Some Small Things

It's been raining and cold again. I think this happens every June. After a burst of nearly summer weather, temps in the 80s for a week, we get a week of chilly temps in the 50s and rain. We don't mind because the garden loves it, and we're collecting lots of rainwater that we'll use during the dry summer months.
Last week when it was hot and sunny, we noticed lots of ladybugs everywhere. There were fine little bursts of orange on every leaf and vine. This pair was in our closest flower bed. When I saw them all I could think of were these lines from Paul Simon's song,
"...couple in the next room
bound to win a prize
they been going at it all night long
i'm trying to get some sleep
but these motel walls are cheap..."
I am often surprised by how long insects and bugs stay entwined. We found this pair of red-tailed bees on the mailbox. When we first saw them, I was dropping off some outgoing mail for a friend, and I didn't have the camera. So I came home, got the camera and walked back down to the mailboxes. They were still there in flagrante delicto. When it comes to the birds and bees, I've noticed that the birds seem to have definitely gotten the short end of the stick.
When the rain lets up, we go out to pull the weeds. It's much easier to yank them out of the rain-soaked earth. We were pulling weeds by the pond when I noticed this rather odd thing. This fish had somehow landed on top of a pond lily leaf and died. We've seen a lot of goldfish offspring of varying shades and shapes, but this fish did not look like any of the other goldfish in our pond. In fact it looked more carp-like, which seems interesting in terms of goldfish genetics. All the other fish have their colors already (gold, black and pale white or some combination of the three), but this one was more silvery than anything else. I wish I could have seen the genes of this little creature.

Aside from these small things, I'm restless about doctors, naturopaths, and health. My displeasure knows no bounds. I could rant for days about the madness of health care in this day and age. But I'll spare you the details. Suffice to say I had a very thorough, hour and a half long consultation at the clinic and was given a hand-out of a gluten-free and dairy-free diet and sent on my merry way. Not even a soothing balm for my troubles. Tra la la.