Pick Ups

I have a proclivity for picking up the odd bits and bobs I find:  a pretty stone, a shed lizard skin, vulture feathers, whatever might catch my eye.  This large (dead) insect was on the mat outside the dining room door.  I'd never seen one like it.  It's big, with a wingspan well over two inches.  On the news the other day, they showed video of an enormous swarm of mayflies in Wisconsin.  It got me to wondering, and sure enough, that's what my bug is, a mayfly.  I wonder if it got caught in a head wind and blown off course.  And what is a mayfly doing out in the middle of July?

Stepping out on the deck to fill the feeders for the hummers, I startled a pair of does and a spotted fawn who had been sampling the birdseed.  They bounced down the hill and into the woods.  No matter how long I've lived here, the sight of deer in my yard takes my breath away.

Spurred on by cooler weather and a very guilty conscience, I cautiously opened the door to what used to be my office and is now a storage room.  It's storage for anything I want to get out of the way and don't know where it goes and it had gotten to the point that I'd close my eyes, throw something in and shut the door quickly.  I've dubbed the room The Black Hole of Calcutta.  Just breaking down a stack of empty boxes (never know when you might need one of those) and popping gobs of bubble wrap (ditto) has cleared a lot of floor space.  Now, of course, I've got a pile of cardboard and plastic.  I'll probably move that out to the barn where it will stay until... well, until.