Bugs, Birds, and even some news.

Thank you to Lillie Corbitt for identifying our mystery bug.  It's a boll weevil.

 

 

 

The boll weevil is a common name for a destructive beetle that infests cotton plants. The adult insect has a long snout, is grayish in color, and usually less than 6mm (less than 0.24 inches) long. It feeds only on the cotton plant.  Beginning in early spring, it punctures the buds and bolls and lays eggs in them. The eggs hatch into larvae in three to five days. The life cycle of the boll weevil from egg to egg-laying adult is about three weeks; and four to five generations may breed in one season.

The larvae, a fat white maggot, does most of the damage. It lives on the internal tissues of the buds and bolls. An infested bud usually drops, but most of the damaged bolls remain on the plant and become stunted or dwarfed. Adult weevils that emerge in the autumn hibernate in grass, old bolls or other vegetation, or in the seed around cotton gins. They reappear in spring.

 

________________

 

 

It is still too warm outside to open the windows at bedtime but when we awaken during the night, it has cooled into the 70s and I always open a few windows then.  No matter what time of the wee hours, I can always hear a mockingbird singing.  I love to lay there and listen to her huge myriad of songs.  I've quite often seen flashes of mockingbirds as they fly around the park but this is the first year I've heard one singing throughout the night.  I copied some info from the internet for you. 

 

_____________

 

There are two new holes dug for houses over on Desert Wind Lane.  This morning we watched some quail as they explored the area.  I caught this photo as a male climbed atop the big dirt pile.  It's hard to get a photo of these fast moving birds so getting one that's not all blurry with my little camera always pleases me.

 

____________

 

Later in our rounds, we checked out a killdeer nest we've been watching behind site 1838.  The eggs hatched a while back but we found one lonely abandoned egg still in the nest.  Mama was nowhere around so I guess this one was just a dud.  That is a BIG egg for such a small bird as a killdeer!  Ouch!

 

 

Next stop for the day is up at the clubhouse to see what's going on with all the remodeling.  Everyone was busy and hard at work.  Looks like Brittany (at right) is doing some cross training at the front desk as normally we would find her in the sales office.  Say Hi to Martha and Christy too.

 

All the lights have been removed from the billiards room.  Today Joel and Jose are rolling up the carpet.

 

The library is empty.  Suspense mounts as we wait to see what will happen next.

 

Next stop was Activities just to say hello.  Sharon Kidd is creating tickets for some of our upcoming fall events.

 

MaryAnn Brown is creating posters for the events.

 

In the mailroom, we found Helen Vosburgh and Flo Fillippe  forwarding mail and handing out packages.

 

With so many trees, plants, shrubs, and flowers in the park.....maintenance is a constant issue.  Must keep the sprinkler lines working.

So that's the tour for today.  Hope you enjoyed the ride. 
________________

P.S.  I was just about finished with this post when I walked past my kitchen window and spied a dove taking a shower and a cool down in our sprinkler system.  It was soooo fun and entertaining to watch.  First he would lift one wing into the mist...then the other wing...and then he just sat there and let the cool mist envelope him.  It actually looked like he was having fun!  After all..........the thermometer here on my desk says it is 108 out there today. 

 

 

Have a GREAT day!