, it’s weird. For our trees, it seems isolated to our yard. I did some research on my succulents that aren’t surviving, I think it definitely has to do with light not being enough for them. I may need to not have succulents anymore, or locate them by our patio doors that don’t have Low-E filters.
I agree with you, it is hard to tell.
Our town is mostly open, and a few places that opened up earlier in May have temporarily shut down due to employees catching COVID19.
The beach has been packed as well as the island on our local lake. People want to be outside and enjoy the nice weather. We continue on with avoiding crowds. We’ve always been that way, though. 😉
You’re welcome. Hopefully you’ll solve the tree mystery. Your plants too – they are such nice photo subject material!
It’s such a tough call knowing what to do and where to go and if to go at all! Avoiding crowds is a good first priority though. 🙂
I’m guessing the tree will just go through it’s normal routine and bounce back next year, I hope.
It is a tough call. This past weekend we went shopping for shoes and for groceries. Both stores were quite full. But not as full as the beach and the lake/boat landings. Summer is here and it’s obvious people are tired of staying inside. Time will tell how this weekend affects our stats in a few weeks.
Let’s hope for the best. Times are so uncertain. I’ll keep my fingers crossed for you.
Thank you! That’s what I keep doing … every day! Hoping. 🙂
You’re most welcome. 🤞
Well I sure hope your trees are just taking their time this year. Or that there’s a cure for whatever “bug” they might have. Scary to think it could be the pesticides used on your neighbors’ corn. And interesting about the Amish not wanting the ray-blocking film on their windows. So many mysteries, but then, I do not have the green thumb around here! Our pool opened this week, so it finally feels like we get to grab a bit of regular old summer. We’re still keeping our distance and the pool hasn’t been crowded, so fingers crossed we all stay safe, but we’d be at a loss in the heat here without it!
Aw, Rebecca, thank you for sharing your thoughts. I think our trees are confused? The rest of the neighborhood has healthy looking ones. If it was the pesticides, I’ll be quite sad. The Amish are wise to the need for sunlight, I suppose, or they don’t want to spend the $ on the technology?
Yay for the pool. I think ours is going to open up too. It may be flippant of me, but I had to chuckle at one of the CDC’s recommendations for pools: “Advise those wearing face coverings to not wear them in the water. Cloth face coverings can be difficult to breathe through when they’re wet.” I sure hope common sense isn’t lost with the virus?! Enjoy the cool shade and fun with the boys this summer. Stay safe! xx
Beautiful photos. I met Hubert Humphrey. I always liked him.
Thanks, Dan. That’s cool that you met him (HH) in person! Did he leave you with any words of wisdom?
I don’t usually point people to my previous posts, but I learned a very important lesson from Mr. Humphrey. Actually, I should say he reinforced a lesson my father had already taught me. – https://nofacilities.com/2014/08/20/impressive-political-moments/ – if you’re interested.
Thank you for sharing the link Dan, that’s quite the story. You were so close to famous people!
Thank you for sharing, that is a valuable lesson – one you learned very well!
Something tells me I shouldn’t wait to be impressed by politicians in the future.
As I’ve said before, Dan, you’re a wise, wise, wise man!
Great photos of the bees and flowers. Especially like the daisy. Odd that the tree and house plants aren’t happy. Perhaps they sense that all is not well in the world.
Thank you, Lisa. I’m extra fond of the daisies as well. That’s a good point, if moods can be sensed by plants, I’m guessing my plants to sense all is not well in the world.
Our stats are starting to go up a little since we’ve had some restrictions lifted. It has been a constant battle between people feeling the governor is a dictator, though we went from third highest to around 26 or 27 … we are supposed to go to Phase 4 soon, likely by 4th of July, but only if the stats don’t zoom out of control. Governor was sued for not allowing gyms to open –
it will go to the Court of Appeals next as the governor’s legal team says it is not safe. Luckily you and I work from home to are in a kind of bubble ourselves. I’m not sure the professional sports, nor college athletics should go until next year … many college athletes tested positive today.
As for the tree, when I visited the Alpaca farm the day before the lockdown in our state, the owner was showing me his bee hives and all the bees had died. He said he will not have bees anymore as they are dying from the pesticide used to keep the corn healthy and the cornfields are close to his place, so no more raising bees. Everything seems to be a mess, whether its the weather or the world events. The Park has lost its ambiance since its one-month closure. Most of the squirrels are missing, the birds are not around. I can’t explain it … there is nothing I can put my finger on, but it is not the same and only one other regular walker has returned. agpmtpme=m,’
It’s nice to read that your state is moving out of the stricter stages – that’s a good sign, I hope. We’re seeing spikes in certain locations. And in my home town they had their first death. Although the family tweeted that they wouldn’t not condone the classification as COVID as the person had underlying health conditions that caused the death.
I do think the wind was blowing just right the day of the pesticide application. I can’t remember if it froze that night too or not? We had a lot of bees the day before too. More are returning, but pesticides do a lot of damage at the same time as saving crops.
Sorry to hear the park isn’t the same. Ours are like that too – since the public can’t do what they normally do, and the bathrooms are limited. I suppose without a lack of people around, the animals are fending for themselves in the woods, etc.?
We were moving along and supposed to go to the next level (Phase 5) but now due to concerns in other states, it may not happen by July 4th. Governor has suits against her – she lost the last one by gym owners who sued and now the gyms open this Thursday – Governor filed an appeal with the Sixth Circuit to overturn the ruling. It’s really all too much and then the controversy re: to get a vaccine or not when it is available as it was rushed through. I’m on the fence but will likely do it , just dunno right now. Another conundrum – the inside ants are gone and the handyman was here today doing gutters and other things and said he saw an influx of little ants … suggested Terro granules. I said “what else- ants inside/outside and ordered peanuts from Wild Birds Unlimited which were fine inside – no moths, but moth larvae likely on the bags and little moths flying around.” I got a product from Amazon – the next day, no more moths. I was impressed, but they were not in the trap, but gone from clinging like polka dots on the walls. The grocery store never had peanuts in stock, so I went that route instead. No, the ambiance is gone from the Park and it makes me sad. Even the cardinals and jays are pretty much a no-show. It will come back I hope if we don’t have another spike and have to close down the Park again. I made 8 “illegal” trips to leave peanuts at the picnic table and hope not to have to do that again.
It is interesting how each Governor is handling this whole thing. I hope the Parks aren’t shut down for you again. It’s sad that the birds are gone? We’ve seen an abundance of Cardinals in the woods this year. We’ve had the darn ants in the house too. Not sure where they’re coming in from, but the Terro liquid typically helps.
We actually went shopping at Kohl’s for walking shoes this past Sunday. It was not the same experience I remember before COVID. 🙁
Stay safe and well and stay walking! Exercising is a great prevention tool for any type of illness.
I had a Blue Jay and two of its young on the pathway this morning – that was great but I didn’t get a photo because the Mom was skittish. She brought both youngsters down to the path as I saw her and put out extra peanuts, hoping to get a shot up close. Then two youngsters flew to the path. Wished I had the camera, but sometimes moving too suddenly can cause them to fly … I finally said “I have to get the camera out” and sure enough they all took off.
The ants are a pain and last Tuesday the handyman was here to do the gutters, some tuck-pointing up high and checking the shingles/flashing. When I paid him he said “you have ants everywhere – buy some Terro ant granules in the shaker container and put them all around the perimeter. Sigh. So I ordered some from Amazon and it came today, but also today, I walked past the hummingbird feeders. I bought two, small, high-perch varieties with ant moats. I glanced over when I saw a lot of black in the nectar – must have been 100 ants either swimming, or dead in the nectar. I guess Jim was right. I’ve been putting the two feeders out about a month now – first time that happened.
Ants … yep, they are a pain and they do crawl into the hummingbird feeders. We refilled ours and are waiting to see if the birds drink it before the ants find it again. Sigh.
This style has a moat in the middle and I bought some gizmos called nectar defenders which fit on the bottom of the port where they drink from. When I never saw anyone there, I took them off. I have not had any wasps at least thankfully!
Interesting. We just use sugar water, and it seems to work fine.
The moat you fill with water and supposedly the ants don’t trespass into the sugar water. So far I’ve been using the Wild Birds Unlimited nectar powder you mix with water.
Thank you for the clarification!
Once upon a time we lived in an apartment complex that had catalpa trees all over the grounds and they were pretty. Unique, even. I hope yours get it in gear and perk up so you can enjoy them. If it’s not one thing, it’s another this summer. Insert eye roll and huge sigh.
They are normally a quick growing tree that gets full leaves and the blossoms are gorgeous. Ours has many more blossoms than leaves this year. It’s weird.
I agree, if it’s not one thing, it’s another this summer. I’m rolling my eyes and sighing too!
So weird about your plants Shelley. It’d be one thing if it was indoor OR outdoor, but both? Is the catalpa naturally there or was it planted? It doesn’t look like a very old tree. I ask because we had a maple planted (good sized) and it struggled after the first year. Arborist came out & said it was planted too deep. It broke my heart that I couldn’t save it. How do you like your catalpa? I thought about planting one but read that they’re messy.
Hi! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!! Leave it to me to have weird things going on with plants. We planted them about 25 years ago. Catalpa trees in the right ground grow VERY fast. I love them, they are so pretty (normally) at this time of year. As it is shedding the blossoms, it is messy and then the leaves are normally quite large, so when they fall they’re messy too. But overall, I’d plant more of them.
This link might solve your tree problem.
https://dengarden.com/gardening/Catalpa-Tree-Facts-and-Details
Have a lovely Saturday despite everything 🙋♀️🐝
Bee – I’m so sorry, I just found your comment in my spam folder. Thank you for sharing the link. I appreciate you taking the time to give me some advice. I hope you’re doing well, thanks for stopping by, it’s nice to hear from you.
Hi Shelley, no problem. My comments end up in spam all the time recently. When I get my head around I’ll contact WP and ask them why. You are very welcome. I hope the link helped. I am fine considering that I go through chemotherapy. It could be so much worse. Have a lovely Thursday despite everything 🙋♀️🐝
Hi Bee, your comment went to spam again. I’ve had the same thing happen to my comments on other blogs, often, and haven’t gotten around to contacting WP either. Yes, the link helped. Oddly, our trees finally got enough rain and they’re getting new leaves and blossoms again! Weird. They have a new life, perhaps it was a dose of nature’s chemotherapy? Thank you for sharing, my thoughts are with you, take care.
Thanks Shelley 🤗. I am glad your trees are coming back. Nature is astonishingly resilient. Haven’t contacted WP either but changed my password just in case. So, if this comment doesn’t end up in spam I am ok for now. 🙋♀️🐝
Bee – I found your comment in my spam folder again. I’m so sorry it took me so long. Yes, our trees are bouncing back – we’ve received lots of rain and warm sun, it appears to be their favorite type of weather. I hope you figure WP issues out soon! Maybe check on the link between your Gravitar and your blog? Or if you’re like me you may have two logins, one for WordPress.com and one for WordPress.org. If I’m not logged into both, I have issues.