Are stinkbugs a problem only in this area or pretty much everywhere? I came home on Friday to find them in my house. I've spent much of the weekend getting them back outside again. They are all over in the woods around the cabin, too. I've found them in the door-well of my car, under an afghan on my sofa, on my windows, everywhere. Ben the bad cat ran into a wall chasing one. He was looking up as it was flying just out of his reach, and because he was paying attention to the bug and not to where he was going, he ran headlong into a wall. When I go outside at night, the stinkbugs are all over the side of the cabin. I've never had them this bad. Last year, I heard people complain about them but didn't have more than one or two myself. This year it's a different story. Whenever they disappear, it won't be soon enough.
For the moment, the forest is so dry it's like walking on crinkled wads of paper when I go through the forest. It is supposed to rain over the next few days, so that is the good news. I only hope it doesn't make the stinkbugs worse than they already are. Saturday night was a big songbird migration. I saw the liftoff on radar around 9 p.m. and it continued after I went to bed. Sunday morning I had a migrant, a black-throated blue warbler almost in my feeder. It looked as though it was checking out the feeder, though they are insect eaters so that isn't likely. Perhaps it was simply curious about the crowd of other birds around the seeds. They are one of my favorite warblers and to have one just a few feet away from my door was a great way to start the day.
Elsewhere around the cabin, fall is creeping in slowly but a little more each day. One day the weather is crystal clear, the next it is cloudy, with those big gray, billowing clouds of fall.
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5 comments:
I love the image of Ben chasing the bug and running into the wall. My cats do that as well, and fall off railings and window ledges in pursuit of the poor witless insects who make their way into our house. They also have been known to climb the curtains in their oblivious pursuit, but never mind. I wonder what Ben would do if he ate a stink bug?? Must taste awful. Good luck evicting them.
WwE: Ben is the cat that really chases insects. He's gone after wasps, too, and fortunately has never caught any. I agree that even the thought of eating a stink bug is enough to turn my stomach. They must be terrible.
Carolyn H.
Believe it or not, this seek I saw birds lift off in migration - I always wonder why, because temps are so mild here.
Jeannette: lots of birds migrate when the days shorten up, regardless of temperature. Most won't move in rain or really bad weather, but they get antsy when the days reach a certain length. What one species considers the right time is not what another species considers "right," but typically all birds of the same species get that urge at the same time.
Carolyn H.
Poor Ben, he got his bell rung. I bet you wish you had a video camera handy for that.
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