Glad for spring but not for its critters
- Laura Moore: Housebroken
- May 7, 2024
- 246
I believe spring is finally here, as the trees are now adding green leaves to their branches. The grass also is a lush, bright green and needs to be mowed at least once a week.
My lily of the valleys are blooming, and an azalea in front of the house is ready to open its buds. Birds are chirping, flying about, and hopefully catching and eating as many cicadas as they can find.
This year is supposed to be a very big year for cicadas, and I can't say that thrills me. One year, decades ago, we had a swarm, bunch or just lots of those insects invade our front porch, and before we could drive them away, they drove us away. I’m not fond of insects, but I know they have their place on the planet. I'd just rather not share my living space with them.
Spiders, even though they aren't considered insects, are another creature I prefer keep their distance. Taller Half always told me the nonpoisonous spiders are our friends, and we should be grateful to them for ridding us of the pesky insects that come out in spring.
From eight legs to none, Taller Half had no fear of snakes either. When he came upon a poisonous creepy crawly, he would kill it, then skin it. There was a bag — fortunately hidden in our attic — containing lots of snake skins he had collected over the years. He also taught our children how to tell the difference between venomous and nonvenomous snakes because the “good” snakes eat mice, rats and even their venomous kin.
Putting all those concerns aside, Mother Nature has blessed us with new life, buds on the trees, fresh grass, birds chirping, blue skies and bright sunlight. And I'm grateful for all of that, even sharing it with snakes, insects and spiders. Enjoy, everyone.