Tuesday, July 28, 2009

Grand Daddy Long-legs....

The other day, we were painting the cottage and I had to knock about 6 clusters of Grand Daddy Long-leg spiders. Lee Laurie didn't get a chance to see them before I disrupted them. I was rolling the large areas and she was painting the trim work around the windows......we work real good together....seriously, we do.

There was an area on the front porch that I needed to paint and I saw some more clusters. I climbed up on the ladder and pinched the bunch of spiders. I warned her what I had in my hand before I showed her. She doesn't like spiders, either. When she saw me holding them....well, she really didn't say anything. I went inside and got the camera and then I climbed back up the ladder and pinched the other bunch. I am not sure to just how many I am holding, but it is a bunch. We do not know why they huddle up like that. There was a cluster of them on the side of the pool also.

Per Google, Wikipedia, states that there is an misconception about these spiders. There is an urban legend stating that grand daddy long-legs spiders have the most potent venom of any spider, but there mouths are too small or weak to puncture human skin. I have been told all my life that this is true. Have you heard of these spiders and their venomous threat?

Friday, July 24, 2009

Visiter from the outside.....

The other afternoon, it was cool outside so we decided to "air out" the house. We opened windows and doors. Lee Laurie was cooking some sweet treats.....one reason I have put on a few unwanted pounds....and we had opened the french doors that leads out to the patio.


She was at the kitchen table when I heard a squill and "Stevie!" At that moment I knew something had came in from outside. I am thinking a wasp or bee. She hates anything that flies....even airplanes. Well, it was this pretty moth. All that Lee had seen at first was a shadow sweep aross her face and she knew it was something big. When we saw the moth I ran for the camera. Doesn't it look so pretty? After the photo shoot of the moth, I went and got a small insect net that Lee Laurie had gotten for the children. I used it to catch the moth and set it free outside. It wasn't hurt at all. Notice the beaded board that we put up. We just put in up over the paneling and we painted it. I do not enjoy painting beaded board. We would roll it and use a paint brush for the grooves. It looks great and we love it.....now.
Now on to the next project......

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Kids and sand piles..........

Somehow, we adults forget what was really fun back in the day. We over look the simple things in life....I was once told about the KISS method. Lee Laurie said that I knew all about that...ha. No, I mean the K.I.S.S. method. It stands for "Keep It Simple Stupid" or you can just drop the last S or make it stand for whatever you want....Stevie, Suzy, Sam.....I know, I know, you get the picture. Well, the children and Lee Laurie had been after me to set the pool up....every day.... I had a friend deliver some sand(I wanted to do it right this year) to level the ground and make the bottom a little better than last years bottom.

Hailey and Garrett were so excited about the sand they forgot for a moment about the pool. Getting back to my original thought.....we can buy the WII-hoos, Nintendo DS-hoos, Dell laptop-hoos, tv/dvd player-hoos and tons of toy-hoos......but give a kid a dirt pile, a sand pile and they will play and play and play.....woo-hoo!!
Well, the pool is set up and they have been playing/swimming in it and playing in the sand that is around the outside of the pool. We did...well to us a smart thing....we do not turn the heater on to the hot tub thus keeping the water cool for us and we let them play in the pool.