Through my office window – September 2022

I am finally situated to do ‘through the window’ photography from my home office in Missouri. The last tweaks were to put the screen in storage and clean the window. I also moved one of the bird baths for easier viewing. My husband and I moved a bird feeder to be surrounded on three sides by hollies….the open side being visible from my window; the other feeder, in a more open space, has become secondary based on bird traffic. Here are the best images from this month:

House finches at the bird bath

Rain drops pelting the bird bath

A chickadee that seemed to be looking at me!

Goldfinches at the feeder

A downy woodpecker at the feeder

Doves taking over one of the patio chairs

Springfield Botanical Gardens (insects/spider) – September 2022

The temperature was in the low 70s and sunny during our visit to Springfield Botanical Gardens last week. There were plenty of insects to observe. I used my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS) with its optical zoom for insect groupings and photographing a buckeye butterfly that flew out of the meadow onto a dusty patch. There was also a dragonfly a few feet into the meadow that appeared to be enjoying a snack.

Otherwise, I used my phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e) for more extreme macro shots where I could get closer to the subjects. I saw the solder beetles on several different flowers in the natural garden near the Botanical Center building – the very first place I looked to find insects; there were quite a few mating (maybe they overwinter as eggs?). The Monarch butterfly surprised me – landing on a butterfly bush very close to where I was standing. I didn’t have enough room to swing my bridge camera around to photograph it….but I am pleased enough with the results from my phone.

I photographed an adult stink bug then something a had not seen before: a small jewel like insect on a flower that might be a nymph of the green stink bug!

Foggy Morning

I am up before sunrise these days…in my office before it is light outside. I noticed the fog advisory in the forecast and waited until it was light enough to go out to the patio for some pictures. Fog takes away familiar landmarks…making everything look different. It changes the perception of place considerably. I like the image with the holly and pine around the edge best.

At closer range everything just looks wet. Spider webs stand out because every strand is coated with tiny water droplets.

The leaf texture makes a difference in whether water beads or makes a film. The poke weed (picture on the right) had regrown very quickly from the cut stump of a few weeks ago.

A few minutes…and I went back indoors to continue my morning routine: dark chocolate and some reading.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 17, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Federal flood maps are outdated because of climate change – The challenge of record rainfall events becoming more common and resulting in flooding of places not seen as vulnerable previously.

Hundreds of Monumental “Kites” Spotted in Arabian Desert – Low stone walls that could be enclosures used to guide game for capture/slaughter as early as 8000 BC.

The mystery of the human sacrifices buried in Europe's bogs – Sacrifices or maybe burial for anyone that died mysteriously or unnaturally. I remember being fascinated about the ‘bog bodies’ back in 1970s…buying the book about them by P.V. Glob.

Diet change may make biggest impact on reducing heart risk in people with hypertension – Too bad that the study also found “the availability and affordability of healthy food sources does not easily allow people to follow the DASH diet.” Diets are hard enough to sustain without those extra challenges.

Despite its innocently furry appearance, the puss caterpillar’s sting is brutal – The don’t look vicious….but the hairs have poisonous barbs! There are other caterpillars that also have ‘hairs’ and can deliver painful stings – like the saddleback caterpillars. In general…I avoid handling caterpillars with hairs or bristles!

Cancers in adults under 50 on the rise globally – Earlier detection could account for some of the increase…but it is unlikely to be the sole reason. 8 of the 14 cancers on the rise are related to the digestive system. With those types of cancers, the hypothesis is that the food we eat has changed dramatically and has changed our microbiome composition…and eventual these changes influence disease risk and outcomes. There is still a lot of work to be done but it appears that the drastic rise in early onset cancer began around 1990.

The biggest myths of the teenage brain – Hopefully some of these findings will be factors in decision making for things like high school hours and how to help teenagers better understand themselves.

NREL Study Identifies Opportunities & Challenges of Achieving the U.S. Transformational Goal of 100% Clean Electricity by 2035 – No single solution….having multiple pathways to the goal is probably a good thing.

Arctic lakes are vanishing a century earlier than predicted – Warmer temperatures and more abundant autumn rainfall have caused permafrost around/beneath Arctic lakes to melt…and the lakes shank between 2000 to 2021. The reduction in lakes impacts migratory birds and other wildlife…and human communities in the Arctic.

Fall Foliage Prediction Map – My road trips this fall will offer many opportunities to see fall foliage: 1st week in October in Michigan and Canada, the rest of October around Missouri, then Texas later in October into November.

Lake Springfield Meadow (2)

Continuing from yesterday’s post about our photography at Lake Springfield….this post features the images from my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS).

The water at the edges of the lake was low enough for lotus to flourish. There were still a few blooms. The sun was shining though one of the leaves showing its intricate veins.

I used my camera’s zoom to photograph the meadow from the path or mowed area. There were plenty of flowers to photograph.

And critters too. There was a large spider that was mostly hidden behind its web.

The grasshoppers were still enough for some photography. One was much smaller than the others and I wondered if it was an earlier instar of the larger ones.

The skippers were active. I didn’t see larger butterflies…maybe it wasn’t warm enough yet.

Dragonflies were flitting about…harder to photograph. One stayed on the asphalt path for a few seconds…a terrible background but the image shows the great color and structure of the body (too bad that the wings don’t show up very well).

Another was on a grass head for longer and I moved to get a better angle. The light on the body showed the structure and colors better than I remember seeing in the past. There was a notch out of one of the forewings and some wear on the trailing edge of both wings on that side. This was not a recently emerged dragonfly!

Overall – a lot to see and photograph with a short walk.

Lake Springfield Meadow (1)

My daughter suggested that we see that meadow near the Lake Springfield Boathouse…and it was a great end-of-August photography session. I took by phone (Samsung Galaxy S10e) for macro photography and my bridge camera (Canon Powershot SX70 HS). Today’s post contains the macro images and tomorrow’s post will showcase the bridge camera results.

When I use my phone for macro photograph, I almost always use my remote clicker to capture the image; that makes it easier to hold the phone still and at the right distance from the subject to get the composition/focus that I want.

There was a large sunflower near the boathouse that was full of insects. Since we parked near the boathouse, I photographed the plant at the beginning and end of the visit….mostly at the beginning. The only one of the series below from the later stop is the grasshopper! The morning was still cool enough for the insect to not be moving around yet.

In the meadow itself there were thistles and other late summer/fall flowers. There was a heavy dew that morning which had not dried up completely. The skippers were already flitting about but one of them was still for long enough for me to get close with my phone.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more from the Lake Springfield Meadow….

Slime Mold

One morning when I came back through our back gate after walking around the neighborhood ponds, I saw something unexpected in the grass. At first, I thought it was some escaped packing peanuts.

I took a closer look. Not packing peanuts. I took pictures….and later put them into iNaturalist. It identified it as a slime mold! I think I had expected slime molds to be shiny…and yellow…because that is how they were depicted in my biology textbook (many years ago when I was in college). But – it turns out that they dry out and are no longer slimy and they are other colors beside yellow too!

It’s thrilling to see something in my own yard that I’ve known about only from books previously….another thing to like about my move to Missouri!

Josey Ranch – August 2022

What a change a month can make! It has been raining in Texas and the water level in the Josey Ranch Lake is back to near normal. The big surprise was the city renovating the boardwalks and dredging part of what used to be the cattail area. I didn’t stay very long although there were people still getting their exercise on the concrete path around the lake. I noticed some of the edges of the concrete path had broken and collapsed…maybe from cavities forming underneath during the hot/dry months. There was no indication that the city was doing maintenance on the walkway so far; maybe that will be the next project.

The birds don’t like the disruption. The two swans were on the opposite bank, and I wondered if the smaller area of cattails was still their ‘home’ or whether they would soon be seeking another place. There were a few ducks near the swans, maybe they are the ducklings I saw back in July.

Overall – it was my least scenic visit ever to Josey Ranch….I’m hoping the work the city is doing will be finished soon.

Rats!

The guest room at my parents’ Carrollton TX house and is near the kitchen – and there were a couple of instances of odd noises during the night during my last visit. One morning when I went into the kitchen, the flour canister had pieces of brown plastics around it (remnants of the lid’s seal which was not entirely breached but was almost gnawed off). I trashed the canister and bits of plastic….scrubbed my hands with soap and water….wiped down the counter with disinfectant several times during the day…acknowledged that there were RATS in the house.

Later I saw one near the baseboard of the cabinet below where the canister was. It ran into my Dad’s office. We pulled a set of plastic drawers out from the wall…and there were rat droppings behind it.

Aargh! I coordinated with my sisters to get a specialist out to assess the situation further after I read through the CDC’s recommendations for how to clean up a rat infestation safely.

One of my sisters had worked with a ‘critter control’ company previously and they came out soon after she contacted them. It turns out that the rats are everywhere in the attic. The company has a process to treat and remove the insulation…replace it. Treat the rooms in the lower part of the house and put traps outside the house…seal places the rats were getting in. They dispose of the material they remove. They can do it in one day if the weather cooperates. And there is a 10-year warranty. We set the date for them to do the work.

We’ve cleared the papers and books from my dad’s office, bought the paint to match the external house trim that will have sealed places, and planned for my parents to be elsewhere for that day. It is happening this week.

I am relieved that it is happening quickly. It is traumatic for my parents to have the flurry of activity to clear out of my dad’s office and then to have a long day away from home….but the health and safety risk from rats in the house is so great that they and our whole family agrees it has to be done. I’ll be back in Carrollton for the aftermath and trying to get my parents routine re-established.

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 10, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Circadian rhythm disruption found to be common among mental health disorders – A lot of research challenges…therapeutic potential.

Striking Winners of the 2022 Black and White Photo Awards – Perhaps I’ll try a B/W photography project…

Global Survey: Climate Change is the Top Threat – Finally….more people are beginning in realize the peril of doing nothing.

Industrial Revolution Reversed 7,000-Year Cooling Trend in Siberia, Bringing Temperatures to Unprecedented Highs – Another aspect of climate change…that threatens to unleash more greenhouse gases…spurring further warming.

Wooden canoe burial discovered in Northern Patagonia – From 850-1,000 years ago….a woman buried in a ceremonial canoe made from a Chilean cedar.

Photographer gets rare glimpse of British Columbia’s Spirit Bear – The black bears with a mutation that blocks the production of melanin…and makes them less visible to salmon (i.e. they catch the fish more effectively than the bears that are black!).

Feeling anxious or blue? Ultra-processed foods may be to blame – A study with over 10 thousand participants. Learn more about the NOVA food classification system used in the study here.

In the field with wolverines – Interesting animals that live in northern areas around the world…only about 300 of them in the lower 48 of the US (in Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Wyoming).

First sighting of massive Atlas moth confirmed (in Seattle) – The Atlas moth is from tropical Asia. The conservatory-based butterfly exhibit I volunteered with for several years (in Maryland) included them occasionally; they were contained in the facility following the permit requirements. Hopefully the one in Seattle didn’t find a mate. Their caterpillars would feast on leaves of apple and cherry trees.

These Early Entries From the 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photo Awards Are a Hoot – Ending the gleanings list with some fun images.

Kittens! – Month 1

The first month with our 3 kittens has been full of small adventures for the whole household. They quickly got comfortable outside their sequestered area. Sometimes they were quiet enough for us to take pictures.

When I started packing for my trip to Carrollton, one of them decided one of the bags was a good perch….and he didn’t want to vacate.

While I was gone, my husband experimented with them out of their room during the night. The first night was OK but the second one they wanted to play most of the night. So - we’ve reverted to enticing them into their room with a late night snack.

The kittens like my husband’s office. They sometimes attempt to take over his keyboard and monitors. He has tried putting towels and boxes over the electrical cables on the floor to discourage their biting on the cables….they prefer the towels for naps. They still get into the extra office chair, but it will soon be too small to hold all three at once.

Puma discovered the receipt bin and Pooky joined him…tussle ensued. Typical behavior when they meet anywhere in the house.

The kittens have broken two glass coasters as they race around the house and over/under end tables. One end table fell over sending a coaster flying and another was swept clean when the racing kittens used it as part of the route through the den…another coaster flew and shattered. I’ve put the remaining glass coasters away and we are using unbreakable coasters.

It is now impossible to keep them off the kitchen counters completely. I made a small bouquet with items from the yard. The roses and crepe myrtle are still in place, but the wavy grass seed heads are bent and scattered. Maybe they looked too much like a toy to the kittens.

Overall – it’s been an eventful month and we are anticipating continued kitten adventures.

Previous Kittens! Posts: day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, week 1, week 2

Settling in, developing new routines – 3rd month

It seems like the “settling in” picked up speed during this third month…the things we are doing now are the ones most important to making this place the home we want.

Kittens. Getting three kittens was a milestone for us. We had been without a cat since mid-January; even though we missed having a pet, we also realized it would be easier to make the long distance move without one. Once we were here, we waited until we had the house unpacked enough to be safe for kittens. And so – now we have 3 kittens (siblings) that are keeping us busy tweaking their environment to be safe for them…and not have too much damage to the furniture, drapery, etc. Having kittens will limit the travel we do together through the end of the year…but they provide an abundance of entertainment to make up for it.

Travel. I will be in Texas one week of each month to help enable my parents to remain independent in their own home….and celebrate their 70th anniversary in December. It’s not quite a routine yet but getting close; the way I handle laundry and snacks for the road and packing is becoming more consistent every month! And my husband is keeping busy with the kittens and visits from my daughter.

Birdfeeder. We now have 2 bird feeders….both visible from my office window. The one that seems to be the most popular is on a pole with our three holly trees around it. The birds seem to feel very secure coming there. The screen from the window blew off during a storm (I simply picked up and put it in the storage area of the basement)….so I can usually photograph the birdfeeder and bath through the window. I plan to clean the window frequently and enjoy the birds!

Yard. What a difference a month makes. The rains have been more consistent, and we’ve been able to reduce the frequency our sprinkler system comes on. Learning how to winterize the system is ahead of us…but not until we get closer to freezing temperatures. I am making plans to mow the yard (electric mower) probably beginning at the end of this season so I can enlarge the beds for shrubs, bulbs, and perennials in the back yard. I’d like to get bulbs planted this fall.  

State parks. We are starting a project to visit local and state parks. I’ve got a map showing all the parks within a 100-mile radius. They’ll make for some great day trips!

Previous ‘settling in’ posts: 1st month, 2nd month

Gleanings of the Week Ending September 3, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

Pregnant women are exposed to cancer-causing chemicals in dishware, hair coloring, plastics, and pesticides, study reveals – Something else for pregnant people to be anxious about. I wish these studies had a stronger component about how to reduce exposure, but it seems that the problematic chemicals are very pervasive.

The U.S. diet is deadly. Here are 7 ideas to get Americans eating healthier – These ideas a geared to making it easier for individuals to make healthier choices. Right now…it seems that the push is toward unhealthy food choices.

Cool planning for a hotter future – Actions we need to take to achieve the ‘late century rapid action’ maps.

Low physical function after age 65 associated with future cardiovascular disease – Individuals were assessed for walking speed, leg strength, and balance….and the scores were more predictive of cardiovascular disease risk than the traditional risk factors that work for middle-aged people (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, smoking or diabetes).

On “Trash” Birds: Rethinking How We Label Common Species – There is no such thing as a ‘trash’ bird or any species. They are all just part of our world!

Can These Lights Make Crosswalks Safer for Pedestrians Distracted by Their Phones? – People shouldn’t be walking while looking at their cell phones more than where they are headed….but they do and maybe Hong Kong is ahead of us in developing a solution to reduce tragedies.

Is Breadfruit the Climate Change-Proof Food of the Future? – Not a food I know anything about…it’s not in our grocery stores yet. I looked at some recipes and it seems like it would be a versatile addition to our diet.

Archaeologists Call on UNESCO to Protect the Hagia Sophia – It’s sad when pieces of architectural history are not maintained. Hopefully this call will help organize what is needed to preserve Hagia Sophia.

Heat waves + air pollution can be a deadly combination: The health risk together is worse than either alone – There are ways to stay safe…but it is not possible for everyone all the time. We need to address the underlying issues for the health of everyone. Often – addressing air pollution also is step in a good direction of climate change as well.

See the Incredible Sunflower Superbloom in North Dakota – Wow! Maybe a trip to North Dakota some July/August should be added to our list of road trips we want to make.

Ten Little Celebrations – August 2022

The celebrations I noted in August 2022 are part of the continuum of transition to Missouri – our new home.

A neat garage. I celebrated how organized our garage looked after we set up the bunk bed frame for all the camping gear! Sometimes a quick and simple task can have a bigger impact than expected on our perception of place.

A rainy morning. It was a relief – and celebration - when we finally got some summer rain. The August temperatures have also been a little cooler than in July….and our grass has turned green again.

Roadtrip home. I celebrated my shortest time ever for the drive from Carrollton to Nixa. It was a Sunday so traffic was light…and the weather was dry.

Finding boxes of Atkins shakes. My husband only likes one flavor of Atkins shakes and I’d been challenged to find them in prior grocery shopping weeks…and then there were two on the shelf at Walmart! I celebrated (and put both of them in my cart).

Sooty, Pooky, and Puma. Celebrating new pets. Their antics are fun to watch…they demand interaction…challenge us to make small modifications to our household routine for their safety.  

Kittens napping. After times of high kitten activity (with 3 of them there are frequent chases, tussles, and a general tendancy to move small toys everywhere in the house), we celebrate some quiet time when all three are napping.

Mango chicken salad. I selected something new from the menu my daughter was ordering from….and celebrated the result!

Spider bite not infected. I went to Urgent Care with a bug bite different than I had ever experienced (painful and it looked different). They identified it as a probable spider bite and cautioned me that it might get worse before it got better. I got a tetanus shot and perscription strength topical antibiotic…celebrated that they said it did not look infected (and it never got infected although it is taking several weeks to heal).

Taking pictures through my office window. I like taking pictures through my office windows. A storm blew off one of the screens…and I’ve left it off. I haven’t taken many pictures through the window yet…but I am celebrating that I now have the physical setup to do it. I’ve seen chickadees and finches on the bird bath about 4 feet from where I sit….and a hummingbird investicated a plant nearby.

Coursera anatomy course. I celebrated completing another anatomy course (Anatomy of the chest, neck, and abdomen) from Yale on Coursera. Every module was well presented and interesting.

Unique Aspects of Days – August 2022

Most of the uniqueness in August was associated with our move to Missouri….although not as directly as back in July.

A juvenile grackle on our bird feeder. We had gackles under our feeder in Maryland too but they must not have nested nearby because I didn’t ever see a juvenile. They are smart birds and don’t seem to be as noisy around our house as the ones I see at the Josey Ranch Lake in Carrollton TX….maybe because there are not as many of them.

3 kittens. It’s been almost 40 years since we had a kitten in our house…and it was only one back then. 3 of them make for many unique experiences…usually positive.


Did not want a breakfast burrito. A McDonalds breakfast burrito has been my favorite mid-morning snack on driving days…but recently, it just did not appeal to me at all. Glad I realized how I was feeling before I made the purchase!

First time to vote in Missouri. The primary was in early August. We had registered but didn’t yet have our permanent driver’s license…fortunately the paper copy was sufficient. The polling place was convenient and not crowded. Evidently it was a new polling place.

Setting up a compost ring. I used some cedar edging with prongs that pushed into the soil to keep them in place. I was pleased with the way it looked on the first day and even more pleased with how fast the compost is ‘cooking.’

Urgent care for spider bite. I had never gotten a spider bite….wasn’t sure that it was a spider bite (since I didn’t see the spider). It seemed to be getting worse so I went to Urgent Care on the 3rd day. They said it was a spider bite…gave me a tetanus shot…topical antibiotic…instructions to come back if a list of symptoms developed. Fortunately none of the dire symptoms happened but it is taking considerable time to heal.

Ice pack on spider bite helped. The spider bite on the back of my calf caused considerable pain which was a new experience…as was the relief of 10 minutes with an ice pack!

Puddles and cruise control. It was a little scary to drive through a puddle…and have my cruise control turn off. It wasn’t raining very hard at the time but evidently the water had accumulated enough to slow the car too suddenly and a safety mechanism engaged.

Rat trying to get into flour canister. Definitely a unique experience I would prefer had not happened. I went into my parents’ kitchen one morning and found bits of brown plastic all around a metal canister. The plastic has been the seal on the canister which the rat chewed partially through….but not completely.

Using  the self-scan in a Missouri grocery store for the 1st time. They haven’t been doing it as long as my store in Maryland so there are a few kinks…but not too bad.

Kittens! – week 2

Two weeks of kittens…their antics are entertaining and, sometimes, worrying.

They have an affinity for anything like a cable or cord. Sometimes they just bat the ‘snake’ with their paws but other times they try to bite/chew or tangle themselves…which could be damaging and even tragic with electrical cables. So – my husband has covered the cables in his office with beach towels or big pieces of cardboard. It has worked reasonably well so far…the cats seem to enjoy sleeping on the cord coverings even more than the desk chair (like day 3 and 5).

One morning I noticed that all the pillows that had been on the window seat in our breakfast area were on the floor. I’d thought the cats would enjoy looking out the window there and seen them on the pillows previously…but not seen any behavior that would have resulted in the pillows being pushed off. Then – I noticed Sooty playing with the pulls of the blinds. She was having great fun…jumping and pouncing to catch the fob on the end of the cords. So – I tucked the cord/fob into the top of the blind…and the pillows have stayed in place since.

We are still sequestering the kittens in their room/bathroom at night. They are enticed in with a last meal of the day in the bathroom. One night my husband started the process at the usual time, but the kittens were playing a lot; he got them back and enjoying their meal…closed the door. And a few minutes later they were making little meows still wanting the run of the house. Since then, he has waited until they are quiet and then provided their last meal of the day….and they are OK with being in their room.

Previous Kittens! Posts: day 1, day 2, day 3, day 4, day 5, week 1

After Rain

We are finally getting some rain in our area of Missouri and our yard is green again. I went outside shortly after one of the rain showers and discovered the rose bush was full of water droplets – like jewels on the leaves and flowers. Sometimes that align with the edges or ridges of the plant but there was so much water that the beads sometimes were on any surface that would hold them! One of the flowers was acting like a bowl to hold the water and reminded me that some frogs in rain forests lay eggs in the bowls of water in bromeliads.

Other plants also were very wet and holding beads of water although the droplets seems smaller than the ones on the roses…and I noticed we have a lot of spider webs!

Gleanings of the Week Ending August 27, 2022

The items below were ‘the cream’ of the articles and websites I found this past week. Click on the light green text to look at the article.

We asked children how they experienced poverty. Here are 6 changed needed now – This was a study done in Australia. I wonder how applicable these findings are around the world.

The identical twins who discovered their secret sibling – An adoption agency that separated twins for adoption in the 1960s…and the researchers that were part of that process. Fast forward to 2022.

Heat wave reveals 17th-century English gardens – Longleat Gardens….a whisper of the past…from before the transition to natural parkland in the 18th century.

Is this the end of DC’s most-beloved hidden landmark? – I’ve never seen (or known about) the Capitol stones in Rock Creek Park but I’ve noticed the old columns dating from the same period that are in the National Arboretum. They are certainly a landmark!

Painted Bunting: The Fun of Local Bird Quests – I remember seeing some painted buntings at a Florida National Wildlife refuge and an indigo bunting under my bird feeder in Maryland. They are special birds!

Colorful solar panels could make the technology more attractive – Color is a lower priority than efficiency for me, but it could be very important in some applications.

A Beginner’s Guide to Butterfly Watching – I wish there were more butterflies to watch! It seems like every year there are fewer of them around.

Taming Tomorrow’s Wildfires – There is a wildfire burning somewhere in the US all the time recently. It’s important that we make changes to reduce their devastation.

New drug candidate fights off more than 300 drug-resistant bacteria – Antibiotics have been around for my whole life…but there is always the discomfort that more bacteria are becoming resistant…and there could come a time that the pre-antibiotic killers will beginning killing people again. I’m glad there are new drugs in development to take up the fight.

Olmec contortionist Reliefs Uncovered in Mexico – Artifacts from a civilization known for colossal head sculptures….hints of their culture.

Spider Encounters

Earlier this month I had two close encounters with spiders.

The first happened when I noticed that one of the screens on my office windows had come off during a storm; I went out to retrieve it from the flower bed noticing that it was slightly warped – probably from being ripped out of the window frame. It was also very wet, so I put it in the shower stall. I checked the other screens, and one was partially out of the window frame; I stepped into the flower bed to take it the rest of the way out and put it in the shower too. That’s when I noticed several spiders making a new web from the bottom of the screens to the shower floor! I took a few photos and was thinking that the through-window photography would be better without the screens (i.e., I would just leave them off and enjoy the clarity of the view without the screens).

Back in front of my computer screens – I noticed that the back of my right calf felt strange. I saw a puncture wound already surrounded by redness; I went upstairs and applied cortisone cream. By the evening it was hurting like an injection into a tensed muscle and the redness was a bit larger. I started putting antibiotic on it. It was not better the next day; I had my husband draw around the redness with a Sharpie so we could tell if it was getting larger/smaller. A whitish gray area formed in the middle of the redness and the muscle was still hurting the next day and I realized that it was a something different than the usual bug bite – time to go to an Urgent Care facility. They decided it looked like a spider bite! I got a tetanus shot and prescription antibiotic. The bite looked worse before it started getting better! My theory now is that while I was having my positive experience retrieving screens/photographing spiders…I also got bitten – probably by a spider I didn’t even see when I stepped into the flower beds wearing a dress rather than my usual yard work jeans!