Tuesday, June 27, 2017

Hoverfly on Hawkweed


I spent an inordinate amount of time yesterday watching and photographing this hoverfly as it prowled around on our hawkweed, licking up pollen. (Or nectar, or something.) It was actually pretty fascinating, and I wound up with 84 pictures! But only seven keepers.


Dave and I had our meeting with the HR office at school yesterday, and finished a lot of our paperwork for the Indefinite Leave to Remain. We also scheduled an appointment with the immigration authorities to make our application, right after I come back from Florida.

Otherwise, yesterday was a day of rest. I spent most of the afternoon on the couch, reading a biography of Tennessee Williams. (It made me remember seeing "Sweet Bird of Youth" at the Old Vic several years ago.) I like Williams' plays, although they seem to have a certain sameness -- the damaged female protagonist, the Southern eccentricity, a general atmosphere of booze and sweat and decay.

I read that Williams bought his house in Key West back in 1950 for $10,000. When he died in 1983, it was worth about $100,000. Well, I looked it up on Zillow, and that same house sold in 2012 for $1.15 million. I'm sure being previously owned by Tennessee Williams didn't hurt its value!

9 comments:

e said...

You took that many photos? Wow! I always wonder whether the characters an author writes about stem from people they know or those they can't quite forget...

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I know what you mean about Tennessee Williams. A great playwright but his range is limited - rather like a hoverfly.

Red said...

I guess I'm going to have to get some patience if I want to get some butterfly photos-which is my goal. Nicely done with the fly.

Ms. Moon said...

Beautiful shots! What patience that must have taken!
Boy. Real estate in Key West. Still...if someone gave me a house there, I'd gladly take it.

Sharon said...

Wow, these are spectacular shots. That second one especially.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful photos. I like seeing the flowers and hoverfly there, a reminder of life happening everywhere in the sunlit moment. Love your description of Tennessee Williams' plays.

jenny_o said...

Amazing pictures, especially the second.

You described Williams' plays exactly, especially the "booze, sweat and decay"!

ellen abbott said...

excellent photos. so you and Dave are immigrating? no plans to ever return to the US? probably a wise move. if I didn't have kids and grandkids here, I'd think of leaving. Mexico would be good.

The Bug said...

That hoverfly is so lovely! I'm glad you're getting all your paperwork sorted. I did some sorting myself, on the medical front.