Of Bugs And Babies

"Mothra has attacked my bathroom!" This giant brown moth has decided to attach himself to the outside of the screen in the window of my upstairs bathroom. He has been there for about three days now, and seems to be very content with the location he has chosen. Bugs for the most part don't bother me, though I could do without centipedes. I don't know why this big guy has decided to start peeping into my bathroom. I do close the blind when I use the bathroom, not so much out of modesty or a need for privacy, but mostly because I don't want to have to look at his fugly ass and I'm sure he doesn't want to look at mine. He is directly underneath the halogen light that illuminates my back yard, which must be the reason he chose this spot. I measured him and he is about 4 inches (10 cm) from wingtip to wingtip. I guess I'll let him stay as long as he doesn't try to chew through the screen and take over my bathroom, maybe he just really needs to go. I may need him in the future because you never know when Godzilla will attack again.


I mowed the lawn yesterday for the first time in two weeks because it hasn't rained much and found these little trees sprouting up all over the place in the back. They appear to be baby Black Walnut trees. Mama is a soaring 50 foot high Black Walnut that I have growing out in my back yard. Most of the shade in my yard is provided by two trees, a 70 foot high Oak tree in the front that keeps my house in the shade most of the day, and this one large Black Walnut in the back that shades the back yard, but isn't close enough to the house to provide any shade on it. There are a few other trees in the yard but "not near enough for my liking", that is why one of my goals this year is to get many more trees started in the yard. I planted two maples a couple of weeks ago but anyone who has ever gone to a nursery knows that they do charge a pretty penny for trees these days. So I was delighted to find about a dozen of these little guys sprouting up in my back yard and I was very careful, when mowing, not to run them over. I thought I was going to have to spend a lot of money to fill my yard with trees, but it appears the female trees of the neighborhood are pitching in and helping out. I have many baby Silver and Crimson Maples growing in the flowerbed that surrounds half my house. I am waiting for them to get large enough for transplanting before moving them out into the yard. These baby Black Walnut trees are growing right where I want them and won't require any transplanting, since it is my back yard that mostly needs more shade. I am happy to say that mama and babies are doing just fine.