Ouch, now that I've written that title, I feel it must actually be a poem? And maybe rhyme? And here is me, only halfway into my first cup of coffee of the morning?
An Ode to Massachusetts
(not a poem, or rhyming)
I am listening to birds chirping.
I am seeing all the green.
Craig calls our yard my "nature preserve."
I love Massachusetts.
The blue skies,
The green trees,
The nice people,
Are the bees knees.
I love Massachusetts.
(see, I did throw a rhyme in there. UCLA is already sending me notice of rescinding my English degree. heeheeheehee!)
Overall, it has just been pure awesome awesomeness. I can only go on and on about all I love about it here! Our yard, with the four bazillion trees! Of all different types and kinds! Hickory nuts?! Who ever knew I'd have a yard with hickory trees in it?! Why does that sound so exotic? And so very American?
Oh sure, there've been the minor obstacles. Like when I opened the silverware drawer and a mouse ran across the forks?! People!!! Nature wants to live INside my house!!! I won't go on and on. That situation was resolved. Then came the march of the carpenter ants. People! Do you know that they are actually cartoon huge giant size ants?! Like you are saying to yourself "That cannot be just one ant?! I must be watching a cartoon?" But it is not! It is your house! Where you live! And then the march indignantly all over your floor and walls, and the children call out "Here's another one." And they then notify their friends, the flying ants. Which have unnecessarily large wings. I don't think they are for flying, I think their huge size is strictly for looking extra gross. But no! They will not only suddenly swarm all over your deck while you are enjoying (or attempting to enjoy!) your lovely Mother's Day brunch with your lovely family! "There's another! There's another! Let's take this party indoors!" They will also decide, like the rodents and the ants, that they too must live INside the house. Apparently the huge forest surrounding the house is not large enough?!
Oh dear.
Those situations were resolved. I, of course, handled this all with such calm decorum that others were in awe of my strength and fortitude. Well, that might not include the very nice mom at school drop off who I had just met, whose eyes were wide eyed trying to handle my frantic recitation of the drawer event, the previous floor event, and the one peeking its eyes under the door event. Sigh. I'm still regaining my breathing from this, eight weeks later. Good news is that mom was not fair-weather, we have continued to chat about life, often without my arms flying wildly in the air, and now completely without rodent stories.
Beetles. Big ones. Fortunately only OUTside of my house. My new phrase? "Woods grow 'em big." It must be all that damp mucky underbrush of layers of rotting leaves. Helps them reach their gargantuan size. Craig refers to them as similar to "scarabs." (Yes, this is why I married him. The man knows what a scarab is. Makes my English major heart swoon.)
And that mucky underbrush? Well, I faced approximately 14 of my fears when we all, as a fun family project, you know, akin to Disney World, raked up layer upon layer of wet damp leaves. Do you know how many creatures adore living under wet damp leaves? No? Good, keep it that way. And you shall continue to be able to sleep. hahahahahaha! The good news is that all the hard work has given us a whole new section of our yard! Hooray! More leg room for the beetles! (Liz! Stop that! This was supposed to be a love poem! It's funny how when I began this post, I actually had zero idea I would ever veer into the underbelly of life in the forest! I honestly thought it was going to solely be the cute-pretty-happy-pigtails side of Massachusetts story here today! Oh well, that can be another post! haha!)
It has been such a fun experience for us to watch with eyes of wonder as our yard has revealed all that grows in it. Since we moved here in February, everything was bare and flat and dormant. Then boom came spring! And pow came the lushness of summer! Do not even let me begin about how excited I am to live in New England when my very first autumn here arrives?! They'll have to sedate me!!!! heehee.
And with that, I head out to reclaim more of our yard. Happy Summertime to ya'll.
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