Little Things

It’s been a week without any major events or exciting drama. One which features the smaller events and characters in this life.

The next generation of birds are exploring the world and learning to dominate and loathe even their siblings. Young hummers converge on the feeders and then try to bully the rest away – even as the shy ones just wait til the fighting starts to sneak in and eat their fill.

Larger than the hummers, but equally young, are the newest herons appearing in considerable numbers on the shore. They’re becoming very territorial, which is problematic when the tide comes in and the territory shrinks to almost nothing. A lot of squawking and flapping and melodrama ensues.

I’ve encountered many insects here which are new to me. The sheer number of small grasshoppers in the lawn would be nightmarish if they were interested in my blood. I just wish they would eat mosquitoes but they’re determinedly vegetarian.

They do, however, provide the answer to why the young sparrows spend so much time on the ground. I had wondered until one flew up to the porch with one of the noisy little things in its beak.

Some of the insects I’ve met are, I’m certain, beautiful in their mothers’ eyes. I’m not going to get the “kitten” feeling about them though. I will say that the dragonfly in the next shot has beautiful wings and since it does eat mosquitoes it is very welcome. The bug I brushed off my arm the other day, however, has no aesthetic value in my eyes. Don’t, whatever you do, click on this link to the American Pelecinid Wasp if the sight of a skeletor scorpion-like insect would disturb you. The real thing disturbed me.

Another little thing that came up this week was a Car Inspection Sticker mentioned in passing by Kenneth. I stopped him and asked for an explanation. It turns out you’re supposed to get your car inspected EVERY YEAR and demonstrate the pass by displaying the sticker on your windshield.

Well. Nobody ever told me I was supposed to do this (Their excuse is that they assumed it’s the same in all Provinces. It’s not.). I’d been driving around for 361 days in total ignorance. Now that I knew about it I was nervous about driving to St. Stephen yesterday without one.

So, I kidnapped my teenage friend and used him as a navigator to find Hazen. That darling man took care of the inspection and the sticker – I’m now legal. I think. Unless there’s some other little thing they haven’t told me. 🙂

Speaking of cars and stickers – next month I’ll have to renew the registration and get the date sticker for my license plate. I’d been trying to schedule a good time for another trip upriver when the renewal notice arrived in the mail. The great news is that I can do it online (Yay!) and they’ll mail the stickers to me.

Two other tiny things for this post – the cats have finally started a campaign of sabotage. There was a loud crash last night and the big box of drywall screws, which had been carefully placed on the cat tree, is now on the ground. The screws are spread all over the floor and the culprits, so far, have refused to pick them up.

The last item comes from a link sent me by my teenage friend. It’s just a minor thing, I mean Trump hasn’t even bothered to Tweet it. I’m sure it happens all the time, but it’s strange nobody mentioned it to us and this is a very odd way to announce the news.

Amazon.com is selling a shirt celebrating the apparent annexation of my Island by the State of Maine. I’m hoping the rest of Canada will do something to get us back.