Saturday in the Yard

Saturday was one of those days where I don't get any further in the world than the back yard. Got up late, planned to have a go at cleaning the garage, drifted into yard work - the day was over before I knew it.

There is no car in my garage, just a bunch of garden tools and equipment. Over the years I have successfully composted many cubic yards of what the PMUA calls "vegetative waste," which involves a wheelbarrow in which to empty the compost bins and wire contraptions to sift out rocks, twigs and urban debris such as those ubiquitous "blunt" wrappers. Shovels and scoops are needed, as well as containers for the sifted compost.

Last year, when Audrey tried to hasten my departure for Seattle, I got rid of some tools, such as my trusty de-thatcher and oscillating hoe (aka "Action Hoe"), but there are many left. On Saturday, I dragged a rack of rakes and such out of the garage in order to sweep the floor and realized somebody would probably like to have that rack in their garage or shed. It's now on the list for the grand giveaway when and if the day comes that I buy my one-way ticket to the PNW (Pacific Northwest - say, isn't that a new baby name?).

Speaking of offspring, this mother cat has been extraordinarily patient with her kitten. She had hidden two kittens inside a locked garage by climbing through a hole in the roof. We could see them inside as they grew too large for the mother to carry back outside. Or so we thought - when someone finally used a master key to unlock the garage, they were gone. She then hid them under an abandoned car. One was adopted by a neighbor family. The mother and remaining kitten now hang out in the yard, observing the humans. Unlike most mother cats, this one still lets her semi-grown kitten nurse. On Saturday, they were snoozing under the topiary basket and supervising the yard work.

My late brother Robert and I used to disagree about traveling. He lived and worked in Europe, the Middle East and Asia at various times and urged me to get out and see the world. My theory has been that staying in one place can be rewarding in its own way. On Block 832 in Plainfield for 21 years, I have seen quite few natural wonders, if not man-made wonders of the world. Saturday brought the visitor above. Thanks to Google Images, I soon found out it was an Eastern Eyed Click Beetle. It is much bigger than the black Click Beetles I have seen before, but it shares the trait of making a loud "click" when it jumps up in the air. The false eyes are meant to scare off predators. Its real eyes are just behind the antennae.

OK, so seeing a Click Beetle in the yard is not the same as viewing the Eiffel Tower or the Pyramids, but for some of us it is a thrill. For a lazy summer day in the Queen City, it was just the ticket.

--Bernice