Well this one is going to be a little bit of the “hit to all fields” variety, since I know you all (see? still not saying “y’all” yet) are desperate to know what goes on down here…
I forgot to mention I have a new favorite town name thanks to my trip home from the concert that wasn’t. Are you ready for it?
Shartlesville, PA. No really, that’s the name of the town. See? I saw a tractor-trailer with that town name on it and literally lol’d while I was driving down the interstate. How can you not love a name like that? Ok, I’m occasionally fourteen years old, I admit it, but that’s still funny, I don’t care what you say.
Ok, back to today ish…
I picked up a hitchhiker the other day. Driving home from the coffeehouse, traffic (and I use the term loosely) was stopped in front of me so I was moving, albeit slowly, when a gecko appeared on the hood of my truck. I’m fairly certain it fell or dropped out of a tree above me, since they can’t, to my knowledge, fly Granted I’m no geckologist (If that’s not a word I want props for it from here on out) and I can’t imagine it jumped up onto a moving vehicle (see previous disclaimer) and since my truck had been parked in the sun, the hood must have been hot as blazes. It was only up there for ten or fifteen seconds before it scampered over to the passenger side front fender and I never saw it again. It either bailed or took up residence somewhere in my truck.
Speaking of wildlife, it seems like every couple of weeks I see a bug I’ve never seen before and think “WTF IS THAT?!?!” I tried to take a picture of the latest “wtf is that” bug before I smashed it, but couldn’t get close enough, because, again, WTF IS THAT?!?! I did, however get close enough to smash that little s.o.b. with my shoe. It took several attempts btw, but it’s now an ex-bug. Thanks to the Google Machine (I typed in giant red and black ant btw) I learned it was one of these – 
a Red Velvet Ant which is quite possibly the most diabolically deceptive name of anything ever. For example, there’s this tidbit from Wikipedia – The Red Velvet Ant has multiple defensive strategies, but is best known for its painful sting, earning it the nickname “cow killer”. That’s right, cow killer. Now, if you know me IRL or if you’ve ever read any of this stuff up in here, you know my fondness for RVCB’s! (the exclamation point is due to my love for them, not because it’s the end of a sentence) so the fact that something named “Red Velvet” ANYTHING is capable of inducing such pain, well that’s kind of like a crime against humanity. I mean seriously. And to just kind of wrap this “wtf is that?!?!” thing up in a nice bow, the Red Velvet Ant isn’t even an ant, it’s a wasp.
Well, since I’ve stretched this one over a couple of days, and keeping with the theme, I figured I’d include a #LillyNO update. In between working on this and trying to accomplish mundane household chores “someone” will occasionally bark at me rather impertinently. This, I have learned, means I haven’t been paying enough attention to her, in her humble opinion. Since few of the things I have on my agenda are time-sensitive (in case you haven’t heard, I’m retired) I’ll get down on the floor and play with her. The toy choices are numerous and usually strewn across the floor of the kitchen and den like the detritus left behind by a bomb blast in, oh, perhaps (shout out to Roger Rabbit) Toontown. Once #LillyNO determines which toy she wants to play with and, for the sake of discussion let’s say it’s the tattered remnants of Lamb Chop, she’ll bring the toy to me and after some small bit of convincing, release the toy. I’ll throw it, fifteen or so feet, to the other end of the room and she’ll happily leap off after it, grab the toy and coming careening back towards me at a full gallop, almost always skidding into my side like Kramer entering Jerry’s apartment. This goes on for anywhere from ten to twenty minutes before I can again focus my attention elsewhere.
I’m currently sitting at the coffeehouse, enjoying a lovely lattè (or is it latté? I’m never sure which, but either way it’s delightful) looking at the clock to make sure I have enough time to A.) finish this and B.) run a couple of errands before I get back home to C.) go to another concert. Gillian Welch is up tonight in Saxapahaw, NC. I wrote about this venue earlier this year, I love it. It’s such a cool vibe and it’s in what was once the Dying Room of an old cotton mill. Should be a good show, and I’m really looking forward to it. I can almost assure you though, it won’t be as much fun as the Family And Friends show I saw last week in Chapel Hill. Holy crap those guys are great live and if you get the chance, I give it a strong recommendation. They’re heading across the southern tier of the country and ending this tour on the west coast, so if you’re out by that way, watch for them. You’ll thank me.
Ok, I think that’s about all I can squeeze in to this action-packed episode.
Peace
PS: Because, etc., etc., I always run spellcheck on these before I post them. And, as if to prove I’m not ready to start dropping y’alls around here any time soon, I originally misspelled it…
Again, Peace