Nesting

I watched a Black-Capped Chickadee outside our kitchen window yesterday hanging upside down, pulling fuzz of a fuzz ball stuck to a shrub near the replaced septic pipe. Pairs of critters are everywhere: Cardinals, ducks, black birds among a few. The spiders became active once the warmer weather hit, and the dock rails are covered with webs. Now that the yellow pollen is covering everything, those webs are even more beautiful.

One pest has also become active again: Fire Ants. Old nests we thought were dead are alive again, and new nests are in the walkways, so poison is required. But, we can no longer use the kind of pelletized poison that is bait the worker ants bring to the queen to kill the nest. Because the puppies find and eat everything, we now have to use a finer grain poison that must be gently watered in over the mound. And, we can only do the nests that are in harms' way when the pups are in the house, so they won't go near them right away. Can't have them tracking poison in their paw pads and eating it.

Critters aren't the only ones who are nesting. I have been enjoying adding pictures to every wall, replacing shower curtains and rugs, and the latest is I've hung curtains in the living room to soften the walls for the first time. All together we've added a new desk and file cabinet, a flat-screen TV, high-speed internet and a land-line, and cabinet in the back bedroom to house my exercise DVDs and weights; along with new bedspreads and a bookcase in the living room. The Lakehouse looks the homiest it's ever looked.

I am having trouble thinking about leaving tomorrow to head home up north. It is so beautiful here right now, and we are so comfortable that it pains us to leave. But, we'll be back again in June; then again in September. We'll figure out a schedule that works over time to live this "Snow Bird" lifestyle we've begun. I am looking forward to seeing my son and pregnant daughter-in-law though. I want to see her "glow" for myself.