Not For Arachnophobes. I Am Serious

 My red roses in the garden are blooming again. Not with the fervor and abundance they had in the early spring, but enough to make me glad they're there. 

I was out in the garden this afternoon picking field peas. They are slowing down in this heat, just like I am, but I feel as if we have an agreement- if they grow, I pick. 

Besides the roses and the peas and some peppers and zinnias in the garden, I also found this guy. 

Is that an alien or what? 

And it is huge. At least three inches long and girthy, as you can see. I let that one be. The garden is so close to done that she can just go ahead and chew up what she wants to. Also? I'm a little afraid of them. I would not die if one landed on me but I'd probably inadvertently whoop out loud and brush it off of me as fast as I could. 

We call these grasshoppers Georgia Thumpers although they are also known as Eastern Lubbers. 

I wonder if "Thumper" comes from the fact that if you see one you really should thump it to the ground and smash it with your foot unless you are barefoot in which case...ugh.

While we're on large critter specimens, the golden orb weavers are getting big but are nowhere near the size they will eventually get as summer proceeds and winds down. 

When I was watering the porch plants yesterday I got pictures of two of them, one an anterior view and the other a posterior view. 

I should be able to tell you which is which but I cannot. I know which I think is which but I'm so apt to be wrong that I'm not even going to say it. Do any of y'all know? I'm sure you do. 

So let's see. What else happened today? Well, it's Friday so the sheets got washed. Woo-Hoo! And I was going to go back outside and do a little more weeding/tidying but after picking the peas I was completely wilted. So instead I blanched and bagged the peas I've shelled this past week and they are now in the freezer, where they will be fine until we want some for a supper. 

If you go to a farmer's market to buy peas like this, you'll be paying at least six dollars a pint for them. And honey, that is not exorbitant. There's a lot of labor that goes into growing them, picking them, shelling, blanching and bagging them. I'm sure that my pioneer foremothers who grew them dried them to preserve them and that would be good too. The indigenous people who lived here grew them as part of the Three Sisters companion plantings which was the growing of beans, squash, and corn together as those plants support each other (literally) and nourish each other. I should try that sometime. Meanwhile, I'm just playing at gardening, really, knowing full well that I can buy a bag of dried black-eyed peas at the grocery store for less than two dollars. But, oh! How sweet it is to shop in our freezer or pantry for good food. 

Mr. Moon spent most of the afternoon in town and is now on a pond, catching fish. He needs to be on or near the water these days for his mind and his soul. I am so glad he's out there this evening. And perhaps tomorrow we shall have bream for our supper. Meanwhile, I have made myself a martini and am enjoying it immensely. He will have one when he gets home. 

I told him last night that I had written him a love letter blog post. He doesn't read my blog, figuring that I need a space that is mine and mine alone. I appreciate that. It feels very respectful to me. But sometimes I wish he knew how I put down in words what he means to me. I told him though, that I had said that he cannot walk on water to which he replied, "I'm working on it. I just have to find the right stones to walk on."

And that's another thing I love about him. He can still make me laugh. 

One more flower picture.

The color of that zinnia about put my eye out. I'm going to miss these beauties when they're gone. However, I've already seen buds on the camellias. It's going to be a long while until they bloom, but I have seen their vow and promise to do so. And I expect the Hurricane Lilies to start popping up any day now. 

Happy Friday, y'all.

Love...Ms. Moon