Shortly after touching down in Georgia, I turned my weathered wooden Adirondack chair to face the trees on the back of my in-laws’ property. The sun’s warmth made my once-okay long-sleeved for-the-plane shirt unbearable. Yet the breeze compelled me to stay. I could have shifted to the shade for a more comfortable temperature, but the sensation of the too-hot sleeves brushing my arms felt nice.
Pine cones sit heavy at a nearby tree’s top, like a flock of fist-sized birds momentarily resting. The tree’s limbs start one way, then after thinking better of it, about-face and head in the opposing direction. The jag of the limbs is like a witch’s arthritic knuckles, and the shape of her needled tips reminds me of a lit sparkler. Its shade is a dull and dying type of green. Next to it is a fuller, just as tall, but much livelier tree. Unlike the pine, its branches are full, like professional-grade pom-poms fluttering in the spotlight. Instead of harsh lines, this deciduous beauty curves like a road in the country needing a gentle degree turn of the wheel to be on the easiest of breeziest tracks.
Rocky, their beige Beagle dog, has his ears perked and turns his head abruptly like the fastest satellite dish. Interesting is the squirrel rustling up the fence and voices from next door. A bright orange construction sign-colored ball lies inches from his muzzle, a novelty that intrigued me more than it did him. As I walked out, I gave it a slight toss, which had Rocky lean forward, halt, and turn away uninterested.
I turn towards a buzz loud enough to be an entire beehive and find just one humble bumble. The sound stops, and as I twist my body to locate it, peering under the chair’s arm, the buzz starts again. Louder and at too close range, I instinctively jump up and turn and see it hovering along the arm of my chair. Later, I’m inside with Papa Richard and Evelyn, and there’s a bug they’ve caught in a tightened-lid glass jar. “What’s that?” I ask, and as they bring it closer for a zoomed-in vantage, I see it’s a bee, a very large bee, likely the same type as the one earlier. “I call it a driller bee. It bores holes in wood.” So he was after my wooden Adirondack, after all.
Speaking of wood bugs, the cabin inspection went well, and one of the to-dos is to exterminate the anobiid beetles. These ugly beetles are native to the Pacific Northwest, and the $450 Beacon Pest Control quote means I’ll go on a price-check hunt for more companies on Monday.
Alrighty, time to finish up my progress notes and hit the hay. Tomorrow is our first look at the new house. I’ll tell you all about it then. Love, Jaclynn
Going On 40 