Here a bug, there a bug

Guess what? It's me, and I've actually got something to say. You may or may not have noticed the dearth of posting lately, but it's simply a matter of not having a great deal that's calling out to me to be written about.

Also, frankly, the days tend to blend and meld into one another when they're not guided by the structure of the work week.

Don't get me wrong, I'm completely not bored and I'm enjoying each and every single day of my time off without exception, but it just doesn't seem as long to me since I last wrote as it may to some of you. But today I have not one, but two things to write about. Try to suppress your excitement -- they may not be as interesting to you as they are to me.

As my mother pointed out to me today, I've always had a certain fascination with ladybugs. I think many people do, actually, yet my interest was piqued once again by finding and buying a ladybug "village" a couple months back. Because of my recent bout of travelling, however, I had not yet started raising any little 'uns.

But today I had the opportunity to do something I've always wanted to do but never really had a reason to: release ladybugs into my garden. Unfortunately, the lovely roses at my current residence have been set upon by pests -- aphids and something else I'm not certain what they are -- and I decided that it was time to bring in those heavy hitters of the aphid-eating world, the Ladybird Beetles.

So off to the nursery I went and I bought a tub of them (did you know you can do that?) while I was out doing other errands after lunch. According to the advice I read, though, you shouldn't release them until at least late afternoon/early evening, so I carried them around with me for most of the day, lest they get too hot sitting in the car. I kept waiting to drop the tub accidentally and have a small swarm of ladybugs exploding out of the bag, much to the astonishment of my fellow, unsuspecting shoppers. Thankfully, that didn't happen and we all arrived home safely, waiting for the sun to go down.

I watered everything down to give them plenty to drink and thereby encourage them to stick around, draped a sheet over the bush with the worst infestation in order to make sure as many as possible stay in that area, popped the top off the tub, took a deep breath, and started sprinkling them all (a purported 1,500 of them) on the bushes. To my surprise and gratitude, everything went exactly as planned and there was only one confirmed fatality when I put the lid back on the tub. Oops. The real test will be tomorrow when I go out in the morning and see how many of them are still there, brunching on our pest buffet. Wish them (all 1,499 of them) luck.

Oh, my, look at the time. I got so caught up with telling you about my little beetle friends that now I have to get going. It's time to go watch some Formula One action -- did you know that the U.S. Grand Prix is in Indianapolis this weekend? Well, it is; today was practice, tomorrow is qualifying and the race is on Sunday. If you have access to Speed TV, I highly suggest you give it a try -- it leaves boring ol' NASCAR in the dust...literally. (Ladies, the drivers are pretty damned cute and they all speak with these dreamy foreign accents, not regional American twangs. Worth a look-see, trust me.)

So I guess my other topic -- a review of the newly opened Batman Begins -- will just have to wait until tomorrow. But then, at least I'll have a guaranteed reason to post again sooner than I otherwise might!