“He would pore by the hour, o’er a weed or a flower, / Or the slugs that come crawling out after a shower.”
The sun had set but it was not dusk yet. It was that nether time between light and dark, day and night. I stood looking out the front door. Everything was still but not quiet. I could hear birds singing from all directions then from the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse though I wasn’t quite sure so I kept watching. Then it happened again and again, the blink of a firefly, on the lawn. Ever since I was a kid, I have always believed fireflies are magical, fairies like Tinker Bell waving their wands as they fly between trees, through flower beds and atop the blades of grass. The first firefly of the season made me clap and smile. The fairies are back.
Yesterday was a sweaty, grubby day for me. I repotted plants, painted a table and my old fountain red and the last part of the fence by the back door, the one keeping Gracie in the yard, green. I swept the outside shower clear of spiders and webs. I got my fountain together though it was a struggle because one piece was so heavy I could carry it up to the deck only a step at a time. It took three trips to get it altogether. The new pump fit the fountain perfectly, but there was a problem. The pump plug didn’t fit into the outlet. I was beyond frustrated. Today I will try to buy something to solve the problem.
Last night’s shower was glorious. I know the word glorious sounds strange when coupled with shower, but that’s the truth. I stood under the warm water and let all of the day’s labor, all of the sweat and all of the frustration wash away.
Today is another beautiful day, even better than yesterday as there is no humidity. It is an outside the house day with four errands on my list. The top errand is finding the plug for the outlet so the fountain plug will fit. That last sentence somehow reminds me of lines from Farmer in the Dell. The rat takes the cheese; the outlet takes the plug. Hi-Ho, the Derry-O the outlet takes the plug.
Explore posts in the same categories: MusingsTags: between day and night, bird songs, firefly, frustration, glorious shower, grubby day, magic, not quite dusk, outside shower, painting, repot plants, sweaty day, work
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keepthecoffeecoming.blog 
June 25, 2015 at 1:57 pm
Hi Kat,
Okay, now I want an outside shower. Unfortunately, the only place to put it would be visible from the next door neighbors’ dining room table. I’m sure they’d be pleased. 🙂
But it would be so convenient to strip off the garden dirty clothes and wash off the outside dirt before going inside through the laundry room door where I could drop the dirty clothes. Ah, dreams.
I haven’t seen any fireflies here yet and the mosquito sprayers came by last night. I remember when the night seemed to be filled with lightening bugs twinkling in the trees and in the grass. Not so much nowadays. The mosquito population in my yard is burgeoning and is now so bad that I can’t even sit outside in the shade for any length of time before they show up. There’s not a lot I can do because of the wetlands on my property. Maybe I could make myself a protective ring of citronella candles. 🙂
Today is lovely, breezy and partly sunny with big puffy clouds. I spent some time outside chopping weeds. I watered the birds and the flowers and furminated Rocky so the birds could get their daily supply of soft Rocky down. I’m positive if I crawled up inside the neighbors’ arbor vitae hedge, I would find it thickly settles with fur lined sparrow nests. 🙂
Enjoy the day.
June 25, 2015 at 2:03 pm
I used to shower outside when I lived in the cottage not far from here. I had put up protection towards my only neighbor but didn’t know there was a small road on the other side of a small field (50 yards wide). I stood there every summer day and when I a few years later opened up my garden center some ogf my customers told me how they had seen me naked while showering in the garden 🙂 🙂 🙂
June 25, 2015 at 5:00 pm
Christer,
Thanks for this story-I laughed outloud!!
June 25, 2015 at 4:58 pm
Hi Caryn,
I had to put mine under the deck as my neighbors’ decks are both high. I would prefer it under the stars, but I’ll take it outside in the night air.
That was my first firefly of the season. I was so excited. When they are plentiful later in the summer, my backyard is filled with them. I get to sit on the deck and watch them among the trees.
It is also lovely here though the afternoon did feel a bit humid. Now with the sun behind clouds, the breeze is a delight. After my strenuous yesterday, my back is trouble-it is reminding me I should not have lifted that heavy part of the fountain.
Have a great evening!
June 25, 2015 at 2:00 pm
We’ve had quite nice weather here today, no rain that is 🙂 The sun has shown itself a lot and if the wind hadn’t blown so hard is it has I would have been able to have the kitchen door open all evening.
We don’t have fire flies here but I know we have glow worms not far away. They really are flies but the femnales don’t have any wings, the blink at night so the flying males can find them.
I’ll do my errands tomorrow after work so I won’t have to do anything for the rest of the weekend 🙂
Have a great day!
Christer.
June 25, 2015 at 5:06 pm
Christer,
With the sun behind clouds, the day is getting quite cool. There is even a nice breeze.
Fireflies and lightning bugs are the same bug with two different names. Your glow worms are probably the same, but we have glow worms here which are different. I think it is a bit confusing.
My back gave out. bit I did manage 4 stops. I have one left for tomorrow.
Have a great evening!!
June 25, 2015 at 5:57 pm
Summer arrived, shorts+top weather. No fireflies (we call them glow worms too) yet, they will come later but sadly fewer butterflies each year and now I worry about the ladybugs. They usually eat the lice on my roses but so far I haven’t seen a single ladybug this year. Lots of garden fruits this summer, more than we can eat but the birds will gladly help.
June 25, 2015 at 6:50 pm
Birgit,
Hooray for summer! Late or not, I’m happy for its arrival.
I seldom see ladybugs but I do see lots of butterflies. They flit in my front garden. Too early for grade fruits here.
June 25, 2015 at 6:04 pm
Beware of ungrounded plugs …
Cheers
June 25, 2015 at 6:42 pm
minicapt,
The plug is grounded but for some reason the prongs are weird.
June 25, 2015 at 9:58 pm
Either you need a three-prong plug, with which the lower round pin is the ground.
Ot, a grounded two-prong plug, with one flat prong being wider than the other. Its receptacle will have two slot, one wider than the other.
Otherwise, someone sold you a pump with a non-North America power cord.
Cheers
June 25, 2015 at 11:30 pm
minicapt,
The plug itself has the two prongs and the ground. My outlet also is the same: two spots for the prongs and one for the grounding pin, but I couldn’t get it to fit. I think the two prongs look the same size to me. I bought the pump at an Agway so I’m thinking it isn’t foreign. Maybe I need to use more muscle.
June 26, 2015 at 5:51 pm
Time for a handyman to apply some handy pressure.
Cheers
June 26, 2015 at 5:54 pm
minicapt,
The call was made yesterday. Luckily I have a former student who is an electrician.
June 26, 2015 at 10:38 am
Plug slugs and bugs. Nice story
June 26, 2015 at 10:57 am
Thank you, John!