Thursday, July 2, 2020

Two Green Creatures


Yesterday I was deadheading roses when I came across this critter on one of the blossoms. I've never seen anything like it in our garden, and when I looked it up, I discovered it's a green weevil of some kind. Apparently they're not as evil as some weevils (rhyming!) but they do eat some plants. I didn't see roses on their list, which makes me think he fell onto the rose bush from one of the trees above.

I had the most bizarre dreams last night. I don't quite remember the plot, to the extent that there was one, but I was in a sprawling modern house and it was pouring rain outside, and there were boxes everywhere and I was trying to get things organized. Dave was there and so was my mother. Other things were happening too but I don't remember them all now.

Last night for dinner, Dave made some incredibly potent (but good) French onion soup with a lot of beef stock and red wine and cheese, and I'm blaming that.

Does my life feel chaotic? Not in my waking hours, but who knows what my subconscious mind would say. I did see a recent article in the New York Times about the need to deep-clean your house if you've been sheltering at home for weeks on end. I didn't read it, though. It sounds like it would feed all my most obsessive impulses. (One of my coworkers observed several weeks ago, not long after we entered lockdown, that she found herself cleaning constantly -- and it's true. When you're home all the time it's amazing how quickly the place gets grubby.)

I got a surprise in the mail on Tuesday. Remember how I sent Brobee to Sarah of Circles of Rain? Well, she sent me a hand-painted postcard back:


Isn't that awesome? She thanked me and said Brobee has moved in next to some of the stuffed bears she's saved. Her postcard, meanwhile, has taken up residence on our dining room mantel. It's nice to have my own Brobee souvenir.

Some of you asked about Olga's ear. It seems to be healing well and she gives no indication that it bothers her at all. Francisco tells me that Olga and Rufus ignored each other the next day, kind of like two people who'd recently had a really bad date. Rufus's owner told Francisco that Rufus seemed traumatized by the incident too! Rufus is apparently still wearing his muzzle but we all agreed this was just a freak encounter and he may eventually be de-muzzled if he behaves.

17 comments:

Moving with Mitchell said...

That Brobee painting is as good as the real thing! A couple of years ago, a striking looking insect flew into the house. I noticed it because the cats went nuts. I saved it and released it from the terrace. I then looked it up. It was a palm beetle, devastating to the trees. Oops!

Yorkshire Pudding said...

I hope that you never meet Rufus's owner as it is often said that dogs take after their owners. Rufus's owner could easily bite a chunk out of one of your ears. What a lovely thing Sarah did - to send you a little painting of Brobee!

"And now on BBC Radio 4, it's time for 'The Adventures of Brobee' read by Stephen G. Reed...
Brobee was feeling bored. It had just stopped raining so he went out into the garden where, sitting on a rose bush, he encountered a green weevil called Fergus.
'What the **** are you?" asked Fergus. "I have never met anybody who looks like you before!"
"That's because I belong to an ethnic minority!" beamed Brobee who was delighted to be different.
"Well I'm a frigging weevil and there's millions of us!" snapped Fergus who was sick of being just one of the crowd." etc. etc.

37paddington said...

Beautiful postcard of Brobee and such a lovely gift. I too have been noticing how much wear and tear there is on our house with everyone home. I’m no longer on top of my “everything in its place” movement. I have been completely overtaken by things left on the dining table, kitchen counter, boxes in the hallway, and so on. I’m trying to hard to be zen, which is a misnomer in itself. Glad Olga is ok.

Ms. Moon said...

I just woke up from crazy, crazy dreams! It was "the house" that I used to dream of so often but it has taken on floors and gift shops and sewing work rooms and hidden staircases and there was so much to this dream that there was no beginning and no end. When I woke up I thought it could easily be noon because I'd been wandering in this house for what seemed like hours. But no, it was my regular time to wake up.
Where is the moon right now?

Michael said...

The painting looks just like the original! I find that working from home was not good for me because I had time to notice every single little flaw. When I am busy I don't notice things as much. Now it is summer..(I am a teacher) and I am enjoying the fact that I cleaned up a lot of things during the school closure, things I usually save until the summer break.

Fresca said...

Oh, no! I hadn't realized Sarah lost a family member recently.
How terribly sad.
(I'd only recently found her blog a couple months ago--and then she stopped blogging. I'd wonder if Covid had anything to do with it...)

Your restored Brobee is so bright and fresh looking, and I bet he feels beautifully squishy--comforting--what a thoughtful gift to send.
You are kind.


Edna B said...

How did I miss the post about Olga getting hurt? I just backtracked and read it. That poor girl. I don't think I'd want her playing ball with that other dog again. This could happen again. I hope she's feeling okay now, and her ear heals soon. Pogo sends her woofs and a lick to make sure the ear heals. You have a wonderful day, hugs, Edna B.

Linda Sue said...

Little green weevil is quite an adorably fellow. Most bugs are though we have just been invaded by giant asian hornets! And by invaded I mean- four of them have been found. Four is enough- they are LARGE!
Wonderful post card sent from Sarah, I LOVE it. I know the bears that Brobee is living amongst - they are all amiable and sure to make him feel welcome.
I miss you all- gentle , kind folks!

Red said...

I don't feel like cleaning but my wife does and insists I help her.

Sharon said...

I love the Brobee post card. What a perfect souvenir. Green was your color of the day! I've had a stressful week so I've had three nights of strange and exhausting dreams. I've been working from home for four months with no problems and then on Monday, my work laptop would not connect to the wifi. My two Macs, iPad and iPhone all remained connected without any problems but no matter what the work tech guys do, we can't get the work pc to connect. The work guys think it's my cable service and the cable service says it's the pc. Mix that inexplicable (and frustrating)problem with our state's substantial rise in our Covid cases and this has been a stressful week.

The Bug said...

Love the Brobee painting! So cute!

I never want to clean my house - it doesn't mind how much time I spend there. Ha! When I worked from home three years ago I still didn't clean any more than I do now. Sometimes I wish I could change that about my personality, and sometimes I'm glad that it's not a big deal to me :)

Beth Reed said...

I totally love the post card. It is really fantastic and it deserves a place on your mantle. Isn't it great the things that we save then send on to others and then somehow and in someway make it back to us?
My son Jonathan received a gift from his second cousins that made it thru 2 kids of Paddington Bear. That said bear made it thru 4 more siblings before it was given to another lucky child. He was tough for making it thru all those kids and still looked new. Truth be told I made them take extra good care of him.

I am not sure about the weevil but I hope that he isn't going to eat any of your plants. What did you do with them?

I am really glad that Olga's ear is doing alright. Poor girl. Yes I agree that dogs will be dogs and they will scrap. It's still a shame that she lost a piece of her ear. Give her extra hugs for me.

Your dream could be that you may be worried about your lease and may need to look for a different house. I am not sure if you have heard back from the owners yet or not. I am still a bit behind.
I agree that we seem to be doing a bit more cleaning with everyone home with our second lock down orders. Our house became a bit more than grubby when my daughter and her family was here and had to be scrubbed down.

Have a awesome day and enjoy being home while you can. Once you go back to work you might wish for a break with some days off lol.

jenny_o said...

Sarah has a way with a paintbrush - a great rendering of Brobee and a kind way to thank you.

The only times I dream are when I eat something even slightly spicy close to bedtime, or if I'm not feeling well, or if I in reality need a bathroom - in my dream I need one too, and can't find one. The dreams are always bizarre. I wish I could just have normal ones that don't wake me up in a lather! Anyway, I bet the onion soup you had was the culprit :)

jenny_o said...

P. S. Glad to hear Olga doesn't seem to mind her injury, and that Rufus may get out on good behavior.

Anonymous said...

It will be the onions wot did it.

Steve Reed said...

Mitchell: I looked up palm beetles to see what they look like, and they ARE quite impressive looking. I'd have instinctively released it too.

YP: Only you could create a dialogue between my two green creatures!

37P: I never thought about how our absence from the house during the day actually keeps it much neater!

Ms Moon: It's SO strange that you, me and Linda Sue all had weird dreams on the same night. Maybe we're all anxious about Covid ramping up again? (And we're about to "reopen" here.)

Michael: Dave and I are both school employees too, so I can identify!

Fresca: Yeah, she said she wants to get back to blogging eventually but she's busy with a lot of other things right now. She will return, I'm sure.

Edna: Honestly, I don't think there's much danger from that other dog. I think he just got overexcited, which happens sometimes. We'll see how it goes!

Linda Sue: I heard about those hornets! I hope they don't show up here. Criminy.

Red: Ha! Well, good for her, you should help!

Sharon: That's so weird about the laptop. I wish I could offer suggestions but I'm sure I couldn't come up with anything that your tech guys haven't.

Bug: In a way it's kind of freeing, I guess!

Beth: I left the weevil alone. He's part of the ecosystem!

Jenny-O: Sarah is very artistic. I was impressed that she turned that around so quickly!

Andrew: You think? Or maybe the beef broth? Something sure reacted with my brain!

Sarah said...

Hi Steve,
I am glad you liked the Brobee portrait! Just searched back through to say thank you again for my little green and green friend!